Saban Doesn't Need "Gimmicky" Trick Plays

AUChizad · « **on:** October 10, 2010, 05:30:10 PM »

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2010/10/about_that_fake_field_goal_nic.html

Quote

About that fake field goal? Nick Saban says he 'probably' got it wrong
Published: Saturday, October 09, 2010, 7:18 PM
Kevin Scarbinsky, Birmingham News

Nick Saban got it right after the game. During the game, Nick Saban got it wrong.

"Probably didn't make a very good call on the fake," the Alabama coach said.
No argument here.

Alabama trailed by seven early in the fourth quarter when it faced fourth-and-11 from the South Carolina 25-yard line. Kicker Jeremy Shelley lined up as if to attempt a 42-yard field goal, which Saban later said "is right on the edge of his range."

Instead, holder AJ McCarron rolled left and tossed a pass in the flat that was dropped by ... wait for it ... Ed Stinson.

That's right. That's linebacker/defensive end Ed Stinson.

Had he caught the ball, an iffy proposition anyway for a linebacker/defensive end, Stinson would've had to break at least one tackle to get the first down. Not likely considering that Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson, Alabama's actual running backs, had trouble breaking tackles against South Carolina.

After the game, Saban second-guessed himself before anyone else had the chance.

"It did give them the momentum of the game back," he said. "We could've taken points right there, not that it would've affected the outcome of the game because we never got them stopped anyway."

South Carolina took the momentum of that stop and drove 74 yards in 10 plays for a two-touchdown lead that held up for a 35-21 win.

Give Saban the blame for making that risky call. Give him credit for taking the blame and admitting his mistake.

AWK · « **Reply #1 on:** October 10, 2010, 05:31:14 PM »

Quote from: AUChizad on October 10, 2010, 05:30:10 PM

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2010/10/about_that_fake_field_goal_nic.html

It's good to know that Scarbinsky knows how Saban's dick tastes...

RWS · « **Reply #2 on:** October 10, 2010, 05:53:06 PM »

Everybody knows you just can't pull that shit off unless you are Les Miles. It was a stupid call.

Unless it worked.

jmar · « **Reply #3 on:** October 10, 2010, 07:38:55 PM »

Quote from: RWS on October 10, 2010, 05:53:06 PM

Everybody knows you just can't pull that poop off unless you are Les Miles. It was a stupid call.

Unless it worked.

There were signs that Bama could run early on (I haven't seen the replay) but McElroy was allowed the leash as if he was deserving somehow. It was contrary to what this offense has been about for two seasons. South Carolina responded on defense accordingly. After the third series even the run game became hopeless. That's what I saw.
But yeah any trick that fails almost always looks desperately stupid.

Ranger12 · « **Reply #4 on:** October 10, 2010, 08:25:47 PM »

Even when the run game seemed to be faltering, I don't understand how you give up on it so easily when you have the Heisman Trophy winner on your team with a very good #2 being him. Ingram had 11 carries and Richardson had 6...17 combined! Ingram has a history of carrying the team in a situation like this, so why not give him the chance? Saban screwed the pooch on this, plain and simple.

djsimp · « **Reply #5 on:** October 10, 2010, 08:49:40 PM »

Quote from: Ranger12 on October 10, 2010, 08:25:47 PM

Even when the run game seemed to be faltering, I don't understand how you give up on it so easily when you have the Heisman Trophy winner on your team with a very good #2 being him.

EGG ZACK LEE!

Townhallsavoy · « **Reply #6 on:** October 10, 2010, 09:22:46 PM »

Quote from: RWS on October 10, 2010, 05:53:06 PM

Everybody knows you just can't pull that shit off unless you are Les Miles. It was a stupid call.

Unless it worked.

I think we need a Les Miles emoticon for the "Unless it does" comments. I think it'd fit right nicely if you ask me of my humble opinion I reckon.

RWS · « **Reply #7 on:** October 10, 2010, 09:35:30 PM »

Quote from: Ranger12 on October 10, 2010, 08:25:47 PM

Even when the run game seemed to be faltering, I don't understand how you give up on it so easily when you have the Heisman Trophy winner on your team with a very good #2 being him. Ingram had 11 carries and Richardson had 6...17 combined! Ingram has a history of carrying the team in a situation like this, so why not give him the chance? Saban screwed the pooch on this, plain and simple.

USCe got up on us quick, and by the looks of it, they weren't going to let off the gas. I somewhat agree with going to the air at that point, if nothing else, to catch us up and get within 7-10 points so we could then get back into "our game". If after the first quarter you thought we would win that game, you're a fool. That's not the popular thing to say on many Alabama boards, but it's the truth. I mean they just beat our asses.

Townhallsavoy · « **Reply #8 on:** October 10, 2010, 09:45:52 PM »

Quote from: RWS on October 10, 2010, 09:35:30 PM

USCe got up on us quick, and by the looks of it, they weren't going to let off the gas. I somewhat agree with going to the air at that point, if nothing else, to catch us up and get within 7-10 points so we could then get back into "our game". If after the first quarter you thought we would win that game, you're a fool. That's not the popular thing to say on many Alabama boards, but it's the truth. I mean they just beat our asses.

I completely disagree. After the 1st quarter...hell at halftime...I said, "Here comes the Ingram train and the typical Saban defensive guillotine."

But it never came. Ingram was never part of the gameplan. And I wholeheartedly believe that Ingram and Richardson are unstoppable. They simply are too aware, too quick and too powerful to be consistently stopped for anything less than 3-4 yards a carry.

But it never happened. Instead, McElroy let South Carolina hold the momentum. Not really his fault because the coaches asked him to do too much.

RWS · « **Reply #9 on:** October 10, 2010, 09:54:54 PM »

Quote from: Townhallsavoy on October 10, 2010, 09:45:52 PM

But it never happened. Instead, McElroy let South Carolina hold the momentum. Not really his fault because the coaches asked him to do too much.

I sure as fuck hope the coaches didn't ask him to keep hanging onto the ball 5 seconds past the point he should have thrown it away a million times.

Townhallsavoy · « **Reply #10 on:** October 10, 2010, 09:55:43 PM »

Quote from: RWS on October 10, 2010, 09:54:54 PM

I sure as fuck hope the coaches didn't ask him to keep hanging onto the ball 5 seconds past the point he should have thrown it away a million times.

They asked him to win the game. He's just inept at winning games by himself.

jmar · « **Reply #11 on:** October 10, 2010, 10:11:43 PM »

Quote from: RWS on October 10, 2010, 09:54:54 PM

I sure as phuk hope the coaches didn't ask him to keep hanging onto the ball 5 seconds past the point he should have thrown it away a million times.

I realize that I am talking about a different era, but I can count on two hands the number of times Bryant teams were"out" of a game. In my opinion, Saban coached teams aren't far off the mark. It might not be popular, but HE phuked that one away and HE didn't adjust accordingly, I never thought that they were out of it until the fake FG attempt. The Bama OL never got in a rythym because McElroy was busy playing John Elway. Did Ingram and Richardson even break a sweat? I know they were stoned several times but the South Carolina defense was stoked by that point in the game.

Token · « **Reply #12 on:** October 10, 2010, 10:33:18 PM »

We got our asses whipped in the trenches. We got our asses whipped in the secondary. We got our asses whipped on special teams. We got our asses whipped on the sidelines. We got our entire ass handed to us on national television for all the world to see. They were faster, stronger, smarter, and stronger.

Publish it.

jmar · « **Reply #13 on:** October 10, 2010, 10:41:00 PM »

Quote from: Token on October 10, 2010, 10:33:18 PM

We got our asses whipped in the trenches. We got our asses whipped in the secondary. We got our asses whipped on special teams. We got our asses whipped on the sidelines. We got our entire ass handed to us on national television for all the world to see. They were faster, stronger, smarter, and stronger.

Publish it.

Damn Token, your the anti-Winston Churchill.
Very Churchillian my friend.

RWS · « **Reply #14 on:** October 10, 2010, 10:48:16 PM »

Quote from: jmar on October 10, 2010, 10:11:43 PM

I realize that I am talking about a different era, but I can count on two hands the number of times Bryant teams were"out" of a game. In my opinion, Saban coached teams aren't far off the mark. It might not be popular, but HE phuked that one away and HE didn't adjust accordingly, I never thought that they were out of it until the fake FG attempt. The Bama OL never got in a rythym because McElroy was busy playing John Elway. Did Ingram and Richardson even break a sweat? I know they were stoned several times but the South Carolina defense was stoked by that point in the game.

I think we could have played our best, and still lost. It was a cluster fuck of epic proportins from kickoff till the end. I can't even explain all the levels of fail the team and coaches accomplished Saturday. Looking at it from our end, it was over L O N G before that fake FG.

jmar · « **Reply #15 on:** October 10, 2010, 10:51:37 PM »

Quote from: RWS on October 10, 2010, 10:48:16 PM

I think we could have played our best, and still lost. It was a cluster phuk of epic proportins from kickoff till the end. I can't even explain all the levels of fail the team and coaches accomplished Saturday. Looking at it from our end, it was over L O N G before that fake FG.

Okay!

RWS · « **Reply #16 on:** October 10, 2010, 10:53:21 PM »

Quote from: jmar on October 10, 2010, 10:51:37 PM

Okay!

I appreciate you at least not being a homer about it, though.

jmar · « **Reply #17 on:** October 10, 2010, 10:55:12 PM »

Quote from: RWS on October 10, 2010, 10:53:21 PM

I appreciate you at least not being a homer about it, though.

Sure thing.

GH2001 · « **Reply #18 on:** October 10, 2010, 10:58:05 PM »

Quote from: RWS on October 10, 2010, 05:53:06 PM

Everybody knows you just can't pull that shit off unless you are Les Miles. It was a stupid call.

Unless it worked.

You are right...no one else has that amount of luck stored up.

JR4AU · « **Reply #19 on:** October 10, 2010, 11:06:30 PM »

I keep reading bammers here, and others agreeing with them, that the "game plan" was fucked up...."why didn't they run the ball more?". Well they ran 64 plays, and 29 were runs...for a whopping 36 yards. Oh, and South Carolina's Pass Def? Only 103rd in the nation. Saban/McElwain had every right to put a game plan together that was pass heavy due to that fact, AND the fact that their Run D is 23rd in the nation. Bammer only ran it 31 times vs FL, 31 vs PSU, and 40 vs Ark. So they weren't that far off their pace anyway.

News flash...bammer got outplayed on the field. Simple as that. Blame schemes, blame coaches, or whatever, sometimes you just run up against a team that's better than you on that day, and has enough talent to pull off their game plan, and be ready for yours.