Link: A view of how the LSU game could help Bama get ready for the rest of the season

BamaInBham said:

LSU never "moved the ball at will". They never crossed the 50 yard line except for their FG and also to the Bama 39 in the first half. In the second half they never crossed the 50 except for the long run leading to the TD. In the 2nd half LSU had 7 drives, 1 TD, 1 "drive" of 17 yards, 5 possessions of 9 yards of less. Total domination.

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If their QB was any good, it would have been a different story for them. Imagine Nick Fitzgerald, Jarrett Stidham, and Jake Fromm.. they would all make those passes that Etling missed. And Fitz is dual threat. I am worried about these away games. In our only true road game v Texas AM, we did not play well. I hope that trends changes Saturday.

Con said:

O.K. since we are getting the time frames straightened out for the game, will one of you direct me to about the time Mack Wilson was injured? I never saw it and I fast forwarded the game the other night for the first half after I read about it and I still didn't see it.

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I rewatched the game also and could not figure out when he got carted off. They did not show it. I know the announcer said Mac Wilson would come in for our injured player, but it was Johnathan Wright? who came in, so I guess Mac was already injured at that point. Interesting how the announcers missed Mac's injury also, especially if he was carted off.

Saban4Ever said:

I rewatched the game also and could not figure out when he got carted off. They did not show it. I know the announcer said Mac Wilson would come in for our injured player, but it was Johnathan Wright? who came in, so I guess Mac was already injured at that point. Interesting how the announcers missed Mac's injury also, especially if he was carted off.

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Yeah, and Allie LaForce is usually on top of those things on the sideline. I am glad I am not the only one who missed it. I always take pride in my football watching ability.

Saban4Ever said:

If their QB was any good, it would have been a different story for them. Imagine Nick Fitzgerald, Jarrett Stidham, and Jake Fromm.. they would all make those passes that Etling missed. And Fitz is dual threat. I am worried about these away games. In our only true road game v Texas AM, we did not play well. I hope that trends changes Saturday.

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First you are changing the conversation. I was just addressing your statement that LSU was moving the ball at will - that was never true.

But I also disagree regarding Etling. He made 4 or 5 terrific throws that the QBs you mentioned may not make in a game. He only missed maybe 2 or 3 long throws, throws btw that college QBs miss all of the time and NFL QBs do occasionally. He is not Brady or Manziel, but he is a better passer than Fitzgerald and not that far behind Stidham and Fromm. In fact, before this weekend, he had a similar rating to Stidham. And Stidham has real problems when he is pressured; Fromm just throws 16 passes a game.

Bama can certainly lose their remaining SEC games, but Bama has always been a great road team. Not good but great. 6 of last 7 in Starkville and 3 of 4 in Auburn. They not only have a winning record against every other SEC team, but a winning road record.

My only concern going forward is the injuries, and how are we going to manage that? We are running out of options.

The offense simply must step up. The constant 3 and outs have to stop. Our offense is way too talented for that. I think the OL has to get that mean streak back, that we saw earlier in the year. A lot of this may have to fall on the shoulders of Hurts, and we may have to be one of those offenses that depends on the QB too much, but so be it. He is capable.

I don't think MSU has the defense that LSU did. I think Auburn's is close, but not quite. Of course, the game is there, so that probably makes up the difference. These are losable games to be certain, but IMO, we will still have to "lose" them. Beyond that, its anyone's guess. Hopefully we can get a Miller and Lewis back by then.

I certainly do not sell this team and coaching staff short, and I do not think a rethinking of goals is in order at all. This team is still good enough; we've just got to take a little different path now than before, due to the injuries. So winding back around to the thread topic; a tough game against a good opponent certainly helps. But the injuries did not at all.

Saban4Ever said:

If their QB was any good, it would have been a different story for them. Imagine Nick Fitzgerald, Jarrett Stidham, and Jake Fromm.. they would all make those passes that Etling missed. And Fitz is dual threat. I am worried about these away games. In our only true road game v Texas AM, we did not play well. I hope that trends changes Saturday.

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Etling throws for more yards per game than Fitzgerald OR Fromm. He has more yards per completion than any of those guys BUT Fromm, and the difference is less than half a yard. None of these guys you name is a "Bad QB" - but none of them is Deshaun Watson or Baker Mayfield, either. Just sayin'.....

TomFromBama said:

Etling throws for more yards per game than Fitzgerald OR Fromm. He has more yards per completion than any of those guys BUT Fromm, and the difference is less than half a yard. None of these guys you name is a "Bad QB" - but none of them is Deshaun Watson or Baker Mayfield, either. Just sayin'.....

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Agreed, there are 2-3 realgreat QB's and none have played us. The play off could be real fun if we face a REAL dual threat or real good QB. We have faced some good ones, but not game changing QB's.

As long as we come out of the game without injuries, I always think the LSU game toughens us up and prepares us for the rest of the year. I remember in 2013 when AJ and Saban actually jumped into each other's arms, it seemed nothing could prevent us from winning three titles in a row. Unfortunately, AU's luck against UGA and our lack of ability to finish them off when we had a few chances left a very sour taste, indeed. Losing to Bob and his boys after that made that whole season seem like a big failure. We were 11-2, and the season felt like a failure. I really had to start focusing on the positive more after that.