Saban Plays It Safe, Soft In Tide Loss. Is that what you pay $4 Million/year for?

…..of a team we haven’t played yet, but it’s hard to disagree with that assessment. Saban isn’t the first coach to get tight in big games when he’s favored.

…..I had much the same complaint about later-era Tuberville. He’d take those knees and burn the last minute or two of the half, not even trying to score. It would drive me crazy!

But I agree, I didn’t understand why they didn’t pass to Richardson MORE. That move scares the living $%^& out me for the Iron Bowl……I’m sure there’s some sort of Moral MNC that was claimed Sat night….

But Bama’s OC is awful as well.

LSU didn’t play mistake free either, we had many missed opportunities and defensive breakdowns. The difference was that Miles and his teams are mentally tough. Saban cracks.

Miles castrated Saban in Tiger Stadium last year. His balls have been sitting on Miles’ desk in a jar for a year while a new orleans voodoo queen was “prepping” Saban for Nov 5th, 2011. I can’t wait for Finebaum’s show tomorrow.

Geaux Tigers.

And ill skip the obligatory “har har our rival is obsessed with us!” crap we all throw at each other

To me it isn’t crazy to still fully support your coach and to be satisfied in our current position. It was a game of inches and we came up one inch short. A three point loss to the number one team in the nation. Not thirty five points, a field in overtime.

The formula might not seem so hot the day after a tough loss but we still have a shot our fourth ten win season in a row, our fourth finishing with a top ten ranking in a row, and a great shot at a third BCS bowl in four years.

It’s still a great position to be in so all the fans and rival fans calling into question a coach that has produced these numbers is a little beyond extreme.

Saban is worth every penny. We ’ re much better off than before. He ’s not perfect. Neither was the Bear. I remember the 1972 Iron Bowl—well, from books and film—as well as the 1980 loss to MSU and the Bear never beating Texas while at Bama nor ever beating Notre Dame, even at Legion Field, getting shutout 7-0. And he did have a way of getting conservative when leading, always frustrating my father.

I got really angry when Pat Dye settled for a tie against Syracuse, hoping you ’d win. Michigan beat us by having the guts not to settle for a tie when there was no OT. Bobby Bowden also settled for a tie in 1994 against Florida. Do you question the worth of these 2 coaches to their respective programs?

So Saban is not perfect, he has taken responsibility, and needs to do self-evaluation. And yes, yesterday’s offensive playcalling, special teams, last minutes in regulation time, and OT possession stunk. God I long for the days of Van Tiffin (remember him?), Philip Doyle, and Michael Proctor.

Anyway, good luck against the Bulldogs and in the Iron Bowl.

Anyway, good luck against the Bulldogs and in the Iron Bowl.

I’ll say this about Saban, and then, leave it alone. Bob Stoops he’s not, and that’s a good thing.

Because I can tell you my family (which all are bama fans) are complaining. They cite the very reasons you did. They aren’t happy. And while no one is going to sit and throw crap at Saban with a record like he has…. he alone lost this game.

For crying out loud… you had Trent Richardson. You had Eddie Lacey. In RBs alone you could have pounded the ball all night long. And bama would have won. Yet… bama wanted to play finess? And then wanted to put it on your FG kicker??

By the way: is that kid a scholly winner? Or is he a walk on?

I think the 4th QTR throw by Maze that was intercepted at the goal line… say it all! LSU is a bunch of brawlers. Especially on defense!!

Rule #1: Know your enemy.

The reason I think they went away from the running game? Trent was tired of getting hammered. So was Eddie… And wasn’t Trent supposed to be the Heisman Trophy winner… in all but name alone? What, they wanted to prove that theQB was all that they said he was….? LOL.

Rule #2: Know yourself.

For all the hype… it reminded me of the 1988 AU vs LSU game. I think we lost 7-6.

Don’t get me wrong bama fans – you got a great defense. But your offense is way over-rated. And so is your coaching staff. They can put together a great program that competes regularly… but that in itself doesn’t mean you can win championships every year. I think this seals that deal in that regard.

WDE

LSU came to play and didn’t let the atmosphere get bigger than them. they were in the game from the opening kick off.

i think saban did make some very poor calls throughout the game…starting with the decision to take the ball in the beginning of the game.

i would love to hear his explanation on so many little decisions after that.

bottom line take-a-ways for me is this:
1. neither lee or mccarron looked like they’re capable of handling a game of that significance- turnovers, turnovers… BIG in this game and when the big play pass was there mccarron and lee fell short. lets be honest, for the #1 and #2 teams in the nation… this was crap QB play.

2. bama can’t win even with the best RB and best WR in the game= there should be legit offensive worries from tide fans.

3. it appeared that LSU entered this game more battle tested… in contrast to Saban, I thought Miles made adjustments much more fluidly throughout the course of the game…and the LSU Defensive players made more of an impact than bama’s in the 2nd half. i attribute this mostly to the matchup of LSU Dline against the bama Oline. i’m still convinced it is impossible to have enough speed on D in the SEC. LSU didn’t let Richardson run away with the game…and when bama was faced with that scenario.. the offense wasn’t dynamic enough to manage.

4. program personality: i talk about this all the time. what about the demeanor of the sidelines during this game?… your thoughts? didn’t it look as if Miles and LSU were having much more fun? “conservative” used to describe bama is entirely appropriate…i love smash mouth, but i hate “conservative”. i thought bama did get caught too conservative…coverage of these 2 teams arriving at bryant denny … halftime chats with head coaches… clearly bama embraces the business approach personality stamp… but i would argue that a majority of great football happens outside the Xs and Os… it is a game of equal part strategy/execution and player creativity/ heart/ effort. you should not be out efforted in your own house…and i think bama was on Sat. night. i think Miles attitude (all week) was as much a part of their W on saturday as anything.

5. the ball was intercepted bama. your kickers missed field goals bama. your QB didn’t make plays bama. bama… you’re not the best in the conference or the nation. shelf the arrogance, accept the loss, move on.

can’t wait to see that kicker try one in jordan-hare… and oh… don’t come to Auburn and plan on running Richardson all day…
if that is all your offense offers… i will already climb out on a limb and predict another 3 point bama loss… 3-0 Auburn.

war eagle.