Saban's comments from the Bama spring game

in the post game interview Saban said,

“You didn’t see anything new,” Saban said of the offense. “Unless you want to just email Michigan what we’re doing, anything new we’re doing. If I saw anything new out there I would have been upset.”

Looks like Bama is focused on our boys right now.

Sandy (and others), I know it's way early for commenting on this game, but I'm going to anyway.

Fact: Bama is the defending NC. Fact: with SEC talent and SEC "permissiveness" in loading up on it, teams like they don't rebuild, they reload. Fact: They're already 2-TD fav's for a reason.

OK, that said:

Fact: Every friggin' time we face an SEC team, we hear the same thing. As we did about how we'd never slow Shaun Alexander, or touch Freddie Milons, and lose the '00 Orange really big. And how 91% of "America Votes" chose Florida to end LC's career sourly. And how "You're too slow, see 'ya".

WHY, again, do "we play the games"???

Getting jacked up for the game just thinking about. Need to breathe. Not going to make it another 5 months.

I'm pretty sure that taking it to Michigan would give Saban great satisfaction, even all these years later. Once a Sparty, always a Sparty!

Here's to Nicky being disappointed yet again!

Mattison had a radio interview last week with Huge....said he has already been watching a lot of Alabama film. good to hear.

eGrandpa wrote:

Mattison had a radio interview last week with Huge....said he has already been watching a lot of Alabama film. good to hear.

Wouldn't expect anything less. I have faith in our coaches but I'm assuming that 90% of the tape GM is watching is from last year's bama offense. Bama will be a lot different this year and will probably have a lot of newer formations and plays.

I still believe that as long as our boys play strong and disciplined they can make any offense a 3 and out.

I am so excited for this game.

Actually eggo I don't know how many new plays they'll have. Do they have the same OC? If so they can't change too much from year to year.

Now, their QB is back isn't he? That could make the biggest change in how many plays the coach can make.

If it was a first year QB then it wouldn't matter how much the OC tweaked the system he'd still have a first year kid running it.

I'm excited already

I remember not hating Saban when he was at MSU. I wanted to hate him but I couldn't find much of a reason other than he was Sparty's coach. Back then, he wasn't the fame hungry, oversign to your heart's content kind of dbag coach he is today. In 98, he said he wanted the Michigan/MSU rivarly to become as big as Florida/Florida State (which was huge in the 90's.) And he even went so far as to admit that it was MSU's job to make sure that could happen because they weren't holding up their end of the rivarly and they weren't winning enough games to finish ranked at season's end. Then a year later, he bolts for LSU claiming MSU will always be in Michigan's shadow. And that was that.

Now I want to beat him so bad, I can't stand it. We all know the rules that applied to us in 2006 suddenly didn't apply to Bama last year so they got that rematch in the national title game. It still burns me up. As Mike pointed out, we have a long history of being overlooked against SEC teams and then going on to win. But Bama's defense does scare the crap out of me. Denard's habit of throwing up prayers will not end well if he tries that in this game. And like bowl games, I fear that our fans will be greatly outnumbered since Bama has a much shorter distance to travel.

For stat lovers, the last 9 times we've faced a defending national champion, we've won 6 of those games.

1969: (W) Beat Ohio State 24-12

1975: (L) Lost to Oklahoma 14-6

1978: (W) Beat Notre Dame 28-14

1984: (W) Beat Miami 22-14

1988: (L) Lost to Miami 31-30

1989: (L) Lost to Notre Dame 24-19 (Thank you, Rocket Ismail)

1992: (W) Beat Washington 38-31

2003: (W) Beat Ohio State 35-21

2007: (W) Beat Florida 41-35

that is a hell of stat find Historian.

Great job.

THEstjoemfan wrote:

...Actually eggo I don't know how many new plays they'll have. Do they have the same OC?...

Joe they did get a new OC (Doug Nussmeier). I'm pretty sure that I read he was at Washington before going to Alabama.

Sandy: would you expect anything LESS from Wolverine Historian?

WH: I'm not so sure I'd worry that much about our being outnumbered in the stands. Few, if any, teams travel better than U-M (having the planet's largest alumni body helps)...and in Texas, with lots of high-tech jobs, I have to believe we have a good alum base (and of course the money to buy prime seats in Arlington). And Alabama's still a flight, not drive, from there, as is Ann Arbor. Though your underlying point is better taken (if I read it right)--STUDENT-wise, the Tide will have us picked.

Bottom line, we'll definitely need our "A" game, however "A" it is Sept.1, for that showdown. And I wouldn't bank on a missed PAT in OT this time...

michmike wrote:

...Bottom line, we'll definitely need our "A" game, however "A" it is Sept.1, for that showdown. And I wouldn't bank on a missed PAT in OT this time...

Or a second half Brady-like performance from Denard. If we are down in the second half and mounting a comeback look for Denard to scramble and throw to the slots. Denard doesn't a have Thompson like Brady did.