Sheila progress

[Aubie7 0]

There is a disturbing trend at uat under Sheila's leadership:

2003  Auburn wins by 5  (28-23)   season record: 4-7

2004  Auburn wins by 8   (21-13)  season record: 6-6

2005  Auburn wins by 10  (28-18) season record: 9-2

2006  . . .

(I didn't say who was disturbed.)

202177[/snapback]

i think the bolded portion is a pretty good trend... here's another one. More scholarship players signed, more wins. Next year (our first with a full alotment of scholly players) will be the real guage of how Shula is doing.

202182[/snapback]

That is "IF Brodie isn't hurt!"

[Aubie7 0]

Anyone, that knows ANYTHING about football, who thinks uat will win 9 or more in '06, please raise your hand.

202196[/snapback]

Anyone? Anyone...? Bueler? Bueler?

[Aubie7 0]

Anyone, that knows ANYTHING about football, who thinks uat will win 9 or more in '06, please raise your hand. biggrin.gif

And anyone who said before the season started this year...that we would have 9 or more wins...please raise your hand.

For the record, our starters have talent, our backups do not. The only two OL who played against AU that would have had an offer from us with or without probation...were freshmen.

202227[/snapback]

And those same "freshmen" were playing when you were 9-0 and talking smack about going to the Rose Bowl, weren't they? Why weren't they a hinderance then?

[Aubie7 0]

I am amazed that UA continues to hold on to this scholarship reduction. Look at the players they had on the field this year. Unless I am mistaken these were not players that decided to go to UA instead of Troy or a Louisiana directional school. These players in most cases were all recruited by major schools including AU, TN, FL, GA and many were considered all world before they got there.  Yes, there is a depth problem that could arise, but outside of their center, who was hurt for them this year? All of their 1st and 2nd team pretty much stayed healthy. So what is there issue? Something they do not want to face.

202213[/snapback]

And correct me if I'm wrong (and I'm not), but depth is usually not a problem IN THE FIRST QUARTER!!!!!!

202236[/snapback]

[Aubie7 0]

my point about the scholarship limitations is exactly what BG said... yeah, we had good talent in our starters... our second string though was a lil weak, and our depth was horrible.  We have depth at QB (if you call having 3 scholly QB's signed depth, they still aren't experienced) and RB, but no real depth at OL, DL, or our secondary.  If any of our starters got hurt, you saw what was going to happen.

That was my point that more scholly players means more wins.  If you have the full 85 scholly players, you can deal with 2 or 3 getting hurt.  If you only have 65 or 70, you are limited in how many skill players you can sign, which hurts your depth, and number of quality backups you can sign

But y'all already knew that...

202299[/snapback]

How many scholarships did Vandy have this year? How about Kentucky?

[GalensGhost 0]

Anyone, that knows ANYTHING about football, who thinks uat will win 9 or more in '06, please raise your hand. biggrin.gif

And anyone who said before the season started this year...that we would have 9 or more wins...please raise your hand.

For the record, our starters have talent, our backups do not. The only two OL who played against AU that would have had an offer from us with or without probation...were freshmen.

202227[/snapback]

Come on, now. Be realistic.

Yeah, UA won nine games. But did anybody expect Tennessee to stink so highly? Did anybody expect Florida to be so terrible at the time Bama played them? A lucky bounce here and there and a swirl of scheduling fortune concocted an illusion.

Squeaked by a dreadful Ole Miss team. Squeaked by a pretty bad MSU team. Struggled against MTSU, Arkansas and USM.

And before you start the "Auburn beat the same teams" litany, let me remind you that Auburn handily destroyed Ole Miss. Sleepwalked through a bar-b-q of MSU. Unleashed a second-half demolition of Arkansas. Those games were not close.

Don't try to peddle the "offensive line was made up of babies and rejects" story here. You lost a starting center. Auburn was playing their third-string center. Are you really saying there is THAT big a gap between Bama's first string and Auburn's third. Wow. The rest of the O-line was HIGHLY touted by every Bama fan I know. A row of John Hannahs. Best recruiting job of Shula's young coaching life. Capps. Caldwell, Britt, Stabler and Tatum. Sophomore, Freshman, Senior, Freshman, Junior.

So you're saying Capps, Britt and Tatum wouldn't have been offered by Bama? PuhhhhLEASE.

I'm quitting now before I really get started.

[Argo 8]

Anyone, that knows ANYTHING about football, who thinks uat will win 9 or more in '06, please raise your hand. biggrin.gif

And anyone who said before the season started this year...that we would have 9 or more wins...please raise your hand.

For the record, our starters have talent, our backups do not. The only two OL who played against AU that would have had an offer from us with or without probation...were freshmen.

202227[/snapback]

Don't try to peddle the "offensive line was made up of babies and rejects" story here. You lost a starting center. Auburn was playing their third-string center. Are you really saying there is THAT big a gap between Bama's first string and Auburn's third. Wow. The rest of the O-line was HIGHLY touted by every Bama fan I know. A row of John Hannahs. Best recruiting job of Shula's young coaching life. Capps. Caldwell, Britt, Stabler and Tatum. Sophomore, Freshman, Senior, Freshman, Junior.

So you're saying Capps, Britt and Tatum wouldn't have been offered by Bama? PuhhhhLEASE.

I'm quitting now before I really get started.

202574[/snapback]

Since Britt and Tatum WERE NOT offered to play OL by Bama, the real question should be would Capps have been offered? Being that Price offered him late while having trouble filling 18 spots, I think it's safe to say that we were desperate when we offered him. So, no. I don't think he would have been offered if Bama wasn't on probation.

[ROLL TIDE FOREVER AMEN 0]

Well, we lost more than a starting center. JB was the coach on the field of the offense. He called all the blocking assignments. That hurt big time. Britt was not able to fill that role.

But... it all boils down to AU came ready to play and Bama did not. The loss to LSU took a lot out of this team. Add that to the fact that Borges had a great gameplan, momentum early in the game, home field..... ect ect. You will not find this fan making excuses for my team. We just didn't bring it. Period. The only chance we had to beat AU that day was to play on pure emotion. We didn't. You have to admit, this Iron Bowl was a fluke. WHAT!!!! WHAT DID HE SAY!!!

If you define a fluke as out of the ordinary then thats what it was. Iron Bowls have always been about emotion. Throw out the stats and who should do what. This is the only one.... or at least all Ive seen since 1971.... where that was not the case. Yes there have been other games with larger point margins. But they were hard fought battles pound for pound or play for play. But anyway.... Congrats again.

[GalensGhost 0]

Well, we lost more than a starting center. JB was the coach on the field of the offense. He called all the blocking assignments. That hurt big time. Britt was not able to fill that role.

But... it all boils down to AU came ready to play and Bama did not. The loss to LSU took a lot out of this team. Add that to the fact that Borges had a great gameplan, momentum early in the game, home field..... ect ect. You will not find this fan making excuses for my team. We just didn't bring it. Period. The only chance we had to beat AU that day was to play on pure emotion. We didn't. You have to admit, this Iron Bowl was a fluke. WHAT!!!! WHAT DID HE SAY!!!

If you define a fluke as out of the ordinary then thats what it was. Iron Bowls have always been about emotion. Throw out the stats and who should do what. This is the only one.... or at least all Ive seen  since 1971.... where that was not the case. Yes there have been other games with larger point margins. But they were hard fought battles pound for pound or play for play. But anyway.... Congrats again.

202627[/snapback]

Nothing but excuses.

Auburn's third string center played. I guess he was just smarter than Bama's second string.

The LSU loss is a crutch. If Bama had beaten LSU, they still would have left Jordan Hare with a Tiger tattoo. Sorry to disappoint you there.

What you don't understand is that Bama DID bring it. That was all they had. It wasn't enough. Sorry again.

And the whole "games won on emotion" and "throw out the record book" stuff? Hogwash. The favorite usually wins. The better team almost always wins. Over the last 20-plus years there have really only been three or four true upsets. Three of those were Bama wins. Iron Bowls are rarely about emotion. What you saw wasn't a fluke at all, it was business as usual.

Tell yourself whatever you have to in order to make it through. Not begrudging you that. If my team had been thoroughly manhandled like yours was, I'd be looking for any silver lining I could find. I might even trot out the Vanderblit-patented "but we won the fourth quarter" justification to find hope where there was none. But I wouldn't go to the opposition's board to share it.

[ROLL TIDE FOREVER AMEN 0]

Well, we lost more than a starting center. JB was the coach on the field of the offense. He called all the blocking assignments. That hurt big time. Britt was not able to fill that role.

But... it all boils down to AU came ready to play and Bama did not. The loss to LSU took a lot out of this team. Add that to the fact that Borges had a great gameplan, momentum early in the game, home field..... ect ect. You will not find this fan making excuses for my team. We just didn't bring it. Period. The only chance we had to beat AU that day was to play on pure emotion. We didn't. You have to admit, this Iron Bowl was a fluke. WHAT!!!! WHAT DID HE SAY!!!

If you define a fluke as out of the ordinary then thats what it was. Iron Bowls have always been about emotion. Throw out the stats and who should do what. This is the only one.... or at least all Ive seen  since 1971.... where that was not the case. Yes there have been other games with larger point margins. But they were hard fought battles pound for pound or play for play. But anyway.... Congrats again.

202627[/snapback]

Nothing but excuses.

Auburn's third string center played. I guess he was just smarter than Bama's second string.

The LSU loss is a crutch. If Bama had beaten LSU, they still would have left Jordan Hare with a Tiger tattoo. Sorry to disappoint you there.

What you don't understand is that Bama DID bring it. That was all they had. It wasn't enough. Sorry again.

And the whole "games won on emotion" and "throw out the record book" stuff? Hogwash. The favorite usually wins. The better team almost always wins. Over the last 20-plus years there have really only been three or four true upsets. Three of those were Bama wins. Iron Bowls are rarely about emotion. What you saw wasn't a fluke at all, it was business as usual.

Tell yourself whatever you have to in order to make it through. Not begrudging you that. If my team had been thoroughly manhandled like yours was, I'd be looking for any silver lining I could find. I might even trot out the Vanderblit-patented "but we won the fourth quarter" justification to find hope where there was none. But I wouldn't go to the opposition's board to share it.

202631[/snapback]

Wrong. No excuses. Reasons why one team won and the other did not.

I dont know what role a center plays in the Auburn offense other than making good blocks and the exchange. But JB plays a big role in Alabama's in addition to those duties . Thats a fact.

How is the loss to LSU a crutch. Its not a crutch. The players themselves have been quoted as saying that they were burnt out and spent by that time. You are probably right though. I still think if we would have won the LSU game we would have lost to AU. LSU beat us physically more than anything else. So much that Shula did not practice the team in pads the week before the iron bowl.

Wrong again. Bama did not bring it. Im not saying we would have won if we did. But we didn't come ready to play with the same intensity that AU did.

Read my post... I did not say the games were won or lost on emotion. I said the only chance we had that day was play on emotion. Sure the favorite usually wins, but what makes the iron bowl one of the best rival games is its usually a hard fought battle. Im not talking just about the final score, but each single play and performance of each player. Its always been a battle.

Save your patronizations for some hot head you can goad into a flame post. I said the better team won and congrats.

[AUloggerhead 2,241]

Wrong. No excuses. Reasons why one team won and the other did not.

I  dont know what role a center plays in the Auburn offense other than making good blocks and the exchange. But JB plays a big role in Alabama's in addition to those duties . Thats a fact.

How is the loss to LSU a crutch. Its not a crutch. The players themselves have been quoted as saying that they were burnt out and spent by that time. You are probably right though. I still think if we would have won the LSU game we would have lost to AU. LSU beat us physically more than anything else. So much that Shula did not practice the team in pads the week before the iron bowl.

Wrong again. Bama did not bring it. Im not saying we would have won if we did. But we didn't come ready to play with the same intensity that AU did.

Read my post... I did not say the games were won or lost on emotion. I said the only chance we had that day was play on emotion. Sure the favorite usually wins, but what makes the iron bowl one of the best rival games is its usually a hard fought battle. Im not talking just about the final score, but each single play and performance of each player. Its always been a battle.

Save your patronizations for some hot head you can goad into a flame post. I said the better team won and congrats.

202634[/snapback]

Maybe you didn't intend to offer any excuses but those all sound like excuses you're touting:

'Losing a starting center' uat's center is no different than any other team's center. In cases where blocking ambiguities exist, the center tells the guards on either side of him which guy he's going to block, the guards then know not to block the center's man & they tell the tackles to their outside which guy they will block, and then the tackles figure out who's left to block and inform the TE of which guy they will block. AU's replacement center was just flat out better than uat's replacement. No need to make anything more out of this than necessary.

'Bama did not bring it.' Interesting. What's that phrase -- bring it, don't sing it? Apparently, Darby & Ryans couldn't stop running their mouths off in the press the week before the game. Didn't Darby say it would be easy to run on the AU defense? Didn't Ryans say he was looking forward to shutting down Irons? Weren't the uat players calling up the AU players during the week before the game talking smack & leaving punk-azz messages? LMAO. The reason bam-muh didn't bring it is because they were too busy singing all week before the game. Backfire strategy, boyz -- not a good idea to try to humiliate your opponent with false bravado & disrespect.

'LSU beat us physically more than anything else.' Geez, yah think? It doesn't seem right that LSU should only do that to an undefeated uat team, does it? But there ya go -- that's life in the SEC West. Now that bam-muh is officially back, they might want to take note of the current power structure in the SEC West and adjust their play accordingly. Or, maybe not -- maybe they can just continue to drink the kool-ade and conjure up some 'tradishun' to help them win some games. WDE

[GalensGhost 0]

The whole "we lost because we just didn't 'bring it'" irritates me.

Yes, they brought it. It was immediately taken away from them and thrown back in their face. As many speculated and a few were bold enough to verbalize, Alabama's record was mere smoke and mirrors. It was an illusion fostered by an inexplicable Tennessee collapse and a dreadful Florida team -- both of which were imagined to be much more viable than either turned out to be.

What Bama fans fail to -- or refuse to -- recognize is that the team that floundered around with Ole Miss, blundered by Mississippi State and struggled with UT, MTSU and Arkansas is the "real" Alabama team. Being short a center didn't cause all that.

I'm amazed and grateful that they are lining up behind Shula like so many happy lemmings. When I look at the SEC, he's probably the ninth or tenth best coach in the league. Would Florida, LSU, Tennessee, Georgia, Auburn, Mississippi State, Arkansas or South Carolina trade coaches with UA? I'm glad they're wrapping themselves up in excuses and justifications. I'm happy they live in a fantasy world. If things stay as they are (both teams keep the same coaching staffs relatively intact) it's going to be a fun decade.

Hmmmm come to think of it, yeah, you bama guys are right. 100%. It's a good thing for Auburn that you guys were short a center and that Brodie signed that pact not to get sacked because it makes his momma scream and he didn't want to jeopardize his standing as the number one draft pick. AU lost three quarters of that game and should probably just count it as a tie or a bama win in the record books. Shula's the best. The rest of the SEC is quaking in fear at the juggernaut he's building over there...