The halfway point of the college football season is here. We’ve seen enough to know that Alabama isn’t trending in the right direction with its new coach. Meanwhile over in Georgia, coach Kirby Smart is breaking bad. The midweek mailbag is nationwide.
Brad in Los Angeles writes …
We’ve heard numerous times during broadcasts how [defensive coordinator] Kane Wommack has brought an NFL defense to Alabama. But isn’t there a reason they don’t run NFL defenses in college? Especially with a nearly all-freshmen defensive backfield?
It was always going to be hard with all these freshmen, and there is much reason to hope that the end of the year might be better than the beginning. But really, was this the right move in any sane calculus of the situation?
I suppose it makes sense if you’re looking to next year or the year after when these guys have got it figured out. But if Bama goes down the tubes on the way to figuring it out, those guys will be gone to the portal, sucking our would-have-been future recruits along with them. I’m not sure today’s world lends itself to the long view. Have our defensive coaches bitten off more than their players can chew?
Andy in Mobile writes …
Love your column as well as your dedication to the craft of writing. Big fan! The thought occurred to me that what we’re dealing with (at UA) this year is the occasional mental phenomenon of playing to our level of competition.
Competition stout? Bring your best game.
Start winning against the big boys early on? Aww, let’s let them back in the game.
Playing a cupcake? Mail it in.
Playing someone in-conference that you’re supposed to beat? Let’s keep it interesting. No one ever says that consciously, of course. It’s just what happens, and it’s 90 percent mental. And to quote Yogi, the other half is coaching.
It’s exciting to watch, unless you’re like all Alabama fans who aren’t interested in “exciting” – we want dominance.
ANSWER: The mailbag is proving to be a valuable community resource for readers, thinkers, schemers and fans. Sagacious observations and insightful questions. For the philosophy scholars among us, Socrates would be impressed. It was he who knew that the best way to learn was by asking questions. I think the best place to start is with the idea that the SEC isn’t the NFL.
The reality of it is that the SEC is more like the NFL than ever before. Not only are the players getting paid, but quarterbacks and defensive captains now have radio capabilities in their helmets to hear play calls from coaches. In addition to that change this season, college football has borrowed two-minute warnings from the NFL and also injury reports. There are other advancements, too.
If the SEC is now a college version of the NFL, then it only goes to reason that the win-loss columns and scoreboards are going to reflect the NFL, too. As former Alabama player Ha Ha Clinton-Dix pointed out last week, Alabama fans just need to be happy with wins at this point because that’s the reality of pro football.
Look at the standings going into Week 7. Thirteen teams already have at least one loss in the league … and Vanderbilt is ahead of Alabama!
SEC defenses borrow plenty of concepts from the NFL, and that trend is only going to continue. But I like the suggestion that Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer and defensive coordinator Wommack might be too ahead of the curve. Remember, teams don’t have to win every game this season to make the playoffs. Some teams will make the playoffs with two losses. As for Alabama, I think the Tide needs to win out after that stunning loss to Vanderbilt, but I wouldn’t mind being wrong on that assessment.
Alabama has been vulnerable to begin the season, but this team is more than capable of making vast improvements from week to week. For that matter, the same is true for Auburn.
I suggested this on the “Beat Everyone” podcast this week, but I’ll double down here: More than anything, it seems like Nick Saban’s players are having a tough time adjusting to DeBoer and Wommack’s styles as motivators.
Take for example Malachi Moore. Why is he backsliding? This is a player who is a two-time captain. Why is throwing tantrums and getting called for personal fouls? What gives? For years and years at Alabama, there have always been players in the defensive secondary who are like Saban clones on the field. Minkah Fitzpatrick was that player. Eddie Jackson was that player. Moore is the last of those players, and he’s clearly not gelling with Wommack.
