Was Miles really outcoached? Caddell's non-catch, SEC Power Poll

by GeauxTigers on Nov 5, 2007 11:35 PM CST in Football

Best line EVER from Glenn Guilbeau, regarding the individual players who committed boneheaded penalties or plays at Alabama:

Geez. Stewart, Jackson, Flynn and Hester are all Saban signees. As soon as Miles gets all his own players in here, this team is going to really take off. Just kidding.

Money!

Can someone please tell me exactly what Nick Saban did to justify his allegedly having "outcoached" Les Miles, though? I'm just curious. I'm not going to argue that Miles is a better coach. I'm not going to argue that Miles isn't responsible for the team's lack of discipline on Saturday. I'm just of the opinion that Alabama was the beneficiary of a number of gift-wrapped LSU mistakes, and didn't really have to do much to capitalize upon them (and, in fact, didn't capitalize upon them nearly as much as they should have). Was it "work ethic" instilled by Saban? (Incidentally, on that link, I love how our fellow Bama bloggers think we're 4th best in the SEC, behind two teams we beat, one by 45 points. Talk about allowing one performance - a victory, at that - to overrule an entire season's worth of work.) Was it the playcalling after the big penalties that led to TDs? Was it the defensive schemes that rattled Matt Flynn? I chalk the latter up more to Flynn's making a number of dumb mistakes. I don't think Saban had anything to do with that INT inside our own 5 yard line, for instance. Flynn just doesn't know how to throw a ball away.

Honestly curious: did Saban DO anything, or is the entire world making a judgment based on Les Miles' team having had one subpar outing? (Yes, I know we lead the SEC in penalties; don't ANYONE try to argue that our Saban teams didn't commit loads of dumb penalties at times.)

Curious, dear readers, for your thoughts.

Bama fans are fuming about the reviews during the game that reversed a number of calls, notably a Caddell catch ("happened right in front of us, and he got it") deep down the sideline that would have put the Tide in scoring position. Hat tip to poster LSUStjames on Tigerdroppings.com for this:

Click for larger image. Think it's photoshopped? Picture courtesy Anniston Star...go to #23/31.

Catch? Don't think so. Good overturn.

In general, I like OutsideTheSidelines' writing at RollBamaRoll, but this is the whiniest piece of nonsense I've read in quite awhile. Caddell caught it, officiating was bad, LSU is not great, Florida gave them the game - for Christ's sake, after that Florida game the whole WORLD was talking about what guts LSU had in making that comeback. We got a couple turnovers late, but we still had to convert five friggin fourth downs to do it. Mais non, OTS, we EARNED that win. We have not dominated anyone since then in the way that we did to Va Tech. So be it. I think it's pretty tough to demand that we do that to Florida and Auburn and Alabama. Florida, for one, could make an argument that it's the 2nd or 3rd most talented team in the country. Auburn's defense was playing as good as anyone's in the country, save perhaps Ohio State, when we met them.

We underachieved against Bama. We should never have had a problem winning. We didn't need to beat them by six touchdowns, but we built the 17-3 lead on the strength of a great opening effort, then faltered. We do need to get it together in order to win out. But for God's sake, we've accomplished quite a bit. We've just gone through a gauntlet and emerged relatively unscathed, which almost NO other teams in the country could say after such a stretch. EVERY OTHER TEAM IN THE SEC has two conference losses, going through similar gut-blasting games as we have. WE ARE THE ONLY ONES WITH ONE LOSS. This is the status quo.

His Crimson-colored glasses are massively affecting his objectivity in the aftermath of this loss. So be it. There's a little homer in everyone; I don't know that I'd be any different. I'm sure we've had some luck, but as the Roman philosopher Seneca allegedly said, "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." Indeed.

My SEC Power Poll for this week (votes compiled, as always, by Garnet and Black Attack):

LSU - Those stupid mistakes were all made by SABAN'S recruits.
Georgia - Get a mulligan vs Troy; looks like they've learned to give Moreno the ball lots and lots. Just in time for Auburn.
Florida - Well, at least that defense can stop Vanderbilt.
Alabama - The future is bright for the Tide. Dammit.
Auburn - Tuberville already smelling College Station? Or gasp - Baton Rouge?
Tennessee - I shudder to think what McFadden and Jones will do to that defense this weekend.
Arkansas - Hitting their stride at the right time; could spoil a lot of folks' seasons, starting with Tennessee this weekend.
Mississippi State - Could they beat a second straight ranked opponent in the form of the Tide this weekend?
Kentucky - Vandy's presence on the schedule makes a 5-straight loss finish rather unlikely.
South Carolina - Didn't see footage of that shredding by Arkansas, but there's got to be some quality footage somewhere on the internet of the Ole Ball Coach's face this past weekend.
Vanderbilt - Bowl eligibility still not out of the question for the Commies!
Ole Miss - Sometimes you get the feeling they'll be looking up from here for a long, lonnnnnnng time.

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Penalties followup

Oh, and for the record, we are the third most penalized team in the country, and Florida's 15th. Guess that means that Urban Meyer's a garbage coach too. Tsk, tsk. You and your silly national championship, Urban. Be gone!!!

(Note, we're actually listed FIFTH, and Florida SEVENTEENTH, but adjust for a few of those teams having played 10 games. On a PER-GAME basis, we are third worst and Florida 15th.)

by GeauxTigers on Nov 5, 2007 11:57 PM CST reply actions

Right on

I hope OutsideTheSidelines' visits this thread so he can see what an objective piece of writing looks like. I came across his whiny piece via a link from SMQ pointing out that some Bama fans were upset with the officiating. Incredulous, and against my better judgment, I hit the link. The complete inability to give LSU any credit for coming to Tuscaloosa, under difficult circumstances, and getting the job done, was just sad. And several of the Bama homers really embarassed themselves in the comments of that thread. I would prefer a dynamic of mutual respect with Bama fans. But nothing about their attitude following their losing effort commands respect (I commend gerrydorsey for not being a part of that embarassment).

Great photo of the Bama "catch" there. That was the only overturn I was uncertain about. Not to complain, but did anyone else notice that we were denied a fumble recovery at the end of the game following Steltz's hit on the Bama receiver? It looked to me like he had possession with both feet on the ground before Steltz dislodged it.

by crepuscular @ And The Valley Shook on Nov 6, 2007 6:49 AM CST reply actions

Wow...

After the Ole Miss game, Bama has no room to complain about plays under review. In a year of horrible calls (every team has gotten their share), there are two that stick out in my mind as being the worst: refs calling the defunct "halo rule" against Auburn in Gainsville, and the refs reversing an on the field call without indisputable evidence on the replay in Bama's favor against Ole Miss.

by joe blow on Nov 6, 2007 8:13 AM CST reply actions

I feel I should justify my Power Poll Ranking here

The power poll is supposed to be a ranking of the SEC teams performance for that week alone, not the overall season performance. That's why LSU is ahead of all the other SEC teams in my BlogPoll ballot, because they are the best team in the league. But this Saturday, I thought they only turned in the fourth best performance of all the team in the SEC, and really third best since I ranked Mississippi State second just for the fun since they didn't play and therefor couldn't suck.

Further, the reason we say Miles was outcoached was because his team should have absolutely destroyed Alabama, and looked like they were going to do so early on, but stupid penalties and mistakes made the game closer than it should have been. Alabama played the whole 60 minutes, something they haven't done in a long time until Saban arrived, while LSU screwed around and then made a play when they really had to. The fact that Saban had his team ready to play their guts out against a team they had no business being in the same stadium with, while LSU looked like they expected to just show up and the other team will roll over for them because they're LSU, is the reason we're saying Saban is the better coach.

Roll Bama Roll

by Todd @ And The Valley Shook on Nov 6, 2007 4:49 PM CST reply actions

Thanks Todd

I'm a voter in that SEC Power Poll, and I guess I had a different take on things. But I see where you're coming from given your view of the methodology.

Meanwhile, responded more at length in today's post, above.

by GeauxTigers on Nov 6, 2007 11:11 PM CST up reply actions

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