Johnny Manziel said no one fears Alabama anymore.
While the former Texas A&M quarterback might be right, there is a more pressing issue plaguing the Crimson Tide after its 31-17 loss to Florida State, according to ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky.
“Alabama’s problems is their controllables,” he said Monday on “Get Up.”
New quarterback Tommy Castellanos led a rushing attack for Florida State with 78 yards and a touchdown as the unranked Seminoles stunned No. 8 Alabama, ending the Crimson Tide’s streak of 23 straight wins in season openers.
“If Nick Saban watched this tape back yesterday, he would have kicked some of these kids off the team. That’s how bad it was,” the analyst said.
Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer fell to 6-4 against unranked teams at Alabama. Saban, meanwhile, went 124-4 in such games.
“You watch this team run the football, and you’re like, ‘Where is the effort to the ball, the angles to the ball, the tacking to the ball?’ It’s not a talent issue. It’s a controllables issue.”
The rest of the schedule, he said, is now perceived differently thank it was a week ago.
“I think it’s fair to say, can Kalen DeBoer survive September?” he asked. They have Louisiana Monroe and Wisconsin, then Georgia. When you watch the tape they look like a shell of what Nick Saban had built them to become.
“When it comes to effort, toughness and desire. They look like a shell of it.”
Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.
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