Happy Thursday, everyone. Kalen DeBoer has been panned to a degree for his “coach-speak” in public interviews. He got pretty candid this week though, offering some insight into how he has motivated this group.
“I don’t think until it’s all said and done, I’m not gonna let our guys think that we’re back,” DeBoer said. “I want us to have that edge that we had starting with that [Florida State] game, or after that game. That to me is — you’ve got to find those different motivating factors. It’s got to be internal, it’s got to be, I think doing it for other people — not letting down your teammates in particular that are counting on you.
“What are those motivating factors? One of them that you just add to your list is everyone doubting you, the world being against you. I know a lot of programs probably say it, but we certainly know that everyone wants to take down ‘Bama. We use that as our edge. When people then start doubting whether you can do it — I feel like we’ve got a group that’s got enough confidence and I can be real enough with them to where when I just tell them, this is what we’re up against, this is the team that we’re playing or this is what people are saying.
He also seems to now fully understand the culture at Alabama.
“I’m not gonna let myself get comfortable,” he responded. “That’s the way you got to just keep attacking it. That’s the way it’s always been. The pressure you put on yourself — that I’ve put on myself — has always been so great and so high.
“I love living here, though. My family loves it. It’s fun when what you’re really passionate about is a priority and really important to the university, the people, the alumni.
“Getting the text from [podcast co-host] Mark [Ingram] and other guys that they’re proud, that means the world to me. Because that’s what I do this for, is for those who came before and trying to make this place better for those that do come after you at some point down the road.”
On LSU, DeBoer expects to get an opponent with nothing to lose and a new offensive coach looking to make his mark.
“Really, it’s just the one side of the ball with the offensive coordinator position on their end, and so just understanding you might get some different looks, some different tendencies, things like that,” DeBoer said. “So, those players are out there and we understand how talented they are. They got a lot of juice, a lot of speed, lot of playmakers.
“So, we gotta be at our best, and seeing teams that come together or seeing teams that fall apart, we can’t worry about that, because we don’t control that piece. We can just control who we are and we gotta continue to get better on our end.”
After Kelly’s Sunday firing, LSU also let go of offensive coordinator Joe Sloan. That move reportedly played a major role in Kelly’s departure, as the former coach attempted to fire Sloan, as athletics director Scott Woodward asked, but also wanted to let go of other staffers.
It’s always about the Jimmies and Joes first. Great players make average coaches look brilliant far more frequently than coaches make magic from mediocre talent. For proof, just look to the NFL where coaches routinely range from Super Bowl contender to bottom feeder, and often run that loop a couple of times with different teams.
That last blurb about Sloan is interesting. Reading between the lines it sounds like Kelly may have wanted to fire RB coach Frank Wilson along with Sloan, but Woodward decided to can Kelly and make Wilson the head coach instead.
Ryan Grubb spoke about some of the Jimmies and Joes on the offensive line.
Ryan Grubb has been asked about Formby and Carroll’s performance throughout the season.
“Consistency is the biggest thing for both of them,” Grubb said on Oct. 13 “Different vantage points for both guys, but I think consistency is one of the biggest parts. Obviously, the good offensive line play, there’s no plays off. You don’t get to be on the back side of a route or something like that. So yeah, we just gotta have more consistency at that spot, so whether it’s Michael having a full grasp of the offense or Wilkin executing at his highest capability, we just gotta have better consistency at that spot.”
One of those dudes needs to win that damn job and play consistent football. Carroll has the raw talent to do it.
Ty Simpson and Ryan Grubb have meshed quickly, and it shows up in the critical moments.
Games like the one that happened on Saturday are not typically won by teams without strong bonds. Trial by fire in sports is far from uncommon (especially in the SEC), but Alabama didn’t get burned in Columbia, and Grubb and Simpson were two of the reasons why. The Crimson Tide has played three of its five conference games away from home and won them all.
“Their relationship and just the way they communicate, it becomes more and more efficient. There’s reps that they can refer to now because of their experiences together,” DeBoer said. “Coach Grubb can say something and Ty can quickly understand what the meaning is, and what the expectation is and how we should execute when that moment comes up the next time.”
It would be nice to have a little more breathing room at the end of these games, but Ty has been as clutch as it gets.
Qua Russaw still has no timetable for return, but is progressing well.
On the SEC coaches media teleconference Wednesday, Oct. 29, DeBoer said Russaw is “doing really good.”
“On a timeline that we had hoped, maybe even a bit ahead, but don’t know exactly what that’s going to be,” DeBoer said. “We’re not quite there yet, but he’s making great progress. You see, even in his face, he’s feeling good about the direction he’s going and can’t wait to get back out there.”
Russaw left with a broken foot during Alabama‘s 24-21 win against Georgia Saturday, Sept. 27. DeBoer said Russaw would miss a significant amount of time after undergoing surgery.
Simpson is getting some buzz as the potential top overall NFL Draft pick in April.
“His lack of experience might be a concern, as Simpson didn’t start a game until this season, but the production is hard to ignore,” Kiper said of the Crimson Tide quarterback.
“Simpson knows the game and competes on every down. He’s a battler who is always trying to make a play — sometimes to his detriment. And Simpson maneuvers well in the pocket and can beat defenses with his legs when the passing play isn’t there.”
Only eight starts into his career, Simpson’s stellar play in the first half of the season has vaulted him up draft boards as the former five-star firmly establishes himself in the conversation to be the first signal-caller selected next April. A cerebral assassin with a rare blend of poise, decisiveness and accuracy, the Saints see shades of a familiar face in the Superdome — betting that Simpson’s developing upside and intangibles can usher in a new era under Kellen Moore.
Last, in case you missed this flap a few weeks ago, Will Reichard missed his first field goal of the season when the Vikings played Cleveland in London. The ball appeared to hit a camera wire, but the NFL is very invested in swearing that it did not. They even admonished longtime broadcaster Al Michaels for suggesting it on air and made him issue a retraction. Reichard’s agent claims that the league knows that the wire got in the way and are covering it up.
Reichard, for the record, told ESPN on Monday that after his miss in London, his agent (Sportstars’ Jim Ivler) told him that he contacted the league office to ask about getting his miss removed from the official statistics. Reichard says that Ivler told him that his contact in the league office initially responded that his kick did hit the camera wire and that they would change his stats to 0-0 for the day, but then followed up later to say that the league couldn’t do that.
“I guess they at first said that they would [change the statistic] and then came back the next day and said they couldn’t,” Reichard said. “But they admitted to it hitting. Take that for what it’s worth.”
You be the judge.
My question would be why the league would feel the need to cover this up. It would hardly be the first time that officiating failed.
That’s about it for now. Have a great day.
Roll Tide.
