Karle's Korner

Still Searchng For A Halloween Costume? Try the Tide Or The Tigers

     Perhaps never before has the swath between the Alabama and Auburn football teams been so wide. Just 21 months after sitting atop the mountain, the Auburn football program has arrived at such a low that a few fans at Saturday night's game actually wore bags over their heads. And to think Halloween isn't until Wednesday. Meanwhile, the top-ranked Crimson Tide team is frightening for a different reason:  No one wants to play them.

     Let me begin with the Nightmare on Donahue Drive: The Auburn Tigers looked like dead men walking in their 63-21 loss to Texas A&M. By halftime, the Aggies had scored on 7 of their first 8  drives, chalked up 464 yards of total offense and led the Tigers 42-7. A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel played only one series of the second half and took the rest of the night off. So did thousands of Auburn fans.  By intermission, the upper deck and one end zone had all but cleared out, and by the start of the fourth quarter, the Tiger faithful walked zombie-like out of the stadium and left the coaches and players inside to be scared straight.

     When the massacre was over, the Tigers had given up a school record 671 yards, allowed the most points in a game in 32 years, and suffered their worst loss since 1917. Now comes the slow and painful exit of head coach Gene Chizik and most likely athletic director Jay Jacobs. Good men, but men who have been ineffective in many ways.

    Across the state, opponents of the Crimson Tide are running scared. This team frightens even the toughest of teams. Bama has outscored opponents in the first quarter 104-3 this season.  The team is 45-0 under Nick Saban when rushing for over 150 yards.  The Tide has won 21 of their last 22 games, and has trailed for a total of 15 seconds this season. Saturday's 38-7 beating of a team somehow ranked 11th in the nation was downright goulish.  Now the Crimson Tide heads to Baton Rouge, where the Tigers have won 22 straight games and Les Miles sports a 57-5 record at night.

     The Tide and the Tigers: Two scary teams for very different reasons. It's just something to ponder as you head into Halloween week. If your child is still looking for a costume to wear on Wednesday night, go ahead and dress the kid up as an Alabama or Auburn football player. Your child will scare the heck out of everyone for totally different reasons.  

Auburn President Jay Gogue: Not Exactly a Ringing Endorsement

     He's a good man, that Gene Chizik. He brought the Auburn nation it's first national championship since 1957.  He workes tirelessly on coaching and recruiting.  He loves his Lord, his wife and his kids. The bad news? Looks like he may soon be looking for work.

      Auburn president Jay Gogue has penned an open letter to the Tiger nation, urging fans to rally around the 1-6 football team. Let's break it down so we can attempt to gauge Gogue (yes, I just wrote that).

     Says the Auburn president, "In the past few weeks, many of you have contacted me".  Freeze it right there!  Football fans don't contact their school president to let them know how well ther coach is doing.  When the University of Alabama recently hired a new president, I don't think he received dozens of letters saying "Man, that Nick Saban is the best!".  The bottom line? Gougue is getting blasted.

    The Auburn president went on: "I know your concerns are sincere and heartfelt, and I share many of them". Stop right there. Go ahead and read into that portion of the statement that Gogue is trying to be diplomatic, i.e. playing to his base. Afterall, a school president needs to be admired by his greatest amount of followers. Then again, when the man who holds the future of a coach talks like this, it's never good for the coach.

    Let's move on: "For everything there is a time, and now is the time to support." Does that mean the time to fire Chizik will be once the football team stops playing?  "For everything there is a time?" This guy sounds like Nostradamus.  

     In over 32 years as a journalist, I cannot remember a single incident when a school president issued a statement and that coach remained. Never. When someone walks up to you and says, "That Jay Gogue statement was the kiss of death for Gene Chizik", there is a reason that person said that. School presidents do not want the boat rocked during the season- too many tickets to sell, seats to fill, boosters to bolster.  

     My heart goes out to Gene Chizik and his family. A good man may soon lose his job, even with a $7.5 million buyout. That would be a pretty nice parting gift for the Chizik family, but you and I know this son of a Marine has too much pride to take the money and run.

     The dates to mark down: The day after the Iron Bowl and the day after the SEC Championship game. Those could wind up being Black Sundays for Gene Chizik.

     What do you think? Do the Auburn powerbrokers owe it to a football coach that won a national championship 21 months ago?" Or do they look at off-the-field problems, player departures, weak player development, a possible 0-8 SEC mark and a head coaching record of 6-25 without Gus Malzahn as a reason to cut Chizik loose?

     Here's hoping Gene Chizik beats down Texas A&M- it could be the only thread left to support the rope that's been tied around his neck.

The Key To An Auburn Turnaround? Eat Mor Chikin!

     Are you an Auburn football fan? Congratulations- you're still a fan. Yes, it's been a tough season for the Tiger nation, as the team now stands at 1-6.  It's the Tiger's worst start since 1952. I am promising you one thing as you read this today: I will not write a holier-than-thou article insisting that Gene Chizik be fired. I quite frankly do not know the interworkings of the Auburn athletic department enough to sit on my high horse like some columnists and scream that Chizik must go. I do, however, have the the key to getting the Tigers back on track: The players need to eat more chikin!

    As Tiger fans have had a cow over a dreadful season, there was certainly a bright light during the 17-13 loss at Vanderbilt.  Freshman linebacker Cassanova McKinzy was given the start over Jake Holland, and McKinzy responded.  Call him a wild man or call him an excellent pursuer, McKinzy had 12 tackles, a forced a fumble and he recovered another. The kid may not be a 5-star stud, but he plays with as much heart as any blue chipper in the nation.  The reason? He eats at Chick Fil A.

    You remember what McKinzy told Fox6 a few months back on Signing Day 2012. Asked why he finally chose Auburn over Clemson, the pride of Woodlawn High School in Birmingham said that he was soured on Clemson because there is not Chick Fil A on campus.  Never mind the fact that there is indeed a Chick Fil A on the Clemson campus (he just never saw one during his visit). Never mind the fact that you have to drive out near the interstate to find a Chik Fil A at Auburn. Cassanova felt it was important that fast food convenience ranked high on his list.  The comments made news all over the country, from USA Today to the Huffington Post.  Of course the real reason McKinzy chose AU was because he had always been an Auburn man.  Ordering a #1 combo with a sweet tea simply added more incentive to sign with the AU Tigers.

  Of course the signing day comments were not the end of the story. A day after Cassanova put his John Hancock on his scholarship letter, I thought it would be fun to interview McKinzy about all the attention he was receiving. So I obtained his cell phone number and gave him a call late the next afternoon. If I'm lying I'm dying: Cassanova told me he would be glad to do an interview with me. He told me to send a camerman to- you guessed it- the Chick Fil A on 20th Street near UAB. It ends up that Cassanova was having a late afternoon snack at his favorite restaurant. We did the interview with McKinzy and headed back to Fox6 to tell the crazy story on the nightly news.

     Look- I'm not sure if being a Chick Fil A regular has helped McKinzy grow into the football he is today.  I do know tha you can order a grilled chicken sandwich, a medium fruit cup and an unsweet tea for lunch and only 3 fat grams will go down your hatch. I also know that Auburn fans want to see more hustle from the Tigers like the hustle they saw Saturday from a young man who made his first college start. And if you take away one thing from this compostion, just remember:  Except for the letter "z", you can't spell "Chizik" without "Chikin".  

Saturday Will Be Fathers Day In Knoxville

     I can picture it clearly:  A decade from now, Sal Sunseri will be mulling retirement.  He will be 63 years old, and with a grandchild on his knee, he will wonder if it's time to simpy hang it up and file away the memories. Oh, the longtime college coach will have plenty of memories come 2022, including the one that never leaves him: The memory he shares with grandson Vinnie, Jr.

     Sal remembers it like it was 2021: The 2012 Alabama-Tennessee game in Knoxville, where an underdog Tennessee team slugged it out with the top-ranked team in the nation. As the Vols defensive coordinator that year, Sal didn't pay too much attention to offensive pretty boys like Tyler Bray. Oh, he knew the Vos quarterback could sling it, but with 16 TD's and 7 picks entering the big game at Rocky Top, Sal knew deep in his heart that the chip off the old block just might give the Bray kid some fits.

     Of the four Sunseri kids, there was something special about Vinnie. Younger and at times more eager than his older brother, Vinnie was a grinder, a kid that never had ultimate talent. What Vinnie did have was heart- a knack for being around the ball. Vinnie soaked up father Sal's blue collar Pennsylvania work ethic, a real-life Rocky Balboa who truly believed he would someday be as adored as his big brother Tino or as favored as his little sister Ashlyn.

     I can picture it clearly: Sal and Roxann Sunseri worried what all of those moves would do to the kid. Here was Vinnie at twenty years old, and his dad had taken ten different coaching positions in Vinnie's lifetime.  How could the kid have any sense of home, any sense of loyalty? Heck, while playing linebacker at Northridge High School in Tuscaloosa, he seldom saw his father, as Sal was consistently on the recruiting trail. 

    Still, the father-son duo reached the pinnacle in January of 2012, winning the BCS championship, Sal as a Bama assisant and Vinnie as a Crimson Tide safety and special teams standout. Then the call came, and there went Sal on yet another job interview. In a flash, Sal was moving the family to Knoxville while Vinnie opted to remain with the Crimson Tide.

    Back to 2022:  As Sal bounced Vinnie, Junior on his knee, that game on October 20th, 2012 came rushing back.  Following that emotional meeting betwen father and son before the game came a contest closer than most expected. Wouldn't you now? Sal's Vols were within a touchdown of the mighty Crimson Tide early in the fourth quarter. Tennessee was driving just past midfield- a score would knot the game at 21. But just as the hopes of the Vols nation rose, out of the blue came Vinnie Sunseri to intercept a Tyler Bray pass. The Crimson Tide went onto score two more touchdowns and beat Tennessee 35-14.

    Sal stared into the dark eyes of Vinnie, Junior, his own eyes watering.  "Hey Junior", said Sal, squeezing his grandson a bit tighter, "I'm so proud of your dad- but to this day, I wish he would have followed me to Knoxville."

   I can picture it clearly:  Saturday will be Fathers Day in Knoxville, where a current father will soak in a bittersweet afternoon, while a future father will create a family memory never to be forgotten.

Saban Gets Snookered, Chizik Gets "Dyered"

     It's hard to believe that we are halfway through the college football season. Before the season  you probably would have guessed that Alabama would be 6-0, but would have guessed that Auburn would be 1-5?  A few Tide and Tiger items from the games against Missouri and Ole Miss.

    Item #1: Is Nick Saban gambling with his player's health? Let's face it- Saban has more knowledge about football than you and I have in our little fingers- but as the season wears on, some Bama fans are getting a bit concerned with player injuries, and recent decisions by the head coach to keep these players on the field deep into games. The latest case in point? Quarterback AJ McCarron went down with a knee injury in the third quarter of Saturday's game. The first thing many Crimson Tide fans thought? "For crying out loud, Nick, why is AJ still in the game?"

     Nick Saban defended his decision to play his quarterback as the Tide led Missou 28-10. But what about the more questionable decision to allow McCarron to go back into the game after being outffitted with a brace? Saban indicated the decision to allow AJ back in the game was Dr Lyle Cain's.  Said Saban, "He said he could play, he was able to go back in the game and AJ wanted to go back in the game. As long as the doctor said it was OK for him to go back in the game, I was OK with him going back in the game."

   Here's the rub: While Saban indicated he was concerned that a Mizzou score would have gotten the Tigers to within 11 points of the Tide, there was no question what team was going to win the game. Need I remind you that the rushing total for TJ Yeldon and Eddie Lacy was a combined 321 yards. The entire Missouri team rushed for three.

     While Nick Saban is a indeed a players coach, he's been in the business long enough to know that injuries occur more frequently in nasty weather and in sloppy games. There is simply too much riding on this season for Alabama's head coach to have one of his players snooker him into playing because "he wanted to".  Saban is the boss, and Saturday, he didn't look much like one.

     Item #2: It seems like yesterday that the Auburn Tigers were hoisting that championshp crystal in Glendale. It also seems uncanny that Saturday, Gene Chizik was "Dyered" by the Ole Miss Rebels.

     Down by a mere touchdown in the fourth quarter, Michael Dyer's ghost came crashing down on the Tigers some 21 months after the former Auburn tailback shocked the world. Ole Miss star Jeff Scott took a little dump pass and wound up in the middle of several Auburn defenders. As he twisted and turned on 3rd and 16, several Tiger fans celebrated a big stop. The catch? Scott never hit the ground- he stood back up and raced 55 yards for a score, all but icing the win the Ole Miss. 

     The Michael Dyer play against Oregon was celebrated by the Auburn nation, for good reason. Saturday, a carbon copy of the Dyer player came back to bite Gene Chizik and the Tigers.

    Lessons are certainly learned in victory and in defeat.  Gene Chizik should have learned in January of 2011 that your defenders play until the whistle blows. On Saturday, the Tigers  failed to excecute. The end result? Gene Chizik could soon be leaving the BCS mountaintop and heading straight toward a valley from which he may never climb out.

Concussions In NASCAR: Weighing The Risks With The Rewards

     If you are like most Americans, you know that birthdays are meant to be special. A famous race car driver turned 38 on Wednesday, and his day was anything but.  Sprint Cup driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr received news from his doctor that a concussion will force him to miss the next two Chase races (Charlotte and Kansas). Thus Junior's streak of 461 consecutive starts since 1999 has come to an end.  The racing is not what's important:  Earnhardt, Jr, after suffering chronic headaches, made the wise decision to have himself checked.  The diagnosis, I'm sure, came as no surprise.

     The culprits? A tire test session at Kansas some six weeks ago, and the Big One at Talladega four days ago. At a news conference Thursday, Junior said the crash in Kansas when his right tire went down was at about 40G's, the 'Dega crash 20G's.  40G's is thought to be the threshold when brain trauma can kick in.  Why not see a doctor after the Kansas crash? Junior admits he was concerned with negative advice he would receive with The Chase looming.  Said Earnhardt, Jr:  "The one in Kansas was really bad, and to get shaken up so quickly over something so trivial...I've been through tons of last-lap wrecks at Daytona and that one shook me up, and I thought maybe I should take this seriously."

    While many in racing world are calling Earnhardt, Jr's decision to get checked "courageous", I'd say it's simply smart.  Junior lost his father to head trauma over 11 years ago.  The crash that killed Dale Earnhardt, Sr came at a superspeedway. You have to wonder if Junior flashed back to his Dad's accident after the Talladega crash last Sunday. In hindsight, you can certainly reason why he called 'Dega fans "bloodthirsty" for wanting to see wrecks.

     The silver lining to this saga? More serious discussions about concussions and head trauma in NASCAR will now heat up.  Let's face it- many drivers have suffered concussions over the years and are hesitant to admit it. Jimmie Johnson told the Associated Press he has suffered at least two concussions. Michael Waltrip tells "The Boston Globe" he suffered over ten concussions between 1985 and 2001. Says Waltrip, "I was knocking myself out... I'm not sure how that will affect my future."

     NASCAR has certainly made great strides in driver safety since the death of Earnhardt, Sr.  Although we will never know, the Hans Device head and shoulder restraint system has been a welcomed addition, as has extra foaming on either side of the driver's helmet in the cockpit. Safer barriers have also reduced injury risk.

    And to the issue of the Talladega Superspeedway. While the inevitable Big One can never be good for any driver, racing is racing. Junior's concussion suffered 6 weeks ago was at a tire test. Hueytown's Neil Bonnett and Clifford Allison died in crashes in the early 90's during testing. 

     Back in 2002, Junior admitted to NASCAR that he was having trouble concentrating while driving- the culprit? A suspected concussion. Today, Dale Earnhardt, Jr is worth at least $300 million. While ironically he suffered a great loss when head trauma killed his father, Junior and the other 42 drivers on a racetrack on any given Sunday certainly know the risks before them. The job of every driver competing today is to weigh the risks of racing with the fame and money it brings.

 The late Jim Murray, a Pulitzer prize-winning sports writer with the "Los Angeles Times" suggested back in 1966 that the Indy 500 should begin with the phrase, "Gentlemen, start your coffins."  A powerful and eye-opening line, I often think of it today when watching a NASCAR race. Here's hoping Dale Earnhardt, Jr gets well soon, NASCAR continues to seek ways to make racing safer, and we never see another scene like that from February 21, 2001. That's when NASCAR president Mike Helton stepped to the podium and said, "After the accident in turn four at the end of the Daytona 500, we've lost Dale Earnhardt."

Auburn's Gene Chizik: Living On A Prayer?

         Oh, the life of a college football coach: You think your job brings long hours, pressure, insecurity and headaches? While big-time coaches are certainly paid well for their challenges, running an SEC football program takes a rare breed indeed. I have enough problems keeping track of my two kids- can you imagine looking after 100 of them?  No doubt I have the utmost respect for any coach that has seen success, and I admire a man that has led his team to the mountain top.  I also feel for a coach that has been at the bottom of that mountain.  That man is Gene Chizik.

     Now that the 24-7 loss to Arkansas is in the books, we a have a chance to look back at the Chizik resume.  Since winning the national championship in January of 2011, that resume is not good.  Let's take look at Chizik's team results:

     Record since winning BCS title:  9-9 

     Record in last 7 SEC Games: 1-6

     Scores in last five SEC games: Tigers on the losing end by a combined 151-48

     What's the deal, especially in light of fact that Chizik has had some superb recruiting classes the last few years? Could it be a change in coordinators? Youth? Chizik and his staff failing to coach these recruits up once they get to campus? Overall player devlopment? Suspensions? 

      The bottom line:  You know it's been a long Saturday and a long season when Gene Chizik stands in front of the media after a loss to a team that had been outscored 110-10 in SEC games this season and says things like this:  

     "The Auburn fans and the Auburn family do not deserve this, and I apologize to anybody who came to the game to watch it."

     "Offensively, this was one of the worst performances I have seen in a long time, just point blank."

      "I didn't see fans leave, but I don't blame them."

      "I'm never concerned about ny job security.... I plan on being at Auburn next year."

       What then, will the future hold? Chizik certainly needs to get an offense in gear that sported a mere 40 net rushing yards, allowed 8 sacks and turned te ball over 5 times. I don't suspect Barrett Trotter will be walking on campus anytime soon, so the coaching briantrust has some decisions to make. Long range? Look for Gene Chizik to return next season, afterwich he is either released following the 2013 campaign or signed to another contract extension. Another 5-7 season and he's gone- an 8-4 season he stays- pretty simple.

     And  the Auburn nation? At one point in Saturday's game, the marching band played "Living On A Prayer" while the offense came onto the field. While it was a mere coincidence, you can certainly say that through times, at least the Auburn folks have a sense of humor. 

Alabama's Nick Saban: Is The Master Of Defense Befuddled?

     Quick- name the best defense in college football. Your first thought is likely "Alabama".  This week, perhaps the best defensive mind in college football is sounding a little bit befuddled (that sounds more classy than "whiny"). Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban made it a point on an SEC conference call to make public his disdain of hurry-up offenses. Saban (rightfully so) says there is a greater chance his defensive players get injured when fatigue sets in while playing against up-tempo teams  (keep in mind nearly all of his injured players play on offense).

    Nick Saban's chief gripe? Being unable to substitute players while facing such an offense. "Said Saban, "They're snapping the the ball as fast as they can.  You look out there and all of your players are walking around and can't get lined up.  Guys have a much greater chance of getting hurt... There has to be some sense of fairness." 

     Uh, coach? Here is what's fair: An opposing offensive coach doing eveything he can to beat your vaunted defense. Most college football coaches don't have the kind of talent to "man up" against those perpetual defensive monsters that come from top recruiting classes. My take? If it's within the rules, I say a coach has the right to come up with any scheme he can to knock off a top defensive team.

     News flash: Nick Saban is a control freak, and that's in large part what makes him the best coach in the country.  But I have a feeling the Alabama coach is more concerned with up-tempo spread offenses because they are under his skin.  Remember the 2009 Sugar Bowl? Utah snapped the ball every 17 seconds and whipped up on the Crimson Tide.  The 2010 Iron Bowl? The Auburn Tigers gashed an Alabama team thanks to an offensively-aggressive OC (not to mention a pretty good AU quarterback). And last weekend against Ole Miss? Mother of all football games- the Rebels scored two touchdowns!

     Hurry-up offenses make it difficult for defensive coaches like Nick Saban to control, and that's what really gets to Saban and every other coach facing such an offense. But remember, defensive gurus like Saban usually win out in the end. The wishbone? The Run n Shoot? The Option? The Spread? The triple-option? If a coach like Saban has players sporting sheer muscle and technique, he's no doubt a believer in the Pro Syle offense- heck- if I had Ingram, Richardson and Lacy in my backfield I'd run from the I formation too.

     Nick Saban would be best served to heed his own advice: Find ways to dominate the person across the line of scrimmage.  Strive for coinsistency in performance, and make sure that opposing players truly hate to play his Crimson Tide.  I have a feeling Saban will find ways to stop, or at least slow down, a fine up-tempo spread offense.

     The moral of this story? Here's hoping the Crimson Tide face the Oregon Ducks in the BCS Championship game.  Saban will get his chance to prove he's the master of stopping binge scoring-and that, my friend, would be a game!