Warning - Reality Ahead !

[Mke4Bama]

Looking for advice on the best treatment for a severely bitten tongue.

 

[81usaf92]

It’s funny that no follow up post has been posted to defend the position after nearly a day.

 

[TIDE24]

Since CNS has arrived we have gotten to be a spoiled fan base. We know what we should expect to see out of our team and what the "standard" of Alabama football is when we see it on Saturday. We know what championship football looks like. We saw it in the first quarter and the maturity or lack there of showed up after we jumped out to a quick lead. Give FL credit for not quitting. We know what we feel should have happened. Is that cause for alarm? Right now the Ole Miss game scares me a bit, I will not lie.

Good news. The only team we had to beat on Saturday was FL. We did that. We didn't have to beat Ole Miss, A&M or the barn or any other team. Whether we beat them by 2 or by 22 will have no affect on whether or not we beat any other team on the schedule the rest of the way. Hopefully a young team learned something on the road and we can improve going forward. The only game that matters is the next game. This week, that is USM. We will worry about Ole miss next week and the others when the time comes. Trust the process.

 

[jjv0004]

My thoughts after having 2 days to process what I watched on Saturday:
1. We are spoiled as Bama fans. As spoiled as any fans in the history of college football. The Saban era is like nothing before it and I don't think will ever be replicated. It is better than the Bryant era.
2. This team lost so many valuable pieces from last year. Mac Jones - Best QB single season I have witnessed at Bama, Najee Harris - stud running back that could not only run it but could block and catch it out of the backfield as good as any running back I have seen at Bama, Devonta Smith - best wide receiver of the Saban regime (I am sure some of you are saying Julio or Amari were better as you read), Waddle - nothing like him, Leatherwood - 4 year starter on the o-line, Deonte Brown - mountain of a man at guard, Landon Dickerson - hard to explain how much of a difference he made for that team, Christian Barmore - what a beast by the end of the season and Patrick Surtain - one of the best DB's of the Saban era. You don't just replace all of these guys and move on like nothing happened. That team last year was historic offensively and played some defense during the playoff.
3. Bryce Young is not Mac Jones. Bryce is at 62.9% for completion percentage. Mac was at 77%. Mac was unreal. Bryce is just not that accurate. He does not put the ball in good spots on most of his throws.
4. This o-line could not sniff the jock strap of last years unit. Not many could.
5. We have no difference maker so far on the d-line. There is no Barmore, Quinnen Williams, etc.
6. Bill O'Brien < Steve Sarkisian. Granted Sark had Smith, Harris, Waddle, Jones, etc., etc. etc.

The bottom line for me is that we expect too much from Bama. Each year. Teams just don't dominate the way Bama has dominated over these last 12 years. And we cannot expect this years team to be anywhere near the level of that team from last year.
I will say that I kept hearing during the preseason that this might be one of Saban's best defenses. Not by a mile.

 

[Padreruf]

My thoughts after having 2 days to process what I watched on Saturday:
1. We are spoiled as Bama fans. As spoiled as any fans in the history of college football. The Saban era is like nothing before it and I don't think will ever be replicated. It is better than the Bryant era.
2. This team lost so many valuable pieces from last year. Mac Jones - Best QB single season I have witnessed at Bama, Najee Harris - stud running back that could not only run it but could block and catch it out of the backfield as good as any running back I have seen at Bama, Devonta Smith - best wide receiver of the Saban regime (I am sure some of you are saying Julio or Amari were better as you read), Waddle - nothing like him, Leatherwood - 4 year starter on the o-line, Deonte Brown - mountain of a man at guard, Landon Dickerson - hard to explain how much of a difference he made for that team, Christian Barmore - what a beast by the end of the season and Patrick Surtain - one of the best DB's of the Saban era. You don't just replace all of these guys and move on like nothing happened. That team last year was historic offensively and played some defense during the playoff.
3. Bryce Young is not Mac Jones. Bryce is at 62.9% for completion percentage. Mac was at 77%. Mac was unreal. Bryce is just not that accurate. He does not put the ball in good spots on most of his throws.
4. This o-line could not sniff the jock strap of last years unit. Not many could.
5. We have no difference maker so far on the d-line. There is no Barmore, Quinnen Williams, etc.
6. Bill O'Brien < Steve Sarkisian. Granted Sark had Smith, Harris, Waddle, Jones, etc., etc. etc.

The bottom line for me is that we expect too much from Bama. Each year. Teams just don't dominate the way Bama has dominated over these last 12 years. And we cannot expect this years team to be anywhere near the level of that team from last year.
I will say that I kept hearing during the preseason that this might be one of Saban's best defenses. Not by a mile.

No way you can lose that much offense and it not be felt...especially this early in the season. Those were 3-4 year players who knew what it was like to produce under pressure. The QB and WR's knew what each would do automatically. Several of us tried to warn that this would be a challenge...I didn't expect the Defensive challenges, but that seems to be life in the SEC. We're still undefeated...and the team has not near peaked. RTR.

 

[BamaInBham]

3. Bryce Young is not Mac Jones. Bryce is at 62.9% for completion percentage. Mac was at 77%. Mac was unreal. Bryce is just not that accurate. He does not put the ball in good spots on most of his throws.

Bryce is at 68% not 62.9. He is the primary reason that Bama is undefeated. He's had more drops in 3 games than Mac had all of last season. His receivers do not get nearly the separation that Mac's got. He has not thrown an interception. Because of the OL, Bryce is in some ways a better fit for this team than Mac would have been. Having said all of that, Mac, the 4th year Jr with 4 starts coming into the season and not having to play in even one truly hostile environment during the Covid year, was certainly better last year than Bryce is at this moment. But overall Bryce is having a fabulous start to his career - he is after all close to the top in the Heisman and well deserved, IMO.

Even in the tough environment vs UF, Bryce led the team to 5 scores, including 4 TDs, plus one run-out-the-clock in the 9 possessions Bama had during the game. So, that is 6 out of 9 in a very hostile environment. Bama only had 3 possessions in the 2nd half and was successful on all 3: UF never had the ball with a chance to win the game except for the 4 seconds at the end, deep in their own territory. Bryce was terrific in this game, even more impressive for a 3rd start - in complete control, totally poised. This is conjecture but if the 2 pt try had been successful, IMO, Bryce would have led Bama to the game-winning score.

6. Bill O'Brien < Steve Sarkisian. Granted Sark had Smith, Harris, Waddle, Jones, etc., etc. etc.

Yeah, big grant. Sarkisian had every resource in spades: great OL, great-transcendent WRs, great RB, transcendent QB; O'Brien: decent-good OL, good WRs, decent-good RB; good-great QB. Big differences. Of course all of this year's units and individuals have a great chance to improve.

(As an aside: though I do not believe Brian Robinson is a big time talent, I was very impressed with his play in this game, especially in the big moments. Particularly happy for him personally. We know it means a lot to him.)

 

[TideEngineer08]

I'm still waiting on the "reality."

 

[81usaf92]

I'm still waiting on the "reality."

Reality is eeyore.

Most eeyores say they are “realist” but are really anything but.

 

[Power Eye]

I have been accused of being an Eeyore on Tidefians for most of my time on here, and that does not bother me in the least. While I agree this poster is over the top, he is right the OL and DL got their respective butt whipped at Florida yesterday. Does that mean we will lose to OM and Auburn, not necessarily, but we have to accept the fact that it did not give any of us a warm and fuzzy feeling about this team. We have some glaring weaknesses that cannot be fixed by talent alone. I expected a drop off in the offense since we lost so many weapons, but I am really disappointed in the defense across the board. I am not taking anything away from Florida, they are a good team, but offensively Ole Miss, LSU, and Arkansas are better right now. I personally do not think this is a NC caliber team, but there is a lot of football left so we shall see. Feel free to Eeyore me.

I agree with you on the defense, as I'm sure most do. As for the offense, Ole Miss is better than us but not Arkansas or LSU, no way. We played a good defense on the road in a very hostile environment. They were ranked #11, maybe they aren't the 11th best team in the nation, I have no idea, but they're a good team.

I am curious who you think is a national championship caliber team right now, because I haven't seen it. Georgia's win over Clemson doesn't have quite the luster it did given that Clemson almost lost to GA Tech. I mean literally almost lost because they're offense is legitimately not good.

 

[DogPatch]

Thanks for the “eye-roll” DogPatch…you complete me, as well as keep me grounded.

I do what I can.

 

[crimsonaudio]

As for the offense, Ole Miss is better than us

But are they?

They score a lot but they've played UL (#85 scoring D), Austin Peay (FCS), and Tulane (#125 scoring D).

We'll see...

 

[DogPatch]

My thoughts after having 2 days to process what I watched on Saturday:
1. We are spoiled as Bama fans. As spoiled as any fans in the history of college football. .

I'm not spoiled. I hate close games. I want to beat the other team so thoroughly that it kills their desire to ever play the game again, and not even want their kids to ever play.

 

[FF4bama]

I'm not a coach, and I only played a little in high school. I'm just a fan, and I defer to the superior football knowledge of the many posters . *But* I've been watching Alabama football for nearly forty years, and I have just two questions for those who are in doubt:

1. Who in all of college football has better talent? and
2. Who in all of college football has a better coach?

It's gonna be aight, y'all! Settle down and enjoy the season!

 

[Redwood Forrest]

UA almost lost. Auburn AUmost won. I think I will just chill with that.

 

[AlexanderFan]

Keep in mind. We won the first quarter by enough to lose the last three and still win the game.

that tells me the coaching can’t be too bad. New starter kids retain and act. Upperclassmen react and adjust.

I told my brother something similar, “Nobody is beating that team that showed up in the first quarter, but there could be a few that could beat that second through fourth quarter bunch.”

 

[tusks_n_raider]

Two scary issues from yesterday:

1) We got whipped at LOS on both sides of ball in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th qtrs. Our tackling fundamentals remain horrible. Upright arm tackles, soft physically on D.

2) Based on what has happened thus far - we will lose to Ole Miss and Auburn.

HOPE I'M WRONG

1) We did not get whipped in the trenches. Mullen attacked the Inside Linebackers and Safeties in the Middle of the Field and specifically he picked on #8 and #9 but he also had success against #10 and #2.

The tackling was poor because they were often confused about assignments and having to think instead of react and that slow reaction time leads to players being late and taking bad angles.


2) For someone who felt the need to chastise anyone 2 weeks ago who was optimistic about season goals, I find this take more than amusing.

No one on here was guaranteeing that Alabama would go 15-0 and win the NC based on the Miami game yet that is what you implied and warned against.

Now you are going the opposite direction and saying we will definitely lose to Ole Miss and Auburn based on a 'Struggle' WIN against the #11 team on the Road and vs a HC who deployed a specialty Offense and game plan that he won't use again this year and nor is it likely that any other team will either??


3)You are wrong.

You are also displaying some of the worst traits a fan can have.

There's some reality.

 

[CrimSonami]

Anyone who expected this Bryce Young lead team to duplicate the Mac Jones championship team is straight up wrong. Mac had more experience as did the O-line and the luxury of an offense with multiple 1st round talented skill players. No Najee, Devonte, Waddle, Dickerson, on and on. This team is quite simply not capable of the same due to a drop in experience and talent. Yes it appears Bryce is not as accurate with the deep ball as Mac was but is all that really all on Bryce? Are the receivers not capable of creating the separation Mac benefited from? Are the RB's not as shifty and athletic as Najee? Is the O-line not as experienced as the Dickerson line was?

This team may end up losing a game or 2 but I don't expect it. Yes I do expect closer score games this year than last but ask yourself this - How many championship teams in the BCS/Playoff era went undefeated?

ROLL TIDE!

 

[NationalTitles18]

There's not a game on the schedule this team can't win, if the effort is there.

There's not a game on the schedule this team can't lose, if the "effort" is there.

Yes, I've seen the entire schedule.

This team controls its own destiny with what each and every individual chooses to do each and every day from here on out.

 

[Saban4Ever]

There's not a game on the schedule this team can't win, if the effort is there.

There's not a game on the schedule this team can't lose, if the "effort" is there.

Yes, I've seen the entire schedule.

This team controls its own destiny with what each and every individual chooses to do each and every day from here on out.

Based on what I have seen from the "top contenders" so far, if Bama does make the playoffs, those teams may be easier to beat than any team in the SEC West plus UGA/FL. The hardest part is winning the SEC. I know all teams will improve by the playoffs, but SEC is the most difficult conference yet again this year.

 

[Bazza]