Kalen DeBoer defends Alabama K Conor Talty’s viral outburst after a missed field goal that would have won the game vs. Oklahoma
The Alabama Crimson Tide fell to the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday by a score of 23-21. That score is important because it tells the story of what could have, and honestly what should have been, a one-point victory for the Tide. If you recall, there was a 36-yard field goal attempt from Conor Talty that […]
The Alabama Crimson Tide fell to the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday by a score of 23-21. That score is important because it tells the story of what could have, and honestly what should have been, a one-point victory for the Tide.
If you recall, there was a 36-yard field goal attempt from Conor Talty that he missed. The ball was tipped and the kick, despite being what should have been a layup, proved to be the miss that would come back to bite Alabama.
But Talty was visibly upset after the miss, giving a piece of his mind to longsnapper David Bird after the play was over. Well, Kalen DeBoer came to Connor Talty’s defense on Monday.
Kalen DeBoer defends Conor Talty’s outburst vs. Oklahoma
“We’re all competitive. Those guys are competitive. They want to make that kick and have the execution be at a high level,” said DeBoer via the Alabama Crimson Tide YouTube channel on Monday. “Conor’s a competitive guy, and he knows how important those points are. The response and everything like that – not exactly what you want, but it’s also an understanding of how important it is to these guys. In the locker room I think they got that resolved very quickly after the fact and were ready to go and execute more throughout the game.”
To me, this is a global issue. Everyone outside of the holder did a poor job executing here. The snap being high takes longer to get the ball down. That in turn lengthens the time between snap to kick, which not only throws off the rhythm of Talty’s steps, it allows for the field goal block unit to do just that.
Which by the way, is also the fault of the protection unit. You can’t allow someone to penetrate the line of scrimmage on a field goal. This isn’t an offense where you have pass rushers screaming up the field. This special teams where, especially along the interior, it’s big bodies trying to just get a hand up, or lighter players trying to jump over the pile.
Alabama allowed the latter to happen, and it ended up costing it the game and then some. What was once a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff has turned into a must-win game against the Auburn Tigers in the Iron Bowl. Or at least if Alabama wants to make the SEC championship and boost its CFP seeding.
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