Ryan Fowler’s Reaction: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, Alabama vs LSU Edition

Every Monday, Nick Saban spends part of the afternoon showing his players the good plays, bad plays, and ugly plays from the previous Saturday.  

The good section highlights what the team did well in the game; individual plays, series of plays, moments of the game that went good for the Crimson Tide.  

The bad section focuses on plays that were run incorrectly, maybe a play designed to pick up more yardage but failed. It might include simple mistakes, a turnover or just a simple missed block or tackle.  

The ugly section could also be called the disaster section, plays that went completely wrong or injuries. Ugly plays are learning moments for the team. Part of discussing the bad and ugly plays includes thinking through what they could have done differently.  

Alabama vs. LSU  

Good: Alabama found a way to win. Several times throughout the 2nd half I thought the victory was in question. Alabama’s defense rose to the occasion with key stops at crucial moments of the game. Nick Saban said several times throughout the post-game press conference that he was proud of the fight his team showed during the game. Saban also commented that he likes the competitive character of this team. 

One more time, the Crimson Tide’s defense had a solid performance and allowed Alabama’s dreams to stay alive, instead of coming to end inside Bryan-Denny Stadium. This could be a game that wakes a team up that has the potential to be the best team in college football. 

Bad: Saban has referenced inconsistency as problem following multiple games this season, at times this team lacks the attention to detail that we have seen from Saban teams in the past. Understand that Alabama usually gets the best from opposing teams. 

Coming into this weekend, the Crimson Tide ranked 110th in penalty yards per game, Saturday’s nine penalties for 64 yards will not improve that average. 

I am having a hard time remembering a Saban team who only rushed for 6 yards on 26 attempts, that number was skewed by sacks but still is not a number that Alabama will be proud of at the end of the night.  

Ugly:  A slow start once again allowed an opposing team to gain confidence, a killer instinct is also lacking at times. Alabama’s loss to Texas A&M should have placed added pressure on Alabama with no margin of error, but I am not seeing this added attention to detail that it takes to win a championship in college football.

I am not saying this team does have what it takes to hoist up a championship trophy at the end of the season, but they are going to have to play with a different level of intensity. 

Saban's teams in the past have always prided themselves as a team that plays 4 quarters and this team will have a hard time looking in the mirror and making that type of claim through the first nine games.

Alabama also lacks balance on offense which allows opposing defenses to drop more defenders into coverage and with an offensive line that is as porous as Alabama’s offensive line, teams are able to apply pressure without having to bring extra defenders which makes it difficult on the passing attack.  

 Coming up Monday on The Game with Ryan Fowler on Tide 100.9, we will discuss the good, bad, and ugly.  You will also have a chance to win a framed Daniel Moore print, “ Unrivaled,” which recognizes Alabama’s 18th National Championship, starting at 2 p.m. on Tide 100.9 and on the free Tide 100.9 app.