2009 Alabama Crimson Tide

[Coach Bryant]

Quote: Originally Posted by trobinson97

He didn't ave a lot of time tonight, but damn does JPW make bad decisions when he's rattled. I can't help but think McElroy will be an upgrade.

We really need another receiver to step up! I may end up regretting this, but I'm ready for a change at QB.

[auburntigersfan]

Quote: Originally Posted by Husker_OS

JPW can't hit the deep ball.

All the CBS Commentators said all year was how he threw the best deep ball in the nation.

[Coach Bryant]

Quote: Originally Posted by auburntigersfan

All the CBS Commentators said all year was how he threw the best deep ball in the nation.

You actually listen to those clowns? He did connect at times this season, but he couldn't tonight if his life depended on it.

[auburntigersfan]

Quote: Originally Posted by Coach Bryant

You actually listen to those clowns? He did connect at times this season, but he couldn't tonight if his life depended on it.

I listened. Do you really think I truly thought JPW was really good?

I just wouldn't expect a Bama fan to say he couldn't throw the deep ball after hearing them say he was great at it.

[Coach Bryant]

Quote: Originally Posted by auburntigersfan

I listened. Do you really think I truly thought JPW was really good? I just wouldn't expect a Bama fan to say he couldn't throw the deep ball after hearing them say he was great at it.

I was pleased with the job that JPW did this year. He was a good game manager, and made a few big throws. Overall I think he did a good job, but I think a change at QB will be refreshing. I guess thats one of the things I enjoy about college football is that the faces of the game change often.

[Coach Bryant]

Post game press conference:

http://www.myfoxal.com/myfox/pages/H...Y&pageId=1.1.1

[trobinson97]

Quote: Originally Posted by Coach Bryant

Post game press conference: http://www.myfoxal.com/myfox/pages/H...Y&pageId=1.1.1

Lol, Jistic was right, he DID sound like a douche when they asked him the question about his statements about being undefeated in a real BCS conference as opposed to the MWC. Why would you say something like that? That's the type of locker room material that really makes a team wanna kick your *** and turn popular opinion against you. He apologized but tried to make it seem like people were wrong for calling him out on it. Ehhh, I don't like coaches doing stuff like that, 18-22 kids I can understand, but he's too damn old to be acting like that.

[Laettner32]

Quote: Originally Posted by trobinson97

Lol, Jistic was right, he DID sound like a douche when they asked him the question about his statements about being undefeated in a real BCS conference as opposed to the MWC. Why would you say something like that? That's the type of locker room material that really makes a team wanna kick your *** and turn popular opinion against you. He apologized but tried to make it seem like people were wrong for calling him out on it. Ehhh, I don't like coaches doing stuff like that, 18-22 kids I can understand, but he's too damn old to be acting like that.

right on!

[Coach Bryant]

I'd like to see Saban's exact statement that the reporter is bringing to light. I've watched many of his press conferences, and Saban always give our opponents their due. He had said 100 times the past few weeks that Utah had a great team, and everyone had better take them serious. He even said that last night post game. Someone must have been really looking for some locker room material to find that nugget because he has been very complimentary to Utah.


Regardless Utah fed Alabama a good dose of humble pie. Its one thing to lose knowing that you gave your best, and its another to lose knowing that you didn't. Alabama now must bear the burden of knowing that they didn't do their best. Many valuable lessons can be learned from this game.

[Coach Bryant]

Cecil Hurt: Loss of Smith not the only reason for loss.

http://www.tidesports.com/article/20...eason_for_loss

Quote:

Hurricane Katrina is still recent here in New Orleans, its scars too fresh to support even a well-intentioned metaphor about a protective wall being breached. Yet as the Utah defense poured through to sack John Parker Wilson time and again, roaring through the gaping hole left by Andre Smith’s absence, it was difficult not to at see the similarity at the very least. Take nothing away from Utah’s victory in the Sugar Bowl on Friday night. Take nothing away from the Utes’ undefeated season, a singular and noteworthy accomplishment. But the Alabama team the Utes defeated in the Sugar Bowl — a team without Andre Smith — was not quite the same Alabama team that went through its own regular season with a perfect record and spent a month as the No. 1 team in the land. Or it was the same team as it was in the previous game without Smith, one that struggled against Tulane and required special-teams scoring for Alabama to win. Utah isn’t the No. 1 team in the country, despite its perfect record, but it is a darn sight better than Tulane. Javier Arenas, who bailed the Crimson Tide out against the Green Wave, worked his return magic once in New Orleans, but it was not nearly enough. With Smith out and his replacement, Mike Johnson, soon to follow, Alabama wasn’t well-equipped to run its offense under any circumstances. And when Utah came roaring out of the gate, scoring 21 points before the Crimson Tide knew what had hit it, it put Alabama in the very position that was least conducive to success — having to rely on a limited passing game to score 28 to 32 points in order to win. You can’t lay the defensive struggles in the first quarter on the fact Smith wasn’t around. Utah looked well-prepared and knocked Alabama back on its heels and while Alabama righted itself, somewhat, over the final 49 minutes (allowing 10 more points). It just lacked the firepower to overcome that big early lead. It was only appropriate Alabama’s last vestige hope vanished as John Parker Wilson was sacked, fumbling in Utah territory as the fourth quarter of the Sugar Bowl slipped away. Even the possession after that, Alabama’s last, included an eighth sack, then an interception on a desparate heave by a harried Wilson. The loss to a team from outside the BCS, even a good one, concluded Alabama’s season in a fashion that tasted like the Peychaud’s bitters in a perfect New Orleans Sazerac. It wasn’t nearly as palatable as the SEC Championship loss to Florida, a game in which Alabama gave great effort but lost to a superior opponent. This time, Alabama played poorly — partly because of Smith’s absence, partly for no discernible reason — and lost to a good team. That’s tougher to take. It doesn’t turn a memorable season into a bad way, and it doesn’t set the Crimson Tide’s ongoing rebuilding process back to Square One. It does reveal that there are still holes in Alabama’s roster — big-play scoring threats on offense, or a lockdown cornerback and a speedy pass rusher on defense — that will have to be addressed by more recruiting. Another need that had been hidden all year is more big-time offensive linemen. That may have to come through a combination of player development and recruiting, but it is a priority. “It starts up front,” Saban said. “That’s sort of the trademark of our team. We’ve done a great job all year up front and we didn’t tonight. We couldn’t run the ball and we couldn’t protect the passer very well. We lost two of our three best linemen, but we’re disappointed in the way we executed and the way we prepared our players to execute properly. “We need more players. We need quality depth. We need a lot of things to be a team that is viewed as a dominant team on the national level.” “I think we changed the mentality and the attitude that we can go out and play with anybody,” Wilson said when asked about his legacy. “That is a lot different than it was my freshman and sophomore year.” There remains work to be done, though. The rebuilding effort at Alabama will continue. This game was never destined to be one of Alabama’s greatest Sugar Bowl appearances — the stakes were never as high as they were at the end of the 1978 season, or 1992 – but now, it can best be used as a learning experience.

Time to go to work!