Kevin Hagan on Bill King's Show (January 10)
- Thread starter RTR91
- Start date
I'm sure it doesn't really mean anything, but the way Saban had his body leaning as far away as he can from Kirby is suggestive.
The lack of any eye contact between the two coaches also jumps out.
In roster management, he's incredibly risk adverse in my opinion. How much of that is on his position coaches though? Strategically, he's more daring obviously.
Some players are good at camps; some are good in live fire/gamesOh, it clearly impacted how they responded on the field, and the coaches did nothing to stop it. You an go back and watch the games - he had more bad snaps - either over his head or snapped into the crossing RB, and more drops, than Jalen did. Basically, the "inmates ran the asylum" on that decision, which only ratified what the coaching staff wanted anyway.
And laugh all you want - but BB Still posted better stats (when measured per play and per attempt, even total yards per play) than Jalen did through the first 4 games, despite getting little support from his teammates. The stats don't lie.
Yes, he's "flamed out" at a second tier program. The kid had two chances to pick a school and struck out both times. No real surprise BB has been buried on the depth chart - he was recruited to Az State by the OC who quit shortly after BB signed. Maybe you've hear of him - a guy named Chip Lindsey? FWIW, Lindsey has done a pretty credible job of developing Jarrett Stidham, a QB who was beaten out in the 2014 Elite 11 competition by BB....
Yea, BB was such a dud that he won the MVP of the 2014 Elite 11, over a group that included Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, Brandon Winbush, Jarrett Stidham (hung 26 points on our defense last November), Drew Lock (lead the Nation in passing this year) and Deondre Francois.
Doesn't mean he would have panned out. There were other guys in that Elite 11 group who didn't make it. Still, his ratings by ALL the major recruiting services, his Elite 11 performance, the fact that he was Saban's #1 QB target in 2015, and that fact that he posted better stats in his brief opportunities at UA, all sorta cuts against any argument that he was already a bust in September 2016.
ONLY My opinion, of course. No one has to agree with me - obviously!
I agree with you. His default is to negate risk - obviously a winning formula - but what elevates him to greatness is to take risk at just the right moment.
I see a lot of people arguing that "he never takes risks!" and the counter, "He's taken a ton of risks!" It's somewhere in the middle.
Philosophically he is risk averse but in the game of football elements go beyond one's control and his ability to recognize WHEN a risk must be taken and how to go about taking that risk makes him the greatest.
Teams bank on the fact that they think Saban never takes a risk and then he fakes a punt or pulls an onside kick or swaps a QB. He WILL do it - but I agree that holistically his approach is to avoid and mitigate risk as much as possible.
Probably just Mullen but the East just got a lot stronger. We likely won't see the top to bottom results for another year or 2 as the new coaches gets their staffs and rosters in order but it'll show up.
This is exactly correct. I'll add another reason that I think may have caused TT to not have Saban's confidence- the UT game this year. It looked like we were going to run them out of the stadium and put them away early, and Tua came in early to continue his progress. He forced a throw that was intercepted and returned 100 yards for a TD. I think that one mistake may have put TT on the back burner for a bit in Saban's mind. Many Bama fans and people on this board even stated after that game that it was clear that Hurts was still the guy. Throwing for 300 yards and 4 TDs is great, and I think Tua will have quite a few of those in his career, but it doesn't mean jack squat if you throw 3 interceptions and lose the game. Now, I am excited about our future, but I do hope we don't start slinging the ball all over the place in West Coast fashion. I hope we use our passing and attack like we did Monday night, but I also hope we continue to use our power run game first and foremost. With the ability to do both, the offense should set records. With our defense, that should be a recipe for more championships. Roll Tide!
Finally got a chance to listen this morning. Interesting how he said they think Smith, Ruggs and Jeudy are futures 1st rounders. That seems realllly unlikely to me but if they really are that talented watch out...
Yeah, he threw a 100yd pick 6. But I thought at the time and still think that he outplayed Hurts in that game. Sure, Hurts helped us to the halftime lead, but the offense noticeably opened up and became more dynamic with Tua playing the majority of the second half. I don’t necessarily disagree with what you are saying as far as Saban wanting to avoid mistakes like that pick, but imo the UT game was more of a peek at what we could be as an offense more than it was a “see this is why we don’t play freshmen” game.
I think what he means is by the time they leave they'll be first rounders. They're not first rounders right now, they're true freshman. But the development is built into that statement I'm sure. That by the time the staff develops them they will be first rounders. I would say they could possibly be right.
Kirby loses a ton although he does have a great class coming in, adding to a great freshman class last year. But losing all that leadership is going to hurt. I think chances are it leaves them much more vulnerable while these other coaches get caught up to speed. It remains to be seen whether or not he can lose a ton of leadership and plug and play the next year as Coach Saban always does.
There were two games this year where Hurts deficiencies as a dropback passer were a factor: Auburn and Georgia. I think what Hurts brought to the table - running ability and turnover avoidance - played a big part in the FSU, LSU, and Clemson victories though. Each of those games felt like a staring contest where the first to blink (their QB implodes) loses. Hurts, to his credit, didn't blink and maybe inserting Tagovailoa in those moments would've been a bad risk.
On one hand, the team almost missed out on their biggest goal because of Hurts inability to throw effectively two different times. The Iron Bowl loss could've ended our run if not for the exactly right circumstances nationally during championship week. The first half of the CFPCG seemed to forecast for a Bama v. Michigan State type final score but with UGA providing the whooping. On the other hand, I don't think we are the national champions right now if Tua was playing from game 1 or by early November. There were several defensive units we played this season that would've feasted on a young quarterback if they knew he was coming. Waiting until the last half of football of this season to unleash a competent spread pro-pass offense on one opponent was probably the best way to navigate this season in retrospect. UGA got incredibly base on defense in the second half because they were clearly just calling their bread n' butter pass coverage defenses against Tagovailoa. Quick turnaround probably necessitated coming in with a scheme predicated on stopping the QB runs and making the QB pass from the pocket. They probably didn't spend that much time thinking about what to do if the QB change happened even if they knew it was a possibility.
On one hand, the team almost missed out on their biggest goal because of Hurts inability to throw effectively two different times. The Iron Bowl loss could've ended our run if not for the exactly right circumstances nationally during championship week. The first half of the CFPCG seemed to forecast for a Bama v. Michigan State type final score but with UGA providing the whooping. On the other hand, I don't think we are the national champions right now if Tua was playing from game 1 or by early November. There were several defensive units we played this season that would've feasted on a young quarterback if they knew he was coming. Waiting until the last half of football of this season to unleash a competent spread pro-pass offense on one opponent was probably the best way to navigate this season in retrospect. UGA got incredibly base on defense in the second half because they were clearly just calling their bread n' butter pass coverage defenses against Tagovailoa. Quick turnaround probably necessitated coming in with a scheme predicated on stopping the QB runs and making the QB pass from the pocket. They probably didn't spend that much time thinking about what to do if the QB change happened even if they knew it was a possibility.
To me Tua played at just the right time. They used the whole year for him to grow and learn as much as he could without all the pressure of having to do it all as a true freshman. He proved he was ready for the spotlight the other night, but he put in the work to get ready.
We were up 28-0 at the time of the pick-six. The UT offense couldn't do anything. Can't see how that one play put him that far back in Saban's mind.
I would add the Clemson game to Auburn and Georgia. Without the defensive production, Tua probably comes into the game to provide the spark to put the game away.
Yea I know what he meant it just seems incredible to think that we have 3 WRs with THAT much talent. If they really are that good then we are just going to wreck people assuming Tua is as good as he looks.
I'll be honest - Dan Mullen might have something to say about that as well.
And Will Muschamp isn't standing around waiting for something to just happen, either...
The SECE has upgraded it's collective coaching considerably in the last few years - it's about to be a tough division again, and I don't think anyone is going to dominate over there for the foreseeable future. I see it being very competitive for a while - not unlike the SECW was just a few years ago.
I disagree with you there. Those guys are super talented. I especially like Jeudy and Ruggs. They are all Number 1 WR's. Next year with Tua throwing them the ball will be something to behold. The NFL looks so much at measurables. They all three have them.
Those are three of the SEVEN that the Bama staff graded out as potential first rounders after they signed. Just watch them, they're all potential game changers. It's pretty ridiculous.
The kids are alright so it wasn't like they sandbagged for Hurts but the reason we signed that WR class was because of one very specific non-continental classmate.
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