Question: Team Attitude Question

[mark9765]

After listening to several interviews from Coach Saban and A.J. I keep hearing about lack of communication, trust and bad decision making. I am wondering if there is a problem with some of the players buying in to the system. After being put on a pedestal and courted like the big time recruits are, it must be hard to make the adjustment to being low man on the pole.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

After listening to several interviews from Coach Saban and A.J. I keep hearing about lack of communication, trust and bad decision making. I am wondering if there is a problem with some of the players buying in to the system. After being put on a pedestal and courted like the big time recruits are, it must be hard to make the adjustment to being low man on the pole.

I don't think we have any "attitude" problems on the team but a lot of these guys are used to being "turned loose" on the field and letting their athletic talent take over. That worked in HS but not in the SEC or any other D-1 school. If that were the case then all these coaches wouldn't be running schemes. It's a tough learning curve for our guys. CNS runs the most complex defensive scheme in college football. Gary Danielson says it all the time. We are truly running a full fledged pro defensive scheme. So the game at Alabama is truly more mental than physical. These guys have to learn to "trust the system" and not revert back to their free lance ways of HS. Because it gets them burnt and the team beat.

So I think that's what we're hearing. We've got a lot of young guys who are grinding their teeth.

 

[Bama Reb]

There is one thing every recruit must know ahead of time. They may be, in some people's eyes,"on a pedestal" coming out of high school.
Just because they may have been the biggest jock in high school, that doesn't give them any favors in the eyes of CNS and staff.
Once they don the Crimson and White, they must earn their spot and their play time, every play and every day.

 

[CajunCrimson]

When was the last time we had a senior that played any meaningful snaps, and didn't get at least a FA shot with the NFL?

That alone should communicate what's at stake for these younguns

 

[TiderJack]

We have a young, inexperienced team in quite a few areas so it is not an attitude problem. We have to grow as a team and begin trusting each other and time together is how you achieve this. It will happen sooner than later. We just need to keep winning while we mature.

 

[Alasippi]

I don't see any type of attitude problems. I see a team trying to find itself a bit. Totally to be expected with so many young players.
Coach S. will keep fine tuning, and when LSU rolls into town we'll be a smooth running engine.

 

[CHATTBRIT]

I don't see any type of attitude problems. I see a team trying to find itself a bit. Totally to be expected with so many young players.
Coach S. will keep fine tuning, and when LSU rolls into town we'll be a smooth running engine.

Got to agree. It really hadn't registered with me just how young this team is until I saw the "depth chart" and realized just how few seniors were starters. That being said, these players know what Coach Saban and the rest of the coaching staff have accomplished in the last four years and trust what they are teaching.

 

[CullmanTide]

We have so few upperclassmen because of the ones that leave early for the NFL. Producing so many NFL prospects is a double edged sword. It helps recruit top talent but at the same time there is more turnover.

 

[TideMan09]

When you lose leadership on a yearly basis that we have since Coach Saban has been at Bama, it takes time for that new leadership to step up & take control of the team, it's hard to replace that leadership on a yearly basis like we lose to the NFL..Heck..It may even to take a loss for the true leaders to step up, I hope it doesn't come to that, but, it may very well be what it takes to bring out the full potential of this team..So far we've had the talent to overcome our problems, but, that may not be the case when we start SEC play & play the best teams in the country..I may be flamed for stating that so be it..That's how I see things right now..

 

[uaintn]

Something in the press conference today about everyone buying into the organization's values, etc. I think that is indicative. They can get where they need to be, but they aren't there yet.

 

[Luvubama]

So many on here seem convinced there isn't an attitude problem, but I am not so sure. AJ says it's a lack of Communication, Nick says it's lack of discipline, and other pundits who cover this team are saying they aren't sure what is is but "something's just not right". I am not buying trouble, but I also have that same feeling. If Coach keeps harping on this week after week, there has to be something there. I am hopeful we see tremendous improvement this week and this topic becomes a moot point.

 

[GrayTide]

There is a helluva lot of talent in the SEC today and not just at Alabama, that wasn't the case even 5 years ago. I still believe that top to bottom Alabama, LSU, Florida and Georgia have superior talent but that no longer is a guarantee for winning. There is the mind set on here that we have so much more talent than team X that there is no way they can beat us. That thinking is bordering on delusion. Replacing NFL talent every year creates inexperience and can impede team chemistry (look at 2010). In the final analysis it isn't just about talent and potential.

 

[JBama_in_PCOLA]

I don't see any type of attitude problems. I see a team trying to find itself a bit. Totally to be expected with so many young players.
Coach S. will keep fine tuning, and when LSU rolls into town we'll be a smooth running engine.

Agreed. It takes some time like all our teams. We've had injuries too. I still believe in the process.


Sent from my iPhone

 

[CrimsonProf]

Agreed. It takes some time like all our teams. We've had injuries too. I still believe in the process.


Sent from my iPhone

But what about when we lose? And sooner or later, we will. Did the Process fail us? Or did we fail it?

 

[bamanix]

i agree with the experience comments. i also believe, we are only at present fielding a excellent linebacker corp, and an excellent qb with receivers. we have two quality rbs in yeldon and drake. our freshmen rbs are not ready. primarily in blocking assignments. they didnt block in high school. our secondary is good at the safety position, but very confused at the corners, until belue gets back. we have inexperience at the nickel and dime positions. our special teams are excellent, except we dont know about field goal kicking yet. i watch the inconsistencies in the va tech, texas a&m, and colo state. we have had one game gaining adequate rushing numbers, and that was against a weak A&M DEFENSE.we are not the physical team we are use to, and it will take more time than i expected to improve these areas. i cannot believe we are 17 pts favorite over miss. thus far i think LSU, and GA are better than the tide, i can only hope something will change with our defense and offense to bring us back. success has been great, but, i do see chinks in our armour. all these 5 and 4 star recruits do need playing time. we need help now.

roll tide

 

[cbi1972]

i agree with the experience comments. i also believe, we are only at present fielding a excellent linebacker corp, and an excellent qb with receivers. we have two quality rbs in yeldon and drake. our freshmen rbs are not ready. primarily in blocking assignments. they didnt block in high school. our secondary is good at the safety position, but very confused at the corners, until belue gets back. we have inexperience at the nickel and dime positions. our special teams are excellent, except we dont know about field goal kicking yet. i watch the inconsistencies in the va tech, texas a&m, and colo state. we have had one game gaining adequate rushing numbers, and that was against a weak A&M DEFENSE.we are not the physical team we are use to, and it will take more time than i expected to improve these areas. i cannot believe we are 17 pts favorite over miss. thus far i think LSU, and GA are better than the tide, i can only hope something will change with our defense and offense to bring us back. success has been great, but, i do see chinks in our armour. all these 5 and 4 star recruits do need playing time. we need help now.

roll tide

I hate that I agree with this assessment.

 

[davefrat]

i agree with the experience comments. i also believe, we are only at present fielding a excellent linebacker corp, and an excellent qb with receivers. we have two quality rbs in yeldon and drake. our freshmen rbs are not ready. primarily in blocking assignments. they didnt block in high school. our secondary is good at the safety position, but very confused at the corners, until belue gets back. we have inexperience at the nickel and dime positions. our special teams are excellent, except we dont know about field goal kicking yet. i watch the inconsistencies in the va tech, texas a&m, and colo state. we have had one game gaining adequate rushing numbers, and that was against a weak A&M DEFENSE.we are not the physical team we are use to, and it will take more time than i expected to improve these areas. i cannot believe we are 17 pts favorite over miss. thus far i think LSU, and GA are better than the tide, i can only hope something will change with our defense and offense to bring us back. success has been great, but, i do see chinks in our armour. all these 5 and 4 star recruits do need playing time. we need help now.

roll tide

agreed. and I will add that, heaven forbid we lose this weekend, the site might crash because who knows how the crowd that's been predicting our impending doom after 25 point wins will handle that.

 

[JBama_in_PCOLA]

But what about when we lose? And sooner or later, we will. Did the Process fail us? Or did we fail it?

We've lost before. More times than not we failed it.


Sent from my iPhone

 

[TideMan09]

There is a helluva lot of talent in the SEC today and not just at Alabama, that wasn't the case even 5 years ago. I still believe that top to bottom Alabama, LSU, Florida and Georgia have superior talent but that no longer is a guarantee for winning. There is the mind set on here that we have so much more talent than team X that there is no way they can beat us. That thinking is bordering on delusion. Replacing NFL talent every year creates inexperience and can impede team chemistry (look at 2010). In the final analysis it isn't just about talent and potential.

And it's just not in the SEC either that teams & conferences have become better from top to bottom..With college football becoming the money maker it's become, every team the fields a football team on the college level, has invested into their programs from the coaches all the way down to their concession stands..Since all those teams have invested into their programs, the coaching have become better, the players have become faster, stronger, and just overall smarter football players..

And what we have now is some really really really good football programs from top to bottom, so much so, any team on any given Saturday can be beat by teams, 10yrs ago, wouldn't have a "Snowballs Chance In Hell" of winning these games now days..It's made college football an even better product than it used to be, and it's given smaller teams a chance for an upset, against the best of the best college football has offer now days..Including Bama..You can't let your guard down against any "gimme" type games..

 

[RollinTider1335]

I don't think we have any "attitude" problems on the team but a lot of these guys are used to being "turned loose" on the field and letting their athletic talent take over. That worked in HS but not in the SEC or any other D-1 school. If that were the case then all these coaches wouldn't be running schemes. It's a tough learning curve for our guys. CNS runs the most complex defensive scheme in college football. Gary Danielson says it all the time. We are truly running a full fledged pro defensive scheme. So the game at Alabama is truly more mental than physical. These guys have to learn to "trust the system" and not revert back to their free lance ways of HS. Because it gets them burnt and the team beat.

So I think that's what we're hearing. We've got a lot of young guys who are grinding their teeth.

I think this nailed it for the most part.