After a loss to Texas A&M, Alabama looks to bounce back versus Mississippi State.
Crimson Tide fans have expressed concerns about the team, and it is steadily growing.
As for its postseason goals, Alabama controls its destiny of defending its national championship. However, some adjustments need to happen going forward.
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During Monday’s segment of In My Own Words, Mike McCoy weighed in on this team.
McCoy played wide receiver at Alabama from 2006 to 2009. He was on Coach Nick Saban’s first BCS National Championship in the 2009 season. According to him, he sees ‘no energy or effort’ on this team, especially on defense.
“Those boys look dead over there,” McCoy said. “No passion. It’s not the same. I don’t know if it’s because you are at Alabama, and you expect people to lay down, but you have an X on your back. You have a target on your chest. To me, they have too many nice guys on the field. They have no dawg in them. None. I have not seen them bite yet.”
McCoy said he hasn’t seen energy or effort from the defense in two years.
He knows the Tide has playmakers, but McCoy said it’s the dawgs that ‘set the tone.’
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“You need guys like that,” he said. “You don’t have to come from a low poverty area, but when a kid comes from where we came from and knowing football is your only way out, you are going to hit the field running differently. When your mom’s light bill is due, or you don’t have a pot to pee in or a tree to pee on, you are going to hit the field differently. The thing is, and it could be a generational thing, everyone is telling these guys how good they are before they get to college. People are rating these guys as five stars. Who is rating these guys? Who is rating them? The evaluation is thrown out the window. Give me the three and four stars. The ones with chips on their shoulders. I want the ones who have a point to prove. I don’t want a prima donna. I want a blue-collar worker.”
When it comes to Pete Golding, McCoy said Saban needs guys that were invested in the program.
“I think there is a reason why we (Alabama) have the biggest turnover rate,” he said.
“We need Burton Burns, Bobby Williams, and Scott Cochran on the sideline. People talk about the injuries, but those were workloads. That was bound to happen, but you saw the energy. Freddie Roach, in my opinion, should be doing the play-calling. That’s just me. When you played and you’ve been where these kids are trying to go, and you know what it looks like, those guys are going to receive you a lot better. Representation is everything, and I’m talking about culture. If you don’t come from this type of culture, and you never played on that high level, how are you going to tell me to do something?”
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Regardless of the loss, McCoy looks at Saban as a mastermind. He said the Texas A&M game was a ‘wake-up call.’
“The loss was good for them,” McCoy said.
“It let the players know, you are not the only ones that can play football. The players need to make adjustments. The personnel has to change. You have to know the strengths and weaknesses of your players. We are playing against a passing team this week, so are you dropping eight or will you blitz the whole game? That’s the question. Going forward, I think Coach Saban will taking over the reins. I think his play-calling ability and connection to the players, I think we will see the guys in the playoff. They will make a run for the national title again.”
Hopefully, McCoy’s words prove accurately.
Four of Saban’s six championships at Alabama have come on one-loss teams.
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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.
