CFN: Alabama vs Oklahoma: College Football Playoff Preview and Pick

[selmaborntidefan]

That will never happen. No competitor wants to get pulled. He wants to compete. In a position like QB where self-confidence means a lot, asking to be pulled would be something so non-competitive that the asker would never have been the starter anyway.
No, every real competitor wants to be in the game, playing through adversity.
Vince Lombardi: "I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious."

Note that Lombardi did not say a man's finest hour is when he voluntarily surrendered the battle to other man and celebrated on the sidelines with a clipboard in his hands. As George S. Patton said, "I would not give a hoot in [the Infernal Regions] for a man who lost, and laughed."

This is also exactly why one has a COACH.

It's up to COACH to make that call.

 

[rtr90]

Oklahoma is becoming to Alabama what Alabama is ( or was ? ) to UGA. Hope that can be corrected.

Yes Sir. we lost a one score game tough game in 2003 and were leading 20-3 at halftime in 2002 in Norman

Having said that, this game will have nothing to do with those earlier ones ... its only for old farts like us to know the history. The kids playing were not even born then

 

[The Ols]

SIAP- LT is still out. Jam
Looks to be ready. So is OU’s stud LB

https://twitter.com/x/status/2001098816347341091

Mason wasn’t on the injury list, but Venables quote was…if he can play he can play, we’ll see.

 

[Tidewater]

This is also exactly why one has a COACH.

It's up to COACH to make that call.

Yep. That was going to be my follow-on post.
It really is the coach's job.
He can manage the psyches and the media perceptions later. Seriously, "Ty was injured so we had to pull him for his own safety. He wanted to continue. He's a fighter, but we had to protect him, so Mack (or Russell) went in." That way Ty's draft prospects (assuming he is going to the NFL this spring) are not damaged.
I have a ton of respect for Ty. He's tough. He seems like a good young man.
I said to a commander once that it was difficult to evaluate and rank order a great bunch of green berets (I had some really good dudes working for me). He said to me, "You get paid for your judgment." He was right. The taxpayers paid for me to evaluate and rank order great soldiers.

Coach DeBoer gets paid for his judgment.

 

[BamaFossil]

I don't like the prediction but have to agree with it. I fear Ty will get his usual 1 second or less to survey the field before he's dodging incoming OU players.

 

[BamaMoon]

I don't like the prediction, but I do like that they think we start "hot."

If we don't, I don't think we have a chance.

I don't know how we torched them for over 300 yards passing in the last game, but we did and if we can't replicate that (and cut out the mistakes), we are in trouble, most likely.

If we can, and we do (cut out the mistakes), we win the game and move on to play INDY.

 

[davefrat]

I don't like the prediction, but I do like that they think we start "hot."

If we don't, I don't think we have a chance.

I don't know how we torched them for over 300 yards passing in the last game, but we did and if we can't replicate that (and cut out the mistakes), we are in trouble, most likely.

If we can, and we do (cut out the mistakes), we win the game and move on to play INDY.

We had 2x their yardage and held the ball for 10 minutes longer than they did.

The turnovers killed us.

The problem as I see it is that we're worse on offense today than we were when we played them a few weeks ago.

I think it's all going to come down to our o-line play and whether Ty has time to pass or spends the whole night dragging himself off the turf looking out his earhole.

 

[BamaMoon]

Ty is great when there's pass protection. But the blitzing makes it difficult. Go back to the early season game plan, with short quick passes with Ty holding the ball 2 seconds. The OL just can't provide pass protection for long pass plays.

I actually think the opposite. Teams are squatting on our short routes.

I think we have to try a few long passes. Hopefully we can connect on a few of them to show we are willing.

Why we haven't thrown long lately is anybody's guess, but I think that may be the key to victory. Get a TD or a big play or two like that and I bet those shorter routes underneath are less contested!

 

[Con]

I actually think the opposite. Teams are squatting on our short routes.

I think we have to try a few long passes. Hopefully we can connect on a few of them to show we are willing.

Why we haven't thrown long lately is anybody's guess, but I think that may be the key to victory. Get a TD or a big play or two like that and I bet those shorter routes underneath are less contested!

And by squatting they are closer to stop the run.

 

[BamaMoon]

So has anyone heard anything about Germie Bernard?

Outside of that screen against Georgia for the late TD, he's been absent from our offense.

I know he didn't play about EIU, so I thought he might be nursing an injury.

I think he's our best player on the offensive side, so I sure hope he shows up in the game plan against OU!!!

 

[bamajas]

I actually think the opposite. Teams are squatting on our short routes.

I think we have to try a few long passes. Hopefully we can connect on a few of them to show we are willing.

Why we haven't thrown long lately is anybody's guess, but I think that may be the key to victory. Get a TD or a big play or two like that and I bet those shorter routes underneath are less contested!

This is the key. Even though we would benefit from a run game improvement, we're gonna have to "pass our way out of it" and make them pay for being too aggressive

Cubelic and others have emphasized it since the first UGA game... that we could do without a true running game because of the backfield and short passing game, especially how the RB is often Ty's first read. Now teams stop all that on early downs and then eat us for lunch on 3rd (& 4th since all we can do is pass)

 

[Tidewater]

I actually think the opposite. Teams are squatting on our short routes.

I think we have to try a few long passes. Hopefully we can connect on a few of them to show we are willing.

Why we haven't thrown long lately is anybody's guess, but I think that may be the key to victory. Get a TD or a big play or two like that and I bet those shorter routes underneath are less contested!

I think a key stat is how many times does the offensive line go back to the huddle and one of them says, "I thought you had that guy."

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Ty is great when there's pass protection. But the blitzing makes it difficult. Go back to the early season game plan, with short quick passes with Ty holding the ball 2 seconds. The OL just can't provide pass protection for long pass plays.

Defenses have started taking those away. Since teams are able to get pressure with just their defensive line they are able to flood the short zones with extra players. Those easy, open short routes that existed at the first half of the season aren't there now. There was a play in the SEC title game where the camera showed the replay from behind the LOS, and you could see Kirby and company dropped players into those short to intermediate spaces on the field filling up the lanes for short passes. This is why running the ball is so important. We're dead in the water this Friday if we can't run the ball with some form of success. They're not going to let us have short passes. But if we run the ball we can open those lanes up.

 

[PacadermaTideUs]

Lord, please make it stop........

??

 

[selmaborntidefan]

Yes Sir. we lost a one score game tough game in 2003 and were leading 20-3 at halftime in 2002 in Norman

We were, in fact, TRAILING at halftime in 2002 by a score of 23-3.

 

[DzynKingRTR]

??

selma doesn't believe in Bama fatigue

 

[Tidewater]

selma doesn't believe in Bama fatigue

He can't remember it when it happens.

 

[Ledsteplin]

The scores are OK, but should be Bama 23 - Okie 20.

 

[PacadermaTideUs]

selma doesn't believe in Bama fatigue

To each his own. But when I hear people say things like “I’m so sick of Alabama. It’s good to hear about someone else for a change” - and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard something similar - it’s kind of, by definition, Bama fatigue.

 

[AWRTR]

The proof of the pudding, they say, is in the eating. If Ty is getting the job done, great. If his play is so far below his own standard that he is jeopardizing the win, then Coach DeBoer has a decision to make.

I really like Ty, but I agree with you. If it’s not working try something else.