Improvement?

[johnnychristmas]

When we aren't focused we get a buttocks handed to us.

 

[JD95]

Seems to me that Wilson has improved at QB since the season started. Aside from that, we've made no progress whatsoever.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Neither team on the field tonight was loaded with top drawer, division I talent.

We are thin. Young. Naive.

I'm sorry. That just simply isn't the case. We'll just have to agree to disagree. The "we're thin, young, naive" crap doesn't hold much water when you're talking about playing against a team that had only scored in ONE of it's games ALL YEAR and got beat by a 1-AA team.

If we truly believe that we have definitely lost touch with reality. We can take Arkansas to the wire (they humiliated Awbarn) and be competitive against the number 5 team in the country but are "too young and too naive" to beat the brakes off of Duke? Just doesn't make sense.

 

[BAMAHD]

Seems to me that Wilson has improved at QB since the season started. Aside from that, we've made no progress whatsoever.

JPW has had a great year, but i think the DB's are playing well they are turning into the pick posse.

 

[drjamesm]

Didn't get to watch the game... heard bits and pieces on the radio so I can't say one way or another. However, I can tell you motivation for games like the one tonight is very difficult for young teams. Right now, without having seen the game, I'm more interested to see what Shula and company do with it... if they have another similar performance against Florida International, I will likely be more than just disturbed.

All I have to say is maybe this game with Duke rushing for more than 200 yards will put a stake through this 3-3-5 soft vs the run scheme. This week on talk radio ex CGS even said he would run this D only on long passing downs in the 4th period with a big lead!

 

[goallinestand78]

Let's keeps some perspective here folks. Its only Duke. I wish we had been more focused, and its the coaches' fault that we were not, but I doubt any of us will even remember this game a month from now. While our performance tonight was pretty disappointing, we did make plays when we had to. Gene Stallings teams also tended to play down to the level of their opposition, but I think most of us were quite happy with his overall performance as HC.

If you had told me before the season that at this point Arkansas would be 5-1 and Florida 6-0, I would have expected us to be about where we are. It was predictable that we would have a suspect OL and inconsistent defense. Like any team, we have also had some pleasant surprises (development of Wilson as a QB, big improvement in pass blocking from terrible to adequate, JD Hall) and some disappointments (KD's overall performance, though the last couple of games may suggest that he's coming out of his slump, performance of several LBs, shaky placekicking). The big difference is that last year we seemed to catch (or make) a lot of breaks for ourselves, while this year so far that is not the case.

So overall I'm not thrilled, but I'm not shocked either. I'm certainly not ready to write this team off as a 7-5 also-ran, like some on this board. We're not a particularly good team right now, but we aren't that far away from becoming one either. Tennessee, LSU and Awbarn look like teams that we can beat. I'm not predicting that we'll sweep all three and go 10-2, but I think we're close to being a team that could realistically take 2 out of those 3, and if we do that I'd say Shula has done pretty well with what he had coming into this season. Even if he didn't beat the spread against Duke.

 

[GulfCoastTider]

Naive? Never heard that word used to describe a football team.

There is no doubt who has more talent when comparing Alabama and Duke. Let's be realistic here.

I am being realistic. I expect young football teams to make mental mistakes, regardless of how well they're coached. Teams that are deep, experienced and talented don't overlook any opponents. Alabama overlooked Duke tonight, and that was a very naive thing to do.

This team had better grow up, and hurry up doing it. There are much better teams than Duke, Ole Miss and Sissy State to play.

 

[TENNTIDE1]

I am being realistic. I expect young football teams to make mental mistakes, regardless of how well they're coached. Teams that are deep, experienced and talented don't overlook any opponents. Alabama overlooked Duke tonight, and that was a very naive thing to do.

This team had better grow up, and hurry up doing it. There are much better teams than Duke, Ole Miss and Sissy State to play.

How can you still be naive when you have played Arkansas and Florida on the road?

 

[TexasBama]

Let's keeps some perspective here folks. Its only Duke.

I think because it was Duke is some have the perspective they do.

 

[cbi1972]

JPW has had a great year, but i think the DB's are playing well they are turning into the pick posse.

I'd trade every interception for being in position and sure tackling.

 

[CrimsonCrazy82]

Ole miss? oh u mean the team coached by and oaf who can't coach his way out of a papersack and is already being looked into 4 his recruiting tactics. Get real, Ole Miss hasn't shown anything other than 2 be bad on both sides of the ball.

ha...yeah that Ole Miss team is far better than Duke's squad

 

[Crimson323]

I'd trade every interception for being in position and sure tackling.

Our secondary had almost as many or more tackles than our LB's. I don't know for sure, but it seems that way.

Jeffrey Dukes had 6 tackles before Juwan Simpson had 6 tackles.

It needs to be the other way around.

 

[BAMAHD]

I'd trade every interception for being in position and sure tackling.

The lineman and linebackers need to help a little,, they can't do it all.

 

[GulfCoastTider]

How can you still be naive when you have played Arkansas and Florida on the road?

Don't you think the football team knew Duke was winless? Isn't it naive to think that your opponent isn't good enough to beat you?

The two-man depth chart for this team has 22 underclassmen. Even after two big games on the road, 18- and 19-year olds still don't think straight and nothing except age and experience fixes that.

They are young, naive and prone to making stupid mistakes.

 

[BAMAHD]

Our secondary had almost as many or more tackles than our LB's. I don't know for sure, but it seems that way.

Jeffrey Dukes had 6 tackles before Juwan Simpson had 6 tackles.

It needs to be the other way around.

I agree! The linebackers should lead the team in tackles. I bet if we got the stats so far this year the DB's would lead the team over the linebacker AND lineman combined. There are holes so big that our DB's are chasing people all over the field.

 

[bamar]

this was one of those games, that good teams hate,especially the coaches. it is hard to get up for last place teams in conferences. the first half we were outhustled, and outplayed for the most part. the second half the tide played a much better game even if they did not score at least one more touchdown. our qb is continueing his growth, and he will keep getting better. we may have as good two receivers on his team as there is in the country. i would also place mcclain up there with fullbacks. we still keep coming back to offensive line play, and tight end results. has darby regressed as a rb, or is the line to blame. i dont know. he did get good yardage outside the tackles. the playcalling was fine tonight, coach called some good plays in tight situations. i would like to see less jawing by our defense. they are really showing their youth, and inexperience. this alabama football, we dont need to get in verbal altercations all the time. duke played some really good misdirection calls, delay calls. our guys were flying to the ball, and got taken out of position a lot in the first half. linebackers were not in the gaps either. we have to have a better rush game if we want any chance to beat tenn, lsu, or auburn. arkansas and their rushing game is a thing of beauty. their young qb, is not called on to make but one or two plays a game. they have really improved from game to game. they are now in the west drivers seat. and to think a field goal or extra point would have us in the fight.

 

[TENNTIDE1]

Don't you think the football team knew Duke was winless? Isn't it naive to think that your opponent isn't good enough to beat you?

The two-man depth chart for this team has 22 underclassmen. Even after two big games on the road, 18- and 19-year olds still don't think straight and nothing except age and experience fixes that.

They are young, naive and prone to making stupid mistakes.

If Bama had been blowing out their opponents by 30 pts per game I may see your point in taking an opponent lightly. But we have not been doing that, we have struggled with every team, with the exception of La-Monroe, this year. Bama has done nothing this year to earn the right to take anyone lightly. That is not naive. That may be a sign of not being as prepared or as motivated as they need to be.

Naive? It is certainly your opinion and it is your right to have one.

 

[TruCrimson]

Don't you think the football team knew Duke was winless? Isn't it naive to think that your opponent isn't good enough to beat you?

The two-man depth chart for this team has 22 underclassmen. Even after two big games on the road, 18- and 19-year olds still don't think straight and nothing except age and experience fixes that.

They are young, naive and prone to making stupid mistakes.

We are young, & just played the worst game of the year...penalties, bad tackling, blocking...etc, yet still won. And why all of a sudden is Ole Miss a contender now..you would think these guys were ranked #1 in the nation..Ole Miss sux...They beat Mephis only by 2, lost to UK 14-31(KENTUCKY ), lost to Wake Forrest 3-27, who only beat poor Duke by 1 point, lost to Mizzu 7-34,...they are 2-4 this year...Ole Miss sux.

 

[GulfCoastTider]

That is not naive. That may be a sign of not being as prepared or as motivated as they need to be.

Naive? It is certainly your opinion and it is your right to have one.

Maybe naive isn't the right word. But it's that lack of preparation and motivation that leads me to believe that the team is still too young to expect much from.

Twenty-two underclassmen...

 

[BEATtutorsee]

Why do people always jump to conclusions about the rest of the season after games like this? Should we have destroyed Duke, uh yeah but when have we seen an Alabama team that consistently hammers teams that it should? Does it mean that just because we didn't blow Duke out like we should that the rest of our season is over? Too many people put too much into the outcomes of single games, especially games like this one. Now don't get me wrong, there wasn't much of anything to take away from this game that can be considered positive aside from the eventual outcome. This game was downright painful to watch, but I didn't see a focused and determined Bama squad out there tonight and I think that had a lot to do with it. One can speculate all day on what the reasons were for this, but I'm not ready to throw in the towel on the rest of the season just because we didn't look good in defeating a team we should have admittedly destroyed. You can call me what you want, but I don't expect to see this sort of a Bama team when we take on the likes of UcheaT, LSU, and the barn. It certainly wasn't the sort of team we saw show up in Gainesville or Fayetteville. They are very fortunate to have been playing a team the likes of Duke or it would have truly been ugly. Hopefully the players on this team will have learned a valuable lesson from this experience, and that is that you just can't show up and expect a W to be given to you, you have to earn it.