Question: Is it time to change punters?

Evil Crimson Dragon · Oct 12, 2019

bamamc1 said:
We’re in a lot of trouble at punter. I’ve never seen anything like this.

Time to change it up

Tide Rev · Oct 12, 2019

What can it hurt to give someone else a shot after today? I don’t understand.

TIDE-HSV · Oct 12, 2019

Tide Rev said:
What can it hurt to give someone else a shot after today? I don’t understand.

Nor do I. I'm ready for open tryouts...

Ledsteplin · Oct 12, 2019

https://twitter.com/ryancfowler/status/1183149534320496640?s=21

uaintn · Oct 12, 2019

That plus doinks. Sheesh. What’s the record for most hit uprights in a season? I am no lip reader but I think Coach is ready to try something new. Didn’t matter today, but ultimately it will.

Tide&True · Oct 12, 2019

I think there will be a change...CNS just didn’t want to do it against a decent opponent.

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12Namath12 · Oct 12, 2019

Punter and placekicker. Oh where oh where is Will? Please come back soon.

KrAzY3 · Oct 12, 2019

I didn't think DeLong could struggle more than last year. He was the 4th ranked punter coming out of high school, amazing how that translates to outside the top 150 in college.

Bo Nix had a 31 yard punt...

Jkl0802 · Oct 13, 2019

in the headlight stare. Saw this in the Marine Corps many times over the years....Some people can do their job and handle intense pressure better than others. In college football, I guess you never know until you put someone on the field in front of 100K folks with 10 screaming monsters running straight at you!

Saban4Ever · Oct 13, 2019

I would love to see a new punter vs Tennessee and Arkansas. Even if for 1-2 punts total. I don't see Bama having to punt much against either team but if the situation is not handled, punting could be very damaging vs LSU on Nov 9.

I do not want to see LSU start their offense from the 50 yard line each time due to shanks or 25 yard punts. That puts too much stress on the defense.

Toddrn · Oct 13, 2019

I would hope after the way CNS was screaming at DeLong after the second punt he will give someone else a try. Either that or coach thinks it's time for tough love.

bamamoss2 · Oct 13, 2019

.... from the old movie Shane.

"Come back Will (Shane). Moma loves you Will." All Bama fans love you Will.

colbysullivan · Oct 13, 2019

Jkl0802 said:
[emoji1662] in the headlight stare. Saw this in the Marine Corps many times over the years....Some people can do their job and handle intense pressure better than others. In college football, I guess you never know until you put someone on the field in front of 100K folks with 10 screaming monsters running straight at you!

Why stop at 10? If I were playing Bama, I wouldn’t even have a punt returner back there. I’d sell out with 11 to block the punt. Even if DeLong gets the punt off, it will only be 30 yards and you don’t need to return it anyway.

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TIDE-HSV · Oct 13, 2019

4Q Basket Case said:
I must admit I'm confused as well.

On one hand, the coaches see all the players all week long, and are paid a lot of money to evaluate talent. Saban is the among the best at that who ever lived. And given our struggles, you have to think he's paying extra attention to this aspect. So my head tells me to trust that they play the best we have.

On the other hand, what could the walk-on kid do? A 16-yard shank? A 30-yard tail-dragger? Slow delivery resulting in a block? We already get all that. So my heart is puzzled as to what we have to lose.

If the status quo is really the best we have, I'd be scouring the intra-mural fields. Surely on a campus of nearly 40,000, somebody can be at least mediocre.

OTOH... When I was a freshman in 1957 and playing intramural, Doc Lambert, the basketball coach, came around scouting for players when the roster was so skinny and got several, all from the NYC area. Out of that bunch came two convicted point-shavers - Cohen and Quindazzi...

Saban4Ever · Oct 14, 2019

I read an espn.com article yesterday (also had video) about Dabo and the Clemson kicker. Apparently Dabo chewed him out on the sideline vs Florida State when he missed a 24 yard field goal (they were ahead 24-0 at the time). The same kicker had missed a 40 yarder in the North Carolina game.

Dabo changed kickers in the second half of the game Saturday and said he was disappointed in his kicker and wanted to give the other guy a chance. The other guy made everything. I thought that was interesting Dabo did that.

I think after Saban yelled at DeLong after that last bad punt, that may have been it for him. I hope the other punters get a chance this weekend.

GrayTide · Oct 14, 2019

Was it last year or the year before when the backup punter was Mack Wilson? I really believe any athletic skill position player could punt better than DeLong.

Tideflyer · Oct 14, 2019

I truly feel bad for the young man. I`m sure than in the kicking camps and high school, and maybe even at practice now, he`s boomed some. I`m struggling, however, to recollect even one " good", much less " great " punt that he`s gotten off.

4Q Basket Case · Oct 14, 2019

Saban4Ever said:
I read an espn.com article yesterday (also had video) about Dabo and the Clemson kicker. Apparently Dabo chewed him out on the sideline vs Florida State when he missed a 24 yard field goal (they were ahead 24-0 at the time). The same kicker had missed a 40 yarder in the North Carolina game.

Dabo changed kickers in the second half of the game Saturday and said he was disappointed in his kicker and wanted to give the other guy a chance. The other guy made everything. I thought that was interesting Dabo did that.

I think after Saban yelled at DeLong after that last bad punt, that may have been it for him. I hope the other punters get a chance this weekend.

Agreed. The standard thinking is that punting and placekicking are largely mental, so you have those conversations in private, not on the field in front of crowd and teammates. Up to that point, Saban had been really patient with DeLong, at least in public, and had been so for two solid years. When he (Saban) departed from previous handling, my first thought was that the end had finally come.

Tideflyer said:
I truly feel bad for the young man. I`m sure than in the kicking camps and high school, and maybe even at practice now, he`s boomed some. I`m struggling, however, to recollect even one " good", much less " great " punt that he`s gotten off.

I feel bad for him as well. Clearly, it's a mental thing, and I know he's trying his best...maybe trying too hard. But after two years of this, we've gotten to the point that the cause doesn't matter -- we simply have to have better performance out of the position. The fact is that early departures for the NFL and key injuries have taken a huge toll on our D. We just don't have the defense we normally have, and won't until next year.

Point being, the offense has been able to cover up the horrendous punting. Some games we haven't punted at all. In several others, we haven't punted until it late in the game, when the outcome was no longer in doubt. Even with absolutely no pressure to perform, punts look like ones I used to do out on the Quad.

Better defenses await, and some time soon, we're going to need a decent punt, early in the game, from inside our own 35....and we don't have the typical Alabama defense to bail out a 25-yard semi-shank.

There is nothing to make us think that improvement is coming, and we can't jeopardize the efforts of 84 other scholarshipped players simply because we don't want to hurt one player's feelings. Actually, it would be merciful not to put the guy in a truly pressurized situation. As bad as he must feel now, what would his mental state be if a shank set up a TD in a game we ended up losing by less than 7 points?

For the benefit of everyone involved, including the current punter, it's time for a change.

Krymsonman · Oct 14, 2019

Tideflyer said:
I truly feel bad for the young man. I`m sure than in the kicking camps and high school, and maybe even at practice now, he`s boomed some. I`m struggling, however, to recollect even one " good", much less " great " punt that he`s gotten off.

I feel bad for him too. The kid was a great punter in high school, but can't seem to make the mental adjustment to big-time college football. He must still look like the best option in practice or he wouldn't be out there. Reminds me of a pitcher I knew on our team back in college. Great guy, fun to be around, but apparently got psyched out by coaching. Even threw one over the backstop one time. (a true life Nuke Laloosh). Stayed a couple of years, did get a little better, but then left.

TitleWave · Oct 14, 2019

Tideflyer said:
I truly feel bad for the young man. I`m sure than in the kicking camps and high school, and maybe even at practice now, he`s boomed some. I`m struggling, however, to recollect even one " good", much less " great " punt that he`s gotten off.

Saving it all for Thirteenessee - remember Saban flipped him from UcheaT all those 29.6 yarders ago, so surely or Shirley, he'll come out booming well into the low 30s TSIO!

Question: Is it time to change punters?

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