Was I right or wrong?

[CashInFist]

I posted this thread in mid-October and I am still not sure if I was right or wrong. I didn't get much of a response at the time and I was wondering if my thinking was accurate. I have to think at this time that I was right. Buckley would have covered up a huge weakness that was Reggie Howard in our secondary playing the nickel back. I also think T-Buck would have been as efficient as Howard on blitzing even though Reggie did that well this season. Was I right or wrong? Would we have won our division if we picked up T-Buck in October?

Link:

http://www.finheaven.com/boardvb2/showthread.php?t=103637

If we sign Terrell Buckley to a 1 year deal now we can still win our division.

He would solidify our weakest position on the entire team, nickel back. It would be a totally different ball game. Our defense would dominate the game and our offense wouldn't be asked to win the game for us as much, just don't lose it. Sad for me to say,but I think Gus is the best bet not to lose the game for you we have on the team right now. Until we get a real QB we need a caretaker right now, but our defense is letting us down, IMO, only because Reggie Howard sucks. WE NEED T-BUCK BACK!!!

 

[NaboCane]

You were right. Spot-on in fact.

 

[NewEra8]

Correct

 

[Agua]

Yeah, and I wish we'd brought in Buckley too. I think Saban looked at the age thing heavily on that one.

 

[CashInFist]

You were right. Spot-on in fact.

I wonder why Saban never picked him up? T-Buck would have signed a 1 year contract to the vet minimum guaranteed. What would it have hurt us to even bring him in for a look? That was one of Saban's few mistakes, IMO.

 

[Metal Panda]

I personally always liked T Buck. He had a nice season for us in 2003. I'm not sure if he would have made a big enough difference, though. My god did he ever give us the best value for the dollar in 2003 though, and every other year on our roster. A true competitor.

 

[CashInFist]

Yeah, and I wish we'd brought in Buckley too. I think Saban looked at the age thing heavily on that one.

Do you think Saban was right for not bringing him in due to his age? Or do you think Reggie Howard might be in Nick's future plans?

 

[popularwar]

Yeah, and I wish we'd brought in Buckley too. I think Saban looked at the age thing heavily on that one.

I just read in another thread that Saban said we have the oldest defense in the NFL. I guess he didn't want to add to that.

 

[NaboCane]

Do you think Saban was right for not bringing him in due to his age? Or do you think Reggie Howard might be in Nick's future plans?

The only way Reggie Howard figures in Saban's future plans is maybe as supervisor for the team's car wash.

 

[NaboCane]

I wonder why Saban never picked him up? T-Buck would have signed a 1 year contract to the vet minimum guaranteed. What would it have hurt us to even bring him in for a look? That was one of Saban's few mistakes, IMO.

I can only speculate that Saban was leery of T-Buck's age, and that he thought his staff might be able to coach a better game out of Howard. That, plus I thinj cutting Howard would've eaten into the salary cap, and Saban wanted flexibility there.

 

[CashInFist]

I can only speculate that Saban was leery of T-Buck's age, and that he thought his staff might be able to coach a better game out of Howard. That, plus I thinj cutting Howard would've eaten into the salary cap, and Saban wanted flexibility there.

Was it a mistake on Saban's part for not signing him or at least bringing him in for a look? Did that cost us the division title and a home playoff game?

 

[NaboCane]

Was it a mistake on Saban's part for not signing him or at least bringing him in for a look? Did that cost us the division title and a home playoff game?

In retrospect it might have made a significant difference, but it's hard to second-guess a coach that has done pretty much done everything right.

Also consider that we probably exceeded even Saban's expectations for wins this season, so he might not have been thinking playoffs except as a low-percentage possibility. So bring in an aging CB might have been something he never even considered.

And yes, he brought in aging vets on the DL, but that was different - our DL was decimated, and we needed experienced starters to replace Timbo and Chester. Also I think that Holliday, Carter and Traylor probably exceeded Saban's expectations of them.

Just goes to prove how astute he and his staff are at assessing talent.

:)

 

[fins2923]

Did you guys miss T-Buck on Saturday night? Everytime he was on the field he was targeted by Norv.

 

[CashInFist]

Did you guys miss T-Buck on Saturday night? Everytime he was on the field he was targeted by Eli.

If he would have been picked up early in the season he would have been in much better football shape.

 

[CashInFist]

In retrospect it might have made a significant difference, but it's hard to second-guess a coach that has done pretty much done everything right.

Also consider that we probably exceeded even Saban's expectations for wins this season, so he might not have been thinking playoffs except as a low-percentage possibility. So bring in an aging CB might have been something he never even considered.

And yes, he brought in aging vets on the DL, but that was different - our DL was decimated, and we needed experienced starters to replace Timbo and Chester. Also I think that Holliday, Carter and Traylor probably exceeded Saban's expectations of them.

Just goes to prove how astute he and his staff are at assessing talent.

:)

Don't get me wrong. I have said Nick Saban was a genius especially with his masterful negotiating ability in getting Ricky Williams to come out of retirement AND getting him to produce on the field. He made something great out of nothing. But, even Albert Einstein made mistakes. And it can be assumed that Saban made some as well this year. I just think that this was one of his very few mistakes and we would have won the division if we would have picked up T-Buck early in the season, at least to compete for a starting job.