Tide Players Search for Answers

Let the search for answers begin. Even after a week off, there was nothing new or exciting with Alabama’s offense, and the Tide defense did not look rested and ready Saturday night in Baton Rouge.

Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy thought his squad would have a physical advantage over LSU, but that turned out not to be the case on Saturday.

“I think we all understood coming in that down-in and down-out we might have a little bit of an advantage,” he said, “but also those guys have explosive capabilities.

”They beat us.”

LSU, which also had last week off, beat the Tide 24-21 with better execution (blocking and tackling) and more creative play calling.

McElroy and another Crimson Tide leader, offensive lineman Barrett Jones, tried to explain before boarding the bus to leave Tiger Stadium.

“It’s no one’s fault,” McElroy said. “We just have to do better as a team. Everyone’s disappointed. I don’t think it’s (being) tired. I don’t think there is an excuse. I just think we didn’t come out and play the way we should have played.”

McElroy completed 21 of 34 pass attempts for 223 yards and two touchdowns and one interception. He was sacked three times and lost a fumble midway through the fourth quarter when LSU’s Drake Nevis blew through the Bama line and knocked the ball loose.

“On offense we just didn’t get a lot going. We struggled a little bit,” McElroy said. “We didn’t have a lot of explosives which is always a point of emphasis.”

Barrett Jones noted that Alabama did not dominate the opponent physically as it did so many times last year.

“We’ve been focusing too much on winning a national championship and not enough on how we get there,” Jones said. “I think we really just need to get back to focusing on the process; not really focusing on wins and losses but focus on dominating our opponent.”

Of course, the trouble with focusing on the process is that everyone outside the program is not. The focus outside the program will be that Alabama is out of the national title hunt and out of the SEC Championship race if Auburn beats Georgia next week.

“I’m heart broken,” McElroy said. “But at the same time we still have a lot to play for. Mostly, first thing our pride. We’re just going to try and come back and be the very best team we can be.”