I had to take a mini-vacation after this past week's game. As far as the game goes, this was one that the team needed for several reasons. First, they had to prove to the rest of college football they could take a real punch, check. Second, they had to put the whole Saban-LSU thing to bed for 12 months, a loss would have only continued to fuel that flame, check. Third, the players needed to see themselves overcome in November, check for now. As to the game, there were several G's, B's, and U's, but I'll try to narrow down to worthwhile discussion material.
The Good...
Weathering the storm
To be honest, Alabama well deserved to either be down big at the half or lose the game when you look at how poorly they played in the first half. When you take the turnovers and poor execution and that deer in the headlight look they had through the game until RJ got his pick six, it was a small miracle they were tied at the half and not down. The good in it is that they held on and weathered through to stay in position to win the game. The Bama teams from the last 3 or 4 years would have gone down in flames due to the pressure.
Help from LSU
Bama wasn't alone in mental errors. LSU helped Alabama out a lot. They put a freshman QB out to the wolves too often and it led to 4 picks. They misused their timeouts in the 4th. They went away from the run to the point you thought they couldn't, yet had 4 yards a carry at will. It may be just me, but I'd ran the shit out of Scott and Williams before I'd thrown 20 times with a young QB, especially if the run is working.
Julio Jones
Let's be honest, if Alabama didn't have Julio, do you think they beat LSU? I wouldn't even begin to argue that one, but luckily they have him and he continues to write his resume with hard nosed play. Right now, the rest of the WR core has really fell off the map and Julio is about the only option that Wilson can rely on to be consistant. I really don't know what Bama's record would be without him, but it wouldn't be 10-0. The thing I like most about his play is that he never settles for just the yards on the route, he almost always turns upfield and tries to get the extra 3 or 4 yards.
Rashad Johnson
Earlier in the year, I would have said RJ had been the lesser of the two safeties playing. I thought at times he got lost in coverage and was really playing down more than up. The last 3 weeks or so have been his best football in his college career. It wasn't just the INT's, that's a sportscenter culture reflex to be honest, it is the other things. Being in the right place to break up passes, make tackles, moving players and reading plays, etc. that has been where Johnson has really improved his play in the last month.
Getting the running game going for at least 1 drive.
I'm just one of those people who says that if a team stacks the box, you answer the challenge. I thought too often the play calling helped LSU because they knew they could slow down Alabama if they took out the run. Bama's 3rd quarter scoring drive got back to basics and back to what Bama does well when they are moving the ball- they run right at you. Now, stat junkies will puke out how many yards Coffee had, and that's true, but after his first run of 31 yards, he maybe had 15 to 20 yards the rest of the half. The scoring drive he had around 40 or so on just that one. It also was the best looking drive they had all game. After that drive, it was up and down for the run game with all the worthwhile runs being to the left still. My fear is that Florida or whomever down the road will stack left and force Bama to run right which has been rough at best.
PJ Fitzgerald
It may be the only time he ever gets here with me, but his big punt early in the 4th quarter really turned momentum back. Of course, it was momentary as LSU scored on their best looking drive of the day. He was about it for the special teams.
Defense in the 2nd half
In the first half, LSU gashed the defense. Credit LSU for using that huge OL to make things happen. You could tell that LSU wanted to test Cody's stamina and see if he was healthy or not. He was healthy, but I would be willing to bet even Cody would tell you he's not in game shape. They took advantage of that early, but at half, they made a few key adjustments like keeping the linebackers back off the line and using some of the other DT's and DE pairs to slow down LSU's running attack.
The Bad...
Mental Farts Gallore!
The first one being Wilson's cellphone moment. For starts, they shouldn't be finding players numbers and harassing them, but still you gotta be bigger than that. That penalty took the wind out of the team's momentum and sent them down hill fast. I don't care who else did what, by the way what the hell are we five with all this so and so did it stuff?, but a senior leader needs to set an example. Then there were the turnovers and Javy Arenas' continued struggle to understand his role as returnman. Alexander's fumble I am ok with because he was hustling but you stretch with 2 hands, Wilson's INT never should have been thrown, Arenas's fumble was more doghouse material for him, the bizzare sandlot play where the quick toss to Ingram was muffed, the special team woes, and more were all enough for LSU to beat them and Florida will if they pull that crap again.
Secondary play outside of Johnson
I guess I come from an older antiquated time where you looked for the football. Jackson is still going through his sophomore slump, and teams have begun to pick on him. It seems like every good corner Bama finds goes through it and most don't return to form, for Bama to win out, they need him to step up and get his head in the game and away from the past mistakes. LSU did what I was afraid of, they put a tall athletic WR on Marquis Johnson. It was shades of FSU all over, minus the long TD plays, and really I'm surprised they didn't target him more. I thought Woodall probably had his worst game as he seemed out of position a lot on backside help situations. When Bama goes cover 2 and the corner releases, Woodall's job is to pick him up. He, for reasons unclear, never really picked up the zone gap and LSU's passes in the 4th were attributed to that. Part of their struggle came from the lack of pass rush. Anders has been solved by film study and the rest are not great rushers. Greenwood missed Chapman being there most of the game to help him get inside faster. With the run being effective, it bit back the pass rush options and LSU did a good job of protecting their QB most of the game, both led to the secondary being on an island more (shades of 07).
The Ugly...
Special Teams
Getting really tired of having to go here, but the unit as a whole continues to be the problem spot and came real close to costing the game. I really wonder if Tiffin's name were Scott or Jones or Smith, would he still be the kicker? I worry that legacy is trumping performance because he's missed enough kicks now to warrant a tryout during practice. Arenas is a great weapon to have, but he lacks the understanding that not every return is a highlight reel moment. His muff this week was just sloppiness on his part. It is basic fundamentals that you cover the ball in traffic. I'm gonna be blunt, if it comes down to special teams being the difference in a Bama win or Florida win, Florida will win. Bama's failure to improve special teams from last year to this year is about the only disappointment fans should and will have this year. Most years, that wouldn't be that big a deal, but with anything from the SEC to the National Title in range, fans won't reflect much on what all was good, but how this kick or this play changed the year.
Random Thoughts
I don't feel sorry for Fulmer. Paybacks are hell and he's getting his back to him. The fall of the Fulmer isn't real hard to see, he got lazy in his recruiting. He thought with Bama out of the way and the Carolinas and Virginia easy pickings for him, he'd have his inroads for a long time. Well, with Groh, Davis, Saban, Bowden, Spurrier and even Bobby Johnson cutting off parts of West TN, his map got changed. He never worked harder than those coaches for the players and began to recruit the way Shula did, he took what he could get. Could you see Crompton or Stephens there back when they tried to recruit? No. The second half is that he went away from his basic offense that still worked. This "spread" thing they jumbled up has no flow or coordination to it. It is just a play by play getting by thing. When you are scripting drives, you have to have some flow to it. Their play calling looked like two kids playing XBox 360. So, the fate that Fulmer has is his own, he dug it, and the SEC and ACC helped push him in it.
The bowl picture begins to clear, but the BCS is still muddy. The SEC will send Bama, UF, UGA, USCar, LSU, Ole Miss, KY Jelly, and possibly Vandy if they can get 1 more win. Auburn, Arkansas and MSU could go if they win out, but only Arkansas has a faint shot at that. The SEC looks to send 2 teams to the BCS, which is the max, and will if Bama and UF win their remaining regular season games. Their matchup in Atlanta will determine one of the two BCSC spots, and probably the champion. The loser will go to the Sugar Bowl and face off against an At-Large pick, likely Boise St/Utah. So, my updated guess at it is:
BCS- Bama/UF- if you asked me today, I'd say Florida just because they've unloaded on everyone after their slip up against Ole Miss. They'll play Texas Tech because OU has 0 defense.
Sugar- Loser of SECC vs. Boise St.
Cotton- LSU v. OU (should be a worth watching game)
Cap 1- UGA v. OSU (a battle of true underachievers)
Outback- USCar v. Michigan St
Chick Fil A- Ole Miss v. UNC
Liberty- Vandy or Kentucky if Vandy doesn't get 6 wins v. Tulsa
Music City- Kentucky or vacant if Vandy doesn't get 6 wins v. Ga Tech
The rest the conference will not seat because they don't have enough teams this year. The strongest conference has eaten its young....
What did this game teach me...
TCU v. Utah- Utah has a lot of grit. They could have lost this game real easy, and TCU isn't a bad team, but Utah will probably get the snub from the BCS because Boise is roaming with better wins and SOS.
OSU v. Texas Tech- Tech has proven itself to be a real player in the BCS hunt. Beating Texas was not a fluke, but the letdown factor was present but not accounted for because Tech blistered OSU without mercy.
PSU v. Iowa- Reality catches up to you eventually. PSU was a pretender and we all saw it, they had no resume and no claim other than beating OSU (who hasn't) and fate stepped in to cure the BCS mess slightly. Ferentz is a guy that I'm surprised UT hasn't started sniffing around at, he'd be good for the style they like to play.
UGA v. Kentucky- Bad football is contagious. If you watched this one, you realize how bad UGA is when you get down to it. That much talent should not have to struggle with KY, but they lack discipline.
Wyoming v. UT- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Sorry, but your medicine is good for you Vols.
Ark v. USCar- USCar is starting to get that look in their eyes again. Their defense is imposing its will on opponents and they look real good winning 6 of their last 7. If they can get some consistancy on offense, they probably would threaten UF more.
UF v. Vandy- The powerful reign supreme. This game was over before the 1st quarter was over. You could see their swagger and confidence and they imposed it. They are as hot as anyone right now because they've found their rythem.
Buy/Sell/Hold
The blocked FG wasn't Tiffin's fault.
SELL. The kick was low, period. I know some flock out here to do spin control and damage control on things because some players hold special places with you, but the block was on him, not the line, not the hold (stupid), not the moon or earth rotation, etc. If he gets on it right, that ball should be able to clear the pile easily, and from that close it has no reason not to. Thankfully, they overcame and went for the win and not the FG in OT. I doubt he'd made it if they trotted him out in OT.
Bama fans are getting real whiny these days.
BUY. Alabama wins a big game, what do they talk about? Wilson's penalty being total bull or that the ref pushed him trying to get him out of the student section or what some talk show host said that wasn't 100 percent pro-Bama, or that ESPN/CBS did this or is at fault for that. Who cares? To answer the questions though, Wilson't penalty was legit, the Ref didn't push him just because he wanted to, he was trying to get him out of the student section before they threw stuff, I don't want every newscaster or talk show host to be for Bama, it would be boring that way. I also don't care what ESPN or CBS says or does, they keep paying the SEC who pays Alabama good money. I don't care if they mispronounce a name, they aren't Eli and mystery assistant, they don't have to remember every jersey and name. Geez.
Without Julio Jones, Bama wouldn't have a descent WR.
HOLD. It is hard to say without him how they'd do. As I said, I don't think they'd be where they are, but at the same time, I'd hope/pray/think that someone would step up in that spot to be there. Nick Walker where are youuuuuuuuuuu.....
Saturday we will get a good look at how Florida will do against us when they play USCar
BUY. I think if there was any litmus test for the SECC preview this would be it. Outside of who they practice against, USCar is the only other D in the SEC or nation that is similar to Bama's. I would say Bama has several bodies focused on breaking down the film on this game afterwards because Florida is doing the same with the LSU (the team most like them) film.
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