phil4bama

Nice to be the hunter for a change instead of the hunted.

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The ability to run the ball when needed. I don't expect us to lean on the ground game to crush opponents. What I do expect is for us to demonstrate to ability to get 3 yards on the ground whenever we want.

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And 1 when we need it without running some damn double reverse throwback to the QB gimmick play.

He’ll get a few during mop up duty but it’s hard to throw TD’s from the sidelines wearing a headset. I thought Mack looked pretty good when he replaced Ty in the Rose Bowl but Keelon is just one of those guys like Tua or Bryce: pinpoint accuracy, almost always finding the right guy who is open, and able to make plays when there’s not a play there. He’s got “IT!” And the sooner we get him under center, the sooner he can finish the adjustment to this level and be a lethal weapon.

I’ve been saying this for a little over a year and most of the crimson colored glasses crowd just thought I was an old man yelling at clouds.
It’s just not the same. This is what it felt like during the Perkins years. It was life after a legend then just like now. And the fanbase having to adjust to a different kind of football where we don’t just line up and impose our will on the opponent and we are a long shot for a natty. But at least the playing field was level and we could find the right coach and we could get to the top of the mountain again. I don’t think we can anymore, at least not with any regularity. Maybe DeBoer’s strategy to keep and develop players works and we can compete but even then we will have gap years where we are developing the next group of upperclassmen in the system and we go 8-5 or worse. We don’t have what it takes to play this NIL game. We just don’t.

And those of you who are saying just wait, things will work themselves out are kidding yourselves. If anything, it’s only getting worse. There is no governing body to restrain the Cody Campbell’s and Mark Cubans of the world and until there is, it’s just a matter of who buys the right players and puts them all together to win a natty. LSU is trying real hard to do that now. Until changes are made with player compensation a realistic goal for Alabama football will be to make the playoffs. We might catch lightning in a bottle every now and then and make a deep run or maybe even play for a natty, but it will be a rarity.
And yes, the quality of play on the field is suffering greatly. And who would be surprised by that? Like someone said, when you can’t develop a kid, how do you expect him to get better and more polished? I stumbled across a video of Alabama versus USC back in 1978 or 79 today on YouTube the difference in quality of play was astounding. You could tell there was a gap in athleticism compared to the players of today but the cleanness and crispness and quality was night and day different from today. It was particularly evident in the blocking and tackling. It was refreshing to watch and to listen to Keith Jackson and Ara Parsegian call the game too. Yeah, I’m just an old man yelling at clouds and it doesn’t hit the same anymore, but there’s a damn good reason for it and if you don’t believe me, just go back and watch a game from the mid to late 70s.

If you’re not greatly out-talented, 3rd and 1 simply comes down to good technique and want-to. If you’ve got some dogs up there that will get after it, short yardage won’t be a passing down this year. If there isn’t improvement there, I will just be disgusted.

Nothing against these guys and I hope they prove me wrong but there’s not a Cuevas in the bunch. That dude was money whenever we needed it.

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The vast majority of current day recruits don't give a frick about things like history, prestige, development, playing in the best venues in the country, etc. because they can set themselves financially for life without ever making it to the NFL now.

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And there, in a nutshell, is the underlying problem. The hunger is gone. They foolishly think they can take their NIL money, live like a king, and never work again. And by the time this myth is exposed, college football will be a shadow of its former self and in shambles. Nobody wants to fix it except Saban and the schools are fighting him to keep the status quo that will be their death knell.

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I also expect Lane to tone down the dumb decisions, he won't have to just go for broke now with the talent they've acquired

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Here’s the counter argument: I think Lane will be even more reckless with his play calling and in game decisions because instead of being at Ole Miss with Pete Golding running the defense, he’s at LSU. Now he thinks he can out talent most of his opponents and if he screws up, Blake Baker’s defense is there to bail him out. He’s going to call a game like a drunken riverboat gambler until it bites him in the arse and costs him a couple of games. And Orgeron may be in his face arguing decisions with him too.

Florida will be most improved. But don’t sleep on State. If Lebby is going to survive as a head coach, he’ll have to make a big improvement this year. They will be dangerous.
Vandy comes back to Earth, Arkansas is a complete wild card and Auburn will be a disappointment for their fans expecting a quick turnaround. Sark better produce and A&M will be make a deep playoff run. Ole Miss takes a big step backwards. SECCG- Texas A&M vs Georgia.

Nah, screw it. I love the university and will have put 2 kids through law school there before I’m done at the out of state rate. And I have loved Alabama sports since I was old enough to remember. But I’m done with it now. I don’t want to be but it’s not what I fell in love with. I fell in love with Coach Bryant taking kids that weren’t 5 star athletes and getting them to play harder and meaner than the 5 star and whip his arse 8 out of 10 times. You wanna know why Coach Bryant never beat Texas or Notre Dame at Alabama? Because he was taking a knife to a gun fight, that’s why. But those stud athletes had an all day job beating Bama boys, they didn’t just roll over. Because they loved the jersey and the university it stood for and their coach.
How many can say that now? A handful maybe? The rest are paid mercenaries that don’t give a rats arse about anything related to Alabama besides the paycheck. I can’t do it. I just can’t make the transition. These kids meet every definition of pro athletes. And I don’t even mind them getting paid, but it should be a reasonable amount and should be capped at $100,000 per kid per year. That’s more than it should be but at least you aren’t making some teenage kid a millionaire for playing a football game!
And you’re kidding yourself if you think Alabama and most of the rest of the SEC can play this game for long. It’s only a matter of time before we become some mutation between a G6 school and a P4 school because we don’t have billionaire alums that want to have a dick measuring contest of who can buy the best team. It’s sad really that it has come to this.
I know I sound like sour grapes but that’s not it. I’m pissed and I’m sad that ESPN and Disney and money have ruined a great American tradition and taken away my favorite hobby. It wasn’t broke. It didn’t need fixing. Tweaked, maybe, but not this. And the Big 10 is laughing their asses off at our dumb commissioner and how they outfoxed him and neutered the mighty SEC. To each his own, I don’t fault any of you that still love it and don’t see a problem. I hope I’m wrong but my belief is we are on a countdown to irrelevance in the major sports. Roll Tide y’all. It was so much fun while it lasted.

Unless a basketball game breaks out in The Joe this weekend, I like our chances as well. But guys, cut out the drama and the cardiac kids act. Have a killer instinct and put them away!

I can’t disagree Robot Santa. But my greatest suspicion and fear is that when the electorate throws the GOP out on their collective asses, whenever that may be, the Democrats have been given the precedent to govern this way. And I will be surprised if they don’t wield it. You opened Pandora’s box, Republicans, and now the evils have escaped. And they will probably be used against you. How could you not foresee and expect it? That is exactly why you don’t do these things. Thomas Jefferson was right: a little rebellion every now and then is a good thing.