The Good...
Taking care of the business
They weren't sharp at times, but they did take care of the work that needed to be done. I'd be willing to bet that if you asked the players, they'd probably tell you this was a circle game. Not for the usual reasons, but they've had to live with the LaMo failure for 12 months and listen to how embarrassed everyone was, namely Saban, and this was their shot to re-write history. It also got the horrible November jinx off of them some. The monkey that has been on the program's back for the last few years slid from the shoulder to their ankle for now. What gets it off of them? Depends on who you are really, some will say win this game, others will say it is already off, then guys like me say win them all. So your guess is as good as mine.
Nice defensive beatdown
The offense was very conservative when the passing game fizzled, but he defense allowed for it because it was pretty clear by about the 2nd quarter that Arkansas St couldn't move the ball on this defense. State was pretty basic in their "spread" offense. It didn't have as many wrinkles to it as Florida or Utah or West Va runs at you, so it was pretty easy to cover, if you have the players to do it. The shutout was big, not because of who it was, but because they let UT have a cheap TD last week and they needed to redeem themselves after that.
Run Baby Run
Ingram broke out of his funk on a lower rung defense, Coffee didn't fumble and had a nice Coffee like game, and Upchurch continues to show his attitude adjustment each week by doing little things to earn PT. With the passing game being pretty much void, they carried the load and drove the ball and rode the clock down with it. (even though they didn't win TOP, they did draw down the clock with each scoring drive in the 2nd half)
No injuries
Maybe a few bruises and nicks but nothing that will hold anyone out for the biggest game of the year. That was key coming into the game was to win, not get hurt, and look good doing it. I'd say that's all that could be asked for.
Barron raids
Geez, the poor guy he licked is probably missing a tooth, testicle, and his pride. Rumor has it that Saban asked the grounds crew not to mow until they find 2 out of 3.
Some nice individual performances
I mentioned Ingram, but there were some really good showings from guys like Bobby Greenwood, Brandon Fanney, Mike Johnson, Travis McCall, and Rashaad Johnson. A lot of folks want so bad to make Zo Washington this best player ever routine, but folks, Greenwood is well ahead of him and his motor runs harder. Last year, he played out of position. He's not big enough to play inside end, he has to be the rush end like Gilberry was last year. That's the biggest difference in his play is that he's back where he is comfortable playing. Fanney isn't the ideal Jack per se, but he is good against the run and locks down his end allowing the linebackers and safeties pursue the ball. In the ideal Saban defense, the Jack would do both, but his ILB and MLB are more agile and quick than his normal/ideal ones too. If he can continue to be strong against the run and take up space on passing downs, he'll do more than Saunders ever thought about. Saunders spent more time sniffing jocks than playing football from what I could tell. Like Greenwood, Johnson is playing at his natural position (guard) and his performances look better because of it. At tackle, he lacked the mobility to cover the rush ends that the SEC is known for. At guard, he's not required to cover as much space and it put him on interior players that his power can be best used against. The rule of thumb I remember was you wanted your tackles to be more technique and "faster" and your guard and center be more power and push. He fits that mold well. I stay impressed with McCall's play and how big a part he is in the run game. If he goes down to injury, Bama's run game will be impaired greatly because every key block that springs the back, usually you find McCall there making it. Rashaad needed a good game to build on because he's been up and down most of the year. He had a good one against UT and this one was there with it. He does a good job of getting the defense in step and reads the play well, his coverage skill is ok and is what gets him in trouble at times, but for the last 2 weeks he's not been a liability.
The Bad...
Special Teams again
The return coverage was ok this time, but I'll be damned if they can't find something to cause problems. Arenas is special, no doubt there, but he's becoming a real liability out there when he tries to field a punt in traffic. He did know to fair catch his first one, and then it reverted back to the old form for a while, then he semi-redeemed himself with a nice put return. The problem is this, LSU is good enough to make those mistakes cost the team, so is Florida. He's got to get it together and quit this mental fart he's been in the last month or so. I don't know how Tiffin missed a chip shot, but he did. Thankfully, they didn't need the 3 points. It just kinda piled on the growing pain that is the special teams.
Red Zone issues
There was the missed field goal and then there was the pick in the endzone that never should have been thrown. It was hauntingly familiar to past years where the 20 and in was no man's land for Bama. Let's just hope it was a random occurrence.
The Ugly....
Singing Rammer Jammer for Arkansas St?
Why? Were we surprised to beat the hell out of them? I'd rather save it for worthy games than to make it an every week thing. Just me I suppose.....
Random Thoughts
Get ready, if you think McCain and Obama have used the PR and media like a pawn, you haven't seen anything yet. You can pretty well expect the following teams to begin their opening arguments for why they are the rightful heir to the top 2 in the BCS:
- Texas- Has a good resume with wins over OU, OSU, Missouri, and Arkansas. They should win out and be 11-1 going into championship season.
- Oklahoma St- with a win over Texas Tech, they will have as good a resume as Texas with wins over Missouri, Tech, Troy, and Houston. They do have OU waiting though...
- Oklahoma- It isn't November unless Bob Stoop is bitching about his place at the table. I think history is keeping OU out this fall, much like Ohio State would be too. They've had ample shots to take care of business and prove themselves at the national stage and just haven't. They have wins over TCU and Kansas, but they finish the year with OSU and Texas Tech. My hope is that they lose both and it finally ends the Boomer Get Us There Sooner crap.
- Texas Tech- The last of the circuit in the Big 12 South is the leader and controls their destiny. If they win out, the other 3 stay quiet, lose one, and then it hits the fan. Tech's resume is the weakest because they didn't play anyone out of conference better than SMU or Nevada. If they lose, they'll probably be out of the BCS at large picture because of that.
- Penn St.- Sensing their place at the table is slipping, they'll send Joe Pa to battle ground positions like ESPN and ABC to plead to the voters that he deserves one more game. I love nostalgia and all, but PSU's resume is as bad as Tech's. Really, it is worse, Tech will play good ranked teams, the Lions get junk all year with the benchmark of OSU (that really doesn't carry as much as it used to).
- Alabama- not to be out done, Bama will have to politic its way as well. Poor showings against MSU and/or Auburn could have voters questioning them. As far as resume goes, they are fine with Clemson, UGA, and if they beat LSU will have that to round it out along with the SECC. The bad part for Bama is that they have to win out to get there. I don't think they'll get as lucky as LSU did last year and have everyone in front of them lose at the end.
- USCal- Not to be forgotten, the Pac-10 heavyweight has a better than realized resume with wins over Va, Oregon, OSU, and more than likely Notre Dame to go on. They're always going to be the darlings of the BCS because they earn style points and traditionally put on a good show in the BCS bowls.
- Florida- The beatdown on UGA really springs them up the chain now. They have the resume with wins over Miami, LSU, UGA, and more than likely USCar and FSU. They will have to beat Alabama to have a real claim, and they are like USCal in their style point wins.
So who deserves it? I think we'll be poised to a Big 12/SEC showdown. I can see why many think Florida will be there given how well they've played, and I think the SECC will determine the national championship this year.
What did this game teach me?
Texas v. Texas Tech- Texas is good, but a fair defense was enough to beat them. Also, Tech uses its offense as a defensive tool each week. Their offense intimidates a lot of teams because there is this sense of urgency that they have to score and it forces teams to rush and press. Teams that remain calm and do their thing on offense and keep Tech dulled down in the 20s or 30s tend to beat them most of the time. Texas got ambushed and rattled early and then calmed down and got back in it.
Nebraska v. OU- It ain't what it used to be. Man, Nebraska used to be about D and now they have none, but then again the Big 12 doesn't have a good defense in it.
Washington v. USCal- The state of Washington is the worst sports state in America. Mariners stink, Sonics left to remove the stink, Seahawks stink, UW and WSU are horrid. Rest my case.
Florida v. UGA- Paybacks are hell. Living in the midst of UGA fans, all week was about getting to the SECC to play Bama. This morning they got an email saying "Richt promises players he'll get them to Atlanta for the championship (click here link went to ticket sales for the Dome)- yes, I'm mean.
Tulsa v. Arkansas- Even a mid-lower tier SEC team is better than non- BCS conference teams any given day. Tulsa should have ripped Arkansas, but Arkansas did a 180 on them and kept them heeled all game. Petrino haters need to pay attention, he's a good coach, and knows what he's doing at the college level, but he is a jerk.
Tulane v. LSU- So tell me again how good that Tulane team was again??? Where's TN at now?
UT v. USCar- Spurrier loves slapping Fulmer around, and if he had more talent he's ran the score up. He will take pleasure in being the guy that broke the camel's back.
Buy/Sell/Hold
Tennessee will get Mike Leech/Jon Gruden/Nick Saban/Santa Claus.
BUY on the rumor mill being high ended, SELL on who they get. They probably will visit Cutcliffe, Kevin Steele, and some other UT ties out there. Bobby Johnson's name will come up some too.
I'm not impressed with UF!
SELL. I guess the sting of Tebow jilting Bama in recruiting still clouds reality doesn't it? Anyone who isn't impressed with Florida is either lying to you and themselves or an idiot. Florida doesn't do things the way Alabama or LSU does it, but they are going to reach the same point or objective that everyone does. They focus on speed and matchup mismatches where as the traditional West team focuses on power and speed at skill positions.
Alabama missed Cody on Saturday.
HOLD. I think they did miss him because he's a good player, but they didn't need him to win. Really, Chapman is good and plays the position as well as can be asked. To be honest, if Cody were somewhere else and Bama had started Chapman all year, I think the results would be close to the same. He doesn't get the double teams, but he uses his power to open gaps for Greenwood and the linebackers/safeties to get in.
Tubberville is on the way out too.
BUY. I think this is a given, but I think he's already told them he's out. Of course, I thought Fulmer was too dumb to see the writing on the wall and quit. In time we'll find out though.
No comments:
Post a Comment