Why We Don't Like You: Alabama Crimson Tide

Each week, we'll look at some reasons to taunt, belittle, and bully the Longhorns' football opponent. This week it's for the national championship: the Alabama Crimson Tide.

You've Got No Class: Alabama cancelled all its classes from Jan. 6-8 so students, faculty, and staff can attend the national championship game, confirming who wears the pants around Tuscaloosa. In the latest US News and World Report rankings of top public universities in the country, Alabama is 43rd, just behind the University of Vermont. UT is No. 15 on that list.
Win Or Lose, You're Still On Probation: Alabama was ordered to vacate 21 football victories between the 2005-2007 seasons as part of an NCAA penalty for improperly obtaining (stealing) textbooks for other students. The football team, along with 15 other Alabama athletic teams, were all put on three years' probation. While athletes get free books with their scholarships, more than 200 of them got additional textbooks for other students.
Our Better Is Better Than Your Better: The Tide's all-time greatest coach, Bear Bryant, spent time in our fair state, coaching Texas A&M from 1954-57 before taking over the Alabama program. Legend has it that when asked why he left, Bryant replied, “I had to leave Texas. As long as Gordon Wood was there, I could never be the best coach in the state.” Wood won nearly 400 games and nine state championships in 43 seasons as a high school coach.
Don Shula And Nick Saban Won't Be Facebook Friends: In 2006, Alabama Coach Nick Saban bolted from the NFL's Miami Dolphins only two years into a five-year contract, after repeatedly denying he was interested in the Crimson Tide job. Saban replaced Mike Shula, the son of former Dolphins coach Don Shula. The elder Shula was not impressed, saying Saban had run away from the challenge. “There were four or five direct statements that were blatant lies,” Shula told The Miami Herald, referring to denials from Saban that he had an interest in the Alabama job. “That tells you a bit about the guy.” Shula added, “The guy likes to hear himself talk and then doesn’t follow up on what he says.”
Coaches, Stick To Coaching: We beamed proudly when Mack Brown had a cameo on the premiere episode of "Friday Night Lights". Brown played a local football booster who quizzes Coach Taylor about his pre-game preparation. Then along comes Saban, playing himself (when he was coach of LSU) in a bigger production: the hit movie "The Blind Side". To make things worse, Sandra Bullock's character goes ga-ga over how handsome Saban is. That had to seriously test the acting chops of our part-time Austinite.
A Mountain Of Hype: Crimson Tide defensive lineman Terrence Cody has drawn national attention because of his size (6-5, 365 pounds) and a pair of blocked field goals that secured Alabama's win over Tennessee. But when compared to Texas defensive tackle Lamarr Houston, the player known as "Mount Cody" crumbles. Houston leads Cody in every important defensive category: seven sacks to none; 20 tackles for loss to 6; 28 quarterback hits to 3; 58 total tackles to 25. Yes, Cody takes up space in the middle of the line and clogs opponents' running lanes, but Houston makes a bigger difference each week.

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By Jeff Beckham in Other on January 7, 2010 10:35 AM 0 Comments

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Pooty

Jeff,

You might want to get some of your friends that know something about football to explain things to you regarding your comments about Cody.

You compared Cody, a nose tackle in a 3-4 defense, to Houston who is a defensive tackle in a 4-3 defense. It's like comparing a center to a left guard; it just doesn't line up.

A good starting point for more research would be Cody's wikipedia article, then go to the Nose Tackle article and read up about nose tackles in a 3-4 defense. Finding a player like Cody who lets you run such an effective 3-4 defense is very difficult to achieve.