SouthernTide17

I was sitting here thinking about the guys that were chosen and then started thinking about all the guys who could be listed, there will no doubt be some guys turn some heads that are unknowns right now. Howver, one known I think will have a monster year, if healthy, is Dylan Moses. I think he will end up an All-American. If Alabama wasn’t loaded across the board I would say he would be a dark horse Heisman candidate. Think I am crazy? He could play running back at most teams in the country. Like I said if Alabama wasn’t stacked at every position they could allow him a Charles Woodson type year and bring him in on certain packages on O. However, Alabama doesn’t need him to play on O so I will stop at(if healthy) he will be a unanimous first team All-American.

This is a load of bull. F-coaching changes! Well the way we deal with them year in and year out. Recruits nowadays commit to a coach more so than to an University. If we can’t keep coaches then it will negatively effect recruiting. Not to mention how the team has to transition learning new schemes, play calls, etc. just bull SH..people can’t see that no matter who Alabama has their going to look good. Daboll hasn’t done much of anything! I believe he will do great with another year and if Tua starts in 2018 he could have a Heisman Trophy to add to his resume as a coach. I am sick of everybody sniping our cordinators, the reason most don’t pan out is cause they only look so good cause Alabama has elite players and the best coach in college football. All the coaches that have failed under Saban were the one shot that didn’t stay to the extent Kirby did. Kirby stayed till his dream job opened and he learned to be Saban Jr in the process. If all coaches would follow Kirby’s path we wouldn’t suffer(Alabama) and the coach leaving would be more successful too.

One of the biggest things going for Saban with this QB controversy is the two QBs are each other’s biggest supporter on the team. Your talking about two very well mannered kids who both think “team first”. Now there are a lot of kids out there who only care about “me, myself, and I” and those are the QB controversies that bring a team down, but these two guys haven’t shown that trait. I think Hurts will still find ways to see the field. He wants to play in the NFL and judging by his passing through the last two years he will be joining Tebow, unfortunately. He could use this as an opputninity to start working on being a “slash” Kordell Stewart like player. I would love to see a package with Jalen and Tua on the field together. Two good runners, two can throw, that would be a defensive cordinators nightmare to prepare against. But we will see what happens...Roll Tide

You can have your calls and a neutral field if we get to have Tua for the whole game. I believe Georgia was the better team when Jalen was playing, it was obvious. However, Tua lit up the secondary. That caused the Georgia D to be on their heels not knowing if they should load the box to stop Tua and the stable of backs or to focus more on playing the pass...it’s very,VERY difficult to do both. Next year will prove that. I seriously cannot not see a way a defensive coordinator attacks Bama now that they can be OU through the air and they can power run right at you. I don’t think there has been a team, ever, that could do both to a high level. USC was close with back in 2004 and that is consider one of the best teams ever. Alabama loses a lot but I think Georgia in the second half got a taste of what Alabama will be like in 2018 and that is scary.

Not sure how everybody feels about this. Personally, I can see why he thinks Auburn was the only team that could beat Bama this year cause, well, they were the only one. That being said, I don’t think Auburn beats Bama if Tua starts the whole game. I still love Jalen, but Tua is extremely gifted as a passer. I don’t mean to offend any Auburn folks but Auburn is like Jekkyl and Hyde when it comes to playing at home and playing away from Jordan-Hare Stadium. If Auburn peanut play UGA and Bama both at home I believe they lose one, if not both of those games. Jordan-Hare just creates an intense environment for opponents, I would say it’s a top 5 home field advantage in all of college football. I am saying that cause I want my criticism of Gus to not be mistaken with Bama bias. I honestly think Gus will hold Auburn back. Georgia just exploded with the right man at the helm, same as Bama did. Auburn could follow in those footsteps but I just don’t see that happening with Malzhan. He is a great offensive minded coach but the key pierce to his puzzle is a great QB. Alabama and Georgia just went to the national Championship with a true sophomore and a true freshman. Now be honest do you see Malzhan doing that? Maybe, but I highly, HIGHLY doubt it. Now as far as Gus speaking about SEC Network I believe he is right they y’all about coaches getting fired a lot. That’s because Auburn was growing tired of Malzhan underachieving and he was on the hot seat. It’s their job to talk about that. Sometimes people allow their opinion to be let out and that is what he probably is talking about most. Ultimately, life throws at us things we don’t like and don’t appreciate and sometimes people say things and do things to us we don’t deserve but that’s life. It’s not perfect and people make mistakes. Malzhan would do better to let it go and focus on beating Saban and Kirby cause he will be the one with the target on him next year cause he is the one that beat both of them. Last thing, I believe Auburn will struggle offensively with Kerryon gone. I am not sold that Stidham can be an elite QB but I could be proven wrong. I think Auburn loses in Athens and in Tuscaloosa next year. On top of that Washington is a very good team that could easily pull off the W against the Tigers. I think Gus will start the season off with fans wanting him gone...again. No offense Auburn but you guys could do better. You probably already knew that.

Funniest thing I have read in a while! I would be scared to be around him too.

Agree completely. Stidham is good but not elite. Kerryon also took a lot of the defenses attention off Stidham. To Malzhan though, he is like Stidham. He is really good(almost elite) when he the right pieces around him but when he doesn’t he is just good. It’s the head coaches responsibility to always have the right pieces around you. Now about Paul Finebaum, he is pro-Bama most of the time but he is even causing more attention to Saban and the NFL talk. That is negative for Alabama, as far as recruiting goes. Paul is kinda of like Lane Kiffin of the media world. Talks just to talk and yet people listen. Paul is like a random fan given a big stage to voice his opinion so millions hear it and sadly people actually are persuaded by what he says apparently. Not me. Roll Tide!

This article shouldn’t have even been written. Georgia knows what they could do better and it’s easy to say Chubb should had have less carries and Sony should have had more, but Chubb has been a great player for the Dawgs and if he would have busted out of one of those piles and ran the distance I am sure nobody would be complaining about his carries. The man gave his all, even one of his ACLs for UGA, so just stop. UGA made great halftime adjustments all year and why would you change when your winning 13-0 at the half? Bama made a great change at QB, that isn’t Georgia fault that was just a good move on Bama’s behalf. Tua is just scary good and made big plays, he will make a lot of secondaries look bad in the future. Georgia secondary played well and they even played the Heisman Winner from OU(Mayfield) well too. The penalties, just don’t go there either. Penalties are random. The biggest problem with penalties are not the players commuting them it’s the refs calling them. Refs are game changers in a bad way. Overall, Georgia played a great game, Alabama played a great half, and in the end Alabama got a miracle. Just don’t take anything away from Georgia they could win it 5/10 times. Roll Tide.

Both teams played a great game. Could have gone either way and probably would if played again. Alabama went 12-0 in Saban’s second year and never slowed down since. Georgia looks like they will follow in those footsteps. I will say Georgia folks have taken this loss with respect. Some make excuses(refs), some are sour, but for the most part the UGA fan base has been a class act. I know you guys will have many, many years of glory. For now I am going to soak up this dynasty. I don’t want to take it for granted. UGA when you get to the top.(don’t take it for granted, complacency is almost unavoidable unfortunately)

Never heard anybody call UGA running back U. Nope not a single person till you. USC has claimed it for a while, with all their Heisman trophy winners. UGA you have uno, from 1980. Alabama is closer to Running Back U than UGA is. Just in the Saban era alone, you have:Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson, Eddie Lacey, Derrick Henry, TJ Yeldon, Bo Scar, Damien Harris, Kenyan Drake, and nobody talks much about our freshman. Everybody focuses on D. Swift, but Bama did sign the #1 RB last year who looks like the next Adrian Peterson. Robinson also looks to be a extremely talented back. Sorry to burst your bubble bro.

(Kirby)

That’s an error Kirby. Don’t say anything at all that could be used to motivate Alabama. That will certainly be used for motivation. They(Alabama) will want to prove to you(Kit y) they are as unbeatable as ever. Roll Tide!

Okay, I am about to diagnose Lane Kiffin with a little bit of psychology I learned a few semesters ago. Lane suffers from obsession of Nick Saban. Your probably wondering why that is. It’s simple, Lane was rejected by Saban and Lane cares deeply for the approval of Coach Saban. However, he was unable to achieve this desire and therefore he is left with an unfulfilled desire. Therefore he now has his sight on the next best thing and that is to bring negative reinforcement of all things Saban and Alabama. For instance, if anyone has read about Lane’s feelings of being “miserable 351 days of the year at U of A”, now that may be completely true, however what reason is there to State this fact now? It’s to cause some matter of negativity towards Saban and Alabama. Whether he aims to effect recruiting or just the mindset of Saban and Co. it’s just one of the many examples of Lane lunging for a negative headline for Saban. It’s quite sad however that many of the media and fans of college football are completely obsessed with everything that comes out of Kiffin’s mouth. That’s because he says things that cause friction and friction makes for good writing. Therefore, Kiffin gets what he wants and that is the media attention and the media gets what it wants and that is a juicy story. Kinda pathetic to me nobody sees through this...maybe FAU will end up on the Crimson Tide’s schedule soon.

Fake dawg88

Hurts threw a game winning touchdown against Miss State. He also drove down the field in the championship game against Clemson last year, despite D.Watson doing the exact same the next drive. My point is Jalen has some “ice” in his veins. His arm is extremely inconsistent and he doesn’t compare to Fromm as a passer but he can get the job done at times. That’s the major problem. Saban and Kirby(being Saban Jr.) both love consistency about as much as they love their families(joke) but Jalen isn’t consistent and that is the biggest issue with this Alabama team which has very few weakness. Kicking game is one, injuries is another(can’t help that much), and Jalens inability to go through progressions while maintaining pocket awareness and when he does make the right read(it’s usually late) and the ball is typically not on target(Ridley flea flicker is an example) now if I am Georgia I am piling the box to force him to beat you. If Jalen struggles again Bama 99% loses. If Jalen does actually pass well against loaded box Bama will make Georgia rethink their whole strategy at halftime which may be too late. All that is common sense though. As a true Bama fan I always dread when we have the ball. Seriously, it’s like watching Tom Brady run the 40 yard dash! I hope Monday night is different. I hope Bama learns from Georgia and they run the ball! Run baby run!

Doesn’t matter now, but Tua will be next Russell Wilson. Alabama will be more dominant when he takes the helm. For now, I reckon we just hope the light bulb comes on for Jalen. Now would be nice...Roll Tide!

If Jake Fromm has his best game of the year Georgia will probably win. Probably, unless Jalen Hurts has his best game of the season too.(doubtful but possible) this game is a toss up. I think which ever team makes the least mental mistakes: penalties, especially when in opponent territory, turnovers, negative plays(tackles for loss, sacks) the team that can avoid the mental errors, is the team I give the edge to win. Only time will tell that though.

Yea it was K.Stewart that your thinking of. As a huge Alabama fan I will admit Georgia has the edge at QB. Fromm has been a much better passer. Hurts is a superior runner but that is why you have a stable of NFL running backs behind you. Georgia should win the game. Kicking game is much more reliable and QB play is far more consistent. I love UGA philosophy on O. It’s what Bama use to do back when Ingram played. We had a fullback actually! TEs like Underwood and Nick Walker who were almost like small tackles to block and catch in the flats on play action. Those were the days. We even used wildcat with Ingram and I would say that formation is why Ingram won the most prestigious award in college football. I often get bashed for my criticism of Alabama, it’s easy as a fan to say “do this” or “do that” but I honestly believe a team that plays great defense is far more lethal when the game is short in duration. For many reasons! Opponents don’t run many plays, defense stays fresh the whole game and opponents have less time to score/get in a rhythm. I may not be a college coach yet but I am on my way(seriously) and I have found in high school that running the ball succesfuly and running it a lot compliments a good D. That’s common sense. But what I have learned is hurry-up tempo really struggle when they are only on the field for 5-10 a half. They can’t get in a rut gem and therefore their tempo hurts them! They cause their own D to wear out quickly and guess what? That tired D has to face that same downhill running game again the second half and by the 4th even the best Da start to tackle sloppy and the D-line no longer gets any push with their hands on their hips! That’s high-school. Tweets would need to be made to meet the superiority of college athletes but the philosophy will maintain its worth. Georgia practices this philosophy and look what has happened. They overachieved(slightly) and they did so with a freshman QB. This run-first tactic takes the pressure off your QB and that is what Alabama needs more than anything! It makes perfect sense to me. However, Coach Saban and co. have a different philosophy and it’s not my place to question. Just clarifying what changes could be made. That is why I believe Georgia will wear down Alabama’s D. Alabama will suffer a few 3 and outs. That’s all it will take to throw their D back on the field(tired) I hope I am wrong as I would cherish Bama bringing home the Title beyond words could say. However, I feel much more confident that Georgia with their running philosophy hasn’t the edge. Defenses are almost completely equal. So are offenses. With a slight edge to UGA at QB. But it’s the philosophy that is the greatest difference, unfortunately. Roll Tide!

Not sure how you came to your butt hurt conclusion. Jalen is a good QB, just not great...yet. There is the potential for that to happen. Fromm isn’t a great QB either but he is on his way. He will be great before it’s all said and done, unless the highly touted freshman replaces him, that could happen as Kirby revealed. Nobody is butt hurt just a bunch of Tode fans with different opinions about their QB. That’s life bro, nobody agrees.

I always enjoy your articles Clint. Very thorough and accurate. Hurts is hurting the Tide. He is a lot like Tebow. The intangibles are off the chart. The tangibles are there too! That is the frustration. Jalen has the arm, mechanics, to be a prolific passer. However, the confidence doesn’t seem to be anywhere in sight. I was hoping his talk with Watson would bring out the “fearless” in him. I failed to see the difference it made, unfortunately. I believe the last time Jalen was fearless as a passer, you would have to go back to what game? Well, his first game! USC in Arlington, Texas. When Halen was fighting for the starting QB position he was indeed fearless for that game and that game alone. Once he won the job he has tucked away in his shell. That shell is don’t go win the game, just don’t be the reason we lose a game mentality. That mentality is the problem. I think competition is the key to kill this trait. Tua would offer the punch to wake Jalen up that he is not invincible as the QB of the Tide. You can lose your job if someone else can do it better than you. Now I am all about loyalty. Jalen deserves a lot of credit for the Tide being in the last two National titles with him at the helm. However, he is the main reason we have the losses we have. I would like to see Tua used some just to bring out the best in Jalen. Then, just maybe, we would see a “fearless” Jalen Hurts. That would be a truly scary sight for anybody not wearing Crimson. However, I still stand by my other comments. Run the ball! Don’t run for less than 50 attempts! Yea, that many.

Please ignore grammar mistakes...tiny keyboards and I don’t proofread for nobody cares comments.

Agree: Jalen needs to clean up on passing game. I would add he needs to do a much better job with pocket awareness as well. He has legs use them more and use them earlier instead of when pocket has broke down. One of the most overlooked errors of the game is the cadence by Jalen. Teams are foaming at the mouth when the ball is balled. Teams are getting to great of a jump most plays and that is wreaking havoc with so many plays being busted by penetration. That is why Bo Scar was a non-factor.(they did tweak cadence but more work is still needed) on another note the rushing attack would be far more imposing if every back is used to his particular skill. Jacobs should be used as a renaissance(do it all) back. Bo struggles running out of shotgun, run from under center and he gets that 240 lb frame rolling downhill and then he is as effective as any back in college football. Harris just needs more touches which is eceident to anybody who is a viewer of the sport. Disagree: the running game was a shell of its old self. To clarify old self, I am talking about since the days of Mark Ingram, Lacy, Trent, Henry. Those days. If you go back to 2012 Bama vs UGA SEC champ game. Bama struggled first half trying to be balanced but in second half the Tide came out and ran the ball and gained most of the 350 yards they totaled for the game in that 2nd half alone. The Tide ran for 51 attempts! If Alabama would take from the past, realize that your at your most dominant when you run to set up the pass and you run till they prove they can stop it. Don’t overthink the opponents strategy. This year teams have benefited when we pass. It’s been a drive killer. “Hurts is looking, he scrambles out of the pocket, can’t find anybody, he throws it away.” Not a terrible play, but doesn’t handing off to to one of our stable of backs sound much better than a wasted play? That being said that is mainly all I disagree with. Our running game was effective against a very VERY good Clemson D but could it have been better if only we chose to run the ball more, I will let you decide, but I think yes, HELL YES! Lastly, Alabama has to finish, like Clint said in the article. Best way to finish a game. Run the ball! It waste clock and chances of a turnover are much more slim. Now I guess I should clarify I don’t mean run like RPO runs. I am talking about under center down hill old school running attack. There is much more to say but that should do for now ROLL TIDE!

Not the boldest of bolds there. I am a Alabama man and I would remember that Kirby was with us when we lost to OU in the sugar bowl a few years ago. He too had a few weeks to prepare for that game as well and it didn’t go well. I think people will be surprised by the speed of OUs D. They will give Georgia trouble. That being said I just don’t see OU winning but maybe 2 out of every 10 simulations. UGA dink and dunk on O and play mistake free football and edge out the Sooners. I would be shocked if OU won. Georgia 34-OU 24...your welcome for analysis everyone haha ROLL TIDE!

Lane Kiffin probably didn’t have a choice when he came to Alabama. You make it sound like he was so intelligent that he cleaned up his act more like Saban didn’t allow him to act that way. How else can you explain why Kiffin was banned to interview with media. Kiffin isn’t a great coach. I feel sorry for an SEC who would take a chance on him. Kiffin and Jim Harbaugh are on the same level to me. People love Kiffin cause he is a social media moron. He is winning right now cause FAU actually has some talent and the conference is not very good. If he comes back to SEC he will fail. I think he knows that. But I may be giving him to much credit..he may actually not know that.

I believe Kirby needs to revoke his scholarship and dismiss him from the team. He not only has had multiple chances but now he is a major distraction. Coach Smart will be frowned upon if he allows Patrick to be on the team, let alone play. UGA has other guys who deserve the position, simply because they can stay out of trouble. I understand coaches are attached to their players much like father and sons, however, when a young man makes this many mistakes it’s time to chnage your discipline and the action should be to make him find another way to footballl outside of Georgia football. That’s just my opinion, Roll Tide!

I mentioned once before in a comment and will do it again. Alabama isn’t in the playoff without JK Scott. Our offense has had so many three and out scenarios where JK had to boot it just to prevent our D from working with a short field. LSU moves the ball fairly well that game and without them having to move ball consistently 80 and 90 yards I believe LSU would have defeated the Tide. However, multiple games he has been the difference maker. Although when he shanks it, it’s quite horrendous. Almost as bad as though untimely snaps in the Iron Bowl. If Bama offense will get back to running the ball to set up the pass, instead of what their doing now(opposite) and D can play, well like Alabama D is know for playing and JK punts well, Alabama is unbeatable. It’s a fact. However, all three of those in the same game has yet to happen. If one of those three variables is absent during Clemson game...we will be in for a migraine. Roll Tide!

I absolutely agree with everything you just posted. Dead on about those teams and those particular players being the only reason they won the National Title. However, I think Jimbo did put together a very talented team every year for FSU. Lots of NFL talent anyway. Therefore, with the right assistant coaches he could be very dangerous with the potential A&M offers him. Honestly, the SEC West doesn’t have much more room to grow, from a talent perspective. I think A&M will surpass Auburn in two years time and be theconsistent #2 in the West. Alabama vs Texas A&M will be the new decider in who goes play for the SEC Champ game. When A&M becomes elite, somebody is going to have to be demoted. Simply cause everyone plays each other. I see Auburn and LSU dropping slightly. I think both made mistakes on long term coaches. Neither coach is bad. But to me it puts them in UGA’s Mark Richt type scenario. Georgia was good but with Kirby they are now elite. LSU is good and Auburn is good/borders elite at times but both will struggle more than ever as Jimbo will bring a massive turnaround to the Aggies. Just my though anyhow.

Why doesn’t anyone think Shea Patterson wasn’t involved in the escort recruiting? Think it just ended with the amazing Robert K. class?

Hugh Freeze, should have been banned from being a head coach for twenty years. A coordinator for 10 years. A position coach for 5 years. That would be punishment. NCAA is a joke. Those escorts helped land Ole Miss the talent to compete, take away the wins, take away everything, during the entire Freeze tenure. I have sympathy for Ole Miss fan base. It’s not your fault, yet you are being punished more than Freeze.

Kerryon should leave. He carried the load for the Tigers and got banged up in the process. I believe he will be the #2 back off the board behind Barkley. Johnson is that good. He will show out at combine. Newton got his degree during his off months, so you can finish your degree and go to the NFL too.