Comments on: Can Saban manage expectations at Alabama?

By: Tidewatch

Tidewatch — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 22:44:27 +0000

I’ll weigh in on this too. AtlantaGator,actually,according to the NCAA records book,Alabama could claim 17 national titles if it used all of its NC seasons. I mainly want to address Otto’s comments though. First of all,Otto attempts to discredit the 1925,1926,1930 and 1934 titles,but every one of those teams beat or tied (in the case of 1926),an unbeaten team in the Rose Bowl and 1930 snapped Tennessee’s unbeaten streak at 33 games. I make no apologies for 1964,as Namath was over the goal in the team’s only loss. The 1965 team was 2-0-1 against top ten teams,and gave Nebraska its only loss,and Alabama’s lone loss,to Georgia,came on a play that BOTH sides now acknowledge involved a bad call. In 1978,Alabama won the AP, FWAA and Mac Arthur bowl,and you have to remember this: in the final UPI poll,5 coaches didn’t vote and Alabama and USC each got 15 first place votes. USC got the nod on points. A sportswriter later tracked down the five coaches,and four of them said they would have voted Alabama as national champion. Alabama beat total offense leader Nebraska,unbeaten total defense leader Penn State,and richly desrerved the NC. In addition,Alabama had a lot of starters out for the loss to USC,which won the Rose Bowl on a bad call. In addition,you fail to recognize the years in which Alabama had a claim to the NC that went unrecognized,such as 1966 when the team was 11-0-0,and defeated more ranked teams than Notre Dame or Michigan State. Or 1977 when Alabama was the highest ranked team to win a bowl game. Or 1945 when Alabama went 10-0-0 with a Rose Bowl win and two or three other wins over ranked teams. You mention that three other teams had better records than Alabama in 1965,but fail to mention that Alabama’s record was better than USC’s in 1974 and included wins over more ranked teams. For the record,1936,1962,1966,1974 and 1977 areother years recognized by the NCAA records book. I do not think Alabama was truly the best team in the country on 17 occasions,but they were the best team a lot more often than you in your ignorance suggest.

By: GT

GT — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 11:37:18 +0000

Parity will catch up with everybody. You cannot have the run you had in the early nineties in the SEC or any other conference. It doesn’t take long to put a winner on the field and it doesn’t take long to lose the edge either. The teams like Utah that learn to play with the card dealt them in players will be advantaged but there will be parity which for places like Alabama will hurt but for places like TCU and Georgia Tech will build interest in their program they didn’t have before. The more Alabama gets on tape the less chance they have of dominance, that is what Utah showed in their win over Alabama.

By: Nachos

Nachos — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 11:19:10 +0000

Saban scares the puppy fans… that is why they are bitter. Don’t worry leg humpers… Bama don’t play you again for a few years. Focus your energy on Urban Meyer kicking your a$$es up & down the field for the next 7 years. FEAR THE BLACKOUT, 2008 Preseason national champions !!!

By: ZDog

ZDog — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:42:33 +0000

I do agree. Today it’s the BCS trophy that counts, just making a point about the “Good ‘Ole Days”…hehehehe.

By: Atlanta Gator

Atlanta Gator — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 11:41:26 +0000

ZDog—-The Bear had a point, but it’s 2009, not 1960. Until they implement a real 4 or 8-team playoff, I would rather see my team hoist the crystal football after the BCS title game than receive the final number one ranking from any from AP, USAToday/Coaches or any of the umpteen other minor publications that still produce a final ranking. I assume you would agree.

By: Atlanta Gator

Atlanta Gator — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 11:34:54 +0000

G8R GRAD—-Please send me an e-mail @ theatlantagator@yahoo.com.

By: ZDog

ZDog — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 04:27:32 +0000

I think it was Bear Bryant who said, “As long as you win one of therm, you can claim them all” regarding the various NC polls. And why not, they’re polls, OPINION polls. I don’t have any more faith in an AP poll than I would in any of the other, dufunct polls. Makes for a great enduring topic of argument…

For “LSU”, I have to agree with you. UGA was playing great ball at the end of the season in ‘07, but it’s tough to play for the NC when you don’t win your division. I can see the argument against us there. And the fact is, LSU got the nod and beat OSU for the title. Congrats!

For everybody who wants to keep bitching about Saban staying at or leaving ‘Bama…WHO CARES? No doubt he’s a fine coach and an awesome recruiter, but Alabama is a historic program that will always attract talented players. They have the resources to replace Saban if he should decide to leave.

Okay, that’s all for me today…except..What in the H*** is the homoerotic robot thing?

By: G8R GRAD

G8R GRAD — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:37:35 +0000

For the record, I was a deed dog until I passed the Bar (back in the dark ages when we used candles to run titles).
How’s the dirt biz these days?

By: G8R GRAD

G8R GRAD — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:32:00 +0000

Atl G8r:
You working today?

By: Atlanta Gator

Atlanta Gator — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 19:29:50 +0000

Great quote from Omar Hunter on being a 5-star recruit with the Florida gators:

“I’ve learned those stars don’t mean nothing. Absolutely nothing,” he said. “When you get here, everyone’s on an even playing field. Everyone’s just as big as you, just as fast as you, just as strong as you.”

Having recently watched U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown’s “gradulations” video, Omar immediately corrected himself and apologized for his inadvertent use of the double negative. We nevertheless congratulate him on his perspective and work ethic.