In the weeks leading up to the start of the
current University of Alabama football season,
and even following the first two to three games, Crimson Tide coach Nick
Saban continued to note that the 2014 Tide team is looking to re-establish the
identity of the program and the standard that has kept it at or near the top of
the college football world basically since his arrival at the Capstone.
Those Alabama teams which have epitomized Saban's
"process" have been known for their physical and relentless nature,
for having a certain swagger as well as a great killer instinct, and most
importantly have been very disciplined and mentally strong, with very few
turnovers, penalties and lapses in concentration.
Frankly, we have not seen anything resembling
those vintage Saban Tide teams during Alabama's 4-1 start in 2014, and in fact
the last time we have seen Alabama actually play like, well, Alabama, was at
the end of the 2012 season when Alabama was pummeling Notre Dame for its most
recent national title.
Even last season, when the Tide found itself once
again in contention for the national title up until the devastating Iron Bowl
loss, Alabama sputtered around most of the season, slopping out a
season-opening win over Virginia Tech in Atlanta and not really playing with
seemingly any sense of passion, consistency or fire the whole season other than
perhaps the LSU game and portions of the Auburn contest.
It was mental mistakes and poor execution which
ultimately cost Alabama a win in Jordan-Hare Stadium, and then of course the
Tide basically did itself in again with a deluge of mistakes and turnovers in
the no-show Sugar Bowl performance against Oklahoma. The fact that Alabama was
still in the chase for another title last year despite the overall subpar play
most of the season can be attributed to Saban and his coaching staff, the sheer
amount of talented players on the Tide roster and the fact that the SEC West
was of course nowhere near as rugged and powerful as it is this season.
This season has basically been a repeat of all
the woes of 2013, as the Crimson Tide has displayed moments of brilliance in
2014, but has also again had way too many mental lapses, turnovers, dropped
passes and horrendous breakdowns on defense and special teams.
To be fair, Alabama has a host of young and
inexperienced athletes playing in some very crucial positions, such as
quarterback and in the secondary. But still the abundance of mistakes and
lapses for the Crimson Tide, and the fact that the Tide no longer seems to
exert itself with a presence that seems to strike much fear or respect among
its opponents anymore, has led many to speculate about whether or not the Tide
dynasty is over or not. It also has many
observers, including myself, wondering about how many more losses the Tide may
face in 2014 following the ugly meltdown against Ole Miss.
I have nothing but respect for the incredible
work that Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze has done in very quickly vaulting the
Rebels into national prominence, and in fact turning Ole Miss into a Top 5
team. With all due respect to the Rebel program and its
supporters, however, there is no galaxy where it should be stated that Ole Miss
was the better team against Alabama, but this past Saturday in Oxford, that was
definitely the case. Apparently gone are
the days where the Crimson Tide would show up at an opponent's home stadium and
simply have the host team beat before the opening kickoff seemingly and simply
because it was wearing crimson and white and because it had Nick Saban on its
sideline. Remember the "Blackout" game in Athens back in 2008 against
the Georgia Bulldogs?
The Rebels outplayed and outcoached the Tide, and
Alabama just appeared to be lost at times, continuously undermining itself with
inexplicable mistakes and blown plays offensively and defensively. Critical
injuries to leaders such as Kenyan Drake, Denzel Devall and Ryan Kelly did not
help matters.
Things are not about to get easier anytime soon
for a physically-battered and perhaps mentally-fragile Crimson Tide squad and
you wonder how it will respond from an early loss to Ole Miss, with Texas
A&M, Mississippi State, LSU, Auburn and even an improving Tennessee team
still to play.
Next up for the Tide is a trip to Arkansas to
play a Razorback team which may be the most improved squad in the nation. If
Alabama shows up uninspired and with its collective thoughts still in Oxford,
things may not go well in Razorback Stadium and it is a game that could be ugly
if Alabama is not ready and Arkansas starts fast and also gets its crowd loud
and engaged early.
There is no dispute about the incredible amount
of talent on the Tide roster. And only a simple-minded sap would think that
suddenly Saban has forgotten how to coach or that the game has passed him by,
although the offensive gameplan by Saban and Lane Kiffin against the Rebels was
questionably conservative at best in my view.
While it is perhaps unfair to question the heart
of this Tide team, you do have to question the overall leadership and chemistry
of the 2013 and 2014 teams and I have to wonder if there are too many players
perhaps who are not "all in" in terms of buying into Saban's process
and the demands required to be a championship-caliber squad.
This season can still be a great one for the
Crimson Tide, and like Saban said, all of the team's aspirations are still
there for the taking in what is proving to be another topsy turvy college
football season and definitely a wide-open SEC West.
But for that to happen, the players on this team
need to step it up a few notches and decide whether it is important enough for
them personally to play to the standard that made Alabama a championship
program under Saban.
