SABAN CAN COACH FOR ANOTHER DECADE…

       Opposing coaches are starting to tell recruits that Nick Saban is nearing the end of his coaching career. I’m sorry, I don’t see it that way. Given Saban’s current health and vitality, there is no reason why the NCAA’s best college football coach cannot coach for another decade. I have recently talked with two potential recruits who told me that an opposing recruiter said that Saban can’t coach forever. No one can coach forever. Saban can set records that might never be broken. That's a kind of forever.

      Saban is only 67 years old and seems to be in perfect health. Despite his love for Little Miss Debbie’s, he takes care of himself. He is in good shape, shows absolutely no sign of diminished mental sharpness, and I’d strongly suspect he has some goals to reach before he retires. A lot of fans say he wants to win another national championship. I bet he wants to win several more. I see no reason why he can’t. Why do I say that?

1. Head coaches are the CEO of big businesses. While Saban still likes to have a hands-on approach with players, he has the knack of finding great assistant coaches who can teach the game. In fact, keeping assistant coaches may be the toughest problem these days for Coach Saban.

2. Players flock to Alabama because Nick Saban and the University of Alabama is the gold standard of college football. If you say that Alabama is a football factory that would be as slight to what Saban and his Alabama head coaches have built. Alabama is head and shoulders above any football program in the history of college football. There are some constants in life - death, taxes, and Alabama football.

3. Sixty-seven years of age is the new fifty-seven years of age. You can rest assured that all Alabama coaches get the best medical attention that money can buy, and Alabama has a lot of money. Not only do people live longer, but the retention of vitality is greater now than a generation ago.

4. Nick Saban sends more young men into the ranks of financial success than any other coach in the NCAA. Gary Daniel’s CBS analyst said that Alabama has seven players projected to be drafted in the 1st round in the NFL this season. That’s just the first round. NFL coaches know that if a player comes from Alabama they are ready to play in the league.

5. Alabama pays its strength coach $500,000 annually. Let that sink in. Saban knows and understands the value of service. When Tide players hold up four fingers at the start of the final-quarter they know they have earned the right to do that. Saban has a method to win. But his method is unlike anything seen before. Today, coaches all over the nation try to emulate Nick Saban. Some are more successful than others. The remarkable career of Nick Saban was the marriage of his coaching style and Alabama. It has been a perfect fit. The fans argue about whether Coach Bryant or Coach Saban is the greatest coach in Alabama history. Both are the greatest. They merely coached in different eras. Some of us are lucky to have seen both coaches.

6. Saban has so defined his method of leadership he has named it the process. It is actually a cognitive thinking pattern. Rather than focus on one big goal, Saban has chosen to prepare his team by having dozens of smaller goals. Each player has certain things they need to do better. The Coach constantly talks about the decisions his players make and how each decision determines the success or failure of a player. The more players that buy into the process making good decisions will make each man a better player. The more players making good decisions will lead to success for the team. The process is not just giving players instructions to reach a specific plateau. The player is given an individual goal and then understands that thinking properly will lead to the fulfillment of each individual goal. Do what you need to do each day. Do the drills correctly and understand that even seemingly trivial decisions can affect the larger team goal. Saban motivates his players by acknowledging that staying in the process is the only goal a player needs to make. Keeping players in the process also reduces stress and tension on the coaching staff, and the players. All Saban asks his players to do is reach an attainable goal that differs for each player.

      All of these things point to a man who will continue coaching as long as his health and motivation are intact. Success breeds success. I’m betting he coaches until he has had enough. Only Saban can determine when that will be. I bet he is nowhere near the end of his career. 

TIDE PASSES CLEMSON AND JUMPS TO #1 IN AP POLL...

   The Alabama Crimson Tide's impressive offensive performance convinced the majority of AP Poll voters to move them to #1 in the latest Top Twenty-Five.  Clemson was lucky to have beaten unranked North Carolina 21-20. The Tar Heels bid for a major upset was denied when the Tigers stopped their two-point conversion. Tua Tagavailoa threw five touchdown passes to Devonta Smith in a trouncing of Ole Miss. Those five touchdown passes caught by Smith was an Alabama record. Stay tuned. The season is still young. Who knows? Perhaps someone will catch six in the near future. Don't be surprised. 

TAKEAWAYS FROM THE WEEKEND:

1.  Clemson looked pretty ordinary this past weekend. Stopping a two-point conversion to beat the not so mighty Tarheels.  Consider this - it is entirely possible that the Tigers might not even play a single ranked team in the regular season. The Tigers have only Wake Forest who is ranked tonight. 

2. Bama's defense had a bad day but the offense seems capable of covering a lot of defensive sins.  If Bama can get its defense in order no one can beat them it appears. The defense doesn't have to dominate but they need to shore up some problems. 

3. Auburn is a very good football team. Mississippi State is not very good but take nothing away from 'Bama's arch-rival. The Tiger defense is stout. I don' think Aubie can get by both Alabama, LSU, Florida, and Georgia however. I smell a couple of losses. The Tigers will not win the SEC but they could have a big say-so into who will win. 

4. LSU has a potent offense. It is unlike anything I've seen from Bayouville.  But the Tigers gave up 38 points to Vandy. Hmm... You can't fail to think about that, can you? Still, the Tigers are better than last season.  The game of the year will be in T-Town and that's a good thing.

5. Georgia is undefeated but hasn't played anyone who could cause them in any trouble save Notre Dame. The Dawgs play in the weak Eastern Division. Only Auburn appears ready to beat them. Florida might give them a run. Missouri is not ready for prime time in the SEC this season. 

6. Ohio State is now the #4 team in America as the Midwestern lobbying begins in earnest.  I will believe the Buckeyes if and when they beat Wisconsin. OSU is a good team in a very weak league.

7. SMU is the program that proved that the death penalty in college football could ruin a program. It is been a long time since the Mustangs have been able to hold their heads high. Way to go, boys.

8. How good Florida might really be is beyond my ability to ferret out some truth. Dan Mullins is one heck of a coach. He has all the talent in the world to recruit by just walking out the front door. Time will tell in a few weeks. Can the Gators beat Georgia, LSU, and Auburn to run the table? That seems doubtful to me

9. Texas A&M is facing a monster home game with Alabama in two weeks. Is Jimbo Fisher the coach who won a national championship or the coach who oversaw the FSU program crash and burn.

9. Oklahoma keeps winning behind superb play by Jalen Hurts. Did Jalen have to transfer to Okieland to win the Heisman?  He's a class act, but Tua is better in my opinion. It appears that one of two best quarterbacks in the NCAA will win the award.

10. Wisconsin gets my nod for the best uniforms in the throwback mode. Those red jerseys and khaki pants was the bomb of the week. Move over Oregon. You've got competition. 

Player of the Week: Tua Tugavaila and Devonta Smith (just can't separate  them)

 TIDE WINS BIG, BUT...

        Light your torches. I fully expect many of you to flame me again. After five games it is clear that Alabama has some serious defensive problems. The only real question Tide fans need to concern themselves with is whether Tua and company can outscore every team on the schedule.

        Hats off to offense once again. Tua Tagovailoa had another afternoon that showed the nation what a great quarterback plays for Alabama. Despite the fact, that Devonta Smith, one of the Four Amigos, setting receiving records for touchdown passes in a game, an uneasiness won’t about this team won’t go away. The defense isn’t even average.  The defense is simply bad.

       It isn’t just the linebackers who are young and lost.  The defensive line isn’t playing well. Anferee Jennings had an outstanding day. Finally, Raekwon Davis looked better. Despite those two having 17 tackles between them, the Ole Miss Rebels ran the ball for 276 yards. The Rebels had 476 total yards for the day including 25 first downs.  Alabama gave up 88 offensive plays. I don’t care how much Crimson Kool-Ade you drink, those are unacceptable for a team who wants to win another National Championship.

      I thought the defensive backs played well. The Rebels outfought Tide defenders for a couple of jump ball passes but any team will lose some of those. The defense gave up far too many yards to a   freshman quarterback who merely kept the ball and attacked the edges of the Tide defense. Alabama is now 5-0 on the season. Luckily, the Tide has an open date next week to see if some of the problems can be addressed. Perhaps all college defenses are a dying breed. The offenses have been given too many advantages by the rules committee. Or perhaps, Alabama doesn’t have a defense that can stop anyone. Let’s be honest. The Tide has played five bad football teams. The good teams are coming up. LSU and Auburn are coming up. Texas A&M is on the road, and Kellen Mond is a dual-threat quarterback. I don’t even know if Alabama will make it to the SEC Championship game unless the defense steps it up. I think the defense can get better. I hope the offensive line improves. 

     Still, it seems to me that the best hope for Bama is that offense just keeps it up. So, I'll continue to worry about the defense. I'll continue to marvel about the Tua and his wide-out buddies. Let's just hope that no opposing offense comes up with a scheme. to stop the Tide. Let's hope the defense can find some true grit.

Life in Mississippi... 

    

      I lived in Mississippi when I was young. Each time Alabama plays Ole Miss in football or basketball in brings back memories. I love basketball. It isn’t easy being a round ball man in an oblong ball land. Don’t get me wrong. I like Alabama football, but my heart beats a little stronger when the Tide takes to the hardwood. Loving basketball isn’t the standard bill of fare in the Deep South. Down here, football is king. There is no doubt about which sport rules the unique area we call home.

    Basketball has always been my favorite game.  I learned to play hoops in Jackson, Mississippi. My family wasn’t rich. We weren’t poor, but there wasn’t a lot of money to spend on extra things.  Back then, your mother opened the back door to let you out to play with your friends after breakfast. She said don’t home before lunch.  The difference in me and the kids on my block was I had a basketball tucked under my arm and not a football.   All the white kids played football. I played basketball. We lived a block or so from the black neighborhood. It was literally across the railroad tracks. Most of my friends were black because of basketball.  We played basketball on asphalt courts. The rims had no nets.

    When I was eight,  a couple of older black kids said I shouldn't play with them because I was white. They told me it was better to play with the white kids. I told them it didn't matter.  Eventually, I was just another kid who wanted to play basketball. The white kids called me names, said some things I  will not write here. My mother and father explained this was the way the world was. But our family treated everyone the same and told Mississippians what we believed.    It was a good lesson to learn in 1955. It wasn’t a popular one, however. That was 64 years ago. The world hasn’t changed as much as it could have.  People still hate. Ignorance abounds, but hope lives on. Basketball taught me a lot more than making baskets.  I’m still that little kid that goes outside with a basketball under his arm. You can’t see that basketball, but it’s there.  I still hear my parents telling me that everyone is my brother and sister.  I still know most of my black buddies from that asphalt court. We talk from time to time, mostly at funerals now.  They still call me “little cracker”.  Back in 1955, I learned to shoot from downtown, dribble behind my back, and throw a no look pass. It was a magical year in more ways than one. 

CAN THE TIDE OFFENSE CARRY A SHAKY DEFENSE?

It’s an honest question. ‘Bama may start four freshmen this weekend. What do you say about that? Let’s be glad we aren’t in College Station on Saturday. Every team gets its share of injuries. The Dylan Moses injury is a major loss. The fact that the Tide lost a fifth-year senior as well tells me a lot about Alabama recruiting. The Tide must have missed on some big-time recruits in the past to find itself in this position. No doubt that Shane Lee and Christian Harris will be great players, but right now they are being introduced to big-time football and a steep learning curve. Will they get better? Sure, will it be in time to help win a national championship?  I don't know. 

The DL is hurting as well. A freshman nose guard is never a good sign, is it? Now, Alabama will start a freshman defensive end as well. Sorry, but even the staunchest Crimson fan has to worry. So, here’s the deal - ‘Bama has two games to get the defensive side of the ball “fixed”. I’m not sure anything was really broken in a sense. If Alabama got a couple of players to stick around for one more year the Tide would have been odds on favorites to win the National Championship. The Tide finds itself in a precarious situation right now.

Alabama is one injury away from becoming a pretty average football team. If Tua got hurt? We can’t run the ball right now. The best “run” from scrimmage was a lateral to Henry Ruggs that was called a forward pass to being with. Smashmouth football may not a be the way ‘Bama chooses to run their offense, but it would be nice to see someone pick up three solid yards on third down when needed.  Granted, neither Harris or Brian Robinson is Derrick Henry.  Obviously, someone needs to step forward and be the man.  If the line can open some running lanes then Keilen Robinson seems to have the skill to make some big runs.  That all starts with if the line can open some holes.  No one can run without blocking.  

My bet is that all these problems will get better with time.  Chaucer wrote in the prologue of The Clerks Tale that time and tide wait for no man. He was right in the middle ages and it still applies now. 'Bama is likely to take some hard knocks down the road.  They might even lose a game. Tide fans may not be able to stand that thought, but it's a legitimate one.  Our climate is falling apart, the United States Navy says it has film of three UFO's, and the Middle East may explode.  Those are all secondary to Alabama fans it seems.  Birth - Alabama football - Death?

MIXED DAY FOR THE TIDE

Tide rolls over the Gamecocks 47-23...

    The Alabama fanbase loves to yell Roll Tide Roll.  We might want to add "and thank heaven for Tua." On a hot and humid Saturday afternoon, the Crimson Tide slowly beat down the game South Carolina Gamecocks. Once again the Tide showed tremendous promise and glaring problems. That is the dichotomy of Tide football. The promise is built around a gifted QB and the best four wideouts who have ever played together. Whether the problems with the offensive and defensive lines can be fixed remains the question. 

    Going into the  Carolina game it was thought that Alabama might have found some answers on the defensive side. After giving up 86 offensive plays to Carolina it seems that there are more answers to be found.  If you give an offense 86 chances to score you can bet your bottom dollar your opponent is going to score. USC scored 23. That is far more than Tide fans wanted to see, but keep in mind that one of those touchdowns came at games end against non-starters. But we also have to keep in mind that the vast majority of those 86 plays came against first-team defenders. Nick Saban even replaced one of his two freshman linebackers. A freshman quarterback riddled the Tide's defense for 

     Defensive coaches seemed unable to make changes to help their players. The defense was on the heels most of the game but only gave up one touchdown when it mattered. On the other hand, Carolina made 6 trips inside the Tide 30-yard line. USC had 459 yards in total offense and made 31 first downs. It wasn't senior that racked up that yardage for the Gamecocks. It was a freshman Quarterback riddled the Tide secondary and linebackers for all that yardage. It might very well be the case that the best Tide defense is the Tide offense.

    In all honesty, even though no one wants to hear this, the Tide defense seemed confused. The Tide has two games to find some answer to the defensive problems. Southern Miss is next. Then comes Ole Miss. Alabama should win those games, and then we find out whether the Tide is ready for prime time when they travel to College Station. Two games to find some winners on the offensive and defensive lines. I know that many like to say the Tide's running game is a part of a short pass game. I don't buy that. I believe that Saban wants a line that can open some holes for the running backs. The linebacker problem is real and is likely to come more apparent in the future. Southern Miss likes to throw the rock, and the young 'backer corp needs to step it up. 

    Winning by the pass will work until it doesn't Somewhere down the schedule a coach is going to figure out a way to slow down Tua. They may not stop the lefty but to reduce his effectiveness will make the Tide run game important. I have faith that our coaches will make these problems better. Can they up the offensive and defensive line to national championship standards. I don't know.  When you beat an SEC foe on the road by 24 points it says a lot of positive things about your offense.  My bet is that there are going to be some tense weekends for Tide fans. LSU, Auburn, and Texas A&M are teams that can play. Mississippi State isn't a pushover. I believe that four of the best 5 teams in the Southeastern Conference play in the Western Division. The Tide might very well win the West but I don't think they can dominate. And the kicking game had its problems as well. All teams have problems. Having problems isn't unique. Injuries take a toll on a team, changing coaches hurts, have so many juniors leave early is bound to hurt some season. 

THE GOOD: Tua and the wideouts, McKinney and Diggs in the secondary.

THE BAD: The running game was missing in action. The Tide linebackers.

THE UGLY: One Alabama punt traveled 14 yards. 14 yards? Seriously? A missed extra point.

    My friends tell me that Tua will play again for the Tide next season. I hope they are correct. Roll Tide and Thank Heaven for Tua.

     

Tide fans can't take the criticism...

    One of the sad things about Alabama football fans is the complete ability to hear criticism about the football program. That makes no sense. There will come a day when Nick Saban is no longer our coach. I hope the day is years away but one day he will retire. He is a great coach. I'll leave it up to the readers to argue the Bear Bryant vs. Nick Saban question. I'll say this - I'd take either because there isn't even another choice in the argument.

    When you post online you can be anyone you'd like to be. You can say anything you like behind the anonymity of fake identification. You want to be ugly to another poster just go right ahead. There is no real penalty for doing so. I'm used to the negativity. When you write a blog it goes with the territory. What I cannot get used to is the absolute stupidity of some of the posts and the hatred.  The hatred is appalling and it is not necessary. Stupidity is merely a function of lack of intelligence.

    Perhaps it is time to consider a different manner of how forums operate.  Perhaps the real name of the poster should be required.  I wonder if we owe that to one another. Or do we will allow grown men (and women) to continue posting whatever they choose in any manner they desire. Today, I chose to write a short article expressing my concern that the football team has some obvious problems. Read the replies and see if those comments even talk about the problems I wrote. Or do they address something much sadder and more threatening about our individual characters?  You can send me an email at Midcourt@aol.com. Flame me all you wish. I have a couple of days off. LOL

 'Bama has some serious problems... 


Let’s have a moment of crimson clarity. Alabama isn’t going to win the National Championship. We have an offensive line that can’t run block or pass block the Three Stooges. We have some glaring problems on defense due to injuries, and despite the best efforts of coaches to bring two freshmen linebackers up to speed, they can’t teach experience. We've won two games by lopsided scores and looked horrible in doing so so. We can all hope that turns things around, but… that likely will be a process and not a singular event.

     What Alabama does have is a quarterback that defies description and four wide-outs who are world-beaters. What happens if Tua gets a season-ending injury? I’ll give you a logical answer - ‘Bama becomes a middle of the pack team for the remainder of the season. We saw what happened last season when his injuries kept him from being the magician he has become. None of this makes me happy to suggest or speculate about the Crimson Tide not being a national player. But this writer viewed a lot of things that will keep the Tide from winning meaningful games until the answers are found and the solution applied.

      On offense, the Tide is a one-trick pony. The running game is just not very good. The Tides breaks some long runs to make the stats look better, but how many long-distance runs do we expect against tough SEC opponents? I’m not holding my breath. Of course, Harris and Robinson seem to have nowhere to run on most plays. Seriously, the offensive line isn’t ready for prime time. Oh yeah, and their pass blocking isn’t very good. That makes Tua hurry his throws, and more seriously, he has to dodge injuries. Can the Tide coaching staff fix this? Will the line better when D. Brown returns? Let’s not joke ourselves. This team has some real problems.