CNS talks about helping DJ Pettway

cuda.1973 said:

Apart from Earle, is there anyone in this discussion who has a remote idea about the details?

I bet not. Without that knowledge, the rest is nothing more than forum fodder.

It would seem there was a reason he was re-admitted, to the University. "We need him" probably was not the driving force.

Doesn't mean we didn't have a need for him. I find it hard to believe that was all there is to it.

Glad not to be in the position to be the one making these decisions. He may not have gotten that second chance.

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Cuda.1973,

I didn't want to start a new thread! How about those Allen Eagles! They blew away Cy Ranch last night in AT&T Stadium 47 to 16. I really enjoyed watching that game on FoxSouthwest last night. The Aggies could be getting a better edition of Johnny Football, Kyler Murray, next year. 43 consecutive wins! Not bad! And they had to play, what, 15 games away from Allen this year because of their new stadium's problems.

When will they be able to play again in their stadium?

I do love high school football and one of these days I'm going to take a vacation just to see all those high school games in AT&T Stadium. They had 50,000+ fans yesterday to see the high school playoffs.

TIDE-HSV said:

Actually, you can make an argument that DJ was the one we needed worst last year, although Williams and Hayes had bright futures. Calloway was the only one whose career was in jeopardy...

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Are the other three guys involved in this incident playing football now?

People... Its over. He earned his degree... He has done the best of his second chance and he has exceeded goals set by the school and the coaches. Like it or not. Its over. No need to bring up what he has done in the incident.....Pettaway learned his lesson and moved on. The victim forgave him and there's nothing for us to complain about Pettaway... I rather him to be in school than to be on street. Calloway had chances to come back and he below it. Jackson and others ... They didn't change their behavior.... Its over. I'm glad hes doing well. That's it

TIDE-HSV said:

I know that Williams was at FL A&M, Hayes at west GA. Don't know about Calloway. Last I heard, he had been out west JUCO but had returned to Russellville and was hoping to return to Bama. JMHO, but I doubt that it happens...

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Calloway was trying out for a rugby team few weeks ago and got cut.

WalkaboutSean said:

There was an insightful article about Pettway on ESPN a couple of months ago. http://es.pn/1qSNs7i


I'm relieved that Pettway has made the most of his opportunity, but my sympathy goes to the victims - especially the student (a Million Dollar Band member, no less) who dropped out of school and suffered depression after being "beaten so badly that one of his attackers thought they'd accidentally killed him." I hope he received some sort of restitution.

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I wholeheartedly agree with the bolded sentiment.
Pettway is lucky to have had his 1st chance, much more so his 2nd. What is done is done, so I hope he spends the rest of his life remembering his actions and "proving" that he is worthy to have received a 2nd chance.

CNS should expect some questioning in a case like this. His skin should be thick enough to handle it. If he believe strongly in Pettway and believes he has redeemed himself he should say so. Criticizing those who disagree - and there are many - does nothing to support his case. In fact, it makes it appear weaker. I love Coach Saban, but this is one area in which he needs to look in the mirror to see his own shortcomings and attempt to improve. His visceral reactions are sometimes unnecessary and unwarranted. He made some very good points, but could have handled it better, IMHO. Even legends sometimes make mistakes. Yes, that means I think he has achieved or if not then soon will legendary status. Legendary people should act legendarily. Nothing he said violated any "rule" necessarily, but I think his words would have been better received by some if they were more positive in nature. He took any question about the matter as a personal attack, or so it seemed. Not everyone is going to agree with you all the time. Not even God himself enjoys that luxury.

Al A Bama said:

Cuda.1973,

I didn't want to start a new thread! How about those Allen Eagles! They blew away Cy Ranch last night in AT&T Stadium 47 to 16. I really enjoyed watching that game on FoxSouthwest last night. The Aggies could be getting a better edition of Johnny Football, Kyler Murray, next year. 43 consecutive wins! Not bad! And they had to play, what, 15 games away from Allen this year because of their new stadium's problems.

When will they be able to play again in their stadium?

I do love high school football and one of these days I'm going to take a vacation just to see all those high school games in AT&T Stadium. They had 50,000+ fans yesterday to see the high school playoffs.

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I've been thinking about it. If folks are interested, we can start a thread and tell folks what we have to look forward to, with Kyler Murray at aTm.

The "new" stadium...........who knows? I have my doubts, but they seem to think it can be fixed. But, that also deserves its own thread. Complete with no one knowing the whole story.

(Should fit in well here!)

TIDE-HSV said:

He's gone. Rival fan. Probably FSU. When their posts fit the pattern his did, they're not allowed to hang around long...

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Most excellent kick...good length and great hangtime. The downfield coverage by the general board was also noteworthy.

I think CNS keeps that which will make the team better in the forefront of all of his decisions. He knows that one of the quickest ways to destroy a team is to bring back someone who will be a distraction or detraction due to character issues...even if he is a great talent in a sorely needed position. Kids, especially ones that have the motivation and ethics to be a part of a program such as Bama's have a pretty good sense of fairness and what's right (even if they don't always act on it)...The fact that DJ seems to been accepted back by the players is a strong statement.
CPB didn't take questioning too well either...what bowl game was that when the little halftime reported inquired about why he had changed quarterbacks? He responded something to the effect that he was trying to win the game and he didn't need to answer to her about coaching decisions....

I see I touched a nerve with you. I just feel it was very irresponsible on your part to say that he viciously attacked someone . You do not know that. I realize he was involved in some form or fashion- that is why he was originally let go. Saban knows more about this than both of us- that I am sure.

Displaced Bama Fan said:

If this wasn't a family atmosphere board...

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We got a picture with DJ's dad before the SECCG (middle left). Very nice man and so proud of his son. He sacrifices a lot of time and money for his son, and I imagine no one is more thankful for another chance than him. I don't know the details, and I doubt I ever will. I'm thankful for forgiveness. Roll Tide!

It seems many of us don't know the exact involvement in the crime by DJ. I dont know either so I wont comment on what should or should not have happened with DJ. However I will say in general that anyone who violently assaults a student simply to steal a phone does not deserve to be in college. They deserve to be in prison.

Update on Brent Calloway: http://www.loverugbyleague.com/news_16734-brent-calloway-fails-to-win-catalans-contract.html

Tyler Hayes: http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index.ssf/2014/06/former_alabama_lb_tyler_hayes.html (Arkansas and South Miss are interested in him)

Eddie Williams: I think he's the worst one with not able to play in college... Seems like his football days are over....

NationalTitles15 said:

I wholeheartedly agree with the bolded sentiment.
Pettway is lucky to have had his 1st chance, much more so his 2nd. What is done is done, so I hope he spends the rest of his life remembering his actions and "proving" that he is worthy to have received a 2nd chance.

CNS should expect some questioning in a case like this. His skin should be thick enough to handle it. If he believe strongly in Pettway and believes he has redeemed himself he should say so. Criticizing those who disagree - and there are many - does nothing to support his case. In fact, it makes it appear weaker. I love Coach Saban, but this is one area in which he needs to look in the mirror to see his own shortcomings and attempt to improve. His visceral reactions are sometimes unnecessary and unwarranted. He made some very good points, but could have handled it better, IMHO. Even legends sometimes make mistakes. Yes, that means I think he has achieved or if not then soon will legendary status. Legendary people should act legendarily. Nothing he said violated any "rule" necessarily, but I think his words would have been better received by some if they were more positive in nature. He took any question about the matter as a personal attack, or so it seemed. Not everyone is going to agree with you all the time. Not even God himself enjoys that luxury.

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To me his remarks were very real. I don't think Coach worries too much about how they were received, because he is the one that made a decision based on all the information. When he, or anyone else does that, they themselves are then a "party" to the situation. I have no doubt whatsoever that Coach totally understands the ramifications if he is wrong and weighed the risk/reward unlike anyone else can imagine. I respect everyone's opinion on this but until we have situations like this that go wrong, I have the upmost confidence in how things are being handled.
Call me a Sabanite and I will answer affirmative.

Chukker Veteran said:

Criticism seems to bother Saban more than I would have thought it would. He seemed a little thin-skinned when people grumped about bringing Kiffin in too. I get the feeling that when something works out the way he hoped it would despite the decision being second guessed, Saban especially enjoys sayng "I told you so."

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I think it may be more about questioning his authority. I think if his decisions had negative impacts, like the offense tanking or Pettway riding the bench and being a cancer, that Saban would gladly stand up there and accept the criticism. These two decisions have bore more fruit than even he thought they would, I imagine.

As I type this I really started considering that maybe, just maybe, he's not the devil and he actually cares that some punk reporter is bashing a young kid who screwed up, paid his dues, and is now working hard to be a productive member of a championship caliber football team.

AlexanderFan said:

I think it may be more about questioning his authority.

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I think that's the bottom line. Saban is not accustomed to having any of his decisions questioned.

I'm thrilled with the success Kiffin has had revamping our offense. I understood he could likely do that when he was hired. My reservations about Kiffin centered on how he was so quick to scrap a contract and jump ship when somebody offered him a better job. I don't think that is the best example to set for leading young men. Saban obviously wasn't bothered by this enough to hire someone else. Kiffin seems to have matured under Saban, hooray for that. But I still think the objection I had to Kiffin is legitimate, and it's also something Saban seemed unaware of, or at least unwilling to acknowledge.

Saban took DJ back. He obviously decided it would be best for everybody involved...including the victims. That was another hard call that had the potential for good but also an obvious possible downside. Saban took a chance on DJ, it has worked out well so far. I'm sure all Bama fans are happy with that.

There will be more hard decisions in the future. Bama fans, being Bama fans, will look closely at every decision. With Saban's track record of success, it's easy to cut him some slack on these type calls, and I'm happy to do that.

My one suggestion to Saban would be: Ease up a tad on the Bama fans. I understand we sometimes seem difficult and even hypercritical...but responding in kind might not be the best reaction. I'd like to see a little more sweet-talk directed at the fan base and a little less frustration with us.

Chukker Veteran said:

I think that's the bottom line. Saban is not accustomed to having any of his decisions questioned.

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An ego thing? Most successful head coaches snap at the media when their judgment is questioned about anything, and they are usually correct in doing so for various reasons. But some really handle it poorly - look at Pelini. I think that Saban handles this better than he used to. He now seems to get preachy instead of angry.

Chukker Veteran said:

My one suggestion to Saban would be: Ease up a tad on the Bama fans. I understand we sometimes seem difficult and even hypercritical...but responding in kind might not be the best reaction. I'd like to see a little more sweet-talk directed at the fan base and a little less frustration with us.

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I've listened to and quoted things he said that were positive about the fans, but it just seems to bead up and run off. They just don't seem to hear it. Miss. State game? He was saying how fantastic they were, how much they helped, and this goes back to his first #1 recruiting class in which he credited the fans with helping land that class (in particular A-Day attendance helping). The ratio of positive to negative statements isn't even remotely close, he said one thing in particular this year (which by the way was dead on) which some fans took as being directed at them, because the media said it was... but even then he didn't actually say anything about the fans! I still don't know for sure whether he was directing it at the media, the fans, the players, but his sentiments about the Arkansas game proved to be a Nick Saban knowing what he was talking about. Even if he was telling the fans to calm down, he was right wasn't he?

The truth is I'm not sure Alabama fans really knew their part in the process and seemed accustomed to just showing up, sitting there, watching, and leaving once they were no longer entertained. 2012 and 2013 really showed the problems with that approach. Towards the end of 2012, even for the Auburn game, there were a lot of empty seats. National championship run, ok? They're leaving in the third quarter, that is if they show up at all. There was a problem and this carried over to A-Day. Auburn, coming off a dreadful season had more fans for their spring game, than showed up to celebrate an Alabama national championship. You can make excuses, but that was absurd, that's not national championship level fans, that's not the Alabama fans being part of the process. So, over that period yeah, Saban became more critical because the fans desperately needed a kick in the butt.

What did we start to see in the latter portions of last season though? The stadium was literally rocking, fans were supporting the team for four quarters instead of three, and it seems to me the criticism that was directed towards the fans worked. The lingering issue though, was the overreaction of fans, the unrealistic expectations, the death threats after the Auburn game, the meltdown after the Ole Miss/Arkansas game, and really what we've seen mid-game a few times this year from Alabama fans. They need a bit more coaching before they learn that success is never a 100% thing and spewing nonsense doesn't help the situation.

I made a comment about how tough a place LSU is to play at, and someone countered with historical data to show that playing at LSU isn't really that tough. That got me thinking, was playing @ LSU prior to Saban's arrival really that daunting? I can't really recall that being the case, and that gets me wondering if may be Saban woke up the LSU fanbase as well. I wonder if he coached them a bit, and criticized them a bit, because there's no question that despite amazing loyalty that Alabama fans demonstrate, playing @ Alabama vs. @ LSU when Saban first arrived here was a stark contrast. That's just speculation, but I do absolutely feel like Saban treats the fans as part of the process.

Anway, to end my rant and get back on topic a bit, with these sort of things I feel like Saban is the best at what he does and he has earned the benefit of a doubt. No one will be right 100% of the time, but if he criticizes the fans, if he hires a coach, or even he gives a player a second chance, this is one coach that (at this point in time) has the track record to show that he knows what he's doing. I'm not even talking purely in terms of success, Saban has a great record when it comes to compliance, when it comes to graduation, he's coached at a lot of places and if there was a bunch of dirt, they'd be happy to expose him. He doesn't leave behind messes like some other coaches and I have no reason to believe he's anything other than a man of integrity in deeds, not just in public posturing.