By Hunter Ford

When you reach the top of the mountain, there’s nowhere else to go but back down, right? Alabama football is at the top of the mountain right now, but there is more at stake this season than just another (ho hum) national championship.

Nick Saban and his Crimson Tide can make history by being the first team in the modern era to win three national championships in a row in Division I football. If this year’s Tide wins it all, they will have overcome some of the bigger in-season distractions in recent memory.

In the beginning of the season, Sports Illustrated ran a lengthy piece, with the help of anonymous SEC coaches, on how to beat the Tide. Then, Yahoo! Sports comes out with an investigative piece accusing former Alabama players of receiving improper benefits from agents. Now star safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix has been suspended indefinitely and an assistant strength coach has been placed on leave. Reports have surfaced that the coach improperly loaned Clinton-Dix $500.

Forget Saban leaving for Texas, or USC, or the NFL. He will be lucky if he doesn’t pop a neck vein and stroke out over this year’s team. The lapses in secondary play (the defensive secondary is Saban’s obsession) have turned him cartoonishly angry several times already. You could see the steam coming from his ears and the volcano erupting on top of his head. Now this crap with Clinton-Dix hits the fan. Saban preaches focus, and his own focus is being strained.

After announcing the Clinton-Dix situation, early in his press conference Wednesday, Saban said that some players were changing jersey numbers. Saban sounded like a man running out of patience when he explained why. “We’ve had some issues because we have double numbers from 29 to zero,” he said, sighing at the frivolity of it all. “It must be en vogue not to have a number above 29. But when you get on special teams, we’ve already got called for having two 21s in the game at the same time. We can’t take people out of the game and put others in.”

Yes, it’s lonely at the top, and everyone from the media to on-field opponents is looking to drag you down.

But spoiled players who have to wear a certain number, hard-headed ones who can’t learn the coverages, or careless and reckless ones who would jeopardize their college careers for $500—these are just as dangerous as any muck-raking journalism or Johnny Football could be.

It’s interesting, that on the morning of Clinton-Dix’s suspension, Saban was heaping Praise on radio personality Paul Finebaum. Saban called Finebaum a “friend” and said he has “brainstormed” with him in the past on how to handle public relations issues.

The improper benefits allegations, I predict, will go nowhere. The former players accused of receiving benefits are just that, former players. The NCAA will have a hard time proving anything, if they are even investigating it. As far as Clinton-Dix goes, he has reportedly repaid the money loaned to him, and he is suspended. Saban and Alabama, it seems, acted immediately on this case, which will go a long way in proving there was not a lack of institutional control.

The most imposing roadblock to the next national championship is not a scandal, or a hurry-up offense, but players who need to get their heads out of the clouds and back in the game. I wonder if Finebaum can help with that? Maybe Saban should invite him to practice.

26 thoughts on “Some Tide players need to get heads out of the clouds and back in the game”

  1. I’m surprised Dix hasn’t been reinstated with back pay and a written apology from the NCAA, the SEC, the University President, ESPN, Paul Finebaum, and the Pope.

    Alabama makes me hate college football.

      1. No everyone is not! Did you steal that immaturish comment, “shit for brains” from Crimsonut or did you think of that all by you gump self?

        1. Wow the ego police. Give up you cannot win.
          Enjoy your “New Day”
          Killer talent playing mediocre football. yay.
          Gus is Gene Chizik v.2

    1. Wow the ego police. Give up you cannot win.
      Enjoy your “New Day”
      Killer talent playing mediocre football. yay.
      Gus is Gene Chizik v.2

  2. all these suspensions prove bama players are not getting the 60k a yr the barners pay their 4 5 stars…ingram julio slumming a fish trip…slumming a used computer…upshaw slumming toilet paper

    1. Agreed.
      Except Barners pay top dollar to watch players lose consistently.
      War Eagle, hay?

  3. all these suspensions prove bama players are not getting the 60k a yr the barners pay their 4 5 stars…ingram julio slumming a fish trip…slumming a used computer…upshaw slumming toilet paper

    1. Auburn is in shambles. Pat, bobbeh, and jimmeh, are still running the show. And you are paying top dollar for tickets to mediocre football.
      War Eagle, hay?

  4. Its a new day Cam is gone. Still the same team, Still the same offense that went to crap.
    Forget Relevance. Welcome to the Beef :o’Brady bowl. Auburn is a disgrace.
    War Eagle hay.

  5. After the embarrassing play of Georgia, So Carolina and LSU this past weekend, the NCAA has decided to give Bama a bye to the BCSNCG. They felt it is inhumane to subject the Nations football fans to 8 more weeks of that shit. Hell, Miss St, Kentucky and Tennessee might be Bama’s toughest remaining games. Bwaa Haww Haww! RTR!

    1. Lsu beats Miss. St. 59-26 and you say Miss. St might be one of bama’s toughest remaining games! Wow you are a moron. In fact you may be too stupid to be a gump.

  6. Miss St damn near ran the Corndog’s asses off the field for 3 full quarters. You can consider your asses very lucky they had 2 deadly turnovers in their red zone in the fourth quarter. If there was ever a score that is misleading, 59-26 is it. 26 points and nearly 500 yards to Miss St and the team that just beat you being run off the field by Tennessee and your dumbass thinks Bama is worried about LSWho? Bwaa Haww Haww! If Miss St can score 26 and push you through the 3rd quarter, Bama can score 49. Now let’s see what your offense can do against a real defense. You get Bama Lite this Saturday, and the real thing is just around the corner. However, I expect the SEC West race to be over by the time you get to T-Town. RTR!

    1. Did you consider bama’s asses lucky when Texas A&M had two deadly turnovers? One of them in the red zone and one resulting in a touchdown for bama? Of course you didn’t because you are a hypocritical gump. Didn’t A&M put up over 600 yards bama’s ass? Manziel put up over 500 all by his little self!

      Talk about a score misleading. Remind me what the score was of the bama/Ole Miss game at halftime again? 9-0 right? That’s the same Ole Miss team that Auburn was beating 20-6 at halftime right?

      Hey I think maybe you fell asleep or passed out drunk again, but Georgia won that game with Tennessee.

      You’re a Gump, you expected the SEC West race to be over before the season started. You think next year’s SEC race is already over, right Gump? That’s how you gump’s think. You didn’t think you were going to lose to LSU and thereby lose the West two year ago, did you? You didn’t think you were going to come within 50 seconds of losing the West to LSU last year did you? Admit it Crimsonut, you’re just a drunk gump.

  7. No I think you are so full of shit that your brain is being shit fried. What has A&M who was #6 in the nation and is still #9, got to do with suckass Miss St. And we threw an interception and fumbled on 1st down at the A&M 1 yard line. Also, the #6 team in the Nation was never back in the game after the 1st quarter. Ole Miss was a better team than Awbie, had 400 yards of offense, 22 points and their dumbass coach went on 4 down 3 times outside the Awbie 40, once in their own territory and never made it; giving Awbie the ball in scoring position. Going for it in the opponents red zone is one thing. Continuously going for it between your own 40 and the opponents 40 is fucking insane. And if you think Ole Miss played the Barnturds with the same motivation they played the Dynasty, your brain is deep fried shit fried. Neither you or your Corndog team is even a valid argument anymore. Your responses have nothing to back them up, and have gotten so ridiculous that if I wasn’t boored I wouldn’t even answer you. Florida will kick your ass. RTR!

    1. You respond to every post I make Crimsonut, so you must live a very boring life. LMAO.

      A&M has nothing to do with Miss. State, they were used to point out your crimson clouded hypocrisy. Like you now trying to claim Ole Miss was the better team because they had more offensive yards, yet earlier you were claiming Georgia was run off the field by Tenn, yet Georgia had more yards than Tenn. did. You just make up shyt as you go along don’t you gump. I would call you a dumb gump but that would be redundant. So I guess your just a drunk gump. Poor yourself another glass of moonshine crimsonut and think of your reply your going to post here in a little while.

      Yea you also said Georgia would beat us by two touchdowns didn’t you. Dumbass, I think you know less about football than a 13 year old girl.

  8. They beat your fucking asses, didn’t they – dumbass. Even I didn’t realize until now just how bad their defense is. Your Corndog’s can’t score 4 td’s against Bama, much less 6. There are games in which the losing team has more yards but never really has a chance to win – such as A&M. Then there are games in which the losing team has 25% more yards and was clearly the better team but lost because the ball bounced wrong, such as Ole Miss. There are also games in which the losing team had a few less yards and the winning team couldn’t stop them and won because of one tiny unforced error by the loser such as Tennessee. I talk in specifics you homosexual ass licker, and then you answer in general trying to apply my specifics to every fucking game ever played. You are a retarded piece of shit who is becoming more and more irrational and impossible to have an intelligent argument with. But by all means stay here, Kicking your ass gives me something to do. RTR!.

  9. NO, they didn’t “beat” LSU’s “fucking asses” – dumbass gump. At least not by your definition. They had only 45 more yards than LSU did, and LSU had a chance to win the game on their final drive of the game. They did win the game by 3 points, but that wasn’t the point gump! The point was/is that your ignorant ass claimed and predicted that they would win by two touchdowns. I know how the memory of old drunk men like you can be so here are your words exactly:

    “You want a prediction, Coonass? Here’s one for you – Georgia 35 – LSWho 21. 21 only because Georgia’s defense sucks too. RTR!”

    Read more at https://capstonereport.com/2013/09/19/breaking-texas-covets-alabama-coach-nick-saban/22162/#jofmRSiIgyBBZq3X.99

    Here is another quote of yours from just a few post earlier that has relevance to the LSU/GA game.

    “There are also games in which the losing team had a few less yards and the winning team couldn’t stop them and won because of one tiny unforced error by the loser
    Read more at https://capstonereport.com/2013/10/05/tide-players-need-get-heads-clouds-back-game/22304/#fh7RU2cx3phDkw4L.99

    Well LSU “had a few less yards and the winning team)(Ga.) couldn’t stop them (LSU and Mettenburger).

    Don’t you hate when your own words come back to bite you in the ass and make you look like a hypocrite.
    But by all means stay here and stay bored because Kicking you ass with your own words makes me LMAO!

  10. Ok pissant, so shoot me! Wow, I really, really fucked up by thinking Georgia could win by 14 and they only won by 3! Me and no telling how many other million dumbass people! Did I, or did I not say Georgia would win? As far as your Corndog ass is concerned is it important to you whether LSWho lost by 3 or 14, or is it ONLY important that they win? I think we all know the answer to that one. As far as my quote, it would help if you used the entire thing instead of just your selective part. I ended it saying “won because of one tiny unforced error”, you retarded fuck. Once again pointing to a specific type of situation, such as the goal line fumble in the Tennessee-Georgia game which was the one and only determining factor in who won that game. There was no such ERROR in the LSU-Georgia game. TARD! And if you lose to Florida tomorrow you will find out just how BIG those 3 fucking points were, because you will be eliminated from the SEC West. You will hand Bama Atlanta on a silver platter and there will be nothing you can do about it; even if you miraculously beat us. 3 or 14? Bwaa Haww Haww, who gives a shit? RTR!RTR!

    1. The point spread set by the professionals, which the millions of intelligent people pay attention to, was Georgia favored 3 points. So don’t be trying to make your dumb ass self feel better by think there were “many other million dumbass people” who thought like you. You are such a gump they shoud put your picture in the dictionary for that word.

      What’s important to me is that I point out and make fun of your dumb ass everytime you make a typical stupid gump statement.

      Thanks for reminding me you retarded fool. Your quote fit even better because LSU did lose that game because of “one tiny unforced error”, Odel Beckham’s fumble on the punt return, giving even more evidence that LSU did not get their asses beaten by Georgia, as you so stupidly claimed and once again proving you are wrong and don’t know what you are talking about if you don’t think that was an error in the LSU-Georgia game. LMAO at you gump. And I don’t care how big those three points MAY turn out to be or not be, they will NEVER be the 14 points you ignorantly claimed they would be.

      And don’t kid yourself, YOU give a shit or you wouldn’t respond everytime I post here!! LMAO ATBADTH,RTR!

  11. Naw, fucktard, don’t inflate yourself. I respond only because I just like my Avatar says, fucking hate LSWho and we have an inbred Corndog on our site entertaining me when I’m bored. A masochist Corndog at that, since you don’t have one damn thing you can use here that gives you any pride; and in about 4 weeks you’ll have even less. I’m tired of arguing with your stupid ass about my quotes. I know what I daid, and obviously you flunked Retarded Coonass English 101.

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