Kevin Steele is in Clemson; formal announcement is imminent - The Bama Beat - al.com
January 5, 2009
Quarterback Battle: Star Jackson Vs. Greg McElroy
January 5, 2009
Writers note: This article consist mainly of opinion. If that is a problem, save yourself the time and do not read or comment this post.
Following a devastating loss to Utah, many Alabama fans have found themselves looking forward to next year.
The table is set for another great season, all except for who will be the field general, a.k.a. quarterback.
The two guys that will be battling for the position are redshirt Greg McElroy and redshirt freshman Star Jackson.
Greg McElroy capped a 36-0 victory over Auburn with an impressive 34-yard touchdown pass to Marquis Maze.
Star Jackson was redshirted his freshman year, so he has not seen the field during a game yet.
I was at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, and watched both quarterbacks warm up. Greg McElroy has one problem concerning him, and that is his feet. He does not have much speed, which is something that can add a whole new weapon to an offense.
Star Jackson has bulked up since he was signed by the Tide, and appeared to have some zip on the ball when he threw to his receivers. His speed is his greatest weapon, running a 4.56. That is not exactly wheeling it, but for a quarterback that is pretty good.
The opinionated part of the article comes when I say that I would much rather see Star Jackson named the starting quarterback. It has been ages since the Tide has had a versatile quarterback that can move the ball.
Not only moving the ball but being able to move around in the pocket is something that past Alabama quarterbacks have not been able to do.
It would not be bad to see McElroy take the throne, considering he is more mature and has a lot more experience that Jackson.
One fact remains: The best man will play. Nick Saban has declared this many times before.
Please leave your thoughts on who you would like to see starting and why.
Tags: alabama crimson tide newsThe only way to shake these blues…
January 5, 2009
Alabama’s Loss to Utah Not on Account of Disrespect and Lack of Preparation!
January 4, 2009
When is everyone going to quit blaming Bama's loss to Utah on not respecting Utah and not being prepared to play?
I think our guys were as prepared to play as they could have been. Maybe some of the guys on the team were shocked at how good Utah really was, especially after Utah's fast start and after all that they had heard about Utah, but I think they were ready to play.
Losing Andre Smith from the offensive line was devastating to the offense's performance, and then to have another lineman go down early during the game with an injury certainly hurt Bama's chances to be successful on offense. But Utah has a real good defense, certainly SEC caliber, and it wasn't going to be an easy task even if all things had gone perfectly for Bama.
Utah plays the spread like Florida, but they play a more passing scheme spread than Florida's and one that Bama's defense didn't match up well with in hindsight. The best chance Bama had at beating Utah would have been to have success offensively, which they didn't.
I don't think Bama's players and certainly not the coaches disrespected Utah. I think they were shocked at how good Utah played to start out, and it took them by surprise, but I don't think Bama ever disrespected Utah.
I know what some of the players said in the postmortem, but I doubt they really disrespected Utah. I think a lot of what they said was just making excuses for the shock they were in for being beaten as they were. Remember, these players are basically kids in grown bodies.
Yes, teams have off nights, and Bama sure didn't look ON! But you would think that they would be ready to play a game in such an environment after such a long layoff and after having suffered a defeat in their last outing. I mean, football is a game, and what kid doesn't like to play games? They were ready to play, I promise you!
Maybe they were a little rusty, I don't know—but anything other than saying that they got beat by a better team is just making excuses and in my mind demeans Utah's win more than anything that was said before the game was played.
They fought hard in the game though and did all they could to come back, but it just wasn't good enough to make it happen with that big a hole that they were in. Bama was out of their element when they had to play catch up from that far down, and I knew it was probably game over at the end of the first quarter for that reason. But they never quit!
I have read and heard Saban's comments before and after the game, and frankly, if you want to you can take them just about any way you want. But I doubt coach Saban would ever disrespect another team, even one that Bama is clearly better than, on purpose. And Bama clearly is not better than Utah! Maybe had they played earlier in the season they could have beaten Utah, especially with their offensive line intact, but not with their best team unit depleted as it was in the Sugar Bowl.
I don't think anything said prior to the game by coach Saban or the media had any effect on the game either. I really think Utah would have been highly motivated to play Bama regardless of what was said one way or the other. This was their chance to prove to the world how good they really are.
I suppose it's a shock that the second-best team in the SEC could be beaten by an undefeated MWC champion, especially with all the SEC hype that's been going on lately, but it shouldn't be. Bama, for Christ sakes, lost to UL-Monroe just over a year ago. Bama is one season removed from a 7-6 season counting the bowl win against Colorado.
Yes, 16 true freshmen came into the program in the fall that weren't there during the 7-6 season, but the real reason behind the remarkable turnaround was just having a coaching staff for a second year in a row making the right decisions and the players dedicating themselves, as well as just plain dumb luck. Who could have foreseen what looked from the beginning to be a formidable schedule turn out to be so weak?
Playing a ninth-ranked preseason Clemson on a neutral field, a preseason favorite to win the national championship Georgia on their home field, the defending national champions LSU on their home field, the defending East champion of the SEC Tennessee on their own field, and finishing with a top 10 preseason ranked Auburn, who had won six straight against Bama, who would have thought that that schedule would turn out to be so weak?
When Bama started knocking those teams off one after another and other teams across the country started losing, which Bama had no control over, they quickly vaulted up the rankings in the polls and finally to No. 1 for five weeks before they lost a thriller to Florida in the SEC championship game.
Bama, to us Bama fans, looked to be all the way back, even though there were signs that the process was still in the works to get to that point we so thought we were already at. Coach Saban cautioned us fans that there was little depth on the team and that an injury or a suspension could make for trouble down the road. The world and us Bama fans especially were so caught up in our success that we couldn't fathom the thought that we still had a ways to go.
Coach Saban in his post-Sugar bowl comments mentioned that Bama is in a building process and still has a ways to go with recruiting better talent and building experienced depth. That is as true a statement as he has uttered since he has been at Bama.
While Bama experienced a big turnaround in the win-loss department this season, Bama is not to the point that Florida, USC, Oklahoma, Texas, or even an Ohio State is. Like it or not, Bama is at least two, maybe three more top recruiting classes away from being where those programs are presently. But it is a great start!
The truth of it is, and as hard as it is to admit it, Bama had a lot of good fortune go their way to win 12 games this season. Is that anything to be ashamed of? Just ask LSU if they are ashamed of their good fortune in winning the National championship last season.
No, there is nothing to be ashamed of winning the SEC West and 12 games this year. Maybe us fans should be ashamed of some of the crowing and gloating we are guilty of this season. But dang it! After what we have been through the past decade or so, can you really blame us?
My hat is off to Utah! The only undefeated Division I FBS team in the nation. They should win the national championship in the AP poll or at least someone's poll—well, they already have. Mine!
I am a Utah fan and believer now. Not because they beat my beloved Bama team, but because they have shown another chink in the BCS armor. Anything that exposes and hurts the BCS is great in my opinion.
Could Utah have survived the same SEC schedule Bama did this season unscathed? I have my doubts, but there is no denying Utah was the best team Friday night. And honestly, there is really no reason to think that they couldn't have.
BYU won a national championship with probably a lesser team than Utah has many years ago, especially with the résumé they had compared to Utah this year. So why can't Utah win one this season? The AP could give Utah the championship, and I hope they do. I'm not holding my breath though.
As for Bama...well, in reality us Bama fans had to know it was too good to be true for Bama to be back to championship form this soon. Bama is on their way though, and Bama will build from this loss.
Folks...Bama lost to two top five and possibly to the two top teams in the nation! Not bad for a team that has gone through all the turmoil Bama has the past decade or so!
Pay no attention to our jealous rivals! Bama can and will get better! Kinda scary for a team just fresh off a 12-game win record!
Is it too early to start looking ahead to next season?
Bama should improve from this past season next season, but it may not necessarily show up in the win-loss record. A lot depends on how our QB situation and how our O-line develops. We all saw how bad the line can be against Utah.
The thing is we should have players who have another year of development under their belts that should be more talented than what we have leaving if you believe the recruiting services.
Experience will be little at the QB position, but you never know what a year can do for a young player with talent like Star Jackson is supposed to posses.
For you naysayers, look no further than this year's Heisman winner Sam Bradford. Look what he did at Oklahoma last year as a redshirt freshman. Not saying we will get the same results, but you can only hope. If next year's starter can do half as good as he did starting for the first time, we should be OK.
And the recruiting rankings so far for this season bode well for another top recruiting class—something that the Floridas, USCs, Oklahomas, and Texases of the world have been enjoying for some time now.
God I miss Bama football already!
ROLL TIDE!
From Bama Fan to Bama Fan: This Is Getting Embarassing | To Others: Take a Read
January 4, 2009
Alright, Bama fans. From you to me, it's time we had a talk.
Alabama fans are some of the nicest people I have ever met in my life. And I say that having met a lot of people from different locations/different teams. But guys, there are some things that have got to change.
The SEC is known for its football programs. Or, they used to be anyway. But, more than that, it is known for the type of fans we have. I used to think that we were known as being fans that stood behind our team no matter what. I used to think we were known for having some of the classiest fans out there. Boy, was I wrong.
As I go through BR mainly, I see the comments that are left to Alabama fans. Things that are being said about how classless we are and how arrogant we seem to be. Which, is apparently, because of our smug and arrogant coach.
So, I need to say this. And, I'm sure I will get shunned from the Alabama community, but hopefully not.
I see Alabama fans as being some of the nicest and most classy people out there. Granted, I am slightly biased. However, maybe it's because I'm right in the thick of it. Maybe it's because I don't see what others see. So, I took a step back...and saw what everyone was talking about.
1. The "Bama Can Do No Wrong" Attitude
Ladies and Gents, let me tell you. Bama can do wrong. Take a look at the last couple of years before Saban got here. Actually, take a look at this past year. You don't have to look very far. I understand the mentality of supporting your team. Believe me I do. However, understand that your team can do wrong.
The sooner you learn that is the sooner that you can actually look at games and say, "Oh, this is where we need to improve." If Nick Saban saw the team as the all holy shrine we wouldn't get anywhere. There are always things that need to be fixed. Even under the Bear things weren't perfect. (Although they came very close.)
2. The "Apologetic" Bama Fan
Alabama loses games. It is going to happen. That is the game of life and football. Especially college football. Stop making excuses as to why they lost the game. Over the past two days since Alabama lost to Utah that's really all I've heard. Excuses.
It's very simple. Alabama got beat by Utah. They were the better team at this game. They came to play. Now, accept that, and move on. Look forward to the new season. It's only four months until A-Day after all. You can come up with all of the excuses you'd like...but the fact of the matter is we lost. At the end of the game the scoreboard said Alabama lost.
We got beat by the better team. Both in that game and against Florida. We got beat by the team that came to play. For that, they are a better team. We didn't lose to Utah because Andre Smith was sent home. We didn't lose "because John Parker was back to his old self." We lost simply because we lost.
Stop making it into something else.
3. The "Bill Clinton is to Monica Lewinsky as Nick Saban is to God" Analogy
Ok...maybe that was a bad analogy. But at any rate, Nick Saban is not God. God is God. The "Bear" was not God. Nick Saban is not God.
Nick Saban has done an amazing job as a coach at Alabama in the two years that he has been here. Everyone even outside of the program was shocked by how well Alabama did this season. 12-2 was way better than most would have dreamed possible. Not only has he done an amazing job on the field but he has done an amazing job with these guys off the field as well.
Kudos to him. I'm glad to see 32 million dollars doing it's part.
However, we shouldn't bow to him. The commandment did not read "Thou shall have no other Gods before me. Except Nick Saban. He's OK." Yeah, no. Sorry to burst your bubble. And sorry about that Nick Saban costume you were planning to use for the Bethlehem rendition. It was cute though. Really.
I understand being a huge fan. I, myself, am addicted to Alabama Football. However, there is a way to do everything with some class guys. I love Alabama Football more than anything. I love the fans that I am lucky enough to get to surround myself with. I just wonder why people don't see us the way we see each other.
Every Alabama fan and others on this site know how much I love the Crimson Tide. However, there is a way to do it. Admitting your team lost to a better team and not sugar coating your loss is one way.
Class is what it's all about. Having fun and winning and still having class is still the same thing. Paul "Bear" Bryant said it best.It's a short quote, but like many of the Bear's, it says it all. It says, "Losing doesn't make me want to quit. It makes me want to fight that much harder."
Bama had an amazing season this year. Instead of looking at the glass half empty look at it half full. It will make your days seem brighter and your keyboard look more friendly.
We, as Alabama fans, will always be there for our team through the thick and thin. That's something not a whole lot of teams can say. But we can. That's something to be proud of. Now, let's win with class. And, more importantly, lose with class. We should be good at this after the years before Saban.
If you disagree, feel free to comment. If you agree, feel free to comment. If you feel the need to just comment, please do. As always, I am up for anything.
Roll Tide!
Tags: alabama crimson tide newsI Know You Love Your Team, But Shut Up Already
January 4, 2009
Alright, Bama fans. From you to me, it's time we had a talk.
Alabama fans are some of the nicest people I have ever met in my life. And I say that having met a lot of people from different locations/different teams. But guys, there are some things that have got to change.
The SEC is known for its football programs. Or, they used to be anyway. But, more than that, it is known for the type of fans we have. I used to think that we were known as being fans that stood behind our team no matter what. I used to think we were known for having some of the classiest fans out there. While some of that is true, some of it is very wrong.
As I go through BR mainly, I see the comments that are left to Alabama fans. Things that are being said about how classless we are and how arrogant we seem to be. Which, is apparently, because of our smug and arrogant coach.
So, I need to say this. And, I'm sure I will get shunned from the Alabama community, but hopefully not.
I see Alabama fans as being some of the nicest and most classy people out there. Granted, I am slightly biased. However, maybe it's because I'm right in the thick of it. Maybe it's because I don't see what others see. So, I took a step back...and saw what everyone was talking about.
1. The "Bama Can Do No Wrong" Attitude
Ladies and Gents, let me tell you. Bama can do wrong. Take a look at the last couple of years before Saban got here. Actually, take a look at this past year. You don't have to look very far. I understand the mentality of supporting your team. Believe me I do. However, understand that your team can do wrong.
The sooner you learn that is the sooner that you can actually look at games and say, "Oh, this is where we need to improve." If Nick Saban saw the team as the all holy shrine we wouldn't get anywhere. There are always things that need to be fixed. Even under the Bear things weren't perfect. (Although they came very close.)
2. The "Apologetic" Bama Fan
Alabama loses games. It is going to happen. That is the game of life and football. Especially college football. Stop making excuses as to why they lost the game. Over the past two days since Alabama lost to Utah that's really all I've heard. Excuses.
It's very simple. Alabama got beat by Utah. They were the better team at this game. They came to play. Now, accept that, and move on. Look forward to the new season. It's only four months until A-Day after all. You can come up with all of the excuses you'd like...but the fact of the matter is we lost. At the end of the game the scoreboard said Alabama lost.
We got beat by the better team. Both in that game and against Florida. We got beat by the team that came to play. For that, they are a better team. We didn't lose to Utah because Andre Smith was sent home. We didn't lose "because John Parker was back to his old self." We lost simply because we lost.
Stop making it into something else.
3. The "Bill Clinton is to Monica Lewinsky as Nick Saban is to God" Analogy
Ok...maybe that was a bad analogy. But at any rate, Nick Saban is not God. God is God. The "Bear" was not God. Nick Saban is not God.
Nick Saban has done an amazing job as a coach at Alabama in the two years that he has been here. Everyone even outside of the program was shocked by how well Alabama did this season. 12-2 was way better than most would have dreamed possible. Not only has he done an amazing job on the field but he has done an amazing job with these guys off the field as well.
Kudos to him. I'm glad to see 32 million dollars doing it's part.
However, we shouldn't bow to him. The commandment did not read "Thou shall have no other Gods before me. Except Nick Saban. He's OK." Yeah, no. Sorry to burst your bubble. And sorry about that Nick Saban costume you were planning to use for the Bethlehem rendition. It was cute though. Really.
I understand being a huge fan. I, myself, am addicted to Alabama Football. However, there is a way to do everything with some class guys. I love Alabama Football more than anything. I love the fans that I am lucky enough to get to surround myself with. I just wonder why people don't see us the way we see each other.
Every Alabama fan and others on this site know how much I love the Crimson Tide. However, there is a way to do it. Admitting your team lost to a better team and not sugar coating your loss is one way.
Class is what it's all about. Having fun and winning and still having class is still the same thing. Paul "Bear" Bryant said it best.It's a short quote, but like many of the Bear's, it says it all. It says, "Losing doesn't make me want to quit. It makes me want to fight that much harder."
Bama had an amazing season this year. Instead of looking at the glass half empty look at it half full. It will make your days seem brighter and your keyboard look more friendly.
We, as Alabama fans, will always be there for our team through the thick and thin. That's something not a whole lot of teams can say. But we can. That's something to be proud of. Now, let's win with class. And, more importantly, lose with class. We should be good at this after the years before Saban.
And this isn't just Alabama fans really. I've been among Ole Miss, Florida, Mississippi State, LSU, Auburn, Tennessee and a bunch of other fans. We consider them to be brothers and sisters when we are wanting the other one to win a Championship, but man when the game come down it can get dirty.
As expected. After all, it is a football game. Just remember that humble pie isn't something you want to eat on guys. Trust me, it doesn't taste that grand. Being humble doesn't make you any less of a fan. Believe me, it just makes you a better fan in my opinion.
If you disagree, feel free to comment. If you agree, feel free to comment. If you feel the need to just comment, please do. As always, I am up for anything.
In closing, I would like to quote Paul 'Bear' Bryant once more. You may know this one, as you should, since it's found on your Alabama souvenier cup. "Show class, have pride and display character. If you do, winning will take care of itself."
Roll Tide!
Tags: alabama crimson tide newsUtah, Boise State, and the Arrogant Mythology Behind Deja Vu
January 4, 2009
Can we please stop calling them David-and-Goliath upsets?
Four years ago, the Utah Utes thrashed Pitt 35-7 in the Fiesta Bowl. Two years ago, Boise State beat an 11-1 Oklahoma squad in the very same stadium. And then this year, the Utes returned to the BCS and knocked off Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
David only slew Goliath once.
Cinderella's fairy godmother only showed up to one girl.
Non-BCS conference teams have won three of their four BCS bowl appearances. The Big Ten is 0-5 in their last five. Prior to Virginia Tech's Orange Bowl win, the ACC hadn't won a BCS bowl since Florida State won the BCS Championship in 2000.
We need to stop calling them stunning upsets. We, the collective sports viewing public, need to change our perceptions and expectations. We need to evaluate teams fairly and objectively so we can stop being "stunned" when this happens.
And when I say "we" I generally mean "you:" You, the hypocritical over-bloated sports network whose concocted baloney seems to have no expiration date; you, the insecure Southerner whose lingering bitterness with "them derned Yankees" has been translated into football arrogance; you, the lazy graduate assistant who fills out ballots for the Coach Weises of the world; and you, the armchair economist hellbent on convincing the world the little guys have no place at the table out of some fear the game will suffer financially.
Utah was ranked higher in Wes Colley's computer poll. They were ranked higher in the rankings Jeff Sagarin presented to the BCS. They were ranked 2nd in Jeff Anderson's poll, only behind Oklahoma. They were ranked higher in Massey's and Wolfe's. The only computerized poll that didn't rank them higher was Richard Billingsley's, which uses the tainted factor of past seasons.
Yet, to many, computers are just mythical boxes of random numbers that mean nothing, so they discarded them and decided Alabama would be a 10-point favorite, and framed most discussion around such.
Brilliant.
Two years ago I wrote about Boise State being my national champions. The same reasons therein can now be applied to Utah in a sobering case of deva ju.
For worse, and not better, we're going to have an "officially" crowned national champion with a glaring blemish on their record, either a home loss or a neutral loss to a rival with a better resume.
Utah has no such blemishes. They won at Ann Arbor when everyone thought Michigan was still Michigan. They beat TCU and BYU, both of whom made the top 15 at one point in the season. They beat as many bowl teams on the road as Southern Cal and took care of the Sun Bowl champions.
How can they not get a share of the national title?
Because of their schedule? Give me a break. They went on the road to Ann Arbor, a game that was scheduled well before anyone knew Michigan would suck, a game few schools like Texas or LSU would ever think of scheduling. Alabama, Texas Tech, Southern Cal, and Penn State all had schedules in the lower half of all D-1 strength of schedules and not one of them would have been kept from the title game for that reason.
Because they play in a weak conference? The Mountain West beat the Pac-10 in head-to-head match-ups this year. And while the bottom half of the Mountain West sucks, TCU, BYU, and Air Force are nothing to sneeze at. A good team is a good team, regardless of what conference subheading they live under.
Prior to their thumping of Alabama, Utah had three wins against top 30 teams. That's the same number as USC, Alabama, Texas, Texas Tech, and Florida. Yet one is different, isolated, and forgotten because of some imagined inferiority.
How fitting that our two main references for an upset, David/Goliath and Cinderella, come from the realm of legends and mythology, stories that might have roots in history but whose real value comes in the morals shown to listeners of embellished tales years later.
The power of lore runs strong through college football. "We" have constructed all sorts of myths we keep telling our gullible selves. Notre Dame being strong is essential. The ACC and Pac-10 are way down. Computers are worthless. There's something special about SEC speed. Lesser known schools are worse than Baylor and Mississippi State. Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia.
It's fun to pretend, I suppose, until suddenly a "no-name' quarterback torches your revered team for 300+ yards in the Sugar Bowl and a mormon outcoaches your suitcase-living multimillionaire and you have no clue what just happened.
Unfortunately, certain media types got this image in their heads that college football began and ended with the Big XII and SEC this year, that three top fifteen teams meant nothing to the national picture, despite what every single objective measure of college football told us.
I prefer not to live in fantasy-land. What I know is that Utah has beaten every team it has played, including two that will rank among the top fifteen in the country. I know no other team can say that.
National titles should not be deferred based on imagined hypotheticals. Hypothetically, USC should be the national champion and Alabama should have smoked Utah by 10.
Realistically, Alabama should have been a 3-point favorite with the "home field" advantage, and the media should have treated it like such. The Utes deserve better than the "out of their element" (I'm not making this up - it's the first line of the AP write-up) crap that's being spewed. Realistically, Utah has proven as much this season as USC, who's being thrown as a "shoulda-been" national title contender despite their glaring loss to Oregon State, a team Utah beat.
And realistically, the Utes deserve at least a share of the title, and they will be the National Champions to at least this one fan. Congratulations, Utah, you earned it, despite what the mythology says.
Tags: alabama crimson tide newsPreparation, Strategy, and Execution Wins the Sugar Bowl
January 4, 2009
- I was at the game
- Various "day-after" newspaper articles about the game (Times Picayune, NOLA & Press-Register, Mobile)
Preparation:
Besides keeping in physical shape, there are three things a team can do to prepare for a recently former No.1 team you have never faced before; Film, film, and more film. And the Utes had studied hard.
What’s the evidence? Ute QB Brian Johnson was able to read every defensive scheme the Tide showed him and circumvent the vast majority of them. And the Ute defense sacked the Tide QB eight times (Wilson had suffered only six sacks the entire season until then).
Nick Saban, Tide Coach: “He was the best quarterback we’ve faced all season.”
That’s quite a compliment coming from a coach that had just faced and lost to a Heisman Trophy winner in Gator Tim Tebow the game before.
Brian Johnson, Utes: “I had a great bead on what they were doing defensively, and you can only do so much when you spread them out. It was all film work.” (emphasis mine)
Strategy:
How was a team from a conference wrongly considered as “lowly” as the Mountain West going to beat the storied, mighty, SEC powerhouse of Alabama Tide? That’s where the preparation really comes to fruition. Film baby!
Sean Smith, Utes: “We came expecting to lose to the former No. 1 team in the nation. But when I saw them on film, all I saw was a running game, and you can’t come back with a running game. So our plan was to get on top early and keep them down.”
Make the SEC team play Mountain West Conference football.
Brian Johnson, Utes: “The more and more tape we watched, the more and more confident we got with our scheme.”
Execution:
The Utes executed their game plan about as perfectly as possible from the very beginning. That great, huge, monstrous, massive Tide O-line that pushed around and “rolled” so many SEC defenses throughout the season; pushing their opponents backwards, opening huge holes for the running game, etc., etc., was relegated by the Ute game plan and defensive unit to a back-on-their-heals, pass-blocking line with their hands full of white jerseys blitzing from everywhere.
The stellar Ute defense showed its prowess, and yes, power, right up front. SEC style football and the smash-mouth, grind-em-down, multiple-minutes-long scoring drive offense that the Tide was so good at was met by a three-and-out first drive, courtesy of the Ute defense.
Nick Saban, Tide Coach: “Give a lot of credit to Utah. We couldn’t run on their defense, they pressured our quarterback all night…”
And it wasn’t just because of the suspension of Andre Smith or the injury to his replacement either. The Utes proved they could certainly handle that “massive front” O-line that was the pride of the Tide.
Mike Herndon, Press-Register, Mobile sports reporter: “The Utes came from everywhere. Sylvester got past Johnson on a blitz in the first quarter. Linebacker Kepa Gaison bull-rushed tight end Travis McCall. Nose tackle Kenape Eliapo ran past David Ross. End Koa Misi ran around Boswell in the second quarter to create another sack, with Gaison cleaning up.
Sean Smith put a bow on the victory with 5:13 to play, stripping Wilson on a corner blitz, with Sylvester recovering to all but seal the victory.”
After that first stop is when the Utes strategy started really taking shape. Score early, quick, and often—then hold ‘em.
The Utes ran five quick pass plays; 7-0, Utes. The Tide had to answer with a quick score of their own to stem the Ute momentum. Unfortunately for the Tide, quick scoring = passing. And in the case of the Tide this night, because of the great Ute defense pressuring Tide QB John Parker Wilson, Tide passing = Ute interception.
By the end of the first quarter; Utes 21 – Tide 0. There goes that momentum.
Score early, quick, and often the Utes did. The first three drives from the Utes scored six points each, and took less than five minutes of possession time combined. Drive one took five plays for 68 yards in 1:19; drive two took five plays for 32 yards in 1:37; drive three was seven plays for 65 yards in 1:57.
Brian Johnson, Utes: “They just lined up in a base, vanilla defense when we spread them out and we were able to exploit it.”
The Utes effectively forced the Tide to play Mountain West Conference football; quick-driving, high-octane, fast-scoring, come-back football. Not the type of football that the Tide was very experienced with, or evidently very good at, and the Ute defense was even better at defending.
The Tide wanted to grind the Utes into the ground with their big O-line & awesome running game. But the Utes prevented that Tide strategy from even getting a start.
Robert Johnson, Tide: “We’ve been a run-first team all year. You get some injuries and get behind and you’ve got to throw. That’s not the kind of team we are. That’s not what we’re used to. There’s a reason we’re a run-first team, because we’re good at it.”
And Utah knew it from their superior preparation.
With 11 minutes left in the first quarter, the route was on. Even though the point spread in the final score at the end of the game was only three more than the SEC title game the Tide lost to the Gators, the Sugar Bowl game was a much different game. The Utes took it to the Tide and built a commanding, 21-point lead right up front and the Tide never got over the shock.
Then the Utes halted a mediocre come-back attempt by scoring another touchdown in the third quarter. The game was all but done, and the Tide fans knew it. They’d been rolled.
At 5:13 left in the game, the Ute defense sealed the deal by that Sean Smith ball-strip from Wilson and the Tide fans had had enough and started to “roll”—out of the Superdome, creating a tide of a whole different kind.
I know, I was right in the middle of them. After listening to “rooooooooooll Tide, roll!” all day long, and well meaning, polite, but very condescending comments like, “have you guys ever faced anything as massive as our O-line?”, “we hope you can make it a close game” or the ever-repeated, “what’s a Ute anyway?” (I thought UofA supplied a good education—ever heard of Wiki or Google?).
It was so satisfying to watch them all start streaming out of the Superdome with 5:13 still left on the clock! They were still the polite southern gents, to their credit—but at last the cocky condescension had been rebuffed.
Running down the stairs to get closer to the field for the trophy presentation, all I heard from the Tide-al wave of Bama faithful headed out of the building was, “[so-and-so] needs to get fired,” “someone ought to have Saban’s head.” My personal favorite was, “we got out-coached, out-schemed, and out-played by a better team.” Honestly, I overheard that straight from a purple-crimson-clad fan on the stairs without me uttering one sound.
I have to agree...Yes they did!
Tags: alabama crimson tide newsFall of The Crimson Line: Bama Stabbed in Leg, But Not Heart
January 4, 2009
I'm sure most of you do not understand the title of this article, but it fits well with the situation.
If it were 2005, it would have been a stabbing in the heart, that Alabama would not have been able to recover from. Shula could not have brought the Tide back to domination the following year, simply because he cannot recruit nor coach.
I was sitting in the upper-deck in New Orleans, awaiting for the game to start, when something did not feel right. Utah had a fiery look in them that The Crimson Tide did not.
If Andre Smith had played, who knows what would have happened? Mike Johnson would not have gotten hurt for sure, and we would not have had only two players in their original positions on the offensive line.
Alabama fans, this ones for you.
We have no valid excuses for our pitiful performance, because if we deserved to beat Utah, we would have had enough depth for Smith's absence to not be a factor.
On the other hand. Andre Smith does not play on defense. 21-0 sounds like a defensive failure. Sure, Andre Smith was a HUGE distraction to all of the Alabama team, as well as the coach, but it should not affect the play that much.
The one thing I complete disagree with is the statement: "Nick Saban was out coached."
When an Andre Smith goes down days before a game, it is nearly impossible to get that off of the players mind.
I have lived through one Alabama national championship, but I had not even said my first words yet.
It is time to wake up and smell the coffee, because this is not even close to the end of the road.
Alabama was stabbed in the leg. It will take some time to heal, but we are not dead.
We are Alabama, and it takes things like this to get motivated.
Tags: alabama crimson tide newsFall of The Crimson Line: Alabama Stabbed in Leg, Not Heart
January 4, 2009
I'm sure most of you do not understand the title of this article, but it fits well with the situation.
If it were 2005, it would have been a stabbing in the heart, that Alabama would not have been able to recover from. Shula could not have brought the Tide back to domination the following year, simply because he cannot recruit nor coach.
I was sitting in the upper-deck in New Orleans, awaiting for the game to start, when something did not feel right. Utah had a fiery look in them that The Crimson Tide did not.
If Andre Smith had played, who knows what would have happened? Mike Johnson would not have gotten hurt for sure, and we would not have had only two players in their original position on the offensive line.
Alabama fans, this ones for you.
We have no valid excuses for our pitiful performance, because if we deserved to beat Utah, we would have had enough depth for Smith's absence to not be a factor.
On the other hand. Andre Smith does not play on defense. 21-0 sounds like a defensive failure. Sure, Andre Smith was a HUGE distraction to all of the Alabama team, as well as the coach, but it should not affect the play that much.
The one thing i complete disagree with is the statement: "Nick Saban was out coached."
When an Andre Smith goes down days before a game, it is nearly impossible to get that off of the players mind.
I have lived through one Alabama national championship, but i had not even said my first words yet.
It is time to wake up and smell the coffee, because this is not even close to the end of the road.
Alabama was stabbed in the leg. It will take some time to heal, but we are not dead.
We are Alabama, and it takes things like this to get motivated.
Tags: alabama crimson tide news
