Nick Saban's record first year at Alabama

[jackindabox]

It was 7-6, with loses on 4 of the last five games. Sure people will say our roster was more talented then Alabamas going into that season, but how could you possibly know that and Nick Saban at that point in his career was a national championship winning coach with NFL experience. So I think we need to take a patient approach which is tough in a world of instant gratification

[msstate7]

Again, he pulled the #3 recruiting class that season. We will be in the 30s.

[smootness]

It was 7-6, with loses on 4 of the last five games. Sure people will say our roster was more talented then Alabamas going into that season, but how could you possibly know that and Nick Saban at that point in his career was a national championship winning coach with NFL experience. So I think we need to take a patient approach which is tough in a world of instant gratification

The situations are not even close to comparable. Why people keep doing this, I have no idea.

[mparkerfd20]

People are still holding put hope that JoMo hire wasn't a complete cluster17. It was, sorry. If we aren't careful we're starung a 5-10 year suckitude right in the face.

[bluelightstar]

Nick Saban took over a 6-7 Alabama team. Even still, that 2007 Alabama team didn't lose a game by more than a TD and never went an entire game without scoring a single touchdown. It also blew out a #12 Tennessee team, lost in OT to #3 Georgia, and lost by a TD to national championship winning LSU. There were signs that that Nick Saban had that Alabama team on its way.

It's been 11 years since Saban's first year at Alabama, and people still bring this up to defend when a first-year coach is having a debacle of a debut. You'd think there'd be more (and more realistic) coaches you could use as examples by now. I suspect it's because Saban is the exception, not the rule.

[parabrave]

Watch Saban on the sidelines during the game with us that year and you will see the difference. He sure didn't look like a deer in headlights then. Plus he made one HUGE mistake that game going for the killshot before the half. If he would've gone for the FG we would've lost that game.

[I seen it dawg]

As most do on here I'm gonna take it a little out of context and think he means judging on 5 games sometimes isn't indicative of long term. Now it might be in this case but we won't know for a bit. Clemson wanted to murder Dabo too...

[Token Bammer]

Again, he pulled the #3 recruiting class that season. We will be in the 30s.

Julio Jones, Mark Ingram, Dante Hightower, Mark Barron, Marcel Dareus, Courtney Upshaw, and Barrett Jones all were high draft picks and a part of that class.

Plus, Terrence Cody, Damien Square, and Robert Lester were all drafted and either played or still play in the league.

And just think, that class was ranked #3. I'm not posting this to brag but to back up your point. It's tough to sign a better class than the one Nick Saban signed in 2008, and that class set BAMA/Saban up for the future. That's 11 players from one class in the NFL. Even as a BAMA fan, looking back on that class is still unbelievable.

[smootness]

As most do on here I'm gonna take it a little out of context and think he means judging on 5 games sometimes isn't indicative of long term. Now it might be in this case but we won't know for a bit. Clemson wanted to murder Dabo too...

I get that, and I'm usually the one beating that drum. But this team was set up well and is noticeably worse than last year, especially on offense. Our offense is dreadful. We are screwed if we wait around hoping for it to turn around. There is no reason for it to be this bad.

[bluelightstar]

Right -- Moorhead has produced two of our worst offensive performances in the last decade.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dob0S09V4AMGdZl.jpg

source: https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-football/monday-down-south-mark-stoops-breaks-kentuckys-cycle-of-futility-on-his-own-terms/

[msu15]

We will be in the 30s.

I highly doubt that

[Interpolation_Dawg_EX]

Julio Jones, Mark Ingram, Dante Hightower, Mark Barron, Marcel Dareus, Courtney Upshaw, and Barrett Jones all were high draft picks and a part of that class.

Plus, Terrence Cody, Damien Square, and Robert Lester were all drafted and either played or still play in the league.

And just think, that class was ranked #3. I'm not posting this to brag but to back up your point. It's tough to sign a better class than the one Nick Saban signed in 2008, and that class set BAMA/Saban up for the future. That's 11 players from one class in the NFL. Even as a BAMA fan, looking back on that class is still unbelievable.

That was the initial investment to get them where they are today. It's easy to sell Bama now and don't have to offer the BS other schools do.

https://media.giphy.com/media/kZmT3nZ19mn0A/giphy.gif

[msstate7]

I highly doubt that

Where you predict?

[msu15]

Where you predict?

I may be dead ass wrong but I still see 25 as very reachable.

[msstate7]

I may be dead ass wrong but I still see 25 as very reachable.

Certainly possible

[smootness]

People argued for years that we weren't aggressive or good enough to beat Alabama (and for a while LSU). That we would just pack it in and try to keep it low scoring enough to not be embarrassing.

People, we just put up Alabama games...against Kentucky and Florida.

[GreenheadDawg]

Right -- Moorhead has produced two of our worst offensive performances in the last decade.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dob0S09V4AMGdZl.jpg

source: https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-football/monday-down-south-mark-stoops-breaks-kentuckys-cycle-of-futility-on-his-own-terms/

Holy shit. I have no hit a new low of depression. That’s scary

[msstate7]

Right -- Moorhead has produced two of our worst offensive performances in the last decade.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dob0S09V4AMGdZl.jpg

source: https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-football/monday-down-south-mark-stoops-breaks-kentuckys-cycle-of-futility-on-his-own-terms/

2011 bama and LSU defenses were sick. Bama held teams to 183 yds game and LSU at 261

[Token Bammer]

That was the initial investment to get them where they are today. It's easy to sell Bama now and don't have to offer the BS other schools do.

https://media.giphy.com/media/kZmT3nZ19mn0A/giphy.gif

All of the kids in your gif are recent recruits. REC still doing work.

[BrunswickDawg]

2011 bama and LSU defenses were sick. Bama held teams to 183 yds game and LSU at 261

But 2011 UGA and Arkansas defenses were not, and they locked us down too.

Ah yes, 2011. A year we had high hopes with a pre-season ranking, with a very good run oriented QB, 2 NFL RB's (both spent time in the NFL), an "even better" QB waiting in the wings, and a sick returning defense with at least 12 future NFL players on it. We probably should have panicked and fired that coach who did so little with so much. I was at that UGA game. If it wasn't for Darius Slay we would have been shut out completely. Dylan Farve played that game our offense was so bad. We went 7-6 and almost lost to La Tech.

To me, the biggest learning curve for a coach coming into the SEC is that everyone usually has a very solid defense. There may be 1-2 outliers in any given year (OM right now), but this league is built around defense. That is a big adjustment for outsiders.

It is also a margin over error league. There is no room for error. The type of error can change from game to game. One week, turnovers. Next week, penalties. Third week, dropped pass. Fourth week, bad OL play. Fifth week, bad play in the secondary.

[I seen it dawg]

Crazy talk

[smootness]

But 2011 UGA and Arkansas defenses were not, and they locked us down too.

Ah yes, 2011. A year we had high hopes with a pre-season ranking, with a very good run oriented QB, 2 NFL RB's (both spent time in the NFL), an "even better" QB waiting in the wings, and a sick returning defense with at least 12 future NFL players on it. We probably should have panicked and fired that coach who did so little with so much. I was at that UGA game. If it wasn't for Darius Slay we would have been shut out completely. Dylan Farve played that game our offense was so bad. We went 7-6 and almost lost to La Tech.

To me, the biggest learning curve for a coach coming into the SEC is that everyone usually has a very solid defense. There may be 1-2 outliers in any given year (OM right now), but this league is built around defense. That is a big adjustment for outsiders.

It is also a margin over error league. There is no room for error. The type of error can change from game to game. One week, turnovers. Next week, penalties. Third week, dropped pass. Fourth week, bad OL play. Fifth week, bad play in the secondary.

Georgia's was 5th in 2011. Arkansas' was just a little better than average, sure.

That was Mullen's worst offensive year in his tenure, and we had Chris Relf at QB. And still we never had back-to-back offensive games like the 2 we just had.

[BrunswickDawg]

Georgia's was 5th in 2011. Arkansas' was just a little better than average, sure.

That was Mullen's worst offensive year in his tenure, and we had Chris Relf at QB. And still we never had back-to-back offensive games like the 2 we just had.

Yes, a Chris Relf who after torching Michigan our fans were touting as the best QB in a decade (he was, but still wasn't great). We didn't have back to back SEC games like that until late in the season - but...

So, LSU was obviously bad. The week after the LSU game, our offense was so bad we had to go to OT against LA 17'n Tech to win at home (26-20).
We followed those 2 stinkers with UGA - where our only TD was a pick 6 by Slay. We then followed that offensive wonder up by trailing UAB for almost 3 quarters 0-3. The yardage wasn't bad but the ability to put together drives against an 0-5 UAB was equally as embarrassing. We switch to Tyler Russell due to Relf's injury for USC and lose at home 12-14. 1 TD, 1 FG and a Safety. Tyler looked totally lost.

That 5 game stretch was some of the worst football of the Mullen era. We somehow beat Kentucky, then torch UT-Martin, then have the Bama and Arkansas stinkers (shown on that list) back to back. Then we are blessed with a 2-10 Ole Miss to get bowl eligible.

This was under a coach in his 3rd year. With a roster full of returning NFL talent. And we sucked.

I'm not trying to say we don't have issues right now. Ray Charles can see that. I am trying to illustrate that SEC football has a lot of variables. Some years, it doesn't matter how much talent you have, how hard you work, how prepared you are, how good everyone thinks you are going to be, you have a shit season. It happens to everyone. This belief that we were entitled to a 10-2 season, or that we "have too much talent" to have this happen ignores so much it's comical. Changing coaches and systems creates a huge amount of room for error - and most of us ignored that believing the "upgraded over the Country Club" narrative. "17 returning starters!!" ignored the long term recruiting holes we have at WR, OL, DB that didn't instantly get solved. Believing Fitz would magically turn into a QB far better than he is ignored the fact he was injured, missed a lot of prep time, and was unlearning the only real system he has known as a QB. Believing we were superior in talent to UK ignores that our recruiting profile is so similar to them it is separated by about 3 players - if that. The belief that Florida was down and out ignores that their issue last year was mainly off-field turmoil and a lame duck coach that had lost the team. Their #13 5-year recruiting average probably means that they have a whole lot more talent. They have 3x the 5* and 2x the 4*s that we have.

And yeah, I'm rationalizing. It gives me hope that a season is more than a game. It's more than 2 games. It's more than 5 games. We need to let the season play out.

[smootness]

Yes, a Chris Relf who after torching Michigan our fans were touting as the best QB in a decade (he was, but still wasn't great). We didn't have back to back SEC games like that until late in the season - but...

So, LSU was obviously bad. The week after the LSU game, our offense was so bad we had to go to OT against LA 17'n Tech to win at home (26-20).
We followed those 2 stinkers with UGA - where our only TD was a pick 6 by Slay. We then followed that offensive wonder up by trailing UAB for almost 3 quarters 0-3. The yardage wasn't bad but the ability to put together drives against an 0-5 UAB was equally as embarrassing. We switch to Tyler Russell due to Relf's injury for USC and lose at home 12-14. 1 TD, 1 FG and a Safety. Tyler looked totally lost.

That 5 game stretch was some of the worst football of the Mullen era. We somehow beat Kentucky, then torch UT-Martin, then have the Bama and Arkansas stinkers (shown on that list) back to back. Then we are blessed with a 2-10 Ole Miss to get bowl eligible.

This was under a coach in his 3rd year. With a roster full of returning NFL talent. And we sucked.

I'm not trying to say we don't have issues right now. Ray Charles can see that. I am trying to illustrate that SEC football has a lot of variables. Some years, it doesn't matter how much talent you have, how hard you work, how prepared you are, how good everyone thinks you are going to be, you have a shit season. It happens to everyone. This belief that we were entitled to a 10-2 season, or that we "have too much talent" to have this happen ignores so much it's comical. Changing coaches and systems creates a huge amount of room for error - and most of us ignored that believing the "upgraded over the Country Club" narrative. "17 returning starters!!" ignored the long term recruiting holes we have at WR, OL, DB that didn't instantly get solved. Believing Fitz would magically turn into a QB far better than he is ignored the fact he was injured, missed a lot of prep time, and was unlearning the only real system he has known as a QB. Believing we were superior in talent to UK ignores that our recruiting profile is so similar to them it is separated by about 3 players - if that. The belief that Florida was down and out ignores that their issue last year was mainly off-field turmoil and a lame duck coach that had lost the team. Their #13 5-year recruiting average probably means that they have a whole lot more talent. They have 3x the 5* and 2x the 4*s that we have.

And yeah, I'm rationalizing. It gives me hope that a season is more than a game. It's more than 2 games. It's more than 5 games. We need to let the season play out.

Say what you want, this season is over.