Link: Interesting Take on the Game - Narrowed down to a few key plays

[Wilson Monroe]

I don't know how he could call that a win for OL. I'm not even sure stalemate is correct.

The O-line is seriously banged up. At 100% or even where lineman injuries typically are at game 12, I think they would have fared much better.

They are, like so many position groupings on this team, dealing with more injuries than usual.

 

[drwho]

The O-line is seriously banged up. At 100% or even where lineman injuries typically are at game 12, I think they would have fared much better.

They are, like so many position groupings on this team, dealing with more injuries than usual.

I agree, but there's still no way our OL won the LOS in that game.

 

[Cruiser]

Probably true. There's a narrative that GMac on Twitter has proposed that there "could" have been more running back carries but that Auburns defensive formations took those opportunities away and forced more qb run reads. In other words, Auburn was able to "force" Jalen to keep more than to give to the backs on his reads. We've heard that Kevin Steele had said that the key to stopping Bama is to key on "Michael Jordan - numbers 2 and 3." So if they could force Jalen to keep the ball they knew they were going to be able to stop the "2" and by far, that was bigger in this game than stopping "3" because our passing game took care of that for them.

Gmac knows more football X&Os that most people for sure and he may have a legitimate point, but, once again, that reignites the argument that our whole offensive philosophy isn't built to take advantage of "all" of our talented athletes.

I may be wrong; but seems like most of DH's carries are not after snap reads?

 

[TomFromBama]

I agree that breakdown is absolute 'bury your head' in the sand nonsense. You can play 'if's but's candy and nut's' with just about any game.

Our offensive gameplan was trash. Our playcalling was worse than trash. Our OL did not 'win' the LOS. They didn't get dominated but the trenches were a stalemate at best.

That's pretty much our philosophy on both lines.....just dance and/or mushrush around the LOS. We have absolutely NO mean streak.

But worse than the strategy and lack of adjustments... we have a fundamentals problem in quite a few areas.

Our tackling has been god AWFUL for the last few games. It barely qualifies as 'arm tackling'. It's like guys want to make a singular big hit and then expect the other guy to just go down.....and if he doesn't they watch as another teammate attempts to create a turnover....until someone else FINALLY gets them down or out of bounds.

What happened to driving through someone and wrapping up and taking their butts to the dang ground?? Remember how Landon Collins tackled.....that's how we use to tackle. They need to throw that damn 'ballout belt' in trash and work on tackling fundamentals.

That's how AU tackled in the game. There were quite a few times we had a one-on-one play and the AU defender made Landon Collins level tackles. Beautiful open field tackles. I hate them but I'm not going to take a thing away from them. They had DB's taking Bo down one on one.

They beat us with Phenomenal coaching, 3 good players, a heck of a lot of emotion, and 100% rock solid fundamentals and effort.

We lost because of abysmal coaching, keeping our best players inexplicably on the dang sideline, the absence of emotion, and shoddy fundamentals and effort.

It was a whole hell of lot of things/issues more than a few plays that decided the outcome.

I'm honestly worried about team chemistry right now. The guys that do have some fire in their belly are visibly frustrated right now and I don't blame them.

The last thing this team or the fanbase needs is to think we were 'just a few plays away'. They need to own up and correct a LOT of stuff.

It's time for a come to jesus 'Junction' and that includes the staff.

GOSH, do I WISH I could Disagree with even ONE word of this..... But I can't.

As an aside, have you noticed that in the last two years we've transformed from one of the Very Best Teams in CFB in terms of open field tackling, to well.... a team that tried to "tackle" ball carriers by bumping into them "really hard"??? Anyone else notice that?

And has anyone else noticed that since about 2013 or so we've gone from being one of The Very LEAST PENALIZED teams in CFB, to (at best) middle of the pack?

I hate to use the "C" word that Coach hates so much, but I can't help but wonder if there's a Complacency problem, and I'm not at all sure its necessarily all on the players.......

 

[CoachJeff]

My takeaway from the game is that if we replayed that game we lose 9 out of 10 times. I can't remember the last time Bama lost a game and I thought "Man, we were *this* close... if we just had another drive, or if we could replay it we would get them!"

It wasn't a fluke here or there, it wasn't a couple bad breaks, it wasn't close.

They converted 3rd downs all day long. Bama didn't convert them. Bama couldn't put any drives together on offense, Auburn could.

 

[B1GTide]

My takeaway from the game is that if we replayed that game we lose 9 out of 10 times.

Only 9?

 

[92tide]

Only 9?

even the eeyore's realize that bama gets a lucky bounce every now and then

 

[pigsinspace]

When you play a team that is so emotionally invested in beating you, you need to take away the emotion. You do that by physically dominating them and making the plays that takes away that single minded "Beat Bama" mentality. You need to be hungrier than them. I know that Coach Sabah likes a more even keeled approach, and that usually works against other teams that want to beat Bama, but Auburn lives and breathes only for this. In a way, it is the anti-process, and Bama needs more intensity and focus to beat that.

 

[CoachJeff]

Only 9?

This wasn't the Iron Bowl 2013, it wasn't LSU 2011. It wasn't the Iron Bowl 2010. This one didn't hinge on one or two plays.

This one was different. You don't agree?

 

[TideEngineer08]

They didn't convert third downs all day long.

They converted 9 of 18. Our defense got enough stops to win the game, despite such "poor" tackling, and as the article astutely points out, we seemed to fold up on defense after the offense kept putting them back on the field and the snap count got so out of hand against them.

Frankly, we were not healthy enough at LB, despite the guys being back, and Auburn exploited that wonderfully. Give them credit.

We did not exploit their weaknesses on defense well enough, and I'll agree that's on the coaches. But I don't think we're in as bad of shape as everyone else seems to. If we can catch a couple of breaks this weekend and get into the playoff and get healed up, I like our chances as good or better than any other team out there.

 

[92tide]

This wasn't the Iron Bowl 2013, it wasn't LSU 2011. It wasn't the Iron Bowl 2010. This one didn't hinge on one or two plays.

This one was different. You don't agree?

a big reason that those hinged on one or two plays (especially the 2010 and 2013 ib) is that we played like crap in the second half and couldn't move the ball to save our lives and couldn't stop their o.

we seem to have similar hair on fire meltdowns on this board (and in the broader fan base) after every loss with saban as coach. this will be like all of the others, we will bounce back and still be at the top of the heap.

 

[JTBama]

Only 9?

There's always wishful thinking��

 

[92tide]

They didn't convert third downs all day long.

They converted 9 of 18. Our defense got enough stops to win the game, despite such "poor" tackling, and as the article astutely points out, we seemed to fold up on defense after the offense kept putting them back on the field and the snap count got so out of hand against them.

Frankly, we were not healthy enough at LB, despite the guys being back, and Auburn exploited that wonderfully. Give them credit.

We did not exploit their weaknesses on defense well enough, and I'll agree that's on the coaches. But I don't think we're in as bad of shape as everyone else seems to. If we can catch a couple of breaks this weekend and get into the playoff and get healed up, I like our chances as good or better than any other team out there.

shhh. we are horrible and the game has passed us by.

 

[B1GTide]

This wasn't the Iron Bowl 2013, it wasn't LSU 2011. It wasn't the Iron Bowl 2010. This one didn't hinge on one or two plays.

This one was different. You don't agree?

I do not agree that Alabama would lose 9 of 10 to anybody. Change any factor and the game would have been very different. Play them at Alabama or on a neutral field and Alabama wins. Play them on a neutral field in the playoffs, with time to heal, and Alabama wins.

 

[GHoppr]

I agree that breakdown is absolute 'bury your head' in the sand nonsense. You can play 'if's but's candy and nut's' with just about any game.

Our offensive gameplan was trash. Our playcalling was worse than trash. Our OL did not 'win' the LOS. They didn't get dominated but the trenches were a stalemate at best.

That's pretty much our philosophy on both lines.....just dance and/or mushrush around the LOS. We have absolutely NO mean streak.

But worse than the strategy and lack of adjustments... we have a fundamentals problem in quite a few areas.

Our tackling has been god AWFUL for the last few games. It barely qualifies as 'arm tackling'. It's like guys want to make a singular big hit and then expect the other guy to just go down.....and if he doesn't they watch as another teammate attempts to create a turnover....until someone else FINALLY gets them down or out of bounds.

What happened to driving through someone and wrapping up and taking their butts to the dang ground?? Remember how Landon Collins tackled.....that's how we use to tackle. They need to throw that damn 'ballout belt' in trash and work on tackling fundamentals.

That's how AU tackled in the game. There were quite a few times we had a one-on-one play and the AU defender made Landon Collins level tackles. Beautiful open field tackles. I hate them but I'm not going to take a thing away from them. They had DB's taking Bo down one on one.

They beat us with Phenomenal coaching, 3 good players, a heck of a lot of emotion, and 100% rock solid fundamentals and effort.

We lost because of abysmal coaching, keeping our best players inexplicably on the dang sideline, the absence of emotion, and shoddy fundamentals and effort.

It was a whole hell of lot of things/issues more than a few plays that decided the outcome.

I'm honestly worried about team chemistry right now. The guys that do have some fire in their belly are visibly frustrated right now and I don't blame them.

The last thing this team or the fanbase needs is to think we were 'just a few plays away'. They need to own up and correct a LOT of stuff.

It's time for a come to jesus 'Junction' and that includes the staff.

Hard to argue with anything you posted. Spot on IMO.

 

[CoachJeff]

I do not agree that Alabama would lose 9 or 10 to anybody. Change any factor and the game would have been very different. Play them at Alabama or on a neutral field and Alabama wins. Play them on a neutral field in the playoffs, with time to heal, and Alabama wins.

Bama would have likely won on a neutral field and would have won at BDS. I'm talking about playing the game on that day at that venue (JHS). Auburn has a horseshoe up their butt at home.

From now on when we play at Jordan Hare I'm going to take into account the HUTB (Horsehoe Up Their Butt) factor.

 

[DC Tide]

we seem to have similar hair on fire meltdowns on this board (and in the broader fan base) after every loss with saban as coach. this will be like all of the others

For as much as our fans like to talk about "The Process," it's almost as if they're still outcome-focused, huh? I don't remember hearing how "team chemistry" was a problem or our players didn't have "fire in the belly" after beating Ole Miss 66-3.

 

[92tide]

For as much as our fans like to talk about "The Process," it's almost as if they're still outcome-focused, huh? I don't remember hearing how "team chemistry" was a problem or our players didn't have "fire in the belly" after beating Ole Miss 66-3.

and always throw out the quote "win with class and lose with class, act like you've been there before"

 

[pigsinspace]

For as much as our fans like to talk about "The Process," it's almost as if they're still outcome-focused, huh? I don't remember hearing how "team chemistry" was a problem or our players didn't have "fire in the belly" after beating Ole Miss 66-3.

We are armchair quarterbacks. It is our job to second guess and be Eeyores. This tablet won't let me use blue font. Seriously, though, the team was probably prepared for the noise, but not the intensity of the single minded desire to beat Bama.

 

[BamaMoon]

Let's try to be reasonable.

It's probably not as "simple" as the guy describes, but it's probably not as "bleak" as some of you are making it out to be.

Granted, the tackling issue has become a problem (and that's on the defense), but the explanation in these big games for the defense struggling is pointing straight back at the offense and their inability to stay on the field.

We have a TOP issue lately and no matter how good your defense is, they can only hold up so long. The defense could have played better and Coach Pruitt could have disguised things better, but considering they held the ball longer than us, the defensive issues can be helped with getting back to Bama football that can run the ball, play action pass the ball and make first downs and keep the drive alive. When we do that, CNS's "every drive can end with a kick" will start working again as we'll be scoring (extra points and fgs) more than punting.