Bewerbungen » Norman Braman despite a 43-35-1 record.

Five years feels like 50 looking back on it now.It was early November 2011 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The sun had set on clear skies and there was a slight chill in the air as No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama prepared for kickoff. Only one team would leave Bryant-Denny Stadium undefeated that night, and the hype for the game was unlike anything in recent memory.LSU coach Les Miles was positively giddy with excitement, while Alabama coach Nick Saban did his best to remain calm and keep things in focus.See ball, hit ball, Saban told CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson minutes before kickoff.And for one night, it was that simple. He who hit hardest, won. Check all manner of finesse at the door.But never again.It was called the Game of the Century. It also was the last game of an era. Final score in overtime: LSU 9, Alabama 6.Wed never see another defensive performance quite like it again, and its possible we never will.Saban celebrated his 65th birthday earlier this week on Halloween. And in his four decades coaching, he said he has never seen a matchup with as good of two college football teams as that regular-season game back in 2011.If you took a snapshot and said, OK, how many players are in the NFL now? I think it would be pretty alarming.All told, an astounding 42 players would get drafted, including 10 first-round picks on defense.?But Sabans snapshot belongs in a museum for reasons other than its eye-popping numbers. His is a portrait of a much different time in college football.Through two months of the 2016 season, more games have been won while allowing 35 points or more than in all of 2011. Back in 2006, only one FBS team averaged more than 40 points per game. By 2011, it was up to nine. But if this years numbers hold, it will be a record-setting 17, and that includes Alabama at 43.9 points per game.Back in 2011 against LSU, Alabama fielded the opening kickoff and its offense took the field using a position thats now basically extinct: H-back. Whats more, he was joined by not just one, but two tight ends -- and neither of them were split out wide. A stocky 230-pound running back set up a couple of yards behind the quarterback, who was doing something very strange. Rather than taking a shotgun snap, he actually got under center.AJ McCarron handed off to Trent Richardson, who ran for a first down. Then practically nothing happened. Everyone calmly regrouped, there was plenty of time to show a full replay of Richardsons carry, and the chains were carefully set. Thirty seconds later, with the play clock about to reach single-digits, McCarron, who was in no hurry, called for the snap.Then something even more rare than a deliberately paced offense happened: Defense was played, and lots of it.Despite plenty of future pros on both offenses, neither team scored a touchdown. The closest a ball got to the end zone was when LSU safety Eric Reid intercepted a trick play pass near the goal line, wrestling it away from tight end Michael Williams as the two fell to the turf.Of the many favorite memories former LSU defensive backs coach Ron Cooper has of the game, that might be at the top of the list. He called it a big-time pick. When the referee signaled the turnover, it was one of the few times he said the coaches could hear over their headsets.It was a defensive battle, Cooper said. It was a slugfest.I just remember a bunch of field goals, McCarron said.LSU made all three of its attempts. Alabama, meanwhile, went 2-of-6, which proved to be the difference in the game.That was, like, true SEC football, McCarron said, ground-and-pound, like it was back in the day.And everyone paid the price.Alabama offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland looked around the locker room after the loss and saw players who looked as if theyd been in back-to-back games.Guys were totally drained, he said.LSU defensive lineman Bennie Logan mustered the energy to wave an LSU flag in celebration, but he felt the totality of the heavyweight fight on the ride back to Baton Rouge. He had bruises and cuts everywhere. He said his shin was gashed when an Alabama defenders knee brace dug into him in a scrum.Still, its Logans favorite game of all time.A lot of people werent fans of that game because they want to see high-scoring games with no defense, he said. But that wasnt our style of play.Jonathan Allen was glued to the television screen from his home in Virginia in 2011.He was in high school at the time, only a glimmer of the hulking star Alabama defensive end he has become, yet he remembers the Game of the Century vividly.Afterward, he said he told himself, I want to be a part of those type of games.Just the tenacity both teams had, just the grit, he said. It was a nasty game. I loved every part of it.But Allen, who leads Alabama in sacks, can only dream of being in those kinds of games.Logan, who plays in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles, said we wont see any more single-digit defensive games because people dont appreciate it.What was the game last week? Oklahoma and Texas Tech? Logan said. It was like 60 points and 1,000-something yards. ... Its all about scoring instead of stopping somebody.Its more nuanced than that, of course. The proliferation of spread offenses, the prevalence of the hurry-up and various rule changes have changed what constitutes good defense. The speed of the game has ratcheted up so much that 350-pound nose guards like former Alabama star Terrence Cody are obsolete.?Alabama used to be in a 3-4 alignment in 70 percent of its defensive snaps; now Saban is almost exclusively in some form of a nickel look to stop multiple-receiver formations. Matching personnel, which for so long was Sabans secret sauce, is no longer possible as teams refuse to huddle.More speed means more plays, which means more opportunity for points and yards. Last season, Alabama had to defend 243 more plays than it did in 2011. So naturally the Tides record-setting 8.15 points per game allowed in 2011 nearly doubled to 15.3 in 2015.And thats not a reflection of the quality of Alabamas defense, which remains one of the best units in college football. Its just that the goalposts have been moved on what equates to good defense.With two years of the College Football Playoff in the books, Alabama is the only program to reach the top four that finished the season in the top 10 in scoring defense.Miles got himself fired for not adapting on offense, while Saban has gone from a vocal proponent against up-tempo play to one of its most successful users. Two weeks ago, Alabama beat Texas A&M 33-14 with 451 yards of offense, and it was the least productive game of the season for the Tide.Football is not the same, McCarron said.McCarron, like all the former players and coaches who spoke to ESPN.com for this story, doubted whether wed ever see another game like that 9-6 masterpiece.While that game is a feather in the cap of former LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis career, its hardly the norm anymore.Its tougher now than there used to be, Chavis said. You dont have to go back too far, but you can dial it back a few years and if you gave up 300 yards as a defensive coordinator, you didnt feel very good about it. You gave up over 17 points, you didnt feel very good about it. Those were the landmarks you had to establish to be a winning football team.And yet it was only a couple of weeks ago that Chavis Texas A&M defense gave up nearly 700 yards of offense and beat Tennessee. Thats no knock on Chavis, who is regarded as one of the best defensive minds of his generation. Its just that the game has changed and people want to see the excitement of a shootout, Chavis said.The days of single-digit slugfests like Alabama-LSU may be long gone, but its not without some sorrow.I dont think its real likely, Chavis said, but if it is, I want to be a part of it. Custom Pittsburgh Penguins Jerseys . The Australian is competing in his final season in Formula One and still looking for his first win this year. 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He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Buddy Ryan took a back seat to no one. Neither did his fierce defenses that won two Super Bowls.The pugnacious coach and defensive mastermind whose twin sons have been successful NFL coaches, died Tuesday. He was 85.His death was confirmed by the Buffalo Bills, where Rex Ryan is the head coach and Rob Ryan an assistant. James Solano, Buddy Ryans agent, said he died in Kentucky but did not give a cause. Ryan lived on a ranch in Shelbyville.He was many things to many people -outstanding coach, mentor, fierce competitor, father figure, faithful friend and the list goes on, Rex Ryan said in a statement. But to me and my brothers Rob and Jim, he was so much more. He was everything you want in a dad -tough when he had to be, compassionate when you didnt necessarily expect it, and a loving teacher and confidant who cherished his family. He truly was our hero.Ryan was a defensive line and linebackers coach for the 1968 champion New York Jets and coordinated the ground-breaking 46 defense for the title-winning 1985 Chicago Bears, one of the NFLs greatest defenses. He was a head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1986-90 and for the Arizona Cardinals in 1994-95, compiling a 55-55-1 overall record.Buddy Ryan was arguably one of the greatest defensive masterminds in NFL history and forever left his mark on the Eagles organization and the city of Philadelphia, Eagles chairman Jeffrey Lurie said.A few years ago, Ryan attended a Cowboys-Jets game, traveling to New Jersey despite cancer to see then-Jets head coach Rex go against then-Dallas defensive coordinator Rob.Buddy Ryan was the architect of the greatest defense our league has seen, Bears chairman George H. McCaskey said. He was brilliant when it came to the Xs and Os of the game, but what made him special was his ability to create an unwavering confidence in the players he coached.Rams coach Jeff Fisher played for and got his coaching start under Ryan.His knowledge, passion for football and the love he had for his players and coaches are traits that have shaped and influenced so many careers, including my own, Fisher saidJames David Ryan was a Korean War veteran who went to Oklahoma State, then earned a masters degree from Middle Tennessee State even while coaching. He got his first major job in the pros in New York, then of the AFL, in 1968. Ryan was the linebackers coach for the Joe Namath-led Jets, a boastful, confident team that fit his personality.Those Jets led the AFL in defense in his first season on staff, then shocked the Colts in the Super Bowl, 16-7.Thats something my dad was very proud of, Rex Ryan said. When (former Jets coach Weeb) Ewbank hired him, he had to make a difference. If he felt he wasnt making a difference, then his career as a professional coach would be short.Instead, it was very long.Ryans first job as a defensive coordinator came in 1976 with the Vikings under Bud Grant, like Ewbank a Hall of Fame coach. He spent two years there, with the 1976 team losing to Oakland in the Super Bowl. He then moved to the rival Bears, where he concocted the 46 defense that overwhelmed the league with its aggressiveness and unpredictability.Ryans defenders, featuring such Hall of Famers as linebacker Mike Singletary and ends Dan Hampton and Richard Dent, came from all angles and was nearly impossible to budge on the ground. Not that teams had more success in the air, either.Some say the 46 is just an eight-man front, said Ryan, who named the scheme after safety Doug Plank, who wore that number. Thats like saying Marilyn Monroe is just a girl.Ryan and head coach Mike Ditka often feuded during that 15-1 season and Supeer Bowl run.dddddddddddd They nearly slugged it out at halftime of Chicagos only defeat, at Miami on a Monday night in December. (Ryan would punch offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride on national TV on Jan. 2, 1994, when both were assistant coaches in Houston.)I have great respect for Buddy, Ditka said. I have great respect for what he got out of our players. He was the reason in 85 that we had the defense and we won the Super Bowl. Theres no question about that. I didnt coach one second of defense. My job was to coach the football team and get everybody to try to do the same thing -- that was to win a championship. Thats what we ended up doing. We did it together.I never had another one and he never had another one, so we did something pretty special together, Ditka said. And thats all that really matters.Ryans work in Chicago got him the Eagles job.At a meeting the night before the Bears beat New England in the 1986 Super Bowl, Dent said a teary Ryan informed his players that he was going to Philadelphia:You guys are going to be my champions. Lets kick some tail, Ryan said.Hampton then kicked a film projector out of defensive line coach Dale Haupts hands, and defensive tackle Steve McMichael flung a chair across the room, its legs impaling a chalkboard.Such was the devotion players felt for Ryan, who guided the Eagles to the playoffs in 1988, `89 and `90. But they lost all three playoff games, and he was fired after the 1990 season by Eagles owner Norman Braman despite a 43-35-1 record.Earlier that season, Ryan bragged that his Eagles would so badly beat up the Redskins in a Monday night game theyll have to be carted off in body bags. The Eagles defense scored three touchdowns in a 28-14 win and knocked nine Redskins out of the game, including two quarterbacks.A year earlier, Philadelphia routed the Cowboys 27-0 on Thanksgiving Day with hardly any holiday feelings in the air. Cowboys kicker Luis Zendejas claimed Ryan put a $200 bounty on him, something Ryan laughed off as ridiculous.After one season as an assistant at Houston, Arizona hired Ryan as head coach in 1994 and the Cardinals went 12-20 in his two years there. He never coached again, letting Rex and Rob carry on the family legacy.There is no way we can possibly begin to measure how much football we have learned from him over the years, Rex Ryan said. And we are forever thankful to him for instilling within us his unwavering love for the game of football.Ryans Shelbyville home was about 30 miles east of Louisville. Few seemed to know about Ryan at two small restaurants attached to convenience stores, just a mile away from his golf course development. Fire and police officials said the coach also had a horse farm about 20 miles west in Simpsonville.Alan Zaring, though, thought Ryan made a fine neighbor.He didnt make a big deal about his past, and he could just be himself, said Zaring, who lived next door to him for seven years. He was still Buddy Ryan and could be crusty with people who sometimes worked at the house, but it would be in good fun. He didnt take himself too seriously.He will be missed, Zaring said.---AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi and Sports Writers Gary B. Graves and Andrew Seligman contributed to this report---This story has been corrected to show that Ryans age was 85. The change is made in keeping with public records. He has been listed over the years with a different birth date in numerous publications.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '