Mailbag: Fans sound off with helpful advice for Bill O'Brien, Alabama football | Goodbread
Welcome to the sky-is-falling edition of the Sounding Board, our fan mailbag that serves to check the pulse of the Crimson Tide faithful. It took a minute to find that pulse after a game-winning field goal was required from Will Reichard to get Alabama football out of Austin with a widely-watched one-point victory.
It's faint, but it's there: yes, an actual beating heart for a team that's 2-0 and still ranked No. 1 in the country in the USA Today Sports AFCA Coaches Poll. Vital signs are present. Something about that goose egg in the loss column doesn't allow for September burials. That said, the Alabama coaching staff has no shortage of issues to address in practice this week as the Crimson Tide prepares for Louisiana-Monroe. And if Nick Saban finds himself short on coaching whistles, the Sounding Board has thoughts:
We heard a lot about the improved leadership on this team. Why do you think Alabama still continues to struggle on the road against inferior competition?
− Tom in Round Rock, TX
Tom: It's true enough that road games have a way of revealing leadership, or exposing a lack of it, more than home games. But Alabama's future travels to Arkansas, Tennessee, Ole Miss and LSU are going to answer more important questions about whether the players outside the leadership circle have the necessary skill to rise to championship aspirations, as well. As Saban's pointed out, good leaders need good followers. As I've pointed out, good play needs good players.
RECEIVING STRUGGLESA look at an Alabama receiving corps that had its problems against Texas
Would you like to be a fly on the wall at practice next week when Saban addresses the lack of discipline and penalties? I’m not sure I could handle being in the room. Lol
− Chase in Trophy Club, TX
Chase: On the wall, yes. But you wouldn't catch me buzzing around Will Anderson Jr.'s head.
What does the coaching staff have to do to eliminate the plague of penalties that Will Anderson commits? The guy has so much raw talent and makes big plays but mistakes like the ones he made on Saturday will come back to bite the team one day.
− Alfred in Huntsville
Alfred: I went down an Anderson penalties rabbit hole just for you, Alfred. See what a full-service mailbag ringmaster I can be? I checked every Alabama game from the beginning of 2021 through this year's Utah State opener (16 games). Know what I found? Just one flag on Anderson through that entire stretch: a five-yard offsides call against Mississippi State last year. His four flags against Texas were atrocious, yes, but they were also an aberration.
Is our lack of a downfield attack due to … receivers getting open, offensive line play, play calling or a combination of all of it? We need more shots with our offense.
− Ross in Paris, TN
Ross: Me, you and late Raiders owner Al Davis would agree that the only incomplete pass in the game that has some offensive value is an incomplete deep ball. Yeah, it's a low-percentage call that kills a down if it doesn't connect, but it sends a message to a defense that's disrespecting the threat of it by creeping up on the short stuff. And with that, I refer you to a fabulous true story about Davis calling the sideline phone from the owner's luxury box to demand a deep shot from former Auburn QB Jason Campbell. Result: touchdown, of course.
When a game plan is poorly executed, is it lack of preparation? Or, just simply the other team is playing better than expected and has prepared well?
− Barry in Brunswick, GA
Barry: You've touched on something disgruntled fans don't always want to acknowledge - the possibility that Texas is no joke. Clearly, we don't yet know what to make of this Alabama team. We also don't know that Texas is going to settle back into another season of disappointment. Let's check back on how this Alabama win is perceived after the UT-Oklahoma game.
Do you attribute the late game changes to Bill opening up the playbook, Bryce improvising more, skill players stepping up, or a mix/anything else? PS - Please mention to BoB in the future to go under center in 4th and inches situations.
− Matt in Nashville, TN
Matt: How about you and I start the petition to get the shotgun banned across every level of football in short-yardage situations, especially near the goal line? Because calling out OC's on Twitter isn't getting me anywhere. There's something senseless, on a very basic level, about snapping the football 6 yards in the wrong direction when a single yard in the right direction is critically important. Keep throwing those corner fades in the end zone though, guys. Bad defenses love it.
Reach Chase Goodbread at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @chasegoodbread
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football fans sound off on Crimson Tide's Texas-sized issues
