Was it just me...or did he look rough as hell yesterday?

He has aged a lot over the past few years.

Wouldn’t you if your job was trying to get a bunch of teenage knuckleheads to pay attention to what you are trying to teach them? Especially the ones that already think they know everything.

Exactly. I've aged a lot and I just have 2 knuckleheads! Can't imagine 80

But his yearly dues to hair club for men is paying off. Nice color job on the hair due

He seemed to have really lost his composure last night. You'd have thought that they were 2-10.

I gotta feeling nick is thinking about his health. Dabo is sitting by the telephone

He would be an idiot to ever leave Clemson.

It’s just you.

To be honest, I was glad to see a little fire from Nick. Some big games he seems to be a little to calm. He had a right to be upset before halftime with that screwing the refs gave.

To the Dabo comment- He would be crazy to ever leave Clemson....but he is a Bammer at heart...and that runs deep.

He said on college game day before LSU that having a grandchild his daughter pointed out that the child will be watching everything you say or do. So he decided to reel it in. Grandkids have that affect on you. I don’t fly off the handle near as much as I use to.

Yes, he looked rough
Yes, he has aged.
Yes, he has lost that spark because he should have biotched slapped that #74 who has jumped off sides all year.
BUT....BUT, he is as good as he has ever been at preparing a FG kicker.

YES INDEED!!!! YOU NAILED IT!!!

74 kept jumping because he was going on the clap which means snap the ball and the center was not snapping it which is why 74 was yelling at the center to snap the ball when the qb called for it

So, out of 11 players he was the only one doing it right?

I can definitely believe that. Football season itself has lost a lot of “luster” (or maybe the word would be importance)over the last 2 years to me. I’ve got a 17 month old girl and 3 month old boy. I was bummed when Bama lost yesterday, but 3 minutes after the game my little girl walks up to me holding her blanket, a book, a sippy cup of milk and wanted to sit in my lap while we read a book before her bedtime. That right there will take the sting out of any loss that Bama takes at football.

Maybe he will dial back on the "Mother&#/> r and God D>$÷n during the games.

Not saying that I am sure the guys closer to the ball move on the ball movement while the guys farther away go on the snap count or clap whatever it is. Go back and watch Jones claps several times when will's moves then the last one he goes off on the center. I am not saying he should move until the ball is snapped but he was pissed about something the center was doing and best I could tell he was not snapping the ball when he was supposed to. Just like the defense is timing the snap count those edge blockers are doing the same thing

About three weeks ago one of my friends said that he bet Saban retires after this year. He has no more info than I do on the workings at Alabama football, but something sure made him say it. Maybe he knows more than I thought?

I agree with that.

Not happening with lil Nicky

I don’t know if anyone else has noticed, but over the last week, you are all of a sudden riddled with all kinds of insider. It’s impressive.

He sure did not sound like he was retiring during the post game interviews said he would do a better job coaching going forward.

Reading comprehension. He said this three weeks ago and I specifically said he had no more knowledge than I do of the inside workings of Alabama football, which is none. Now if this had been about USCe or Muschamp, he is well connected.

Boy you auburn fans have some hot takes lol

Just enjoy your win and not going to the playoffs just like Bama. Maybe your team will make it one day 😀

[quote=jbatey1]To be honest, I was glad to see a little fire from Nick. Some big games he seems to be a little to calm. He had a right to be upset before halftime with that screwing the refs gave.
Refs screwed him unless he wants a second added back then it's ok. Dangerous to mess with seconds in Jordan Hare. They will get you beat.

For the record, my opinion, which is based on nothing but some assumptions of human character, is that Saban won't be retiring. At least it might depend on how the bowl game goes, but right now, he wouldn't leave. His ego won't let him go out on a loss, especially one in which so many people are pointing the finger at him as the reason for the loss. He has an overwhelming desire to win and I think the only way he leaves is with another title or in the proverbial Pinebox.

Saban is too narcissistic to retire a loser to Auburn and LSU. The season will be a disaster if they lose the bowl game. In Saban’s defense (no pun intended) injuries have killed him on defense the past couple years. What’s more concerning to me is the lack of discipline on the team.

That’s hard to decipher... but the refs did add a second back to the clock and the whole process of that play, right before halftime, was a screwing...which is why he was upset.

For the record- I’m not a proponent of adding 1 second to JerdinHairs time clock.

That guy is 68 years old. I don't care how mega type-A alpha you are, at 68 years old you simply don't possess the same things you did even 10 years earlier. If you can't see the teams have played "softer" the past 2-4 years, then you're just being a willfully blind fan. More than ANYTHING else, and frankly the only thing that's different since 2007, is you haven't had the "make his @$$ quit" alpha-dawg killer destroyer mentality from any players. There have been stretches the past few seasons where I've felt like the other team thought they could bully Bama, and sincerely some of them did. Bama might have even won a couple of those games, but you could just see "something" amiss physically.

Also, (and I blame this on the staff turnover) there have been an inordinate amount of recruiting misses....just a noticeable amount of big time recruits that don't pan out.

The lack of discipline (to me) is the #1 evidence of Saban's 68-year-old self. The soft and undisciplined play is being allowed, they are taking on the personality. People do exactly the minimum expectation (what they're allowed to do).

he's right about the 1 second complaint....had to explain it a few times to an AU fan, as to why the half should've been over with no kick. this year's second wasn't enough because it was a "live clock" situation - tackled on a running play in-bounds and clock starts on refs whistle, therefore the 3 seconds he's talking about come into play (takes 3 seconds to snap the ball and spike it to stop the clock). a few years back, the second was plenty because the ball carrier ran out of bounds and stopped the clock (dead clock)....clock doesn't start again until the snap of the ball.

The review allowed the FG team to get setup.

It is possible to snap the ball with one second for a FG.

Great move by Gus.

true, can happen if they're set when the whistle blows. gus's best trick was the 12 men on the field play where he lined the punter up out wide, then shifted to punt formation...confusion ain't illegal, but it sure hurts your pride when you fall for it!!!

Not being able to count to 12 at an “aleet” program like bammer is priceless

If y'all think Gus/Auburn had any clue whatsoever that the punt formation would confuse Bama into a penalty, or that in any way it was a known/expected/calculated decision, then that's the height of delusional fandom. They were in that formation to avoid a punt block, period.

The amount of sheer dumb luck in that game defies all explanation outside of divine intervention. As an Alabama fan watching that game, it was just frustrating to the N'th degree. Things happening that aren't normal for any team at any time (several times Danielson even commented he'd never seen that)....I commented that it felt like Nix could receive the snap, turn around backwards and heave it into the stands, and an unknown player who hadn't suited up all season would catch it for a score. I can't get that one Auburn drive out of my mind when Nix completed the long pass to Williams (one-handed circus catch with two Bama guys in perfect position), then was LITERALLY THROWING THE BALL AWAY and Hastings flies out of nowhere to catch it (the ball wasn't even gonna make it to the sideline, and 99% of the time those balls get intercepted), then Nix looked like freakin' Tom Brady throwing the TD to Connella (again with perfect coverage). Auburn's offense, especially Nix--an average athletic, white, true freshman--hand't looked that potent all season. Plays like the 100 yard pick-6 that bounced off Harris' back. That @#$@# just don't happen!!!!!! You could watch years of football and never see even one of the dumb luck things happen, yet several of them happened to Auburn in that same game. When you think about it, it's that same story every time they play the Iron Bowl in Auburn.

So they had Nix in for max protect punt?

Good call. You obviously know ball.

Also, that second INT was a result of pressure. Nothing lucky about it. The other one was a bad throw.

Also, watch a replay of the last pass by Mac Jones. If not batted down, that was going to be a house call as well.

Every nationwide sports show I’ve listened to today has said this exact same thing. And as a Bama fan I think the Tide overall is a better football team than AU and LSU even with the inability to get off the field on third down. But wasn’t the best disciplined in those two losses. So you can have all the four and five stars on the field you have but when they don’t know the snap count, jump offsides, don’t know when or when not to be on the field, where to lineup or take a swing at an opposing player you’ll get beat every time.

You would be correct if you replace the word "block" in your second sentence with the word "return". It was something they had been working on with the intentions of having the defense in a punt safe formation. There was no intention of drawing the penalty, but that was just a bonus thanks to someone dropping the ball on the other side of the ball.

As for the dumb luck comments, I'm amazed that bammer is the only team that when a QB throws it up and a receiver catches it, it is skill, but when another team does it, it is luck.

Bo was jumping up and down having a keniption fit yelling to the refs to count them, how can anybody say that was not their intentions? Bo sure thought it was. Why does it matter? They tried some trickery and it worked. Thats what gus is known for. Why try to deny it when it works? A win is a win right?

You Bams are just ignurnt.

Auburn was planning to punt but did not want a return. They left Nix in so Bama would have to leave the D in and they were planning to shift to punt formation and punt with no return man back. Nix did what he does every play, looks over the defensive alignment. What would you do in that situation, just stand there and hope the refs see it. I would have been jumping up and down pointing it out also. There was nothing tricky about it, just good strategy to try and win the game. Admit it, the Bama coaching staff was out coached on that play. NS knows he was out coached that play that's why he acted like he did.

I didnt say it was luck, I was disagreeing with it being called a "bonus". I said they knew what they were doing and it worked. Why does it bother you so bad that auburns coach is known for gimmick plays and trickery. That is reality. It is talked about pretty regularly.

Walker, come on and give credit where it's due.
It's simple, it's MAGIC.
Now if he would just disappear.

Apparently Bamas coaches don't know he's known for trickery cause they were definitely caught with their pants down on that play.

I guess you could call it a "trick play" but the intent was not to get the penalty. the intent was to keep the punt returner (Waddle) off the field.

Why does it bother you so bad that the entire Bama staff was outsmarted by Gustard?

If Bama didn’t have recency bias, they would barely be a top 25 team. Y’all should be more thankful.

Well that be the case the barn would be barely there also

The opinions of auburn fans are so clouded by their fandom and jealousy that they rarely make sense

Name the on-the-field results that suggests Bama should be a top 25 team. We are waiting.

Name one the barn should be?

Oregon. Your turn.

The flag was thrown by then. In the interviews they all said it wasn't designed to draw a penalty, but if it was, that's great. Just another loss you can chalk up to Saban not being so smart in football. Kind of like having a bunch of fatasses on the field for a kick return. What is it about Jordan-Hare that makes him stupid?

You are aware that the clock stops when the play results in a first down to move the chains? No? He is not right about the one second.

And 3 seconds is for spiking it...not kicking it. All you need is enough time to snap it.

I'll repeat... if you think in your wildest dreams, in Gus' wildest dreams, in ANYBODY'S wildest dreams, they drew that punt up on purpose knowing it would draw a 12 men on the field penalty, then every one of you has supernatural omniscient powers like the Lord. It's DUMB LUCK. Period. And whoever said above that they said in multiple press conferences it was "designed to draw a penalty", oh bullcrap, not one single person has ever said such. It's absolute mythical garbage. That was literally the LEAST LIKELY possibility....jumping offsides on 4th and 4 to give them a first was realistic (I'm pretty sure they were thinking that, heck THAT might've even been the intent of the whole play, perhaps they weren't even gonna punt from that play), but there's ZERO chance any human in the existence of earth would've had a thought it'd purposefully get 12 men on the field. That's an uncommon penalty in ANY case. Again, 101% dumb luck. When it was called, I actually thought Bama's #48 had jumped offsides. Nix pointing out 12 men in no way indicates they expected it, only that it was happening in his view.

And about the "if Bama passes it's skill, but if Auburn passes it's luck", quit twisting it to make a misleading point. Bama is KNOWN for explosive passing, on purpose, they are literally a top 3 team nationwide for two years in passing, with 4 or more 1st round type receivers and what was the likely #1 NFL QB pick in Tua. Heck Mac threw for 350 and 4 TDs!!!!!!! It's what they do! Auburn has struggled on offense ALL YEAR, every freakin' AU fan I know has cried and cussed the whole season about the offensive woes. Even as bad as Bama's defense has been, SO many of AU's plays in that game were dumb luck. Also, when your receiver is wide open running behind the defense, exactly where he's supposed to be on a designed route, and catches it easily in stride. that's skill. But when you simply throw up a 50/50 ball that's caught circus style one handed with TWO defenders in better position than you are, then literally try to throw the ball out of bounds while running for your life and a receiver magically appears from midfield to blaze over and catch it on the sideline, then on the SAME series throws a WILDLY LOW PERCENTAGE pass to Connella (who BTW was covered like gravy and 1" from being out of bounds), you're @#$#@ right that's blind dumb luck. I'm NOT saying they don't count, I'm simply pointing out how frustrating it is when stuff like that happens against you. AU's defender wasn't looking when that ball bounced off Najee for the pick 6, it was DUMB LUCK!!!!!!!!! Again that was the least likely thing to happen in that scenario, in fact that's a HIGH PERCENTAGE successful play for the offense. Does Bama also get some dumb luck plays??....of course, every team does once in a blue moon, but good Lord at how many times those kind of plays happen with Auburn in the Iron Bowl. I always remember the Camback game in Tuscaloosa.... Mark Ingram's fumble rolling 1" from the sideline 20 yards into the endzone for an AU touchback????????????? What are the odds??????? Mark Barron having a torn pec muscle and not telling the coaches, so he's playing safety and let's a wobbling duck pass get caught 2 feet from him while he just watches because he can't raise his arm??????????????? The Kick 6???????????

But I agree that there was going to be another pick-6 at the end of the game if Brown didn't bat that pass down, I gasped at the TV when it happened and told my wife.

BUTT HURT

When you line up and mandhandle my team, you're simply better physically and proved it. then there's no butthurt. But when it's like watching supernatural intervention on every other play, you're dang right I'm butthurt.

Auburn made more plays than bama. It’s simple.

The last punt play was a designed play. No doubt about it. To argue otherwise is just foolish. Even SABAN said that it had them confused.

I have to hand it to ol Gus, he just flat out smarted Sabins on that last play. However bammer got royally screwed on the play to end the first half. Neither play cost bammer the game tho, that would be extremely chitty defense and no discipline with all the penalties

If that wasn’t a designed play, why did they line up the punter at wide receiver? Gus has no coaching skills so his whole career is trickery. To his credit it works some of the time. Auburn would be in the discussion for a national title this year if that moron was calling plays.

You are aware that the clock starts back as soon as the ref puts the ball down

That is correct. But, the play was reviewed, and determined that there was 1 second left on the clock. Per the NCAA rules, the clock is stopped following a review, and there is no runoff. The NFL has a rule in place so that there is a 10 second runoff after reviews. I'm sure Saban will whine enough to get that implemented in the NCAA rule book soon enough

Ya no way they woulbve got the kick off...doesnt matter anyway bama didn't deserve to win

right, but for the clock not to start until the ball is snapped, you have to create a dead ball situation, aka spiking the ball. that is what saben was arguing...they didn't have enough time to create a dead ball situation and due to the runner being inbounds when tackled, the clock starts when the sticks are moved, the ball placed and whistle blown...not when the ball is snapped. it just happened that the review gave AU time to be set.

y'all are as thickheaded as the AU fan I was explaining it to THAT BENIFITED FROM THE REVIEW...he was more worried about why it shouldn't have happened, here, but how saben argued for and got another second a few years back when AU benefitted from it, as well, after their runner went out of bounds stopping the clock in a dead ball situation (clock starts on snap, not refs whistle).

That is a fact. This is one time where the rules have not kept up with technology and it gave a team a play that resulted in 3 points, that could never have occurred in real time. I think college will adopt the 10 second run off rule, and it should.

That review to determine to put a second back on the clock is another example of the dumb luck I'm talking about. 99.99999% of the time the clock runs out, OR the ref sets the ball and whistles it live and TICK time's up. But by a 1-in-a-bazillion chance that running play JUST HAPPENED to be exactly close enough for review on the spot, or Gus asked for a review (heck I don't know nor remember), but the point is it had to happen EXACTLY like that for it to work, and there was NO WAY ON EARTH that was on purpose or expected or normal or common. I just get sick and tired of every dang time Bama plays Auburn it's like the friggin' perfect storm of unicorn fantasy crazy bullshux stuff in Auburn's favor. It would be just as unexpected if Nix turned backwards to the line and threw it into the stands, but the ball slips from his hand accidentally, bounces off an Alabama player's foot, into the hands of Whitlow, who then runs it down the field, laterals it to 5 other players, and then they score. THAT!!!!!!! is how it feels a dozen times every Iron Bowl. I repeatedly find myself saying "what are the @#$#@ odds of that happening, again, and again, and again???????"

Auburn flounders around the whole season, every year....Auburn fans want to can Gus all season long, every year.... and then by golly they play Alabama and look like fiercely trained robotic cyborgs destroying everything in sight. Just friggin incredible.

And AGAIN!!!!!... it's absolutely inconceivable that the last play was designed to draw a penalty, the odds of that are way too low. You don't design a play BY FORMATION to "make" the other team get caught with 12 men on the field. You would design that play ONLY, ONLY, ONLY, ONLY, ONLY to either (1) catch Alabama without Waddle back to return, and/or (2) not get the punt blocked. At best you might make them burn/waste a timeout, but that wouldn't even be designed nor expected.

I gotta be honest, everybody keeps talking about the two kick plays at the end of both halves, but those aren't even what jacked me up the most! That one drive when Nix made THREE passes that were insanely unlikely, insanely out of the norm for Auburns's offense (relative to watching them all year), insanely low odds for a true freshman (who, frankly, I think is just average athletically with an average arm), perfectly defended, and couldn't have been completed if any of those passes were simply a few inches off. Dumb luck, they hadn't shown that ability all year long. Seriously, he was trying to throw one of them away out of bounds!!!!!!!!!!! But instead it gets caught for a first down. Are...you....freakin'....kidding me???????!!!!!! You could've pushed me over with a feather when that play happened.

And look, I'm NOT an Auburn hater, I actually don't mind Auburn much. Now if Tennessee never wins another game it'll tickle me, THAT'S who I hate!..... Point is I'm not saying these things because I'm an Auburn hater.

Man, that crankbait is really productive this morning

Yeah, me and the family were just looking at one another during that drive and I told them that those were just good plays. I tell u also who isn’t getting enough credit is the Auburn kicker. Dude nailed a 52 yarder that was snapped on the whistle.

Goodness gracious yes, my hat's off to Carlson. Coming in to the game was 4-11 outside of 40 yards, all he does is make 4 (or 5?) 40+ field goals, and it seems like 2 of them were 50+?? But then that's another one of those frustrating things that makes you ask "How the @#$#@ was he 4-11 all year long, then playing Alabama he's 4-4 from looong range???"

"Carlson kicked four field goals and made every one, even though they were all from 43 yards or more. Before the game, he had missed six straight field goals from 40 yards, including three in the Georgia game."

It was just meant to be...honestly, with the exception of Saban’s first year, I can only think of two instances when Bama just got their but kicked. Clemson last year, and South Carolina in 2010? The rest of the losses that I remember were losses that could have went either way. Saban has 5 NC’s at Bama and has left a couple more on the table that he probably should have won

Marsha, Marsha, Marsha

Saban would best serve Alabama as recruiting coordinator and leave the coaching to someone more capable. It is apparent his mind is slipping.

I know we're prob just kidding about that, but I seriously think age has "mellowed" him....there's just NO way he's still coaching the same as he did 5-10 years ago, the team no longer shows that "make his @$$ quit" mentality. But I also wonder about our recruiting....seems like all the super-stud recruits the last few years look like baby faced kids. Used to be those same players came in looking like 35 year old men with full beards and prison scars. I don't remember an Alabama D line getting pushed off the ball before, but they're simply losing that battle constantly nowadays, and none of them seem to be mad about it.

We need a few LB's with neck tattoos and drug arrests. These guys on the team today just don't have that killer instinct

Rolando has the “killer instinct”

Exactly. We need a few more thugs like him and Reuben Foster

Foster is my favorite defensive player of all time. He was awesome

He is a great talent evaluator, recruiter, and master at preparation, but he has never impressed me with his game day skills.

I remember Ashawn Robinson coming in looking like my dad, legit dude looked older than me and had a full beard.

Give the Saban a break he is 68 years fresh off hip surgery. If we can get the team and coaches to play with his fire and determination we would beat every team by 20 including LSU. It is time for those guys to step it up imo.

You gotta just let these folks crow for a while.....the most frequently used put down most of them have is to call him a midget because their greatest accomplishment in life comes from genes being passed down to them to allow them to be 6+ feet tall...….

He would try to kill the person he was tackling. Remember his freshman year kickoff highlights. He shot out a cannon a few times.

Yep. They had to calm him down lol