JessN: Post-mortem: Bama ended up mostly meeting expectations

JessN

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Post-mortem: Bama ended up mostly meeting expectations
by Jess Nicholas
TideFans Editor-In-Chief
January 16th, 2017 06:37 AM

While the Tide’s loss to Clemson in the college football championship game – arguably the first time Alabama has cost itself a title via the season’s final game in the long, storied history of the program – still stings a week afterward, it’s time to write the […]

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PitMaster

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Great read

Think I would rate the RBs an A, as they all performed when given chances. A bit mystifying as to the late season usages of Harris and Jacobs

I would also have the Oline rated higher

Next year will be interesting

A lotta work posted at 5:40 am :)
 

CajunCrimson

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Only Bama can be 6 seconds from winning a NC....and have so many Bs and Cs on their report card.

I bet Dabo gives Clemson all A's ;)
 

B1GTide

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Thanks. As always, well written and informative. I really appreciate the forward looking comments. My only nit to pick is with your rating of the receiver group.

IMO, Alabama had the best receiving group in the country and they were made into running backs and blockers by your coaching staff because of the weaknesses in Hurts' passing game. They did everything that they were asked to do. Yes, they had a few drops in the national championship game, but they didn't get much practice making clutch catches during the season because of the offense that they were forced to play in. IMO, they deserve an A, and any knock on the receiver productivity or development belongs on the coaching staff and QB.
 

Krymsonman

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Thanks Jess, great report and as usual, spot on. You mentioned something in the special teams area about poor field conditions. Was the new grass a problem, especially on the defense. I always wondered how they could put down completely new sod and have it ready to play on in a week. Thanks, Krymsonman
 

Redwood Forrest

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I wondered all season why we kept playing offensive linemen who could not remember the snap count. I got so sick of the "false start" flags. We may need a some new coaches, or at least someone who can sit people who don't seem to know the snap count. No passing attack and a subpar O line cost us the game. I would hate to go with a true freshman QB again but I am willing to risk it if we can throw the ball with more consistency.
 

JessN

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Great read

Think I would rate the RBs an A, as they all performed when given chances. A bit mystifying as to the late season usages of Harris and Jacobs

I would also have the Oline rated higher

Next year will be interesting

A lotta work posted at 5:40 am :)
I knew this would be difficult to talk about once Harris went over the 1,000-yard mark and Scarbrough had his game against Washington, but for a big chunk of the middle of the season, the primary running threat was Hurts, and I'm not sure if we'd started a less mobile QB, whether the RBs would have gotten the benefit of having defenders focused on the quarterback instead of them.

As for the OL, on one hand you have a guy win the Outland and another guy look like the best true freshman lineman in the country. On the other hand, there are two key stats used for evaluation of the OL -- sacks allowed, and tackles for loss allowed -- and Alabama finished 35th nationally/5th SEC in the first (which is OK), and 108th/13th in the second, which is horrific. As I outlined in the article, guard play was never consistent. Pierschbacher had a sophomore slump and right guard had four different starters (Pierschbacher, Cotton, Taylor, Kirven) and a fifth player (Casher) playing significant minutes. That's a new starter once every four games, or once every three games if you count Casher. Perhaps Key and Cristobal did a better job at managing a disaster (RG), but it's not enough to excuse C-level work for the group as a whole.
 

GrayTide

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Thanks, Jess excellent commentary. As usual I am dumbfounded by our inability to sign a quality place kicker. The Carlson kid from Denver, whose brother kicks at auburn and whose parents and grandfather are Alabama alums commits to auburn also????? I simply do not understand why either one of them would wind up at auburn. The older Carlson, who has another year at auburn is, IMO the best kicker in the country. SMH.
 

B1GTide

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Thanks, Jess excellent commentary. As usual I am dumbfounded by our inability to sign a quality place kicker. The Carlson kid from Denver, whose brother kicks at auburn and whose parents and grandfather are Alabama alums commits to auburn also????? I simply do not understand why either one of them would wind up at auburn. The older Carlson, who has another year at auburn is, IMO the best kicker in the country. SMH.
I think that your issue should be with their development. You have had a very good kicker every year since Saban arrived, starting with Tiffin, then Foster, and now Griffith. They were all very highly rated kickers, with the last 2 being the #1 rated kickers in their respective classes. The question should be, why have they not kicked like the elite kickers that they looked to be in HS and in kicking camps. Bad luck? Poor development? I have no idea which it is, but you have signed quality kickers.
 

davefrat

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the moment the clock hit 0:00 in the SEC title game I looked at my wife and said "The season is a success...everything else is gravy at this point."

I didn't expect to win a NC this year...didn't even think we'd make it to the game to be honest, and when people were posting their predictions for the Clemson game I didn't post mine for fear of jinxing us or getting "mooed" off the page...I told my wife 35-24 Clemson.

I just didn't think we had enough offense to hang with them and I didn't see our defense holding them under 28...as one of my good friends told me after the Tigers beat OSU..."they are built to beat us".

I'm super proud of the team and although losing to Clemson hurt, it was less painful than any of the other losses we've had in the last few years for me.

Thanks to the coaches, the players and Tidefans for another great year.

Roll Tide Roll!
 

dadleyblane5

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the moment the clock hit 0:00 in the SEC title game I looked at my wife and said "The season is a success...everything else is gravy at this point."

I didn't expect to win a NC this year...didn't even think we'd make it to the game to be honest, and when people were posting their predictions for the Clemson game I didn't post mine for fear of jinxing us or getting "mooed" off the page...I told my wife 35-24 Clemson.

I just didn't think we had enough offense to hang with them and I didn't see our defense holding them under 28...as one of my good friends told me after the Tigers beat OSU..."they are built to beat us".

I'm super proud of the team and although losing to Clemson hurt, it was less painful than any of the other losses we've had in the last few years for me.

Thanks to the coaches, the players and Tidefans for another great year.

Roll Tide Roll!
Our Defense would have held Clemson under 28 if our Offense could've stayed on the field longer and not had so many 3 and outs. D got tired. Can't stay on the field 65-70% of the game and have the competition run 100 plays and not get tired. If our offense would've stayed on the field and sustained drives, IMO I don't believe Clemson would've scored on us that much with the way we played them in the first half. Because prior to that, our Defense was dominating them. JMO
 
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davefrat

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Our Defense would have held Clemson under 28 if our Offense could've stayed on the field longer and not had so many 3 and outs. D got tired. Can't stay on the field 65-70% of the game and have the competition run 100 plays and not get tired. If our offense would've stayed on the field and sustained drives, IMO I don't believe Clemson would've scored on us that much with the way we played them in the first half. Because prior to that, our Defense was dominating them. JMO
I totally agree.

had our O converted on the two turnovers it would have been a blowout before half and I'm not sure Clemson could have caught up.
but my fears about the O were realized and as a result the D got gassed and couldn't hold them under 28.

the great irony to me is that we ended up losing the NC not because of the opponents' spread/HUNH/whatever you want to call it gassing the D but rather our own version of that offense gassing our D because we couldn't sustain drives.
 

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