Shula's recruiting

[BamaGrad03 0]

Pcola...let me ask you this...how many scholarships did AU lose when they were on probation.

And again...I ask...how is 21-15 much different than 20-17?

[GalensGhost 0]

We can do this all day...bottom line: Shula did a good job this year and no one hear wants to give the man any credit. Hell you guys dont even count one of the most crippling probations in NCAA history as an excuse to lose any ballgames.

221930[/snapback]

That's simply because "one of the most crippling probations in NCAA history" is a total Bama myth. It's an excuse. And it isn't even close to true.

[AUslug 1]

BG and others all have valid points, the one question I have about Shula is this, in his three years as head coach and de facto offensive play caller, the offense has scored less points year by year.

2003-331

2004-295

2005-263

I know there are various reasons, excuses whatever you want to call them for that trend of less and less offensive production. The biggest reason would be that the defense over the past two years was top notch and therefore the offense didn't have to do as much to win games. Well this upcoming season Alabama is going to have to replace the core of that defense and one would think that the offense would have to step up production but with a new starting qb and missing their best playmaker in Prothro...could be a problem. BG the reason why Auburn people bash Shula so much is the "Bama Hype Machine" factor. The BHM is responsible for Brodie's legendary status, the proclaiming that before the last two games of the regular season that Bama is going to be the Auburn of 2005. Shula is being hyped up as the next great coach by people and Auburn people see other things like 0-6 against LSU and Auburn, losing games against the likes of Northern Illinois and Hawaii.

[WarTiger 3,910]

Pcola...let me ask you this...how many scholarships did AU lose when they were on probation.

And again...I ask...how is 21-15 much different than 20-17?

221945[/snapback]

Scholarship reductions are a tired argument, and one you seem to be clinging too. Yet, if we complained at all about probation you would be attacking us for using it as an excuse.

because at 21-15, one of those seasons we were at the SEC championship game, and one other we tied for the West crown, and missed the SEC championship game on a tie breaker. Shula got a 10 win season last year and was still behind LSU and Auburn. What does Shula have to show for his 20-17 record?? Three losses to Auburn, and no higher than a THIRD place finish in the western division...

[tejasjack 0]

What a joke! A kid who has NFL aspirations should be more motivated by these stats:

Players in the NFL

1. Florida State 42

2. FLORIDA 37

3. TENNESSEE 37

4. GEORGIA 35

5. Ohio State 35

6. Michigan 34

7. Miami (Fla.) 33

8. AUBURN 31

9. LSU 30

10. Notre Dame 30

OTHER SEC SCHOOLS

Alabama 18

Ole Miss 17

South Carolina 17

Mississippi State 15

Arkansas 11

Vanderbilt 7

Kentucky 6

Source: SECsports.com Link: Players in the NFL

[GalensGhost 0]

Pcola...let me ask you this...how many scholarships did AU lose when they were on probation.

And again...I ask...how is 21-15 much different than 20-17?

221945[/snapback]

Scholarship reductions are a tired argument, and one you seem to be clinging too. Yet, if we complained at all about probation you would be attacking us for using it as an excuse.

because at 21-15, one of those seasons we were at the SEC championship game, and one other we tied for the West crown, and missed the SEC championship game on a tie breaker. Shula got a 10 win season last year and was still behind LSU and Auburn. What does Shula have to show for his 20-17 record?? Three losses to Auburn, and no higher than a THIRD place finish in the western division...

221962[/snapback]

They are waving the flag of this ten-win season as if it's some magnificent accomplishment. Let's break it down.

Middle Tennessee (4-7)

Southern Miss (7-5)

South Carolina (7-5)

Arkansas (4-7)

Florida (9-4)

Ole Miss (3-8)

Tennessee (5-6)

Utah State (3-8)

MSU (3-8)

Texas Tech (9-4)

Wow. Just wow. One win that was even remotely significant. One. Worst Tennessee team in nearly two decades. One of the worst Ole Miss teams in 40 years. Last second kicks and celebrations on the field after both of those games. A horrible MSU team. How many other teams in the country would be 10-0 against that slate?

Bama's success was the result of scheduling fortune and timing. Who knew how off Florida was going to be? Who could have anticipated Tennessee's collapse? If this is the foundation on which they are building the $1.8M man, I, for one, am delighted.

[rolltoomer 0]

Even Bryant used to acknowledge "schedule luck", as he called it.

Plus:

That lousy Ole Miss team had the ball on uat's 3-yard line and then had TWO consecutive delay-of-games.

(Vanderbilt-beaten) Tennessee was in the process of scoring and fumbled the ball through the end zone.

10 wins is 10 wins, though. But it will be a while before there's a repeat, I suspect.

[quietfan 233]

What a joke!  A kid who has NFL aspirations should be more motivated by these stats:

Players in the NFL

1.        Florida State              42

2.        FLORIDA                    37

3.        TENNESSEE                  37

4.        GEORGIA                    35

5.        Ohio State                  35

6.        Michigan                    34

7.        Miami (Fla.)                33

8.        AUBURN                      31

9.        LSU                        30

10.      Notre Dame                  30

OTHER SEC SCHOOLS

          Alabama                    18

          Ole Miss                    17

          South Carolina              17

          Mississippi State          15

          Arkansas                    11

          Vanderbilt                  7

          Kentucky                    6

Source:  SECsports.com  Link:  Players in the NFL

221963[/snapback]

..don't forget the current nine Auburn players in the combine today--most from the SEC and 4th most in the nation.

Shula's "NFL connections"? I suspect Coach Muschamp has more pull with the current Miami staff than Flipper's Daddy. Of course, we didn't have Muschamp on board during recruiting season. We had to fall back on weaker arguments like: "Look how many first rounders we put in the NFL last season".

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

Pcola...let me ask you this...how many scholarships did AU lose when they were on probation.

And again...I ask...how is 21-15 much different than 20-17?

221945[/snapback]

Again:

Year before Tuberville: 3-8

Year before Shula: 10-3

How much different is THAT?

While we were not coming off probation at that time, we were coming off some of the worst recruiting in terms of talent and character in many years. No one to blame for that one except for Auburn and the people in charge of the program at that time.

Just as Bama only has one entity to blame for their "crippling" probation, themselves.

Probation is caused by breaking the rules, getting caught and paying the price. Stop blaming probation and start blaming the folks in charge of the program at the time the violations happened, namely Beebs and Mal Moore. But that would be sacrilege.

[rolltoomer 0]

Yeah, folks may not remember, but Tubs and Co. did not have a SINGLE running back.

Forget the kid's name, but they converted a receiver to RB that first year.

[BamaGrad03 0]

IT DOESNT MATTER WHY WE WERE ON PROBATION...that has NO bearing on this argument.

You are saying SHULA has a poor record. And I said it can be directly attributed to playing with FAR less talent. SHULA didnt get us put on probation so it IS a valid argument.

And pcola you can say that our probation wasnt crippling and its all the coaches fault...but what was the record of Miami or OU in the middle of their probations? Perfect examples of what it does to a program.

Auburn lost like ONE scholly per year when they were on probation. Not playing on TV doesnt instantly reduce your talent by 25 players.

We were 10-3 the year before shula because the sanctions hadnt taken hold yet.

Every talking head in the media said that our probation was one of the worst in history...All the sports fans outside of opelika and knoxville say the same. And EVERYONE expected our win total to go down because of it.

Now add to that the fact that EVERYONE got hurt last year (04). And shula had the #1 SOS his first year...and you could expect that we were playing against a stacked deck. But you guys refuse to admit that because it bothers you to give alabama any credit ever. Hell we won 10 games this year with 77 scholarshipped players (many of whom were walk ons that got schollys) and you guys are talking about how sorry Shula is.

Then again you all said for 2 years Kines was a horrible hire and he's had back to back top 3 defenses.

So forgive me for not labeling you all as psychics.

Bottom line: Shula has one less win in his first 3 seasons at bama than Tubbs did at AU. The difference? one team was on probation...the other was not.

But the fact remains...you all think that one win makes a great coach. And one less win a sorry one.

[bammanmr 0]

Now add to that the fact that EVERYONE got hurt last year (04).

222257[/snapback]

ahhhhh, there it is.

nobody bit on the scholarship excuse, now let's try the injury excuse.

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

Bottom line: Shula has one less win in his first 3 seasons at bama than Tubbs did at AU. The difference? one team was on probation...the other was not.

222257[/snapback]

He is also two losses worse, giving us a difference of three games.

Defend him all you want. Just remember that in about three years, when the buyout is being calculated.

[AUdaREALsecTigers 2]

So forgive me for not labeling you all as psychics.

222257[/snapback]

Don't worry... you aren't labeled as a realist either. If, God willing and the creek don't rise, Shula gets to hang out in Tuscaloosa long enough he may develop into a fine coach. So far he hasn't shown any brilliance but yes, his team had a good year last year. Now... will he be able to improve or maintain that level? CTT has.

[GalensGhost 0]

Every talking head in the media said that our probation was one of the worst in history...All the sports fans outside of opelika and knoxville say the same. And EVERYONE expected our win total to go down because of it.

222257[/snapback]

Every talking head in the Tuscaloosa media perhaps. Nationally, when UA makes that pathetic and fraudulent complaint, it's laughed at.

Not even close to true. But keep consoling yourself if you will. Mal already is. When he announced Shula's ridiculous deal he said he "knows there are some tough times ahead due to the NCAA probation."

How many years are you guys going to ride that dead horse? Five, six, eight, ten?

[WarTim 3,456]

Every talking head in the media said that our probation was one of the worst in history...All the sports fans outside of opelika and knoxville say the same. And EVERYONE expected our win total to go down because of it.

222257[/snapback]

Every talking head in the Tuscaloosa media perhaps. Nationally, when UA makes that pathetic and fraudulent complaint, it's laughed at.

Not even close to true. But keep consoling yourself if you will. Mal already is. When he announced Shula's ridiculous deal he said he "knows there are some tough times ahead due to the NCAA probation."

How many years are you guys going to ride that dead horse? Five, six, eight, ten?

222267[/snapback]

Until the next "excuse of the day/season" is sent out from the ivory tower in west vance.

[AUslug 1]

I remember another 10 win coach at Alabama, Mike Dubose...yeah he was a good one!

[SKCAUB 0]

In an interview, Andre Smith's mom said that, "Mike Shula has a lot of connections with the NFL", and the context was that going to play for him would increase a guy's chances for playing on Sunday.

Is that his schtick?  How could someone fall for that?  Why not just look at how many guys go to the NFL from each school?

How much longer will that ploy work?

Anyway, looking at how things are shaping up, I'm getting a growing feeling that CMS will not be at uat for the '08 season.

221734[/snapback]

Thats funny. Every year you guys say he wont be back after "next year"...and every year his record gets better. Now he's coming off of a 10 win season and a cotton bowl victory and you are predicting his demise again? Comical.

221758[/snapback]

Oh, I hope he's there for a while. Just one question...what are you planning on using for a defense this year?

[sevenDs 0]

Tuberville started out 1-2 against Alabama with his only win coming against our worst team in 100 years.

221930[/snapback]

I'm not saying Shula gets fired, but remember Bill Curry. Curry went 0-4 against Auburn, yet was coming off a 10 win and SEC Championship season, when he was offered a contract for less than he was currently making. No he wasn't fired, but he wasn't welcomed back either.

Of course it must have been the Sugar Bowl loss that cost Curry a competitve salary and not the loss to Auburn, since the Iron Bowl isn't that important to Bammers.

[WarTiger 3,910]

IT DOESNT MATTER WHY WE WERE ON PROBATION...that has NO bearing on this argument.

You are exactly right...it doesn't matter why you were on probation...IT ALSO DOESN'T MATTER THAT YOU WERE ON PROBATION.

You are saying SHULA has a poor record. And I said it can be directly attributed to playing with FAR less talent. SHULA didnt get us put on probation so it IS a valid argument.

No doubt you had FAR LESS TALENT..but what else is new...you always have less talent than we do....No...probation still isn't a valid argument, no matter how hard you try.

And pcola you can say that our probation wasnt crippling and its all the coaches fault...but what was the record of Miami or OU in the middle of their probations? Perfect examples of what it does to a program.

I never said it wasn't crippling...You are putting words in my mouth... BUT, I do know you are EXTREMELY LUCKY you even have a football team to root for, right now..

Every talking head in the media said that our probation was one of the worst in history...All the sports fans outside of opelika and knoxville say the same. And EVERYONE expected our win total to go down because of it.

Oh, do provide us a link for this...I'd love to actually see it in writing from someone other than a UAT homer....Where are all these talking heads in the media saying this?? LINK PLEASE..

Now add to that the fact that EVERYONE got hurt last year (04). And shula had the #1 SOS his first year...and you could expect that we were playing against a stacked deck. But you guys refuse to admit that because it bothers you to give alabama any credit ever. Hell we won 10 games this year with 77 scholarshipped players (many of whom were walk ons that got schollys) and you guys are talking about how sorry Shula is.

I knew the injury excuse would surface soon.. I will give UAT credit when they deserve it. I give you credit for 10 wins last season. NOBODY thought that would happen, I expect even you didn't expect that... So, I give UAT credit for their ten win season...I also give that defense credit for stopping only ONE OFFENSE that ranked in the TOP 60 in the country. The only other offense that defense faced embarrassed that defense so badly in the first quarter that they put it on cruise control the rest of the game. So, if its credit you want...there it is...

Then again you all said for 2 years Kines was a horrible hire and he's had back to back top 3 defenses.

Not a horrible hire...I love how is defense stopped all those stellar offensive teams.. wait, he only managed to stop ONE...texas tech...the other offense ranked in the top 60, shredded UAT...

Bottom line: Shula has one less win in his first 3 seasons at bama than Tubbs did at AU. The difference? one team was on probation...the other was not.

But the fact remains...you all think that one win makes a great coach. And one less win a sorry one.

and two more losses...BG, everybody wants shula to stay at UAT forever. We are very confident that he peaked with the 10 win season he just completed. Everything else will be downhill...But, even if its not, he won't survive two more losses to Auburn...ONE maybe, but not too...

Ok..so we've had Probation (an excuse you would laugh at us about if we used it) and now injury's....what's next..bad weather???

[saniflush 0]

Ok..so we've had Probation (an excuse you would laugh at us about if we used it) and now injury's....what's next..bad weather???

222300[/snapback]

I know the new one......

Aunt Flow came to visit and they are bloated.

[BamaGrad03 0]

No doubt you had FAR LESS TALENT..but what else is new...you always have less talent than we do....No...probation still isn't a valid argument, no matter how hard you try.

Funny, I didnt think it was such a tough principle to grasp.

If Tubby was coaching hoover high and they played bama and lost...would it be Tubby's fault?

You JUST said we had "FAR" less talent. Yet you expect us to not see a performance drop off?

You never answered my question about Miami and OU.

Oh, do provide us a link for this...I'd love to actually see it in writing from someone other than a UAT homer....Where are all these talking heads in the media saying this?? LINK PLEASE..

Funny, I searched all of 2 seconds and found this:

http://audrumline.tripod.com/bammerhammered2/

From an AUBURN fan

But before the NCAA's media teleconference was over came word that Alabama is appealing a series of staggering penalties leveled against the program on Friday. It is appealing perhaps the worst college football probation since the NCAA issued the first, and so far only, death penalty against SMU 14 years ago.

No bowls for the next two years. The cutting of 21 scholarships over the next three -- essentially the loss of an entire recruiting class. Five years' probation. If Alabama didn't get the death penalty, by the end of the probation, it will wish it had.

Rarely since SMU has the NCAA gone this far. The Pac-10 slapped Washington with a two-year bowl ban in 1993-94. It was later adopted by the NCAA as part of its penalties against the school.

But yeah...we weren't supposed to skip a beat. We should be ashamed for not winning 30 straight.

Pcola...let me ask you this...if losing 21 scholarships and 2 bowls ISNT supposed to be crippling...why do they do it?

"We think Alabama did some bad stuff...so we are going to give them a punishment that shouldnt hurt their win loss total"

[AUChizad 0]

If Tubby was coaching hoover high and they played bama and lost...would it be Tubby's fault?

Maybe Bama should replace Auburn with Hoover as it's new rival school to stay competitive.

[wesfau 0]

if losing 21 scholarships and 2 bowls ISNT supposed to be crippling...why do they do it?

You're right, but extend that thought out a little more:

Why did the NCAA want to "cripple" Bama?

Because they cheated...and got caught.

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

Funny, I searched all of 2 seconds and found this:

http://audrumline.tripod.com/bammerhammered2/

222325[/snapback]

So, "talking heads in the media" now translates to "some Auburn band kid that has a blog"?

Dennis Rodman doesn't have this much reach.

Pitiful. Sad, even. I wish I could have been here in your glory days, because this is just tragic.