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SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic: ‘Don’t count out the Tide’
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SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic: ‘Don’t count out the Tide’
ATHENS —SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic recently explained the how the argument for Alabama goes beyond seven-time national champion Nick Saban.
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Of course no one discounts Alabama. LSU either. The days of feeling like they were king of the mountain are over though. At least for 2023.
Bama is a real threat as it is every year. Great bulletin board Material for CKS; rat poison for all those 5-star Bama players…
““Does it take an elite quarterback to win the national title?” Cubelic posed. “That’s a big question … the best quarterback in college football last year didn’t win his conference, and matter of fact got his ass kicked in the conference championship game because of the inability to block in that game.”
The Mannings (and their best QB award) would like a word with Cubelic. Many are of the opinion that the ‘best quarterback in college football last year’ won his second Natty (this time in dominant fashion) in as many years. 😬
Boo-yah!!!
That’s a mic drop!
Statistically the dawgs are 1 in about 15-20 programs that have the talent and coaching to win the Natty. It’s easy to bet either way.
Bama has a realistic chance to loose 2 games again this year with a minimum of 3 hard games along with the iron bowl.
on the other hand, baring an upset, UGA should see the SEC championship game, on the west side, I believe it’s a 3 team race
not to mention Auburn and Arkansas will give a few teams fits this year
We will be surprised with SC, KY. and even GT being better than expected, but that’s ok, as we need some tough games in prep for the playoffs.
Sure the Tide will be back. They actually never left and should have been in the playoffs last year (remember the previous articles & discussion about the "best" teams vs the "most deserving"). Bama hasn't skipped a beat, and I really don't understand why this is even a discussion. They had the best recruiting class in the nation last go around (2nd best class EVER recorded in fact with (9) 5-star recruits). Before that they had the #2 class. Until someone proves otherwise (like Kirby), Saban is still the GOAT, and the Tide is still the team to beat.
Looking at our schedule for '23 and '24, the matchup with the Tide is the game I'm most looking forward to seeing...not Texas...not Clemson....but can Kirby win in Tuscaloosa?
"There are multiple best players at their position in this league playing for Alabama,”."_____Cubelic
Response: Correct me, if I'm wrong...but, didn't they say the same exact thing about The Tide and Saban...LAST YEAR? Only...it was true last year. Afterall, Saban said 2021 was "a rebuilding year.
Lol...I'm tellin' you...these lazy 'bass turds' are just "cutting and pasting" and regurgitating old commentary. Because it's safe and gets em paid.
Obviously, from a talent standpoint...there's been very little drop-off except at key positions...QB, RB & WR. They also have to replace an elite designated edge rusher, in Wil Anderson. Same as last year...and, the year before that. Talent isn't the issue in Tuscaloosa, so why is everybody focused on that?
Lack of depth & experience will be Saban's Achilles Heel, this year...especially with a brand new coaching staff. Bama will be fortunate, not to lose more than 3 games, this year. Mark it down.
Bottom line is...you can't point to anything "positive" about Bama...that you can't also apply equally to UGA. However, there are plenty of negatives about Bama's program...that you 'cannot apply" to the Dawgs. UGA is in an orbit...all alone, for a change. They're trying to find Superman, his new Lex Luther. Could it be Bryan Kelly?...or, maybe Shane Beamer. I know doggone well, it ain't Napier. Lol
"Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett, for all his clutch play in CFP games, did not make any All-American teams and does not quality for the College Football Hall of Fame."_____@MikeGriffith
That will be revisited in due time and history won't be kind to his "doubters" in the media. He may still wind up in the HOF...NFL & CFB.
He didn't get, near the "hype" he should've gotten...because of who he played for. That's why he didn't rake in the trophies and awards. The only "trophies & awards Bennett received...were earned on the field.
The remaining QB's, were "granted" awards relative to the money & energy spent hypin' their little asses. I call em, "Celebrity Awards"...not performance based, necessarily. Herbstreit had Rattler as the "Heisman Favorite" going into the 2021 season. Remind me again...where did he finish that season?. Lol
Which reminds me....if "they are dialed in"...and "did their homework"...Why aren't they talking about South Carolina's post-season prospects. I see them as a possible 10 to 11 game winner...better than Tennessee. IMO
The way I look at UGA these days.... Michigan installed a "Beat Georgia" period in there practice routine, this year. Big whoop...Kirby Smart installed a "Beat Everybody" period a few years ago. Nuff said.
That's what Kirby means, when he says, "We don't care what other teams are doing. It's not about them, it's about us and playing to our standard. That's our focus. We don't practice to beat somebody...we practice to beat everybody".
While all the professional "Gum Flappers" are keyed in on one position group...the Quarterback. Smart and Saban are focusing on the things that make that irrelevant...defense, blocking, tackling, running & catching the ball, team chemistry, education, etc.. Those are the things that put trophies in the Trophy Case.
A great defense and running game that operate with discipline will beat a "great QB" all day long. Just ask Bryce Young, Trevor Lawrence or Caleb Williams. Key word there, being "discipline". But....it's easier and more interesting to the novice fan, to boil it all down to one player. It's just not very smart.
I’m always amazed at these stories about “don’t count out Bama” rhetoric that gets going. I’m not sure that any true football fan would ever count out Bama, just like any true football fan would ever count out the DAWGS. We know that each year brings its own challenges even with rosters in great shape, great plans for succession and new players, etc. and that is what makes all exciting. DAWGS are in great shape and will be one of the top 10-teams capable of winning it all. Each team definitely uses this stuff as motivation, and this will help fuel the DAWGs in 2023. Can’t get here fast enough - Go DAWGS
I had this window open for a while before getting around to posting this, and the comments that have since been posted by others are pretty consistent with my own thoughts on the subject. But to perhaps expand the scope somewhat...
I don't understand this talking point in general. Sure, there's always going to be trash talk. But I seriously doubt anyone honestly thinks that Alabama has no shot at making the playoff. So, "don't count out Alabama" is a pointless statement at face value, and we have to apply a more realistic interpretation.
He refers back to Herbstreit, praising his take on Bama. So, while lacking Herbstreit's chutzpah to come right out and say it, he seems to be echoing the sentiment that Bama should be seen as the favorite. And this brings us to my bigger point about these recent pro-Bama arguments from prominent figures.
What's the basis for Cubelic's conclusion? That Bama has a few players that could be considered the best at their position? I haven't looked them up, but I think I can safely assume they're not freshman. So that means these guys were on Bama's roster last year. Plus Bryce Young. Plus Will Anderson. Plus, what, 8 other NFL-caliber players. And yet they weren't as good as a Georgia team undergoing what easily could have been the largest rebuild in the history of the sport.
And what was Herbstreit's argument? They have Nick Saban.
Josh Pate, whose show I generally like, also weighed in not too long ago about what makes Bama dangerous and likely to return to prominence as the sport's premier program. His point: recruiting success. Are you noticing the pattern? All of these arguments are pointing to things that were always true over the last two seasons, as Georgia fielded better teams than Bama. Saban has always been there. They've always had slightly more talented rosters based on recruiting rankings. None of that ever changed while Georgia has been winning these titles.
If you think Bama will be better than Georgia going forward, ok. Present an argument explaining how you think they've improved relative to the status quo. What has changed? Even something as fuzzy as the historical improbability of threepeating would be a stronger basis for debate than what we've been getting from these figures in the sport who really ought to know better. At this point, I think we can say there is a broader theme of people approaching the subject as if they think it's still 2012, and frankly, I find it weird. These aren't "casuals" making these arguments.
If you're already sick of Georgia, fine. But the response is to talk up... Bama? As if that's somehow refreshing? Just bizarre. And if the thing that's driving this is not simply that people are getting sick of Georgia, then I'm at a total loss. If it's just laziness, they'd be talking up Georgia. I guess the word I'm looking for here is aimless. They don't want to assume Georgia will remain at the top of the sport, but they don't seem to know why they don't. So they dust off some Bama praise that hasn't meant much lately, as if they can just will it back into relevance. It's not quite Georgia "hate," not quite reflexive deference to Bama. It's some new species of punditry that has yet to be characterized. I would say I'd expect it to go extinct if Georgia wins their third this year, but then again I wouldn't have expected it after they repeated. So who knows, maybe this narrative will stick around long enough for us to identify some particular logic behind it.
“I think Herbie has been doing his homework,” Cubelic said, “and this offseason he’s starting to dial back in.”....neither you chunky butt or Herbie are doing anything remotely related to expert football analysis! If you were, you'd be reporting the Bama drop off will continue in 23......IMHO 9/3 no play off for The Tide.....the reason is inconsistent player development by the fruit basket turn over in Bama's coaching ranks.....who thinks there is any measurable amount of coaching loyalty in the Bama staff???? Does anybody think the Bama coaching staff works as a TEAM or is it all about Sabin intimidation....my way or the highway and we better win??? Sabin will cruse for a couple of more years, until he gets tired of the ravenous unsatisfied Bama Fan Base's incessant bitchen on the Finebaum show......then my friends a new coach will be named. That Alabama Alum is currently working wonders for the DAWGS D....then and only then will the Tide return to the play off stage.
Weird thing is that this is only talked about in media and not anywhere else. And only in the SEC, not nationally other than Herbie. All due respect to everyone but no one would ever count out Alabama while Saban is there. But to make it a narrative is just lazy writing.
"Over the last 2 seasons,as UGA fielded better teams than Alabama" E_Roc . Technically UGA has fielded the better team for one season and 1 quarter. Considering that AL beat UGA in the SEC championship game and led the CFBCG for 3 quarters. Therefore there is no reason to think AL won't be AL again this season after stubbing their toe last season. If AL underachieved last season , and many CFB experts believe they did, the blame can be placed almost completely on coaching and execution (coaching preparation). One would think those deficiencies would be corrected by the new coaching coordinators.
There are probably a number of teams that can win it all this year. UGA, AL, LSU, USC, OSU, MI, Cle, TN?, TX?, are all good teams with a chance. AL has as good a chance to win it all this year as any team. AL has the 2nd highest odds to win this year. The team with the highest preseason odds typically doesn't win it. So for the talking heads to suggest that AL being a contender or even a favorite is surprising is pretty uninformed commentary.
Let's settle this thing in Tuscaloosa! Go Dawgs!!! At least as far as UGA dominance is concerned. Bama may well make the playoffs...but so will Georgia.
"I guess the word I'm looking for here is aimless."_____E_Roc in describing the state of Sportwriters and Talkers
Outstanding. Thank you...that's the description i was looking for. One word that describes today's CFB World. Lol.
Mike Griffith has the easiest "Journalism job" in America. All he has to do, is write the Headline and "setup"....and, we do the research and add context. Lol