Greetings from Hoover, where a severe cold has gotten into my ears and chest and, most importantly, cut into my Yuengling intake. Very frustrating. But, a few things from here:
Oh, shut up Nick
Today is Bama Day, which means Alabama fans show up, fill the front lobby of the Wynfrey Hotel, cry at the sight of a 5'4" guy with no personality, yell something about Rammer Jammer...and then go home. You get the guy who wears a big hat-like thing that looks like a national championship ring in years they don't win (this year, with a title belt), and Bear Bryant himself (who I pissed off by saying his outfit was incomplete because he didn't have his Junction Boys ring on).
Essentially, it's adults behaving badly. And Nick Saban took their lead today.
During his Q&A session, Saban gave some really good responses on questions about things like satellite camps (more in a second), but he also fell into a habit that is severely unlikeable: making excuses for his team's losing. Here are two of the humdingers he fired off today:
"Our team chemistry from the SEC championship game to the playoff game was affected by something," he said. "We had six guys in this situation this past year and 11 the year before. So we're trying to get ready for a game, and all of a sudden a guy finds out he's a first-round draft pick or a guy that thought he was a first-round draft pick finds out he's not a first-round draft pick, and we're trying to get ready to play a playoff game. I think it would be better not to submit that information to a player until he was finished competing in college."
Ok, so the draft cost him a natty. Got it. The other? You got it: Tempo. His team was tired by the end of the year not just because of the opposing offenses using it, but because Alabama used it too. So, gotta get rid of it.
So we have a team that was distracted and unprepared, physically and mentally. Who's fault is that?
The head coach's. Of course, that part didn't come up in the conversation.
What are you smiling about, coach?
I said yesterday that Kevin Sumlin had a demeanor to him that I hadn't seen before. He wasn't coming in defensive, or cocky -- it was a quite, strong confidence. He had a smile that, I thought, gave the idea of "I know something you don't know." I talked to Rob about it today, and he agreed -- this was something new. All coaches pull the "I like our football team this year" stuff, but he normally avoids generalities like that if he doesn't believe in them. But he really, really liked what he saw this spring.
I'm going to guess at a few things here. He mentioned that he likes the "buy-in" from the defensive players to John Chavis' scheme. I think it was more effective in the spring than he had ever expected, especially with all the players that were hurt. He certainly isn't worried about his defensive front. I think he believes he's got a pretty darned good offensive line where there's competition not because the expected starters aren't great, but the backups are impressive. He likes his quarterback (he won't say much about that, but the players will and did). He likes his linebackers (the first five, at least) and believes they'll come up with something at corner.
It's a good year for A&M to have question marks. Everyone else does too, and I mean everyone. What's Alabama going to do at quarterback? Saban still doesn't know. LSU has the same problem, a new defensive scheme and depth problems on the D-line. Auburn's secondary is a question mark and they've got a ton of offensive turnover. Who's the QB at Ole Miss? How good is Arkansas' defensive line? Where does Mississippi State replace all their departed seniors?
A&M has three real road games (one to Vandy included) and doesn't leave Texas until Oct. 24. Alabama and Auburn are at home. The schedule is in A&M's favor and nobody is bulletproof. Saban knows it; Malzahn and Mullen certainly know it. So does Sumlin. The vibe here in Hoover has become more progressively in favor of A&M as the week has gone on from the folks we've talked to, because their problems may be less severe than a lot of other teams. Maybe all this works in their favor. We'll see.
Satellite(s)....
Satellite camps have been a big discussion here this week. While folks like Malzahn downplayed the idea of their effectiveness -- "I think the chances of a school from up north coming in here and getting a player we want or Alabama wants are slim to none" -- others think they're more of a problem. Saban pointed out that these camps fall during times when off-campus recruiting is not permitted, and everyone knows that Jim Harbaugh didn't hold a camp in Dallas "to help players get better." He was doing it to recruit.
So, here's the deal: the NCAA will either ban these things or the SEC will do what it needs to in order to ensure a competitive advantage. In other words, not only will it allow coaches to do camps, it will likely create its own recruiting calendar in order for coaches to hold these camps AND recruit off campus without losing any time or trouble for their efforts. If the NCAA doesn't think the SEC will march to its own drummer on this, they're ignoring past history. It'll either get its way or make its own way, and that could change recruiting entirely.
Oh, shut up Nick
Today is Bama Day, which means Alabama fans show up, fill the front lobby of the Wynfrey Hotel, cry at the sight of a 5'4" guy with no personality, yell something about Rammer Jammer...and then go home. You get the guy who wears a big hat-like thing that looks like a national championship ring in years they don't win (this year, with a title belt), and Bear Bryant himself (who I pissed off by saying his outfit was incomplete because he didn't have his Junction Boys ring on).
Essentially, it's adults behaving badly. And Nick Saban took their lead today.
During his Q&A session, Saban gave some really good responses on questions about things like satellite camps (more in a second), but he also fell into a habit that is severely unlikeable: making excuses for his team's losing. Here are two of the humdingers he fired off today:
"Our team chemistry from the SEC championship game to the playoff game was affected by something," he said. "We had six guys in this situation this past year and 11 the year before. So we're trying to get ready for a game, and all of a sudden a guy finds out he's a first-round draft pick or a guy that thought he was a first-round draft pick finds out he's not a first-round draft pick, and we're trying to get ready to play a playoff game. I think it would be better not to submit that information to a player until he was finished competing in college."
Ok, so the draft cost him a natty. Got it. The other? You got it: Tempo. His team was tired by the end of the year not just because of the opposing offenses using it, but because Alabama used it too. So, gotta get rid of it.
So we have a team that was distracted and unprepared, physically and mentally. Who's fault is that?
The head coach's. Of course, that part didn't come up in the conversation.
What are you smiling about, coach?
I said yesterday that Kevin Sumlin had a demeanor to him that I hadn't seen before. He wasn't coming in defensive, or cocky -- it was a quite, strong confidence. He had a smile that, I thought, gave the idea of "I know something you don't know." I talked to Rob about it today, and he agreed -- this was something new. All coaches pull the "I like our football team this year" stuff, but he normally avoids generalities like that if he doesn't believe in them. But he really, really liked what he saw this spring.
I'm going to guess at a few things here. He mentioned that he likes the "buy-in" from the defensive players to John Chavis' scheme. I think it was more effective in the spring than he had ever expected, especially with all the players that were hurt. He certainly isn't worried about his defensive front. I think he believes he's got a pretty darned good offensive line where there's competition not because the expected starters aren't great, but the backups are impressive. He likes his quarterback (he won't say much about that, but the players will and did). He likes his linebackers (the first five, at least) and believes they'll come up with something at corner.
It's a good year for A&M to have question marks. Everyone else does too, and I mean everyone. What's Alabama going to do at quarterback? Saban still doesn't know. LSU has the same problem, a new defensive scheme and depth problems on the D-line. Auburn's secondary is a question mark and they've got a ton of offensive turnover. Who's the QB at Ole Miss? How good is Arkansas' defensive line? Where does Mississippi State replace all their departed seniors?
A&M has three real road games (one to Vandy included) and doesn't leave Texas until Oct. 24. Alabama and Auburn are at home. The schedule is in A&M's favor and nobody is bulletproof. Saban knows it; Malzahn and Mullen certainly know it. So does Sumlin. The vibe here in Hoover has become more progressively in favor of A&M as the week has gone on from the folks we've talked to, because their problems may be less severe than a lot of other teams. Maybe all this works in their favor. We'll see.
Satellite(s)....
Satellite camps have been a big discussion here this week. While folks like Malzahn downplayed the idea of their effectiveness -- "I think the chances of a school from up north coming in here and getting a player we want or Alabama wants are slim to none" -- others think they're more of a problem. Saban pointed out that these camps fall during times when off-campus recruiting is not permitted, and everyone knows that Jim Harbaugh didn't hold a camp in Dallas "to help players get better." He was doing it to recruit.
So, here's the deal: the NCAA will either ban these things or the SEC will do what it needs to in order to ensure a competitive advantage. In other words, not only will it allow coaches to do camps, it will likely create its own recruiting calendar in order for coaches to hold these camps AND recruit off campus without losing any time or trouble for their efforts. If the NCAA doesn't think the SEC will march to its own drummer on this, they're ignoring past history. It'll either get its way or make its own way, and that could change recruiting entirely.
