Le Journal

It was only a matter of time before legendary college football coach Nick Saban got the docuseries treatment. ESPN, in partnership with production studio Words + Pictures, has commenced production on Saban, a six-episode docuseries “chronicling the life, legacy, and seminal impact of the most successful college football coach of all time, Nick Saban.” “Directed by Russell Dinallo and produced by Words + Pictures’ Connor Schell, Libby Geist, Aaron Cohen, and Alexa Conway along with Tom Rinaldi, with Gabe Honig serving as co-executive producer and showrunner, the series will tell the story of Nick Saban’s extraordinary career, highlighted by his 17 seasons at Alabama, where he led the team to six national titles and reestablished the Crimson Tide as the preeminent program in college football,” reads the press release. “The series will peel back the curtain on the long, closely guarded world of Saban, with hundreds of hours of never-before-seen footage from the locker room and practice fields, as well as many other behind-the- scenes moments in his career at Alabama, and prior to that, LSU, the Miami Dolphins, and Michigan State, among other stops. There’s also a wealth of present-day interviews with Saban and his wife, the legendary Ms. Terry Saban, whose own influence and impact played a massive role in Nick’s success as a coach and leader.” Nick Saban began his head-coaching career with one season at Toledo before moving to Michigan State. He parlayed that into a job leading LSU, where he won his first national title. Following a brief stint with the Miami Dolphins, he returned to college and took over Alabama. Saban coached the Crimson Tide from 2007 to 2023, leading the team to six national championships in nine championship appearances, as well as 9 SEC titles and 10 SEC West Division championships. A five-time SEC Coach of the Year, Saban is widely considered one of the greatest football coaches of all time, if not the greatest. After retiring, Saban has quickly cemented himself as a cornerstone of ESPN’s College GameDay and as a prominent leadership voice in college football. “With my coaching days behind me, Ms. Terry and I have been doing a lot of reflection and realized we were ready to tell our story,” said Saban in a statement. “The team at Words + Pictures has encouraged me to really look back not just at my time at Alabama, but every stop along the way – and not just reflect on what happened but consider the process which made it happen. I interacted with a lot of players and coaches along the way, and I’m happy to see that so many of them have contributed to this docuseries. There’s a lot to tell, and I’m excited to share it all.” Per the announcement, the docuseries will draw on over 30 hours of interviews with Saban and more than 80 with former players, assistant coaches, rivals, family, friends, and observers. Details about premiere timing and episode rollout will be announced at a later date. The post ESPN announces six-episode docuseries about Nick Saban in production appeared first on Awful Announcing.

The San Francisco 49ers’ season came to a screeching halt after a 41-6 loss to Seattle in the NFC Divisional round. The opening kickoff was returned for a touchdown, and it felt like the 49ers couldn’t climb out of the early hole all game. It only got worse as the 49ers’ offense doubled their scoring output from their Week 18 matchup with Seattle and scored six points. The offseason is now filled with questions about the roster and how the 49ers can keep up in the NFC West arms race with Los Angeles and Seattle, who will face off in the NFC Championship Game. Let’s look at the snap counts and grades from Saturday’s game, according to Pro Football Focus: Offense Quarterback Brock Purdy 51 (59.3) Mac Jones 9 (55.8) Purdy was under siege all game, running from the Seahawks’ front four. We’ve all seen the ridiculous stat of Purdy running for over 400 yards behind the line of scrimmage on scrambles. Purdy had two turnovers, including a sack and a fumble, but the game was well out of reach. Although Purdy was only sacked twice, his pressure-to-sack percentage was 10% with 20 pressures on dropbacks. Running Back Christian McCaffrey 31 (62.8) Kyle Juszczyk 31 (66.4) Brian Robinson Jr 15 (48.6) Jordan James 14 (74.4) It’s never a good sign when your quarterback leads the team in rushing yards, but McCaffrey suffered a shoulder injury during the game and tried to fight through it. Brian Robinson finished with four yards on three carries. The bright side is rookie Jordan James touched the football for the first time in his career and finished with 28 yards on six carries. The fourth down option call in the first quarter was an indication of how the day would go for the 49ers on offense. Wide Receiver Jauan Jennings 47 (55.5) Ricky Pearsall 42 (51.6) Kendrick Bourne 24 (52.5) Demarcus Robinson 24 (54.4) Skyy Moore 9 (54.6) Between the five receivers who ran routes on Saturday, the group totaled three catches for 24 yards. Twenty-three of those yards belonged to Jennings, with Robinson accounting for the other one. Pearsall returned but was unable to bring in either of his two targets, including a diving attempt that was initially ruled a catch but overturned. The 49ers have to address the wide receiver room in the draft and in free agency. The current group lacks speed, and Seattle’s defense was never challenged. Tight End Luke Farrell 34 (39.7) Jake Tonges 29 (90.3) Filling in for George Kittle, Tonges was the 49ers’ leading receiver with five catches for 59 yards, but coughed up the football with a costly fumble as the 49ers were trying to climb back into the game. Tonges ended up with an injury of his own, which is why Farrell had the higher snap count. However, Farrell did not fight for the ball when Purdy targeted him, which led to an interception. His other target was a catch for one yard. Offensive Line Spencer Burford 60 (43.5) Colton McKivitz 60 (75.7) Dominick Puni 57 (54.4) Jake Brendel 57 (65.5) Trent Williams 57 (72.6) Connor Colby 3 (80.7) Matt Hennessey 3 (60.7) Austen Pleasants 3 (58.3) The offensive line had a rough day at the office. Burford led the team with six pressures allowed, five hurries, and a QB hit. PFF graded his pass blocking at 38.8. McKivitz was second with five pressures and four hurries allowed. The two sacks were charged to McKivitz and Puni. Brendel and Williams both allowed two pressures, but finished with the two highest pass blocking grades at 75.7 for Brendel and 86.9 for Williams. The good news is that Williams confirmed he will return next season, but the 49ers have to take a hard look at the offensive line this offseason. Defense Defensive Line Alfred Collins 27 (26.5) CJ West 26 (29.9) Sam Okuayinonu 25 (49.9) Keion White 25 (61.1) Jordan Elliott 25 (49.6) Kalia Davis 24 (55.8) Clelin Ferrell 23 (60.4) Bryce Huff 21 (53.8) Yetur Gross-Matos 18 (50.5) While the 49ers did total two sacks, one of them was given to Malik Mustapha. Of the nine pressures, seven were credited to the defensive line.…