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BamaMan
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« on: November 10, 2009, 10:42:50 AM » |
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MSU preview: Bulldogs better than expected, but still thinWhen Dan Mullen took over as head coach of Mississippi State, he did so to a chorus of snickers from many, who viewed the young coaching prospect as loony for stepping off into the abyss that has been Bulldog football since the crash and burn of Jackie Sherrell’s career.
Instead, Mullen – whose team looked like a 2-10 outfit in the spring – has the Bulldogs reasonably close to being bowl-eligible...
Alabama shouldn’t be looking past Mississippi State to Florida, but it’s a good bet the Tide coaches will use Mississippi State as a tune-up for the Florida offense. Mullen was Urban Meyer’s offensive coordinator at Florida and many consider him to be a co-architect of the spread-option scheme along with Meyer. Overall, however, the Bulldog defense and special teams are mediocre, and MSU turns the ball over too much.
OFFENSE
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BamaMan
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« Reply #1 on: November 10, 2009, 10:49:02 AM » |
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McElroy silences critics with win against LSUThefreedictionary.com defines the word moxie thusly: “The ability to face difficulty with spirit and courage.”
Like a lot of quarterbacks, Greg McElroy has it. Unlike some, however, the University of Alabama’s first-year starter isn’t afraid to let it show off the field once in a while....
And Saturday night against LSU, following his most effective start in four games, he sounded nothing like a quarterback who had something to apologize for.
“Is it frustrating to me that people did lose faith in me? Yeah, it really ticks me off,” McElroy said Saturday. “But I never lost faith in myself. I never lost faith in my teammates, and I never lost faith in what we are able to do offensively. It really made me feel good to go out and silence everybody tonight and obviously get a big victory.”
McElroy completed 19 of 34 passes for 276 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Tigers. It was the second-highest total of passing yardage against the LSU defense this season, behind only a season-opener against Washington in which the Huskies attempted 45 passes.
For McElroy, it can’t be called a confidence-builder, because that edge of confidence he maintains never really left him in the first place.
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BamaMan
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« Reply #2 on: November 10, 2009, 10:55:47 AM » |
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Credibility, integrity at stake for SECSaturday afternoon, CBS got what it wanted — another instant classic, a thriller which went down to the final minutes with the game, the division, the season (mankind and life itself) hanging in the balance.
The SEC got what it what wanted as well, a chartbuster title game in Atlanta that could rank as one of the most momentous in modern college football history.
Everyone's happy, right. Not really.
Now that the SEC has essentially become Florida-Alabama and the 10 dwarfs, the weekly parlor game of bald-faced accusations and panic-stricken rage has taken center stage.
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BamaMan
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« Reply #3 on: November 10, 2009, 11:02:20 AM » |
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LSU coach Miles doesn't criticize SEC officials of calls in Alabama game Les Miles decided not to test the SEC's new get-tough policy regarding coaches criticizing officials.
The LSU coach said Monday he spoke with Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive and coordinator of officials Rogers Redding about a near-interception by Patrick Peterson late in the Tigers' 24-15 loss to Alabama. Officials ruled Peterson caught the ball out of bounds and replay officials did not overturn the call, though video showed the LSU defensive back might have had a foot down in bounds.
LSU asked the league to review the call and Miles said he was satisfied with the response he received.
"I know these officials are trying," he said during his weekly news conference in Baton Rouge, La. "They are doing everything they can to get it right. The final score is the final score. The officials are working hard to get it right. If I felt differently, I would say so."
But then he'd have to take out his checkbook. The SEC fined Florida coach Urban Meyer $30,000 last week for saying referees missed a late hit against Georgia on quarterback Tim Tebow, making him the first coach punished under the league's new policy of skipping public reprimands and going straight to fines or suspension.
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BamaMan
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« Reply #4 on: November 10, 2009, 11:07:11 AM » |
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Bama notebook: Tide turns attention to MSUAlabama coach Nick Saban said Mississippi State presents several challenges for his team this week.
First, he wants to make sure his players prepare well after their emotional win over LSU last Saturday.
“I think it gets more and more difficult to maintain that level of consistency, mentally, because each and every team that we play is capable of beating any team on any given day,” Saban said.
“This team (State) is right down to the wire with LSU, had it first-and-one at the 1 or 2 and didn’t punch it in to win.
“But yet, LSU is the game of the year and this game is like (no big deal). I don’t see it that way and I don’t want the players to see it that way.”
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BamaMan
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« Reply #5 on: November 10, 2009, 11:15:00 AM » |
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Projecting the BCS bowlsWe’re getting down to crunch time, so let’s a take minute to project the five BCS bowls and explain why the matchups will occur...
BCS CHAMPIONSHIP, Jan. 7, 2010
Matchup: Alabama vs. Texas
How it happened: Florida and Alabama are locked into the SEC championship game on Dec. 5. They could be ranked 1-2. As was the case a year ago, the winner goes to the big game. With Baylor, Kansas and Texas A&M left, Texas should cruise to the Big 12 championship game and roll over the North Division champ.
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BamaMan
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« Reply #6 on: November 10, 2009, 11:19:01 AM » |
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Just How Good Can Alabama Be If It Plays Its Most Complete Game?There's a lot that sports fans will never agree on, like who was the best college team ever. But there is one thing most will agree on—Alabama has not played it's best game yet this season and they're not hitting on all cylinders.
Every fan can agree that McElroy missing open receivers for touchdowns and Julio Jones dropping easy passes can't be signs of a team that has it all together. Mindless penalties that negate great kickoff and punt returns are a quick sign that things aren't clicking well.
Blown defensive coverage for an easy six and watching a defender slip to the ground to allow another are more signs of a team with issues that need work.
However, they are still winning and the mistakes do seem fixable. The question is, just how good can this team be when the mistakes are fixed?
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BamaMan
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« Reply #7 on: November 10, 2009, 11:28:34 AM » |
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College replay should go NFL's wayThis has been a season where officials haven't avoided the anonymity they'd prefer. A couple of missed calls drew much attention. Coaches have sprinkled gasoline on the fire. Sports talk radio, the Internet, chat rooms and, yes, even mainstream newspaper columnists have poured on even more.
Florida and Alabama have both benefited, and that's led to absurd allegations of "a conspiracy theory," a notion that is nothing but flower-garden fertilizer.
Check the SEC stats. Florida is fifth, Alabama sixth in most penalty yards per game. You know who has fewest? Tennessee. And Lane Kiffin is complaining?
The NFL does replay right. College football should follow suit.
In the NFL, a coach gets two challenges and the review is done by the referee looking at sideline monitors. In the last two minutes, only the booth official can initiate a replay.
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BamaMan
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« Reply #8 on: November 10, 2009, 11:32:46 AM » |
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Practice Report: Monday, November 9The SEC Western Division Champion Alabama football team hit the practice field in Tuscaloosa this afternoon in preparation for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. As is the custom on Monday, the squad practiced in shells.
Here's what you need to know;
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BamaMan
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« Reply #9 on: November 10, 2009, 11:41:29 AM » |
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Alabama's Big Time Players Make The DifferenceThe gap between winning and losing is actually quite small, but it takes big time players to fill the gap.
It has taken time, but Alabama now has the kinds of weapons who can win championships. Who can turn a bad game into a good one, who can completely override plans to stop them.
Julio's long scamper for six was just one such example Saturday.
Marcel Darius was only a three-star recruit but his senior year at Huffman High in Birmingham those who saw him said, "This guy is no three-star." Viewing his offer sheet it was clear others felt the same.
Darius showed flashes as a true freshman, but in his sophomore year he has launched an all out assault on SEC quarterbacks. Saturday, in the fourth quarter, he was dominant.
Lorenzo Washington was once a four-star recruit himself. It took him a long time to find his way, but his viscous hit on LSU Quarterback Jordan Jefferson was the beginning of the end for him Saturday.
Five-star true freshman linebacker Nico Johnson finished Jefferson off on a blitz not long after...
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tsunami_rtr
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« Reply #10 on: November 10, 2009, 01:11:32 PM » |
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Nick Saban Brings Tide Team and Recruiting Crop Both Up To No. 2Just when you thought Nick Saban had his hands full guiding this year's Crimson Tide team team to a second place ranking and coaching so hard to stop the silly miscues they've been making, he's also building yet another recruiting class that came in today at No. two as well.
Could this be the third year in a row that Nick Saban not only brings home the wins, but brings home the best recruiting class in America yet again?
With Saban, all things are possible. Some people refer to Saban as a recruiter who coaches during his off time.
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