Can you say overreaction offseason?
The preseason edition of Lindy’s Sports Magazine can, especially after one anonymous coach decided to take a shot at the University of Alabama.
Despite its defense not being what people have grown accustomed to and Tua Tagovailoa making some mistakes in the College Football Playoff national title game, the Crimson Tide won its sixth Southeastern Conference Championship of the Nick Saban era and appeared in the CFP for a fifth time.
Are there some areas in Tagovailoa’s game that can improve?
Sure, but his personality as a leader is not one of them. The returning junior is faith-based and was able to warm the heart of Saban, who is typically a man of no emotions. It’s crazy to see someone get attacked after just one game; however, the coach said Tagovailoa “needs to humble himself.”
“I think he did some bad things in the bowl game that coast the team because he put himself ahead of the team. He needs to understand Alabama won national championships by playing good defense and special teams and not beating itself. In the national championship game, the quarterback play was atrocious and some would say the play calling, too.”- Anonymous coach said in Lindy’s Sports Magazine
Clearly, this guy did not understand the importance of Alabama’s offense needing to carry the load – especially with multiple players injured on defense and a young coordinator that did not have any prior experience calling plays. The Tide struggle for a good portion of 2018 and aside from its two shutouts of LSU and Mississippi State, the group allowed 18.1 points per game.
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This is was the second-worst mark under Saban (2014, 18.4 ppg).
Imagine if Alabama did not have a Heisman finalist and consensus All-American that was a 3,000-yard passer and set every single-season record in school history: Would it have made it to an SEC title game? Does it make an appearance in the CFP? Not likely at all.
While Alabama will be much better on defense next fall, Tagovailoa has surely heard the thoughts from this coach and is set to really deliver joyless murder ball. He lost out on a Heisman and a national championship; the native Hawaiian has all the ammunition to navigate Saban’s revenge tour through college football in the fall.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
