Is Bama as good as advertised?

[Catch Prothro]

After watching the Ole Miss game, I have concerns now that Bama might not be as good as advertised.  Wins that looked big earlier, against Michigan and Arkansas, now don't look as great.  Ole Miss could be the best team Bama has played this season.  Bama struggled on offense getting the ball in the end zone against an Ole Miss team that was taken apart by Texas.  We weren't very good running the ball for much of the game. Is Bama missing Fowler that much?  The team has work to do.  Hopefully this bye week will give them time to reassess and work on that ground game.

[BamaFanInACCLand]

I do think that physically, Bama is as good as advertised. I think that what we observed last night is a young team with a bye week in front of them who got a little cocky and did not play to their full mental or physical capacity. CNS tried to warn them of this, but we have to remember that there are a number TRUE FRESHMEN who are seeing significant playing time as well as many who are starters for the first time. This team seems to grow each time they approach a situation that exposes their level of immaturity. The difference between this team and the 2010 team is that they do seem to learn their lessons. It is a tribute to the physical talent on the field as well as coaching, that they are making the mental mistakes they are making and still beating SEC competition by 19 points. I think this performance ahead of a bye week is the best thing that can happen for the team. The coaching staff will have plenty of material to work with over the next 2 weeks. I am excited to see how they come out of the bye.

[ALTideUp]

I hate to say coach told you so, but coach old you so. If by " as advertised" you mean as proclaimed by fans and media after the Mich game, the answer is no. If you mean as proclaimed by Saban and the media prior to the season, we are close. Oddly it is the offense and not the defense that is falling short. With our lines and back i expected our run game to be even more dominant and punishing than last year. However, across all of our 5 games we have not had but one or two sustained, run dominated drives. And wr have not been threatening enough in the passing game to thin out the box. We have won despite these things because of a vastly improved kicking game and the bedrock of Saban ball - no penalties and no turnovers.

I am comforted by this one fact above all others: No one is better at improving a team through the course of a season than Nick Saban. He will do more with a bye week than most coaches can achieve during Spring camp.

[Old Tider]

Well, we won by a larger point spread than LSU had over Towson. Who the heck is Towson? Never heard of them.

[XBAMA]

Paul Finebaum ‏@finebaum

Alabama was a unanimous No. 1 in this week's AP Poll. The Tide received all 60 first-place votes for the first time this season.

 

[ALTideUp]

Paul Finebaum ‏@finebaum

Alabama was a unanimous No. 1 in this week's AP Poll. The Tide received all 60 first-place votes for the first time this season.

 

Perhaps, but we have the advantage of having actually watched the game.

[XBAMA]

Perhaps, but we have the advantage of having actually watched the game.

yep , no doubt
I found it ironic that we played our worst game to date and in turn
get ALL the fist place votes 

[SUPERCOACH]

Paul Finebaum ‏@finebaum

Alabama was a unanimous No. 1 in this week's AP Poll. The Tide received all 60 first-place votes for the first time this season.

 

Lemmings!  Those voters are lemmings I tell you!

I have my concerns as well.  I don't think we are as good as we have been hyped up to be.  In fact it seems like across the board, there are many teams this year that are way over hyped.  I thought Oregon might be pretty good, but I just looked at their season so far and they haven't played anyone yet.  They are doing OK so far but they haven't been tested by a good team yet.

I think our defense is doing very well.  We did give up 2 TDs to Ole Miss, but their offense is pretty hard to deal with.  Our offense is struggling.  When a team decides to take away the run and force us into the passing game, we have trouble keeping the drive going.  I think AJ made some poor decisions yesterday at times when he threw the ball into coverage.  He was lucky that nothing bad happened, but I fear that only reinforced in his mind that he can get away with doing that.

CNS has his work cut out for him over the next 2 weeks.  I think he will have them fired up and ready to finish the season strong when they come back.  It would probably help our team quite a bit if LSU gets the snot beat out of them this week.  That might make our team realize that just because you were a preseason favorite it means absolutely nothing once the games begin.

[SUPERCOACH]

I'm surprised Oregon isn't getting any first place votes.

[XBAMA]

I'm surprised Oregon isn't getting any first place votes.

I told you they were going to hand me my 4th red X last night
the little quackers ...

but I'm surprised as well , because their such sweethearts and all  
I was expecting some to go that way too ...

[hscoach]

Too me, the most underachieving group is the OL.  They have been inconsistent since the Mic game.

[Marshal Dillon]

I have read the comments here and several good observations have been made. I think those observations and some I have might add up to what's "wrong" with the Tide. First, I would like to state four very obvious items.

1) We lost our 6 best defensive players from the 2011 team, including 3 LB's & 3 DB's. This has left a gaping hole in our defense, especially at LB, which is the heart of a Saban defense. Which LB has really shined so far, none that I can think of. Yesterday, the DB's were making almost all of the tackles, where were the LB's? Ole Miss was doing an outstanding job at blocking them.

2) The O-line is underperforming-What's disturbing is, compared to the Tide team, Ole Miss was playing with midgets. Our O-line averages 313#, OM 267. Their 250# DE wrecked havoc on our 320# linemen. They even had a 200# LB playing. Again, just like Western Kentucky, they were putting constant pressure on our QB.

3) The Jalston Fowler injury was HUGE. He was a bulldozer between the tackles and now that is gone. Dee Hart weighs 180 & Yelden 210. With teams packing the box with 7 players, they will get eat alive.

4) AJ as QB-This is the most mysterious element of our offensive woes. Has the new OC not been able to concoct a scheme to make our passing attack more viable? Is Saban holding the passing attack back? We were reading how the passing attack was going to "open up" this year, but it seems to have contracted even tighter. What's going on?



I said it before the season started, I don't see how this team goes undefeated with the loss of our 6 best defensive starters. That was said BEFORE the loss of Fowler. The biggest plus going for the Tide this year, is there is no real super team in football this year. No team appears dominating and overpowering.


 

[XBAMA]

MD wrote ...
I said it before the season started, I don't see how this team goes undefeated with the loss of our 6 best defensive starters. That was said BEFORE the loss of Fowler. The biggest plus going for the Tide this year, is there is no real super team in football this year. No team appears dominating and overpowering.

bingo ...
thank God on that last part , we'll need some luck and right now that is it ...

[Old Tider]

Ole Miss is only the second team we've played that has a winning record. The other is weak Western Kentucky.

[Catch Prothro]

Great observations guys.  A few others:

1.  Our offense is actually more productive than last year, but we aren't running the ball as well as expected.  Maybe Trent Richardson gave us unrealistic expectations on our running game, and it's not entirely on the OL.

2.  Armani Cooper had a huge game against Ole Miss.  A true freshman who has great hands.  With Cooper and the other receivers, and a more experienced AJ, the passing game is definitely better than last year, although Bama is missing Smelley's receptions, and the big impact he had in the BCSNCG.  Fowler's absence is not just impacting the run game, but probably the passing game even more.

3.  Maybe us fans are spoiled, or have been around Saban long enough, that we notice areas of needed improvement, instead of areas where Bama does well.

4.  Yep, we have a young team that maybe did not play up to their full potential against Ole Miss. Also, I think we are noticing some areas (HB and RB on offense) where Bama is missing some talent from last year.

5. I agree that the best thing about this game, other than winning, is that it gives Saban ammo to inspire the players to improve, and it happened before a bye week. 

[Guest]

Username:
Password:
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

There aren't any users online.

Loading Tweet...