Honeymoon Over
- Thread starter CapstoneTider
- Start date
I don't know..you tell me. I will say this. We have better players than they do. I said that before the game and I still believe that.
well, let's see..... "Ark sucks"..... Bama just lost to Ark..... ergo...
it's very seldom about who has the best players
Maybe one day the NCAA will change the rules and you can win games by just being in position to win
Colorado Tide,
If its not about who has the best players then what's it about. You and I both know the answer to that.
If its not about who has the best players then what's it about. You and I both know the answer to that.
Still like CMS. He does have to start showing a little more "want" for a touchdown in the red zone. He seems content to run the kicker out there and "take the points". I hope that is not the case, but thats what I see watching him on the sidelines.
"Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory" or "The giver of opportunity (to other teams)" seems to be Shula's mindset. He seems to lack that killer instinct. We repeatedly don't capitalize off of turnovers. We'll get an interception and run three plays up the middle and punt/kick a field goal. He doesn't go with what's working. Arkansas couldn't stop our passing attack (JPW was 16 of 20!!!), so we do what any coach in their right mind would do...RUN IT UP THE MIDDLE! And we run it with a struggling tailback. Shula's conservative mentality has kept us one mistake away from losing in many games. I enjoy a "W" just as much as the next guy, but the message he's sending the players is that he doesn't trust them enough with aggressive playcalling. JPW has proven he is capable of hitting the intermediate and long passing game. I wish Shula would just go with what is working that day, not what USED TO work.
You hit the nail on the head Capstone Tider. At the end of regulation I said, if we lose this one, the loss rests squarely on the shoulders of CMS.
I know the mods do not want us to to be critical of the players or coaches, but there is not denying this loss is on Shula, no two ways around it. I have supported him and will continue to do so, but I am
furious at some of the coaching decisions made particularly toward the end of the game and the fact that he played not to lose. Playing not to lose generally gets you beat. I won't even get into the poor decisions and overly conservative play. I have probably gotten myself into enough trouble with the mods already because we should not say anything critical.
I want to congratulate our players for a hard fought game. I have no problems with the players. I thought they played their tails off. They deserved better.
Also, JPW is going to be outstanding!!!
I like Shula. I think, if nothing else, he has brought stability to a very unstable program. For that he should be commended.
I also think he is a good coach. I think he knows the game of football inside and out. He tries to put the ball in the hands of playmakers. He is also a terrific recruiter.
Here is the problem that I see with Shula. It's not that he is a bad playcaller - I think his overall mentality (particularly on offense) is not going to get it done. Shula has an NFL background, and in the NFL coaches typically follow this school of thought: play tough, put yourself in position to make big plays, and keep the game close going into the fourth quarter to give yourself a chance to win. Our coaching staff seems to employ this mentality. I think that if we win the game, we are perfectly content to score 13 points. We are perfectly happy with a 13-10 win. We play for field goals, and we play to keep the game close. Most college football teams do not follow this mentality. Most college football teams want to score as many points as they possibly can, every single game. The vast majority of our opponents would be upset with a 13-10 win, unless it was against a really solid team.
Like I said, Shula isn't a bad playcaller. His playcalling accomplishes exactly what he wants it to. He calls the right plays in the right situation to keep the game close and give our guys a shot to win it in the end. This is a strategy that works in the NFL, and it works in college if you have an absolutely unreal defense. People complain about the repeated running plays up the middle, etc. This is completely and totally by design. We're not looking to score on every possession. We run these type of plays to set up something on the next possession, get the defense believing that we're just going to punch it up the middle so that in the next series we can run some misdirection or outside plays. This isn't a bad strategy if you're in the pros, or if your defense is unbelievable. This strategy will keep you in the game against the elite teams. Think about Shula's tenure at UA. How many times have we been beaten really badly? Not too many, only when the game gets totally out of hand because of injuries, turnovers, etc. We've been in games that we had no business being in right until the very end. The problem with this strategy is that your sole offensive goal is to keep the game close so you can win with last-minute heroics, rather than looking to put points on the board and put the game away. And as we've seen today (and with a few games in the past) this strategy will bite you against inferior opponents.
I agree with some other posters. I think that we will be a good team that wins most of the games it should win, and a few that it shouldn't, as long as Shula is here. But the game has changed dramatically in the last few seasons and you can't employ the mentality that we do and expect to win championships. It's just too risky these days. It might have won championships 10 or 15 years ago, or maybe even 6-7 years ago. But today's game is ruled by dominant offenses who can hang 50+ points on the board on any given day. Teams that destroy the inferior opponents that they're supposed to beat. Until we adapt this mentality, we probably won't be seeing too many championships. Not unless we put together another completely unreal defense and get some lucky breaks along the way.
I like Shula and I actually do think that he's a solid, fundamental coach with a good understanding of the game. I think he calls good plays. I just think that he needs to change his mentality and his approach to the game. Maybe today's outcome will help persuade him. RTR.
I also think he is a good coach. I think he knows the game of football inside and out. He tries to put the ball in the hands of playmakers. He is also a terrific recruiter.
Here is the problem that I see with Shula. It's not that he is a bad playcaller - I think his overall mentality (particularly on offense) is not going to get it done. Shula has an NFL background, and in the NFL coaches typically follow this school of thought: play tough, put yourself in position to make big plays, and keep the game close going into the fourth quarter to give yourself a chance to win. Our coaching staff seems to employ this mentality. I think that if we win the game, we are perfectly content to score 13 points. We are perfectly happy with a 13-10 win. We play for field goals, and we play to keep the game close. Most college football teams do not follow this mentality. Most college football teams want to score as many points as they possibly can, every single game. The vast majority of our opponents would be upset with a 13-10 win, unless it was against a really solid team.
Like I said, Shula isn't a bad playcaller. His playcalling accomplishes exactly what he wants it to. He calls the right plays in the right situation to keep the game close and give our guys a shot to win it in the end. This is a strategy that works in the NFL, and it works in college if you have an absolutely unreal defense. People complain about the repeated running plays up the middle, etc. This is completely and totally by design. We're not looking to score on every possession. We run these type of plays to set up something on the next possession, get the defense believing that we're just going to punch it up the middle so that in the next series we can run some misdirection or outside plays. This isn't a bad strategy if you're in the pros, or if your defense is unbelievable. This strategy will keep you in the game against the elite teams. Think about Shula's tenure at UA. How many times have we been beaten really badly? Not too many, only when the game gets totally out of hand because of injuries, turnovers, etc. We've been in games that we had no business being in right until the very end. The problem with this strategy is that your sole offensive goal is to keep the game close so you can win with last-minute heroics, rather than looking to put points on the board and put the game away. And as we've seen today (and with a few games in the past) this strategy will bite you against inferior opponents.
I agree with some other posters. I think that we will be a good team that wins most of the games it should win, and a few that it shouldn't, as long as Shula is here. But the game has changed dramatically in the last few seasons and you can't employ the mentality that we do and expect to win championships. It's just too risky these days. It might have won championships 10 or 15 years ago, or maybe even 6-7 years ago. But today's game is ruled by dominant offenses who can hang 50+ points on the board on any given day. Teams that destroy the inferior opponents that they're supposed to beat. Until we adapt this mentality, we probably won't be seeing too many championships. Not unless we put together another completely unreal defense and get some lucky breaks along the way.
I like Shula and I actually do think that he's a solid, fundamental coach with a good understanding of the game. I think he calls good plays. I just think that he needs to change his mentality and his approach to the game. Maybe today's outcome will help persuade him. RTR.
I agree 100%, but I hope he can turn it around this week. I'd like to see him succeed, I just don't know if he can get it done.
It was odd to see Shula smiling on the sidelines near the end of the game, apparently at something someone said. The commentators said "At least Shula can still muster a smile..."
Wish I could.
Wish I could.
I am so sick of hearing that. Hire me and pay me $2.0 million a year, I will stay for the rest of my life as Alabama's head coach. Stablity for the sake of stabilty is a stupid philosophy.
Dude, just because you stick around doesn't me you bring "stablility". He has improved the football team instead of allowing us to smolder as losers like MS state has the last few years, recruited great players in the face of NCAA sanctions, and has seen us through some bad times without many changes in his staff at all. I think he deserves all he is getting paid for the job he is doing. Most "experts" say he is in the middle of the pack among SEC coaches, and he is getting paid about that level too. If you knew anything about football, maybe someone would pay you for your opinions too.
I think Graydogg has it right. I really like CMS and I want him to be the next great coach at Alabama. He has done the right things and has our program back on track as far as restoring pride and integrity into the program. I am grateful that he is recruiting the right kind of players to the University. His leadership will have seen us through the bad times of probation, scandal and negitive press and he has built some political capital with the fans for sticking with the program when others ran.
I think he is a good coach and has a great understanding of the game. There is no doubt he is conservative by nature and there is nothing wrong with that as long as it works.
Now comes the critical part. I know we are a young team and that maybe something that makes him even more conservative. To avoid young players making mistakes that costs the team the game. I don't know, but I don't think so. Last year we had a lot more Seniors, but still played games very close. Other than UF, who did we really blow right by? Were we not behind and it to Prothro's catch of the century to give us the lead against USM? UA vs UT, final score 6-3! What was the score of the Cotton Bowl 13-10 or something like that.
We had a good record last year, but we could have easily lost 3 games that we eventually ended up winning. I can't stand UT, but they play very conservative at times but usually end up winning the close games. As a matter of fact, I have said for years if Fulmer lost a third of those close games they would have fired him years ago. Well, Fulmer lost the close games last year and you see the season they had.
I have seen enough of the games to know we have some really good players. Maybe we don't have enough yet, but we have enough to compete against any SEC team. I think we are playing to win, but to win by the smallest of margins and I don't understand that. I have heard CMS make a statement that their goal is to score some where in the 24 point range. Of course I am paraphrasing. I guess he thinks his defense should take care of the rest and they do.
At times the offense looked great, look at JPWs stats today, that young man can play. LET HIM! JPW looked like he was taking the game over in the 4th Quarter, Arkansas was reeling and the crowd was out of it. Did we go for the kill? NO! We have decided by design to put most every game on the foot of the kickers.
There is a difference in having kickers that decide good, hard fought, close games and coaching to have kickers decide most every game because you want to keep them close.
Bottom line: We have players, but still have some weaknesses in some areas like the O-line. We DO have playmakers on offense, use them and get the ball in their hands whenever possible.
I am not advocating a crazy passing attack because we still need balance. Something is not clicking with Darby right now and I wish he could get it together, but he is not the same runnung back he was last year. I hear folks saying the other teams are "keying" on Darby. I don't think they are "keying" on Darby anymore than they are Johns, Upchurch, Castille, etc.
I am not sold on CMS "thinking" when it comes to winning games and scoring points. It just appears that FGs are just fine and if we score a TD, it is a bonus.
These are just my opinions and observations after watching the replay tonight. By no means do I think I know more about football than CMS or most people on this board for that matter. I am just a 50 year old man who has watched a bunch of football in his life and alot of Alabama football in particular.
I think he is a good coach and has a great understanding of the game. There is no doubt he is conservative by nature and there is nothing wrong with that as long as it works.
Now comes the critical part. I know we are a young team and that maybe something that makes him even more conservative. To avoid young players making mistakes that costs the team the game. I don't know, but I don't think so. Last year we had a lot more Seniors, but still played games very close. Other than UF, who did we really blow right by? Were we not behind and it to Prothro's catch of the century to give us the lead against USM? UA vs UT, final score 6-3! What was the score of the Cotton Bowl 13-10 or something like that.
We had a good record last year, but we could have easily lost 3 games that we eventually ended up winning. I can't stand UT, but they play very conservative at times but usually end up winning the close games. As a matter of fact, I have said for years if Fulmer lost a third of those close games they would have fired him years ago. Well, Fulmer lost the close games last year and you see the season they had.
I have seen enough of the games to know we have some really good players. Maybe we don't have enough yet, but we have enough to compete against any SEC team. I think we are playing to win, but to win by the smallest of margins and I don't understand that. I have heard CMS make a statement that their goal is to score some where in the 24 point range. Of course I am paraphrasing. I guess he thinks his defense should take care of the rest and they do.
At times the offense looked great, look at JPWs stats today, that young man can play. LET HIM! JPW looked like he was taking the game over in the 4th Quarter, Arkansas was reeling and the crowd was out of it. Did we go for the kill? NO! We have decided by design to put most every game on the foot of the kickers.
There is a difference in having kickers that decide good, hard fought, close games and coaching to have kickers decide most every game because you want to keep them close.
Bottom line: We have players, but still have some weaknesses in some areas like the O-line. We DO have playmakers on offense, use them and get the ball in their hands whenever possible.
I am not advocating a crazy passing attack because we still need balance. Something is not clicking with Darby right now and I wish he could get it together, but he is not the same runnung back he was last year. I hear folks saying the other teams are "keying" on Darby. I don't think they are "keying" on Darby anymore than they are Johns, Upchurch, Castille, etc.
I am not sold on CMS "thinking" when it comes to winning games and scoring points. It just appears that FGs are just fine and if we score a TD, it is a bonus.
These are just my opinions and observations after watching the replay tonight. By no means do I think I know more about football than CMS or most people on this board for that matter. I am just a 50 year old man who has watched a bunch of football in his life and alot of Alabama football in particular.
The part about CMS not having a killer instinct is garbage. It seems to me he had one hell of a killer instinct when he was a player. That reminds me...CMS was a college football player and a starting QB for Alabama. I am quite sure he understands the game better than 99% of Bama's fans do. Which reminds me...it's a game, isn't it? I mean, Arkansas didn't get to perform human sacrifice on all the Bama fans that traveled to Fayetteville, did they?
One day some of you might appreciate having a teacher as a coach rather than a screaming, spitting idiot who "gets in people's faces" like some fans I have heard seem to want.
CMS's job is secure for quite some time, even if he calls "Darby up the middle" on two of every three plays.
Those who expect SEC/NC contention right now aren't on the same page as the people who make decisions. As a matter of fact, you aren't even reading the same book.
One day some of you might appreciate having a teacher as a coach rather than a screaming, spitting idiot who "gets in people's faces" like some fans I have heard seem to want.
CMS's job is secure for quite some time, even if he calls "Darby up the middle" on two of every three plays.
Those who expect SEC/NC contention right now aren't on the same page as the people who make decisions. As a matter of fact, you aren't even reading the same book.
Well, just look at the box score of yardage and offensive points.
Nice try, TROLL!
Yep, it used to be Bama on the short end of the boxes, but coming out the winner. I don't like the other end of the stick...
Salty, Maybe CMS had a killer instinct as a player, but he sure doesn't have one as a coach. If that is indeed the case I wish you would provide some examples, but please don't include ULM or any directional schools. Other than UF last year I can't recall any big time butt whippings we have bestowed on any other quality opponent.
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