Since Road House, Next of Kin, Red Dawn, and Point Break are some of my favorites, this edition has a tribute to Patrick Swayze because he usually made a good fight/action movie.
OFFENSE
The Good....
Nobody puts Baby in the Corner. (Dirty Dancing)
Might as well get the best known out of the way. After a questionable fumble, and a punt downed at the 5, the Tide were in the corner early. Last week, this might have been a problem, but this week, they took the ball and marched on a 13 play, near 6 minute drive that pretty well took the wind out of the sails of the Mean Green. The offense took the ball on a passing spree where 9 of the 13 plays were called passes, completing 7, missing one (Dial should have reeled it in), and McElroy evaded the rush and found paydirt. It was a solid drive that pretty well set the tone that Bama was going to do what it needed to and leave the tricks and fluff behind them.
Be nice until it is time to not be nice. (Road House)
Let's be honest, North Texas was about as poor a team as you could find on the BCS map. Bama needed a North Texas though because they really need to start running some backups through live action and get them ready in case of injuries. If they had elected to send the starters out for the full 4 quarters, it may have been 90-7.
Getting to see what is on the bench.
We knew what some guys had, but then you have Star Jackson, David Ross at center, Chance Warmack and others that had not played any serious time to date. The bench was emptied as far as the staff cared to and it is safe to say, if they didn't play after Saturday, they probably aren't going to. I was pleased with Jackson, he needs some work on his touch and reads, but overall he looked well practiced and was prepared to play in this game. That's a key I like to watch for in the reserves, do they look ready when they head in. Now, is he SEC starter material right now, no, but he can clean up games for a while and then get ready for prime time down the road. Terry Grant had the most carries he's had in ages, and some of that was due to Goode's injury, but he looked ok as well. Grant will be the 3rd or 4th guy as long as he can get his burst in the open field, but when you ask him to be an every down, run between the tackles guy, he falls behind the crowd because Ingram, Richardson, and Upchurch can be those guys.
Marquis Maze found the ball
He had 2 snags against Va Tech, and was shutout by FIU, but he stepped up his game and had his best showing of the season. Maze does a good job of getting separation in the red zone, and did well to stay in McElroy's eyes all day.
Greg's perfect day.
He didn't have to do a lot but he was locked in and looked All-SEC on Saturday. He did a great job of putting the ball right where it needed to be on all but 1 pass. I think having 2 softer games after Virginia Tech and before Arkansas has benefitted McElroy more than anyone because he's gotten some live scrimmage drill opportunities to work on his reads and getting comfortable with other WRs not named Julio Jones.
Better, more simple, gameplan
It isn't a surprise that when they just go with who they are and stay with their bread and butter game, and quit all the Wildcats and silly reverses and the gimmicks, and just play their game, they look SO much better. I don't know if the gimmicks are gone for good, but when they were up big, it was pretty much a time to do it or go to the reserves and go vanilla. They chose conservative vanilla. I know it is fun to talk about and neat to see and the average joe fan likes to see the wrinkles come out, but with a green OL, a green QB, an identity challenged WR core, you need to see them master the base offense first. I think they have done that now.
The Bad...
Another dirt digger snap...
Good job by Jackson to get on top of the ball, but it would be nice if at least one center can make the snap to QB connection cleanly for 1 week. .
The Ugly...
A Bad Call
I really can't tell how the 1st play of the game is a fumble in any definition or reference to a real fumble. I know the NCAA wants the refs to hold off on the whistles more so that plays can be reviewed properly, but in this case, they missed it on all accords.
DEFENSE
The Good...
"It’s basic dog psychology, brah. If you scare them, get them pissing down their leg, they submit… you control them. (Point Break)
That has to be one of my favorite lines. Minus one play, it was pretty well a pimp slapping with no baby powder. They didn't get a sack, but didn't need to, they didn't pick it off, but they didn't need to. All that they did need to do is keep it in front of them and let North Texas do the rest. The end result was a very impressive day that only yielded 3 total plays over 10 yards all day. That's enforcing your will on others without force if I have ever seen it.
Better preparation
The defense looked better and looked like they were practiced and ready for the most part. Last week, they looked a little sluggish and went through the motions at times, but this week they had the fire lit early and did all the right things when needed. I thought, minus the TD, even the backups looked solid and did all that they needed to do.
Depth building continues
Each week that the young players and reserves get to play, the more confidence and growth we will see in them. I could see improvement in guys like Barron, Kirkpatrick, Green, and others as they start to get the concept of the defense and the strategy. They all look less hesitant and more decisive in their reads and angles. They need to be, next week is the first test of the year on the secondary. A guy that had kinda fell off the radar was Chris Jordan. I noticed him several times Saturday as he got more PT and I liked his nose for the ball. He has some mechanical things to workout, and most backups do when they are 1st year players, before he becomes a Will or Mike, but he is coming along.
Barron bails out Johnson
You wanna know what a Bama message board looks like if Barron doesn't deflect the pass? It looks a lot like week 1 where a good number of fans had tired of Marquis Johnson's failure to cover. Johnson was a good two steps beaten and if the WR gets the ball, it is an easy 6 because nobody was within range of him. Last week, I said I thought Johnson improved, but Saturday there were times where he looked lost and then the Barron save, he bit and just got left behind. I will give MJ credit though, he never quits after he gets passed, he at least tries to catch the guy.
Arenas on the loose
You can tell that they took him to the side after the season and told him to get it together. Comparing Arenas on the returns from last year to this year is a completely different guy. The result may be that he doesn't house a kick or punt return, but the consistency and quality of the returns will be better overall. The biggest thing is he has found patience in his return game and isn't trying to make every return an ESPN highlight. If it is a return that will get him 5 yards, he takes it, and if he sees a chance to run a gap and turn it up field he is showing discipline and finding the gap when it forms instead of being there as the gap is starting to form. The tricky thing will be, in conference play, do teams continue to punt to him because he's not beating them on the scoreboard directly, or do they punt away and try to play the field? So far, all three opponents have punted to him and he's getting good field behind him on average, so hopefully that continues.
The Bad...
You think you’re so smart, man, but you’re just a bunch of scared kids (Red Dawn)
You ever wondered what it looks like when guys don't practice what they are doing much? See Saturday's lone score by North Texas. I would say that the last time guys like Reamer and Barron practiced in their respective positions on that play was about 4 or 5 weeks ago in summer drills. I think with more reps that both would do well in those spots (Will/Money and Star I think was what they were) but they need to communicate better and this will be something the staff uses to have another learning experience / building lesson in practice because they have to grasp at something. In all fairness, North Texas used the Wheel route at the best time and did a good job of executing by taking the WR over the flat and drawing the defenders into him and opening the tailback up on the sideline. It was hard to tell on TV what happened, if Reamer bit on the wrong WR or if he thought he was zone and was supposed to be man or if Barron didn't cover the right man or whatever, but regardless it didn't work.
The Ugly...
How the flippin hell do you miss 2 extra points????
This is getting to be beyond control. I just wonder, if this were another position, would Tiffin be their guy right now? If he were named Sanchez, would we still be getting down to the dirty with him? (Schrute buck if you got that) At some point, Bama will need him to step up and make a play, and right now, I don't think that you, or I, or Coach Saban, or even Leigh himself could tell you if he could come through. Some X Box genius will come forward with the very weak line of "kicking ain't easy, I'd like to see you hit it" genre of reply, but folks, that's not it. The it is that he's there to do 1 think, kick the damn ball through the regulation uprights. What is more bizarre is that he is a guy who can hit a 50 yard field goal with ease, but struggles when it is closer in? Walls said it Sunday, I've said it for 3 weeks, and folks you better start preparing your excuses now because somewhere between now and January, this is the guy that will be in control of a trip to Orlando or Pasedena or Dallas or worse. I threw up just a little at the thought of this team finishing in Dallas.....
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