When you watch games like the Iron Bowl, it is often found that fan chatter is talk, and talk is cheap. Here's a hint for those of you who read my thoughts, when I don't talk much during the week of a game, that is a good sign that I see a tough fight. A lot of folks on the message board world had a lot of locker room material about how none of Auburn's players could start or be the top reserve at Alabama or how the staff and the Mahlzahn offense wouldn't dent the Tide defense, etc. If there is one thing that the last 2 years have taught me, this defense doesn't like motion or misdirection, and Auburn does a lot of it. The reverses and flea flickers, etc, are a part of their gameplan week in and out. The onsides kick wasn't but that was a hell of a read by the coaches to see that Bama doesn't cover the front line, it goes straight into return defense. Lots of teachable moments for sure, but a win and a chance at glory still remain. That is something worth being thankful for on the holiday rebound...
OFFENSE
The Good...
Game Manager = Clutch
The thing that really gets me is this. Greg McElroy throws for over 200 yards, has 2 TDs, and completes 2/3rds of all his passes, and there are folks who say he had a bad game because he missed an open guy. Here's a hint, they all do. I saw Manning do it Sunday, should he be benched? There is a human element to the game and there will be mistakes, but it is only when the mistakes are beating you that you need to talk about changing a starter. Mistakes that are benign are just film room improvements. Saban said afterwards that there were a lot of factors in some of the errors from blocking (more on that to come), playcalling (more on that too), and McElroy missing his reads. The biggest anchor for the offense wasn't McElroy anyways, it was this insanity that kept running Ingram right at the stacked line of Auburn. In the end though, McElroy stayed in control and played HIS game and that lead to victory more than anything else.
Just for those crayon chewers who want a true freshman who hasn't sniffed a football this year, since the USCar game (his worst of the year, 2 picks), McElroy has thrown 7 TDs and 1 Int, has gone 77-123 (63%) and has had a passer rating over 100 in all but the UT game. Yes, let's bench the winner for the sexy recruit name. I swear some folks could tear up a steel ball just to be happy, and those guys want to start someone else because they don't score on every drive....this ain't NCAA 2010 or Madden folks. There is no reset button or redos.....
Welcome to the stage Mr. Richardson
Here's the thing, outside the crimson bubble that most of us live in, nobody really knew who Trent Richardson was. They knew who Ingram was because he's in the Heisman talks, and they have watched him play all year and rack up yards. So, when he was held in check and then hurt, a good number of football fans thought doom was near for Bama. Thankfully, the Trent Richardson show that has been kinda pre-empted by the Ingram watch was able to pick up on its regularly scheduled broadcast. The thing that Richardson does that is so impressive is that he can sense the defenders and seems to always get lower and make the tackle target small and punishing. That is why he always gets an extra 3 or 5 yards after contact. They can't get him, but he gets them.
Peek a Boo Holla McGhee
If you had watched any of Auburn's games, you know that they get real soft in the middle of the field. The 2nd best play call of the day came when Peek ran a slant across the flat and found the soft spot in the defense where Greg hit him in stride and the rest is paydirt.
Best timeout ever spent
While they really never said what the play was going to be, but I would bet a steak dinner that it was the Cody flop over tackle play. Auburn sure as hell thought it was. I called pass when I saw Upchurch at fullback because that's been the tip on any formation with Church all year. Would the Cody flop over tackle worked? Probably not since Bama had not gained more than 2 hard yards at any one time all day. I think Saban knew that as well and with Cody at fullback/h back, it was a tip that he was going to lead block over the left side. So it was time to shake up the film scouts. Thank God. Florida will be more apt to stay at home and not load up so much if they see the formation again.
The Bad...
0 push from the O Line = 0 yards figuratively for Ingram
Ok, this is one part griping about linemen who shoot up like deer when they hear a horn and one part griping about playcalling. There are so many things that just confuse me at times about the playcalling logic. Ingram comes in, the blue sea masses in front of him between the hashes, and you continue to run straight at it. Yet, Richardson comes in, they back off, and Bama runs over tackle. Why can't Ingram run over tackle? I think they tried that maybe twice. I don't know how much of a leash McElroy has with the staff to audible into another play, but I would hope he had enough of one to check to a screen or a swing pass instead of just butting their head against a wall. You can run on Auburn, they're near the bottom of the SEC in rush defense. The thing is that when they've had 2 weeks to get ready, you have to be flexible in your game plan to adjust to the things they are doing. Bama finally got creative, but it took about 20 minutes into the game (game clock wise) to get there. Run, run, pass, punt is a great plan if you are trying to burn clock and get out of the stadium, but when you are trying to dig out of a 14 point hole, not so much....
The offensive line didn't help either. I lost count of how many times the linemen sprung up instead of at the defender. Now, if you never played or didn't play O Line, what happens when you let the defender get under you is that they have control of your position and can drive you backwards, sideways, on your ass, whatever they really want. I also lost count of how many times I saw Barrett Jones standing around while the play was going on. He is a first year player and I give him a little slack, but 12 games in and he's making effort mistakes...that's a concern for me. It would be one thing if he hit his guy, defeated him, and then shot up and the play was over, but the play is on going and he's trotting along like a sideline cameraman. Carpenter also had his worst day. It wasn't Chris Capps part deux or tres, but it wasn't one that he'll want to see on film any time soon. Carpenter still plays left tackle like he would as a guard (his natural position)- very stationary and stiff. Teams have scouted and learned that a bull rush won't beat him very often, but a speed rush off the end will. Dunlap will own him if they don't put the TE or HBack with him.
The Ugly...
The first 10 minutes of the game
I'm not a fan of getting the ball first to start a game in any circumstance, but Bama elected to take the ball first and got great starting position at the 40. They did nothing with it. They sat around for a good while thanks to poor special teams play and got the ball back again at the 40. They did a heaping helping of more nothing. The defense was on the defensive against the spread and they really, REALLY, needed some time to regroup and couldn't get any time because the offense couldn't incorporate any semblance of rhythm at all. Really the offense had to see the defense stiffen up and stop Auburn before they got a first down.
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
The Good...
2 and a half quarters of shut down defense
The first quarter wasn't one of the defense's shining moments, nor was the busted coverage in the 3rd quarter, but outside of that it was pretty solid. Man that sounds like moral victory talk, but it is true. I thought Auburn could get 17 or so on Bama just because they do all the motion and hurry up and misdirection stuff that has kept Bama's defense baffled all year. Review any game you want of the following and you will see what I am saying- Va Tech, FIU (1st half), MSU (1st quarter), LSU, Auburn. Once they find their legs and get them back under them, they really don't give up much, and on Friday, they put on a statement performance after they took Auburn's best shot.
Surviving the shit storm
Bama has done this a lot more this season than last and that may be the difference in the SECC this year. They have taken some pretty hard shots from some good teams this year whereas last fall they didn't know how to play from behind very often. This year they have been in a position to lose against Tech, USCar, UT, LSU and now Auburn and survived them all. Yes, survived. They all have been victories because the defense has made the stops and created the turnovers when they needed them most. This week's game was no different as they made the key stops in the 4th to lead to the drive.
Knock that ball down!
I don't care how simple it sounds, but I see so many teams go for the pick instead of just swatting the ball to the turf. When you go for the ball, you usually end up looking back and seeing another guy with it. It isn't a great feeling to be there or watch it. I couldn't tell who swatted (Woodall?) but whomever it was got the best vertical of his life and cleared the ball out.
The Bad...
Heads in the clouds syndrome
It apparently was contagious beyond imagination. Woodall had probably his worst game since becoming a starter. The misdirection and reverses were keeping him out of position a good bit and the unsportsmanlike penalty was just him not acting like a senior. The emotion was good, but it would have been better witnessed on the sidelines. Chavis Williams got caught napping on special teams and they kicked right at him. I can see why he doesn't play despite having the measurables. Barron ate the play fake like it was turkey with the sides. It went on and on, but there wasn't enough brain farts in the air Friday to doom them, just make the game a lot tighter than it needed to be.
Missing posters sent for Reamer and Green...
I know Reamer has the elbow thing going and Robbie Green is smaller, but Ali Sharrief isn't exactly my cup of tea vs. the spread. He may be a better tackler, but he has to be in a position to tackle and that's where he falls off. They had decided that because Auburn plays up tempo that it would be better to have Sharrief play Money and keep Barron and Woodall in their spots instead of swapping around like they do when Reamer or Green are in nickel and dime. I would say the 21 points they flung up like poo would dispell that theory, but that's just me.
The Ugly...
Too much flat footing and not paying attention
Yeah that falls under heads in the cloud, but it pissed me off that much it deserves more mention. Damn it.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
Stay tuned for a dissection of the spread playbook
I got a demo for some playbook software the other day and will try to use it to show how the plays develop and how the Tide can defend it. It won't be just top shelf the way I like to do things, but it will have to pass because I am not spending 300 bucks on you turds. I really was trying to find some cool porn and thought I was getting that, but found football instead. My porno for football crazies I guess....I kid Mom...really but not really.
Watching the bowl flush....
Boy, if you think you have the bowl allignment figured out, congrats because there are 3 tiers all of a sudden. Bama and Florida are in the BCS win or lose, nobody will keep them out of the Sugar Bowl for losing even in a route. LSU found grace because Ole Miss is still trying to find its mouthpiece after that butt whoopin, and UT doesn't inspire much when they struggle every week to beat the weaker sisters. Ole Miss, UT, ARK, UGA, USCar, and AU all have 7-8 wins and all look about equal in that any given Saturday they'd beat each other.
I will say that Carolina taking Clem(p)son to the shed wasn't a real surprise. Georgia taking out a year's worth of frustration on a very good Tech team was. Ole Miss losing wasn't a shocker, but the way they got whipped was. Ole Miss had played really well down the stretch again, but they left their game at the 9 yard line vs. LSU. LSU beating the Hawgs wasn't a real surprise, but letting the Hawgs tie them late was another sign that they just aren't tough enough to be with Bama and Florida yet. The bowl projections are pretty well locked up as far as the BCS, but the others may be about who can fill the stadium where....
BCS- Bama/UF vs Texas- Unless Nebraska pulls off a miracle, this one has been a lock since August
Sugar- Bama/UF vs TCU- I pity the loser because a let down looms with TCU hitting on all cylinders
Cap 1- LSU vs PSU/Iowa- Thank you MSU says the Hat getting fat with a wife who serves up not cat...if there is a shakeup in the BCS, Iowa could be here, but if all goes as planned it is JoePa
Outback- UT vs. Wisconsin/PSU- all really depends on Iowa's home for the holidays, but neither is a tough match for the Vols
Cotton- Ole Miss vs. Nebraska or OSU- If it is the Pokes vs. the Siss, the underachiever bowl is upon us...Really like the Pelini vs. Nutt matchup though
Chick Fil A- UGA vs. Clemson/Va Tech- If they take Tech, the Bobo era will be over fo sho, I know some think that Clemson will beat GTech, but I am not one of those. Tech would be the fit for the Chick but nobody wants the in state rematch either
Music City- S Carolina vs. UNC/Miami- 2 great coaches with 2 unpredictable teams on one matchup and a present/past meets future in the other
Liberty- Arkansas vs. Houston- better add a digit to the scoreboard when these two hit it
Papa Johns- Kentucky v. UConn/WVa-
Indy- Auburn vs. aTm/Iowa St.- really is about who goes where in the world, I don't think either side wants to see Auburn v. ISU, but Bama fans with evil hearts like mine do....
November 30, 2009
November 23, 2009
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly- UTC
I picked a good one to make the annual trek down to Tuscaloosa for my once a year game ritual. I was real pleased with about everything but the student section. The students seem to have more important things. It looked more like a UTC student section than a National Championship contender's. I digress...
(going back to old format for one week since this was a snoozer)
The Good...
Senior moments....
No not those where you piss yourself and forget you did. Moments like Javy returning a punt for a TD in his last BDS game, Reamer snagging the pick, Upchurch scoring late, etc. I always like seeing the Rudy's of the world come out for these kinda games and get a few snaps as a reward for being a 3 1/2 year tackle dummy.
Quick work = quick rest = quick shift of focus to Auburn
The game was over after Reamer's pick basically, but getting the game salted away by the end of the 1st and the starters (for the most part) out of the game by halftime, is always a good start when your rival is sitting at home eating bon bons and watching you play. The objectives were pretty clear once met. Ingram was going to get about 10 carries and do what he needed to there. McElroy had 1 half and that was it (no shock to either of those). The defense would start subbing quickly to rest up the starters and keep injuries low. McClain got 1 half to do his thing and then by that point the backups could handle the business.
Nice work turned in by...
It was good to see the guys who haven't played much, like Goode, Upchurch, Alexander, etal. get some looks as primary guys. Goode looks ok as a guy finishing off a worn out defense, but I don't think he's gonna get any major PT without disaster happening. He's not fast enough to get snaps as a speed back and not physical enough to be the pounder that the others are.
Even in a route, Saban's chewing...
The peanut gallery was chuckling with me as Saban used about every "coachable moment" that came along to kick and snort in spite of it being a total blowout. He chewed Star Jackson for a few decisions. He chewed Baron Huber for being in Knoxville and not Tuscaloosa mentally. He chewed on PJ for shanking a punt (net 20ish from where I was) that could have pinned them deep. It was a good reminder for the players and fans that even though the game is in hand, they use every minute of the game to get better and execute the playbook. I think there were a couple out there that probably thought it was ok to just ho hum through and enjoy the sunshine, but those people are running laps and hearing it in film this week.
The Bad...
Nothing major bad, but they still have a hard time getting used to the spread
One thing that seems to be a common theme this year is that the defense has a little bit of trouble adjusting to the spread. UTC wasn't a threat to do major things to them, we all know it, but if you watch the first 2 or 3 drives, they had a bit of trouble getting in position and adjusting to the motion. The only reason this raises a flag is because Florida has 3 times the athletes that a MSU or UTC or Auburn have, and can punish a team that is out of position whereas the 3 mentioned can't.
The Ugly...NONE it was UTC
Random Thoughts....
A little depth chart watching...
The news that AJ McCarron is now 2B on the chart is nothing new really, but it is always amazing to see the amount of bullshit that comes from fans about the backups and how great they are. Especially ones that have never played a meaningful down. The "I didn't want to say anything before because it was a secret" insider crowd is well worth the amusement and is always at face value just that, entertainment, but I don't delve in entertainment, I delve into real thinking and discussion. So let's have fun shall we with actual real discussion of some player battles looming....
At QB, you will not see any jockying for the starter. McElroy will be the starter come hell or high water. Only a career or season ending injury will change his status on the depth chart. He has the playbook under control, he has the ability to manage the job, and he's talented enough to fit what Saban/McElwain want him to do. He wins games, plain and simple, and won't lose his job if he loses a game or has a bad game in that loss. There is room for battle in the 2nd position. The gap between Greg and the backup is still quite noticable and Star didn't really do anything Saturday to improve that opinion. Star is very talented. He has the arm, he can move with the ball, and he can do things that none of the others on campus can do, but he is very raw as a college level QB. That means he doesn't understand how to be a full service QB that walks up to the line, sees the blitzes, sees the coverages, etc and commands the line to cover those situations and think through his progressions based on what he's seeing to make the play. He also is Major's QB and not McElwains. He would be more suited for a spread offense like the one Major used at Rice than what McElwain does. However, he has the snaps and practice lead on his biggest challenger this spring, AJ McCarron.
McCarron is the highly touted QB and is a protype of what McElwain uses and wants. He has been well coached and his mechanics, based on HS film, are good for the most part. If he has earned commentary from Saban in his press conferences, he is doing the right things. However, we can't tell how close he is to Star because he won't play. Sorry Mr Insider wannabes, this year is a sit year regardless of what happens. Watching Star play in the spring and during the season, it is understandable why they are high on McCarron, but I want to see him in pressure situations before I jump on the AJ is the number 2 for sure bandwagon.
Phillip Sims and Thomas Darrah also have a chance to compete for number 2, but Sims is a redshirt in waiting and Darrah is what he is. I think Sims needs the redshirt for the same reason that AJ did, there aren't many reasons to throw him out there unless he just proves he needs to be out there. Darrah is a walkon and looks like one. He has the fan club of belivers and all, but 1 pass in a spring scrimmage against 4th string corners doesn't impress when you are trying to run with the Floridas, Texases (is that the proper plural use?), USCs, and other powers of the world. I really don't see him being around in the major discussion after the spring to be honest.
Running back has no real discussion. Ingram will be back for what will be his last year likely. Richardson will be his backup. Grant and Lacy are the front runners for the Upchurch spot in the rotatation. Goode is the 5th guy in the rotation who could be fourth if Grant continues to flounder and stay dinged up. The coaches are all very high on Lacy and speak well of him as he runs the scout team tailback spot. The truth is that he probably would have played this year if there weren't 2 guys with experience above him.
None of the WR core changes really. McCoy is gone after this year, but has anyone missed him?
The OL has some discussion worth mentioning though. You have Carpenter returning and some seem to think that he has to move. Folks, I sometimes wonder if people ate out of their own diapers when I read stuff like that. He is the best LT this team has and will be next spring. Tyler Love is his backup and DJ Fluker has been at RT all year. Love will never push Carpenter for PT. I know some folks spent hours dissecting his high school film, but he's about as mean as a Hallmark card. That's all that a lineman has to be dissected to is how mean are they? You can build technique, but you can't make mean. Carpenter is mean. Fluker is mean, but very raw. A lot of folks keep living in this world that says he's the LT of the future. That may be, but the future isn't 2010. He needs to be exposed to live action before he gets moved over. He is a lot farther behind the learning curve than a Andre Smith or Chris Samuels was. Everything I have heard about Fluker says he's going to be there someday, but they seem more content with him at RT for now, and that's the first opening, to let him learn and make the formation support easier. IE- he can have the H Back or TE lineup with him to help him out when he gets beat. A name folks need to keep in mind at RT is McCullough. Alfred has been a coach's dream since he arrived and has paid the dues.
The second area will be LG. Bama has two really good options that I like in Boswell and Warmack. Both have a mean streak and play downhill. I noticed them both on Saturday just hunting people at the 2nd level to hit. That's what I like to see. I can't tell you how many times it pisses me off to see a lineman standing around at the end of a play when there were 2 or 3 guys they could have put a helmet on to keep a play going. I think the race between the two of them will be fun to watch because there isn't a good or bad between the two. Both are very sound blockers and won't make the line weaker to use either.
Tight End has a little interesting twist occuring as the season has progressed. Peek is a senior and Smelley was supposed to progress to replace him. That hasn't happened and Brad really has regressed a bit in his play. He never was a great blocker before, but he's been such a liability at it that he lost his "starting" job to Preston Dial. During Peek's injury, Michael Williams has really came along to show his potential. This offense won't use 3 TE's often, so somebody is on the outside looking in as far as the bulk of the snaps go, and right now the odd man out looks like Smelley with the two more physical blockers being ahead of him. It will be worth watching in the spring to see if Brad turns the corner as a junior and displays his ability and potential or if he continues to avoid contact.
The D Line gets a big overhaul as all 3 starters graduate, but there is experienced depth in waiting. I get a lot of flack for this, but I haven't seen anything that makes me think otherwise, Bama will not miss a beat when Cody and the ends graduate because Chapman, Dareus, Murphy and others seem more than ready to go right now. Will it change how they do things? Yeah, you don't do things when you aren't physically the same, but the change could be better than some think. Chapman and Murphy can be pass rushing tackles, and getting Dareus in the game on an every down basis is a good thing any way you cut it. The other end spot does need some clarity/competition because Davis is servicable, but no where near the hype he carried around.
Linebacker has some holes to fill, especially if McClain goes pro as expected. Harris is most likely the next Sam. He is aggressive, but I can see why Reamer beats him out each year. He lacks the understanding that not every play requires you to chase around like a bat out of hell. Sometimes holding your spot and being in position counts. It is coachable though and is probably a result more of the lack of real practice this year due to his suspension. Hightower will be back to man either Mike or Will next to Nico Johnson. Nico has gotten enough PT to be a starter as is and has played well in the base defense. Hightower, if he comes back 100% and nothing says he won't from what I saw Saturday in pre game, should be able to fill McClain's role well enough that it shouldn't be an issue. Jack is probably still a rotation between Upshaw and Stinson and maybe Hill or Hightower. Upshaw looks his best in the dime defense because he has 1 objective. When he plays in the base, he has the same issues that Jerrell has. There is more to linebacker in the 3-4 than running wild. The issue is that there has been little depth building here and the learning curve seems to be on going.
In the secondary, things are really interesting to me anyways. They will have to replace Woodall, Arenas, and Johnson for sure. I don't buy into the Kareem will go pro rumors, he hasn't been that kinda good this year. I think Barron and Green are fine as the starting safeties with Woodson coming in or someone coming in as the other safety in coverage sets. I am guessing that Kirkpatrick is the heir to the Arenas spot and the Star is up for grabs. I get the hunch that it is Green, and he's made for that kind of spot, but he has never been asked to play from the star. Phelon Jones will have a little to do with some of that, but don't expect to see Lester around as much more than a special teams player. The BJ Scott drama will come to a climax for fans this year. If he is still behind on the learning curve after spring, you just as well should be ready to cut bait. There is way too much talent coming in the summer to take time away from them to teach a guy who has had a year and a half to know it. The gut hunch is that he gets it, but we'll see. I do know that the fans have made it harder to set the bar for him with all their expectations and "breakout" discussions.
I pray that whomever the coaches bring in to play punter and or kicker this year has more leg than the backups on display Saturday. I like a dying quail just as much as the next guy, but I like mine be a result of my 870 Remington, not from a foot. So that spot is completely empty. How it got that empty, I don't know, but it is bare.
Drinking Leswisers for dinner...
Miles is crazy, we know that and see that when you watch him. He's arrogant and sometimes rude, but most coaches are when you get down to it. Those things slide when you win games and have your team in the BCS or Cap 1/Cotton every year. That isn't the case this fall is it? It is a failure of coaching to say the least when you don't have your gameplan for the last drive of the game. To let 15 seconds run off the clock is just inexcusable, but what is worse is that even in spite of that, they had no plan beyond the 4th down. Not to mention the drive from the FG range on was pure insane. You always, ALWAYS have the kick team ready so that if the play is good, you have 15 to 25 seconds of dead time as the chains and ball get spotted correctly. That's practiced from High School up. He was man enough to take the blame, after he fumbled to explain it on television, but this is a loss that may have Les calling his agent and feeling out the waters up north. Notre Dame may be calling.....
(going back to old format for one week since this was a snoozer)
The Good...
Senior moments....
No not those where you piss yourself and forget you did. Moments like Javy returning a punt for a TD in his last BDS game, Reamer snagging the pick, Upchurch scoring late, etc. I always like seeing the Rudy's of the world come out for these kinda games and get a few snaps as a reward for being a 3 1/2 year tackle dummy.
Quick work = quick rest = quick shift of focus to Auburn
The game was over after Reamer's pick basically, but getting the game salted away by the end of the 1st and the starters (for the most part) out of the game by halftime, is always a good start when your rival is sitting at home eating bon bons and watching you play. The objectives were pretty clear once met. Ingram was going to get about 10 carries and do what he needed to there. McElroy had 1 half and that was it (no shock to either of those). The defense would start subbing quickly to rest up the starters and keep injuries low. McClain got 1 half to do his thing and then by that point the backups could handle the business.
Nice work turned in by...
It was good to see the guys who haven't played much, like Goode, Upchurch, Alexander, etal. get some looks as primary guys. Goode looks ok as a guy finishing off a worn out defense, but I don't think he's gonna get any major PT without disaster happening. He's not fast enough to get snaps as a speed back and not physical enough to be the pounder that the others are.
Even in a route, Saban's chewing...
The peanut gallery was chuckling with me as Saban used about every "coachable moment" that came along to kick and snort in spite of it being a total blowout. He chewed Star Jackson for a few decisions. He chewed Baron Huber for being in Knoxville and not Tuscaloosa mentally. He chewed on PJ for shanking a punt (net 20ish from where I was) that could have pinned them deep. It was a good reminder for the players and fans that even though the game is in hand, they use every minute of the game to get better and execute the playbook. I think there were a couple out there that probably thought it was ok to just ho hum through and enjoy the sunshine, but those people are running laps and hearing it in film this week.
The Bad...
Nothing major bad, but they still have a hard time getting used to the spread
One thing that seems to be a common theme this year is that the defense has a little bit of trouble adjusting to the spread. UTC wasn't a threat to do major things to them, we all know it, but if you watch the first 2 or 3 drives, they had a bit of trouble getting in position and adjusting to the motion. The only reason this raises a flag is because Florida has 3 times the athletes that a MSU or UTC or Auburn have, and can punish a team that is out of position whereas the 3 mentioned can't.
The Ugly...NONE it was UTC
Random Thoughts....
A little depth chart watching...
The news that AJ McCarron is now 2B on the chart is nothing new really, but it is always amazing to see the amount of bullshit that comes from fans about the backups and how great they are. Especially ones that have never played a meaningful down. The "I didn't want to say anything before because it was a secret" insider crowd is well worth the amusement and is always at face value just that, entertainment, but I don't delve in entertainment, I delve into real thinking and discussion. So let's have fun shall we with actual real discussion of some player battles looming....
At QB, you will not see any jockying for the starter. McElroy will be the starter come hell or high water. Only a career or season ending injury will change his status on the depth chart. He has the playbook under control, he has the ability to manage the job, and he's talented enough to fit what Saban/McElwain want him to do. He wins games, plain and simple, and won't lose his job if he loses a game or has a bad game in that loss. There is room for battle in the 2nd position. The gap between Greg and the backup is still quite noticable and Star didn't really do anything Saturday to improve that opinion. Star is very talented. He has the arm, he can move with the ball, and he can do things that none of the others on campus can do, but he is very raw as a college level QB. That means he doesn't understand how to be a full service QB that walks up to the line, sees the blitzes, sees the coverages, etc and commands the line to cover those situations and think through his progressions based on what he's seeing to make the play. He also is Major's QB and not McElwains. He would be more suited for a spread offense like the one Major used at Rice than what McElwain does. However, he has the snaps and practice lead on his biggest challenger this spring, AJ McCarron.
McCarron is the highly touted QB and is a protype of what McElwain uses and wants. He has been well coached and his mechanics, based on HS film, are good for the most part. If he has earned commentary from Saban in his press conferences, he is doing the right things. However, we can't tell how close he is to Star because he won't play. Sorry Mr Insider wannabes, this year is a sit year regardless of what happens. Watching Star play in the spring and during the season, it is understandable why they are high on McCarron, but I want to see him in pressure situations before I jump on the AJ is the number 2 for sure bandwagon.
Phillip Sims and Thomas Darrah also have a chance to compete for number 2, but Sims is a redshirt in waiting and Darrah is what he is. I think Sims needs the redshirt for the same reason that AJ did, there aren't many reasons to throw him out there unless he just proves he needs to be out there. Darrah is a walkon and looks like one. He has the fan club of belivers and all, but 1 pass in a spring scrimmage against 4th string corners doesn't impress when you are trying to run with the Floridas, Texases (is that the proper plural use?), USCs, and other powers of the world. I really don't see him being around in the major discussion after the spring to be honest.
Running back has no real discussion. Ingram will be back for what will be his last year likely. Richardson will be his backup. Grant and Lacy are the front runners for the Upchurch spot in the rotatation. Goode is the 5th guy in the rotation who could be fourth if Grant continues to flounder and stay dinged up. The coaches are all very high on Lacy and speak well of him as he runs the scout team tailback spot. The truth is that he probably would have played this year if there weren't 2 guys with experience above him.
None of the WR core changes really. McCoy is gone after this year, but has anyone missed him?
The OL has some discussion worth mentioning though. You have Carpenter returning and some seem to think that he has to move. Folks, I sometimes wonder if people ate out of their own diapers when I read stuff like that. He is the best LT this team has and will be next spring. Tyler Love is his backup and DJ Fluker has been at RT all year. Love will never push Carpenter for PT. I know some folks spent hours dissecting his high school film, but he's about as mean as a Hallmark card. That's all that a lineman has to be dissected to is how mean are they? You can build technique, but you can't make mean. Carpenter is mean. Fluker is mean, but very raw. A lot of folks keep living in this world that says he's the LT of the future. That may be, but the future isn't 2010. He needs to be exposed to live action before he gets moved over. He is a lot farther behind the learning curve than a Andre Smith or Chris Samuels was. Everything I have heard about Fluker says he's going to be there someday, but they seem more content with him at RT for now, and that's the first opening, to let him learn and make the formation support easier. IE- he can have the H Back or TE lineup with him to help him out when he gets beat. A name folks need to keep in mind at RT is McCullough. Alfred has been a coach's dream since he arrived and has paid the dues.
The second area will be LG. Bama has two really good options that I like in Boswell and Warmack. Both have a mean streak and play downhill. I noticed them both on Saturday just hunting people at the 2nd level to hit. That's what I like to see. I can't tell you how many times it pisses me off to see a lineman standing around at the end of a play when there were 2 or 3 guys they could have put a helmet on to keep a play going. I think the race between the two of them will be fun to watch because there isn't a good or bad between the two. Both are very sound blockers and won't make the line weaker to use either.
Tight End has a little interesting twist occuring as the season has progressed. Peek is a senior and Smelley was supposed to progress to replace him. That hasn't happened and Brad really has regressed a bit in his play. He never was a great blocker before, but he's been such a liability at it that he lost his "starting" job to Preston Dial. During Peek's injury, Michael Williams has really came along to show his potential. This offense won't use 3 TE's often, so somebody is on the outside looking in as far as the bulk of the snaps go, and right now the odd man out looks like Smelley with the two more physical blockers being ahead of him. It will be worth watching in the spring to see if Brad turns the corner as a junior and displays his ability and potential or if he continues to avoid contact.
The D Line gets a big overhaul as all 3 starters graduate, but there is experienced depth in waiting. I get a lot of flack for this, but I haven't seen anything that makes me think otherwise, Bama will not miss a beat when Cody and the ends graduate because Chapman, Dareus, Murphy and others seem more than ready to go right now. Will it change how they do things? Yeah, you don't do things when you aren't physically the same, but the change could be better than some think. Chapman and Murphy can be pass rushing tackles, and getting Dareus in the game on an every down basis is a good thing any way you cut it. The other end spot does need some clarity/competition because Davis is servicable, but no where near the hype he carried around.
Linebacker has some holes to fill, especially if McClain goes pro as expected. Harris is most likely the next Sam. He is aggressive, but I can see why Reamer beats him out each year. He lacks the understanding that not every play requires you to chase around like a bat out of hell. Sometimes holding your spot and being in position counts. It is coachable though and is probably a result more of the lack of real practice this year due to his suspension. Hightower will be back to man either Mike or Will next to Nico Johnson. Nico has gotten enough PT to be a starter as is and has played well in the base defense. Hightower, if he comes back 100% and nothing says he won't from what I saw Saturday in pre game, should be able to fill McClain's role well enough that it shouldn't be an issue. Jack is probably still a rotation between Upshaw and Stinson and maybe Hill or Hightower. Upshaw looks his best in the dime defense because he has 1 objective. When he plays in the base, he has the same issues that Jerrell has. There is more to linebacker in the 3-4 than running wild. The issue is that there has been little depth building here and the learning curve seems to be on going.
In the secondary, things are really interesting to me anyways. They will have to replace Woodall, Arenas, and Johnson for sure. I don't buy into the Kareem will go pro rumors, he hasn't been that kinda good this year. I think Barron and Green are fine as the starting safeties with Woodson coming in or someone coming in as the other safety in coverage sets. I am guessing that Kirkpatrick is the heir to the Arenas spot and the Star is up for grabs. I get the hunch that it is Green, and he's made for that kind of spot, but he has never been asked to play from the star. Phelon Jones will have a little to do with some of that, but don't expect to see Lester around as much more than a special teams player. The BJ Scott drama will come to a climax for fans this year. If he is still behind on the learning curve after spring, you just as well should be ready to cut bait. There is way too much talent coming in the summer to take time away from them to teach a guy who has had a year and a half to know it. The gut hunch is that he gets it, but we'll see. I do know that the fans have made it harder to set the bar for him with all their expectations and "breakout" discussions.
I pray that whomever the coaches bring in to play punter and or kicker this year has more leg than the backups on display Saturday. I like a dying quail just as much as the next guy, but I like mine be a result of my 870 Remington, not from a foot. So that spot is completely empty. How it got that empty, I don't know, but it is bare.
Drinking Leswisers for dinner...
Miles is crazy, we know that and see that when you watch him. He's arrogant and sometimes rude, but most coaches are when you get down to it. Those things slide when you win games and have your team in the BCS or Cap 1/Cotton every year. That isn't the case this fall is it? It is a failure of coaching to say the least when you don't have your gameplan for the last drive of the game. To let 15 seconds run off the clock is just inexcusable, but what is worse is that even in spite of that, they had no plan beyond the 4th down. Not to mention the drive from the FG range on was pure insane. You always, ALWAYS have the kick team ready so that if the play is good, you have 15 to 25 seconds of dead time as the chains and ball get spotted correctly. That's practiced from High School up. He was man enough to take the blame, after he fumbled to explain it on television, but this is a loss that may have Les calling his agent and feeling out the waters up north. Notre Dame may be calling.....
November 16, 2009
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly- MSU
I find it funny that on Saturday night, I was telling family that it was a "day in the office" or "workman like performance" for the Tide and today, that's the talking points from sports radio. This really was their best showing of the year. They did come out of the gates slow, but after they got over their cowbell "feva", it was pretty well a methodical beatdown.
OFFENSE
The Good...
Much better game plan
Last week, the only thing keeping the offense slowed was the playcalling. This week, they came out and found real balance in the playcalling and featured the run early and often. Because they flexed the Ingram/Richardson show, it opened nice spaces in the secondary that helped a QB struggling with his confidence to regain it and hit his strides. Some will label it vanilla or boring, but punching the shit out of someone for 4 quarters is great television for me!
You need that yard, you better get that yard
Lost in the hoopla of it all is a real gut check of a play by Richardson. He had the 1st down, reversed lost the first down, got hit, and out of pure hustle or will got that yard back. Good thing too, the ass chewing would have been waiting on him.....
Hark! Red zone success!
Amazing how running works well in the red zone isn't it? There will be some real man of genius moment and talk about the "jumbo", but the difference in Shula's jumbo and Saban's jumbo is the same difference in their whole philosophy- conditioning. They are tougher, so give me some jumbo with my smash mouth and enjoy. The decision to quit trying the fades and other junk passes, and go with their best weapon was welcomed and a relief to see.
WR Play stepping up
It should be noted that both TD passes were the same play and great reads by McElroy, another welcomed statement after weeks of struggle, where the safety had to choose who he was going to take on as Bama attacked a 2 deep safety with 2 options- sideline or middle- and gave Greg time to see the play develop. Hanks did a great job of sitting in the cushion and helping his QB find him. After that, it was paydirt. Jones's TD was just a reaction and a misread by the safety and again the QB had time to find him and took advantage again.
Ingram time after time
When Mark gets the ball on a steady diet of plays, he's probably the most productive player in D1 ball. The trainer will get laps on him for the helmet malfunction that almost had Bama fans fearing the worst, but he's tough and plays through it. The biggest thing that Ingram does isn't the breakaway or YACs, it is the mental accountability that everyone facing Bama has to do for him. Just like Tebow or McCoy or AJ Green or CJ Spiller, Ingram is eyed on every play and when they play action to him, that is pure trouble for defenses because they will shade or follow the runner and give McElroy his favorite play, a roll out in the open to a streaking WR/TE over the flat.
The bad or ugly...
Nothing really that bad or ugly
Doesn't mean it was perfect, but it was a night where they came in with a mission and did it, and didn't give the Bulldogs a moment to believe they could win.
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
The Good....
Ever thought about how bad it must be to get hit by Rolo?
I couldn't help but think what went through Relf (or however you spell running back disguised as a QB)'s mind as he rolled and then went fetal as McClain barrelled in. It was that kind of night of the Bulldogs in a nutshell. They never could get their offense clicking and everytime they had a little drive going, it usually died from a sack, pick or penalty.
Throwing at Johnson is en vogue, but won't be if this keeps up
It isn't disrespecting him, but opposing coaches think he's the easiest target of the 3 to throw at. Past film probably would justify that comment, but after 2 or 3 games into this season, he's been a much better corner. Practice makes perfect I guess. He did get beat on the first play, but the old MJ would have tried to catch up and failed, the new MJ knows to just take the penalty and go on. That's where the change has happened.
Even after Woodall leaves, the secondary won't skip a beat
Out of all the defenders in the secondary, Woodall is the best and worst at times, but with Barron and Green both showing their ability to cover the field, I can't say that his graduation will have the same hand ringing that RJ's did. Woodall is a great run stopping safety and has a much better view of the play, but he's never been comfortable in man coverage, he is better in deep 2. Barron is also better in deep 2, but he can cover a back or TE as well as a linebacker could. Green is the best cover safety they have and probably will be the Star corner in nickel next year. Saturday was a night where you could tell that while he gives a lot for this team and is a good player, Barron is going to be far beyond him though.
Not a lot of hope for the Dawgs when they can't make a 1st down
Credit the staff for making 2 or 3 adjustments and flat out clamping down the Dawg offense from ever taking off. The spread has to have balance and it never did get any real traction in the passing game and as a result it was hard for Dixon to find open running room after the first quarter.
Nice stand in the red zone
Bama had a couple of moments where MSU could have scored and made the game interesting, but they were only able to muster 3 points total out of both attempts. The marked improvement here was that Bama had tried to play zone when backed up, but Saturday they stayed in man coverage with 2 deep safeties in for help, and with a subpar QB against them, they didn't have a prayer.
The Bad...
Nothing real bad, but they came out on their heels
To start the game, the defense came out on its heels and was very stiff early on. The first drive and second drives that State had were their best of the game, but thankfully the State players were their own worst enemies with a fumble and pick that killed the drives. Bama looked very tight to start out though and it was almost as if they were more afraid of the option than they were Dixon straight ahead. It took a few adjustments, as the offense took a 9 play drive that turned over on downs, to get things in perspective and change what they were doing to cover the outside edges and contain the middle.
The Ugly...
Like you don't know, Special Teams Coverage of course
To set the scene so that you get why S/T coverage is such a big issue, Bama has just gone up 17-0, and that is a big enough cushion to grind out and win....if you do your blocking and tackling right. Bumphis took the ball and really should have housed it, but he made a freshman error and ended up caught at around the 40. A 17-7 game is a ballgame again and the cowbells start jingling again. It happened again when Berry took it back inside the red zone and that was only saved by a great hustle play by Green (I think). Bama's coverage unit had shown signs of improvement, thanks in part to Jerrell Harris playing in it, but Saturday was a reminder of how fragile they can be when a great player like Bumphis can get a seam and the defense loses its containment. This is still the area of Bama's armor that can beat them.
RANDOM THOUGHTS...
SEC Bowling for Bucks week 2
Last week, I had it as:
BCS- Bama
Sugar- Florida
Cap 1- LSU
Cotton- UT
Outback- Ole Miss
Chick Fil A- Auburn
Music City- Arkansas
Liberty- UGA
Independance- Kentucky
Papajohns.com- USCar
This week, I see a few changes around the middle after UT's shutdown.
BCS- Bama
Sugar-Florida
Cap 1- LSU
Cotton- Miss
Outback- UT
Chick Fil A- UGA
Music City- Arkansas
Liberty- Auburn
Indy- KY
Papajohns.com- USCar
The Cotton bowl will be happy as a lark to get Ole Miss back in against an OU or Nebraska. LSU continues to control its destiny as far as the Cap 1 goes, which is the prize for the best non-BCS team in the conference. They have Ole Miss and Arkansas left, both could be rough without Jefferson though. Arkansas is now eligible and has a chance to win out and possibly be the Cotton represenative if they beat MSU and LSU. They are a much more attractive team going down the stretch than UGA or UT. Don't look now, but MSU is 4-6 with ARK and Ole Miss left. If they by some chance win out, how big of a mess is USCar or Kentucky in? UT will get its 6th against Vandy but Kentucky will be hard for a team that looked on the brink of mailing it in.
Pray for anyone but TCU...
I have said it a few times and after the pure unadulterated beatdown they gave Utah, I think I have proof...Nobody wants to see TCU as their bowl opponent. Alabama only does if that is the BCS championship, but in the Sugar Bowl, it will be hard to get up for that. Same for Florida or Texas, if it is for the trophy, they'll see them, but in the Fiesta or Sugar as a consolation game, not so friendly. TCU has the resume to be in the game, and I know some will say "if they played in the Big 12 or SEC, they would be an 8 win team". Maybe, but they put a beatdown on the same Utah that beatdown Bama, they beat Clemson on the road, and they ripped BYU on the road. If someone falters and the door is open, I'm all for TCU getting that shot. They've played the schedule to get there, and look good doing it. How Patterson doesn't get a big time job offer is beyond me. I wonder if Auburn would like to have that call back?
Patriots 4th and huh?
Not college related, but an interesting study of styles to read the for and against the play call decision last night. I can understand the motivation to go for it. You don't want Manning to have the ball and if you make it, game over. Your offense has been your best defense all year, and you have a champion QB and WR to use at your disposal. I was a little surprised they went to Faulk in that spot, but perhaps that was the motivation. You know they will be on Moss and Welker, so he should have single coverage. However, with 2 minutes to go a punt deep would make it hard for the Colts to march and score, but not impossible when you watch the Colts swallow field in seconds week after week. I don't think it was as stupid as some have painted it, but it was a gamble that beat them. It really was an indicator that the Pats have 0 running game and haven't in years. I thought they would want Coffee in the 2nd round so bad they couldn't stand it, but they passed on him. Ingram would be an ideal back for them in 2011, and I don't see a great back for them this spring in the 2010 draft. Best would have been but the injury will spook them. Dwyer can't catch. McKnight maybe is a fit, but he's never been asked to be a 20 carry guy. Gerhart may be a fit, but he's not as fast as they need. So that will be an underlying theme for the draft, are they passing for the 2011 draft where an Ingram and others will be waiting. A name to watch for you draft junkies- Anthony Dixon- another in the long line of good MSU running backs that will live happy in the NFL. He can pound it down field, he can catch, and he has that extra burst that separates him from defenders. I'm real high on him from an NFL POV.
The death of USCal...a bit premature
I'll admit, I like USC. I like Pete Carroll and have a lot of respect for a man that spends his free time trying to make a difference in the gang infested south central. Am I a homer for them like some pollsters? No. I thought all year they were pretending because they lost a lot from last year to the draft. As good of a recruiter and coach as he is, there are limits. Here is a guy that has lost coaches to other programs right and left, and yet they continue to win. It did catch up to them this year, and if you were going to take a shot at USCal, this was the year. I do point to history though to remind folks that all the fans and writers/critics proclaimed another winning coach and his program dead once before. That coach rattled off one of the best dynasties in history. Can USCal do that? I don't know. I do know they aren't dead, but they are rebuilding. It will be like Florida next year. They will be a little down from where they have been and teams will pile it on when they can, but will it mean the Meyer era is over? Doubt it. Recruiting is too fertile in Cali and Florida to say anything like that for either coach.
Looking back at some coaching jobs, I hit some and missed some...
Earlier in the year, I took time to call out some good jobs being done by coaches not named Saban, and since I like to hold myself accountable, here was the list then:
Jim Harbaugh, Stanford Hit
Chip Kelly, Oregon Hit
Frank Beamer, Va Tech Missed it
Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech Hit
Randy Shannon, Miami FL Sorry Randy jinxed you
Kirk Ferentz, Iowa Hit
Rich Rodriguez, Michigan Missed
Jim Leavitt, South Florida Toss up
Brian Kelly, Cincinati Hit
Gary Patterson, TCU Hit
Harbaugh is about to be the enshrined one at Stanford and he's mouthy, like an SEC coach, but he walks it. He could be a Spurrier type who knows how it could be done and did it in his day, but will be frustrated with his QB for not being able to do it the way he did it. Kelly has a coach of the year job going after all the chaos from Boise. Beamer ball has a leak. Paul Johnson has tweaked his triple option after LSU and Miami poked holes in it. They look real good folks. Miami is young and it has caught up to them. Their future star QB, Harris, has started to show his youth and lack of big game experience down the stretch. Ferentz takes a backup QB and pushes a far more talented OSU team to OT. Rich Rod is a good coach in a bad spot. They didn't really want him in the old guard, and are making sure that anything they can do to pull the rug out, they will. The distractions are spilling out on the field again. He would be better served to go south and coach again. Rodriguez at a FSU or LSU would be lethal. Leavitt does a great job every year, but they just aren't getting over the hump yet against the West Virginias and Cincys. Brian Kelly will command whatever paycheck he wants soon. This is a guy that was real close to being a finalist for UT's job, and would be a good coach at any conference because he is set in his system and philosophy, and sells it to the players. Gary Patterson is the best unknown coach there is, and Auburn should kick itself for missing on him, as should Nebraska and some others. Patterson was the backbone that Fran never had after they split, and nobody replaced him for Fran, but he replaced Fran real easy.
OFFENSE
The Good...
Much better game plan
Last week, the only thing keeping the offense slowed was the playcalling. This week, they came out and found real balance in the playcalling and featured the run early and often. Because they flexed the Ingram/Richardson show, it opened nice spaces in the secondary that helped a QB struggling with his confidence to regain it and hit his strides. Some will label it vanilla or boring, but punching the shit out of someone for 4 quarters is great television for me!
You need that yard, you better get that yard
Lost in the hoopla of it all is a real gut check of a play by Richardson. He had the 1st down, reversed lost the first down, got hit, and out of pure hustle or will got that yard back. Good thing too, the ass chewing would have been waiting on him.....
Hark! Red zone success!
Amazing how running works well in the red zone isn't it? There will be some real man of genius moment and talk about the "jumbo", but the difference in Shula's jumbo and Saban's jumbo is the same difference in their whole philosophy- conditioning. They are tougher, so give me some jumbo with my smash mouth and enjoy. The decision to quit trying the fades and other junk passes, and go with their best weapon was welcomed and a relief to see.
WR Play stepping up
It should be noted that both TD passes were the same play and great reads by McElroy, another welcomed statement after weeks of struggle, where the safety had to choose who he was going to take on as Bama attacked a 2 deep safety with 2 options- sideline or middle- and gave Greg time to see the play develop. Hanks did a great job of sitting in the cushion and helping his QB find him. After that, it was paydirt. Jones's TD was just a reaction and a misread by the safety and again the QB had time to find him and took advantage again.
Ingram time after time
When Mark gets the ball on a steady diet of plays, he's probably the most productive player in D1 ball. The trainer will get laps on him for the helmet malfunction that almost had Bama fans fearing the worst, but he's tough and plays through it. The biggest thing that Ingram does isn't the breakaway or YACs, it is the mental accountability that everyone facing Bama has to do for him. Just like Tebow or McCoy or AJ Green or CJ Spiller, Ingram is eyed on every play and when they play action to him, that is pure trouble for defenses because they will shade or follow the runner and give McElroy his favorite play, a roll out in the open to a streaking WR/TE over the flat.
The bad or ugly...
Nothing really that bad or ugly
Doesn't mean it was perfect, but it was a night where they came in with a mission and did it, and didn't give the Bulldogs a moment to believe they could win.
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
The Good....
Ever thought about how bad it must be to get hit by Rolo?
I couldn't help but think what went through Relf (or however you spell running back disguised as a QB)'s mind as he rolled and then went fetal as McClain barrelled in. It was that kind of night of the Bulldogs in a nutshell. They never could get their offense clicking and everytime they had a little drive going, it usually died from a sack, pick or penalty.
Throwing at Johnson is en vogue, but won't be if this keeps up
It isn't disrespecting him, but opposing coaches think he's the easiest target of the 3 to throw at. Past film probably would justify that comment, but after 2 or 3 games into this season, he's been a much better corner. Practice makes perfect I guess. He did get beat on the first play, but the old MJ would have tried to catch up and failed, the new MJ knows to just take the penalty and go on. That's where the change has happened.
Even after Woodall leaves, the secondary won't skip a beat
Out of all the defenders in the secondary, Woodall is the best and worst at times, but with Barron and Green both showing their ability to cover the field, I can't say that his graduation will have the same hand ringing that RJ's did. Woodall is a great run stopping safety and has a much better view of the play, but he's never been comfortable in man coverage, he is better in deep 2. Barron is also better in deep 2, but he can cover a back or TE as well as a linebacker could. Green is the best cover safety they have and probably will be the Star corner in nickel next year. Saturday was a night where you could tell that while he gives a lot for this team and is a good player, Barron is going to be far beyond him though.
Not a lot of hope for the Dawgs when they can't make a 1st down
Credit the staff for making 2 or 3 adjustments and flat out clamping down the Dawg offense from ever taking off. The spread has to have balance and it never did get any real traction in the passing game and as a result it was hard for Dixon to find open running room after the first quarter.
Nice stand in the red zone
Bama had a couple of moments where MSU could have scored and made the game interesting, but they were only able to muster 3 points total out of both attempts. The marked improvement here was that Bama had tried to play zone when backed up, but Saturday they stayed in man coverage with 2 deep safeties in for help, and with a subpar QB against them, they didn't have a prayer.
The Bad...
Nothing real bad, but they came out on their heels
To start the game, the defense came out on its heels and was very stiff early on. The first drive and second drives that State had were their best of the game, but thankfully the State players were their own worst enemies with a fumble and pick that killed the drives. Bama looked very tight to start out though and it was almost as if they were more afraid of the option than they were Dixon straight ahead. It took a few adjustments, as the offense took a 9 play drive that turned over on downs, to get things in perspective and change what they were doing to cover the outside edges and contain the middle.
The Ugly...
Like you don't know, Special Teams Coverage of course
To set the scene so that you get why S/T coverage is such a big issue, Bama has just gone up 17-0, and that is a big enough cushion to grind out and win....if you do your blocking and tackling right. Bumphis took the ball and really should have housed it, but he made a freshman error and ended up caught at around the 40. A 17-7 game is a ballgame again and the cowbells start jingling again. It happened again when Berry took it back inside the red zone and that was only saved by a great hustle play by Green (I think). Bama's coverage unit had shown signs of improvement, thanks in part to Jerrell Harris playing in it, but Saturday was a reminder of how fragile they can be when a great player like Bumphis can get a seam and the defense loses its containment. This is still the area of Bama's armor that can beat them.
RANDOM THOUGHTS...
SEC Bowling for Bucks week 2
Last week, I had it as:
BCS- Bama
Sugar- Florida
Cap 1- LSU
Cotton- UT
Outback- Ole Miss
Chick Fil A- Auburn
Music City- Arkansas
Liberty- UGA
Independance- Kentucky
Papajohns.com- USCar
This week, I see a few changes around the middle after UT's shutdown.
BCS- Bama
Sugar-Florida
Cap 1- LSU
Cotton- Miss
Outback- UT
Chick Fil A- UGA
Music City- Arkansas
Liberty- Auburn
Indy- KY
Papajohns.com- USCar
The Cotton bowl will be happy as a lark to get Ole Miss back in against an OU or Nebraska. LSU continues to control its destiny as far as the Cap 1 goes, which is the prize for the best non-BCS team in the conference. They have Ole Miss and Arkansas left, both could be rough without Jefferson though. Arkansas is now eligible and has a chance to win out and possibly be the Cotton represenative if they beat MSU and LSU. They are a much more attractive team going down the stretch than UGA or UT. Don't look now, but MSU is 4-6 with ARK and Ole Miss left. If they by some chance win out, how big of a mess is USCar or Kentucky in? UT will get its 6th against Vandy but Kentucky will be hard for a team that looked on the brink of mailing it in.
Pray for anyone but TCU...
I have said it a few times and after the pure unadulterated beatdown they gave Utah, I think I have proof...Nobody wants to see TCU as their bowl opponent. Alabama only does if that is the BCS championship, but in the Sugar Bowl, it will be hard to get up for that. Same for Florida or Texas, if it is for the trophy, they'll see them, but in the Fiesta or Sugar as a consolation game, not so friendly. TCU has the resume to be in the game, and I know some will say "if they played in the Big 12 or SEC, they would be an 8 win team". Maybe, but they put a beatdown on the same Utah that beatdown Bama, they beat Clemson on the road, and they ripped BYU on the road. If someone falters and the door is open, I'm all for TCU getting that shot. They've played the schedule to get there, and look good doing it. How Patterson doesn't get a big time job offer is beyond me. I wonder if Auburn would like to have that call back?
Patriots 4th and huh?
Not college related, but an interesting study of styles to read the for and against the play call decision last night. I can understand the motivation to go for it. You don't want Manning to have the ball and if you make it, game over. Your offense has been your best defense all year, and you have a champion QB and WR to use at your disposal. I was a little surprised they went to Faulk in that spot, but perhaps that was the motivation. You know they will be on Moss and Welker, so he should have single coverage. However, with 2 minutes to go a punt deep would make it hard for the Colts to march and score, but not impossible when you watch the Colts swallow field in seconds week after week. I don't think it was as stupid as some have painted it, but it was a gamble that beat them. It really was an indicator that the Pats have 0 running game and haven't in years. I thought they would want Coffee in the 2nd round so bad they couldn't stand it, but they passed on him. Ingram would be an ideal back for them in 2011, and I don't see a great back for them this spring in the 2010 draft. Best would have been but the injury will spook them. Dwyer can't catch. McKnight maybe is a fit, but he's never been asked to be a 20 carry guy. Gerhart may be a fit, but he's not as fast as they need. So that will be an underlying theme for the draft, are they passing for the 2011 draft where an Ingram and others will be waiting. A name to watch for you draft junkies- Anthony Dixon- another in the long line of good MSU running backs that will live happy in the NFL. He can pound it down field, he can catch, and he has that extra burst that separates him from defenders. I'm real high on him from an NFL POV.
The death of USCal...a bit premature
I'll admit, I like USC. I like Pete Carroll and have a lot of respect for a man that spends his free time trying to make a difference in the gang infested south central. Am I a homer for them like some pollsters? No. I thought all year they were pretending because they lost a lot from last year to the draft. As good of a recruiter and coach as he is, there are limits. Here is a guy that has lost coaches to other programs right and left, and yet they continue to win. It did catch up to them this year, and if you were going to take a shot at USCal, this was the year. I do point to history though to remind folks that all the fans and writers/critics proclaimed another winning coach and his program dead once before. That coach rattled off one of the best dynasties in history. Can USCal do that? I don't know. I do know they aren't dead, but they are rebuilding. It will be like Florida next year. They will be a little down from where they have been and teams will pile it on when they can, but will it mean the Meyer era is over? Doubt it. Recruiting is too fertile in Cali and Florida to say anything like that for either coach.
Looking back at some coaching jobs, I hit some and missed some...
Earlier in the year, I took time to call out some good jobs being done by coaches not named Saban, and since I like to hold myself accountable, here was the list then:
Jim Harbaugh, Stanford Hit
Chip Kelly, Oregon Hit
Frank Beamer, Va Tech Missed it
Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech Hit
Randy Shannon, Miami FL Sorry Randy jinxed you
Kirk Ferentz, Iowa Hit
Rich Rodriguez, Michigan Missed
Jim Leavitt, South Florida Toss up
Brian Kelly, Cincinati Hit
Gary Patterson, TCU Hit
Harbaugh is about to be the enshrined one at Stanford and he's mouthy, like an SEC coach, but he walks it. He could be a Spurrier type who knows how it could be done and did it in his day, but will be frustrated with his QB for not being able to do it the way he did it. Kelly has a coach of the year job going after all the chaos from Boise. Beamer ball has a leak. Paul Johnson has tweaked his triple option after LSU and Miami poked holes in it. They look real good folks. Miami is young and it has caught up to them. Their future star QB, Harris, has started to show his youth and lack of big game experience down the stretch. Ferentz takes a backup QB and pushes a far more talented OSU team to OT. Rich Rod is a good coach in a bad spot. They didn't really want him in the old guard, and are making sure that anything they can do to pull the rug out, they will. The distractions are spilling out on the field again. He would be better served to go south and coach again. Rodriguez at a FSU or LSU would be lethal. Leavitt does a great job every year, but they just aren't getting over the hump yet against the West Virginias and Cincys. Brian Kelly will command whatever paycheck he wants soon. This is a guy that was real close to being a finalist for UT's job, and would be a good coach at any conference because he is set in his system and philosophy, and sells it to the players. Gary Patterson is the best unknown coach there is, and Auburn should kick itself for missing on him, as should Nebraska and some others. Patterson was the backbone that Fran never had after they split, and nobody replaced him for Fran, but he replaced Fran real easy.
November 9, 2009
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly- LSU
As far as excitement goes, this was your typical Bama/LSU game with a lot of big plays and tough gritty football for 4 quarters. It was interesting to see how some of the players looked sharp after the off week and how some seemed out of sorts from it. It apparently affected some of the coaching staff after some of the bizzare play calls.....
OFFENSE
The Good....
Mark Ingram gets the damn ball and good things happen.
Here's the thing that it doesn't take playing D1 football to know, when you have a player that is a Heisman candidate, you feed him the damn ball. Starving your star running back with something like 8 total touches (6 rush, 2 rec) is not going to make things happen. However, in the second half, the light came on and the playcalling went with the guy they knew could win the ball game. He did. Ingram continues to make the plays time and time again when called upon. Watching him play this year compared to last is amazing because he's nothing like he was last year. He's more confident, he's focused, he finds the right lanes on each touch and gets more than he should on about every carry. That's really the difference in 08 and 09 is that Ingram changes the game and controls it whereas Coffee plodded and chewed up 3 to 5 per carry.
Finding the endzone and shutting up the no passing TDs since puberty...
That's sarcasm at CBS not McElroy folks. Anyways, he missed a big play earlier in the game, but after they started running the ball, it allowed Greg to do what he is more comfortable in doing, play action waggles, and it lead to a near perfect pass to Hanks (who miracled his ass by catching one) . McElroy as a whole had a good day, nothing spectacular or would warrant all SEC nominations, but it was a game that he was more in control of and that in itself was a good sign for the road ahead. LSU's defense was nothing to sneeze at and if he can do what he did to them each week from here on in, the path is golden.
1 bad missed tackle = 73 yards to victory
Nobody was happier to see open field than Julio Jones. He's not been that open since high school and he was sprinting like a guy trying to keep the lil bulldog (Saban) off his heels. If he felt the bark as he ran, he should have, he played like crap up until that play. It was a redeeming play and will be what folks remember 5 or 10 years from now, but if he drops that pass, we'd all remember the chewing....
Digging down deep and finding the will to overcome
There were 2 points in the game where if the former/past Tide had been there, defeat would have been likely. There was the safety and subsequent march down the field to take the lead 15-10, and there was the INT at the end of the half that took the wind out of the sails going into the half. A Shula or Fran led Bama would have rolled up into the fetal and took it like a prison girlfriend, last year's team didn't exactly react well when behind for long periods of time. This year's team seems to almost enjoy that down at the 4th feeling because they play better from behind in the 4th than they do when leading.
Maze's 1st half
About the only thing going on the passing game in the 1st half was Maze and McElroy's connection with each other. When Bama went run in the 2nd half, it pretty well ended his day because he doesn't play on any of the run formations (2 TE, Wildcat, I, etc), but he was a big reason they were able to keep the ball and keep drives going in the 1st half.
The Bad...
General play calling
I almost had to buy a new tv when Saban said before the game he didn't think Bama could run on them. Regardless of how much he really meant it, the whole idea of passing to win vs. LSU was not the best gameplan they could have had. Whether it was trying to get McElroy confident or get the WRs confident, or getting Julio into the game more, etc., it wasn't working. There were some things they did that I did like in the passing game, getting Williams involved, getting Maze into the game to expose a speed difference, getting the ball to the backs on screens, and things like that were nice plays. The problem that occured though was all the spread field situations left McElroy naked and LSU was committed to blitzing off the ends with their rush end and corner/safeties regardless so it was causing some hurries (see the INT at the end of the half). When Bama tried to run in the 1st half, those drives were the best looking drives of the day to that point.
Julio's day pre- the catch.
Needless to say, two catches for 19 yards, a penalty, and probably the biggest dropped catch in his career all had lead to a day where if Calgon could take him away, he'd let them. With Julio it is about focus, and when he's focused, he's as good as anyone. The problem is getting him dialed in. The drop before the safety was another in the long line of drops that he's had and they all are him trying to catch it with his body and not his hands. The play that has no excuse though was the penalty. Bama would have punched it in on the play, but for whatever reason he wasn't in the game mentally and cost them 4 points. (7-3) One person on BOL said "I don't think that was Julio's fault", um no. When you see Cody coming on the field, you know there won't be a WR in sight.
The Ugly...
Whomever called and ok'd the late game pass needs a come to Jesus meeting....
Ok, here's the scenario so that you get why that play call just sucked. Bama runs it burns clock down and has the ball at midfield, they elect to punt and get a running into the punter call. This puts the ball 4th and inches. Bama now inside LSU territory sees that a punt nets them very little and putting faith (finally) in Ingram and the defense, they go for it and make it. On the next first down, they run again, and get 3 yards. The clock is ticking down and things are good. On a 2nd and 7, Bama calls play action and throws towards Jones and are blessed to get an incompletion call (more on that in a minute), but if it is called an interception, they give the ball, momentum, and maybe the game back to LSU. There is no real good reason why that play is called when you have successfully ran the ball all half, and you have no need in doing anything but bleeding the clock and getting what you can whether it is a FG, punt or TD. If it is called an INT, and they score, we are all here wondering why Jim McElwain still breathes air in the state of Alabama. It was a bad play call and one that Saban should have cut short and said no, run it.
Now, as to why I said blessed. I'm not going to get into the is it a pick or not debate, but what I will say is that if the side judge calls it an INT, the replay wouldn't have reversed that call either. There was not enough evidence either way to reverse the play and all these "the rule book says in article x section up the tight ass" crowd should know that the refs and coaches are not throwing out the book and reading it during the game. Instant replay is not about that anyways, it is about possession of the ball, feet in or out, etc. The bottom line is that Bama was blessed to get the call in their favor prior to the replay because they weren't going to get help from the video. Karma has a way of paying you back I guess.
Defense/Special Teams
The Good...
The rest did some folks good...
I thought that the defense looked a little faster and had a lot more wind in its sails this week compared to the Tennessee game where they were gasping from fatigue. The week off had several hungry to hit people (Deaderick, Woodall, McClain). The week off came at a good time because they had to be fresh for the speed that LSU throws at you.
Giving up 7 tough points for the night
The 6 they gave up after the safety was a short field situation, but really the defense only allowed one drive of substance all day. I thought they did real well at keeping LSU deep all day. There weren't a lot of 3rd and shorts, and when Bama had them backed up inside the 10, they did a good job of not letting them out with the exception of the TD drive. After the 91 yard drive, LSU went
3 and out- 6 yards
3 and out- 5 yards
12 and out- 29 yards
6 and score after safety 59 yards
3 and out- 9 yards
3 and out - loss of 8
5 and Turnover- 8 yards
They gave up a net of 108 yards on 35 plays (3.1 per). That is a marked improvement from the UT game where they let UT bleed them over and over again on long drive after long drive.
Making the plays when they had to
I'll give LSU credit where it is due, they were ready for Bama's defense. They had decided that they had to go outside as much as could and expose Bama's power to their speed. Bama fans will remember this is what caught Bama in the Sugar Bowl was the hurry up, late subs, quick plays and fast routes. LSU, however, was not prepared for Bama's ability to contain the talented freshman and big time WR duo with their dime formation. All three corners had good games and only allowed one big play on them all night, and that came from a slip.
Tiffin in the books
The game clinching FG was also his mark in the record books for points scored at the U. The player that had the scats earlier has dissappeared and the guy who has confidence and clutch going for him has appeared. Thank God.
The Bad...
Tackling
The off week had a good bit to do with the poor tackling across the board. They had not been as physical in the down time, and with good reason, and it reflected when Charles Scott ran. I don't know how many arm tackles he got, but it was a baker's dozen if it was one. The tackling issues led to a lot of the problems they were having with containing LSU. They would have LSU hemmed up and then the tackling would allow them into a 3rd and managable.
3rd and 32 visions of Kines dancing in the sky
Again, here's the scenario and why it wasn't good. The poor tackling had allowed 2 first downs and that's when Nico nailed Jefferson and knocked him out of the game. Lee throws an incompletion and it is 3rd and what should be forever. LSU calls time out to scheme the play. Bama goes prevent, which is only preventing victory nine out of ten times, and LSU dumps it in the soft zone and gets 20. Now, for most a 4th and 12 is instant punt. However, the play allowed 2 things to be entered into the discussion. First, it let LSU get in that no man's land where they are too far for a FG, and too close to get a punt by percentages. Second, it let the Mad Hatter go to the bag of tricks. The 4th down play is a conversion, but Bama is saved by a false start. (the second saving grace from a false start of the day) LSU has to punt because the 5 yards knocks them out of that zone. However, if Bama does what it had done all day, they probably don't even flinch or have to sweat the details.
Off day for Reamer and Barron
To say they played bad might be an overstatement, but they didn't put in their standard performances. Reamer was picked on a lot, and part of that was by design. LSU had a WR that played TE and knew that was a matchup problem. They were making late subs to get that confusion and mismatch on occasion and the TD was one of those. Bama wouldn't have typically let Reamer cover a guy like that, he would have been on the back and Barron or Green would have been on him, but the subs caught them. Charles Scott was not a good matchup for Reamer either. He gives up too much size and bulk to that bulldozer. Barron was late on his cover duties too. He got away with one because Bama had called cover 2 on 3rd down, with Bama getting LSU deep in their own endzone. The WR goes over the middle and up the field, Reamer releases (might have released a little early) and Barron hesitates before stepping up to stop the play. He was bailed out on a false start. There were a few others that did count where he was a step late and a lot of it is probably from being off the week before. It will be interesting to see how the 2 respond from practice this week. However, for the "put Jerrell Harris in" crowd.... keep the dream alive because that's about all it is right now. He won't see a real down unless there is an injury or the 2010 season starts at this point.
The Ugly...
Gary Danielson sucks it
I tend to not get too drawn into the commentators or the very lame and weak "they are out to get us" stuff. Danielson has it out for Bama though. While both Meyer and Saban are tops at what they do and very good at it, they aren't confusable to the average joe. Good job Gary, you confuse the two on live tv and it takes your producer screaming at you to catch it. He was on thin ice after the post game commentary from the UT game, he didn't let it stop him from more commentary this week with the profound "I'll state for the record I thought his foot was in". That's nice Gary, since when did color commentary need op ed? Dick.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
BCS and AP confusion...
Florida, Bama, and Texas are all in a win and in situation. However, in the AP poll where they are doing their own thing these days. They have made the same decision, but the track record seems confused. Last week, Bama's off and falls to 3rd because Texas beat OSU minus their 2 best skill men and UF keeps winning. This week, Bama beats a top 10 team and gains on TX by 12 votes, but is still 8 behind? I'll put it like this, if anyone thinks that Texas can beat either UF or Bama right now, they are smoking pot. Texas has yet to play anyone worth a crap on defense, the best they have seen is OU and that's not exactly special when you look at the SEC, and they won't play anyone until the BCS when it gets down to it. The truth is that TCU has played better teams (Clemson and BYU) than Texas. Cincy has as well by beating Oregon St on the road, and USF on the road. They also have 2 big games vs. WVa and Pitt.
If you have picked up on the hint that I'm not big on Texas, good, because I'm not. They need to show something before I'll think they are more than the typical Big 12, Big 10 pretender. Plopping 14 on UCF in the 4th to make it look good isn't impressive, plopping it on in the 2nd maybe. Beating a short squad Okie State isn't impressive either. Beating OU isn't special this year either, just ask Nebraska. I know the BCS and AP feel bad for last year, and Texas deserved to go to the BCS last year and get pounded by Florida. That was last year though. Texas is going to have a hard time keeping TCU fans and supporters from getting on them if they make it and get walloped by the SEC champ. TCU has a legit gripe and I would rather play Texas than TCU.
SEC Bowl Dreaming...
As a result of Saturday, we can pretty well start eyeballing bowls and guessing the locations:
BCS- Bama
Sugar- Florida
Cap 1- LSU
Cotton- UT
Outback- Ole Miss
Chick Fil A- Auburn
Music City- Arkansas
Liberty- UGA
Independance- Kentucky
Papajohns.com- USCar
How far has Spurrier's Gamecocks fallen to be in B'ham for the holidays when 2 or 3 weeks ago they looked like an Outback Bowl team? Also, how good of a job has Petrino done at Arkansas? Nobody had them winning 6 or 7, but now they look like they could at worst be 7-5 with Troy, MSU and LSU left. Of course, all of these estimates are based on teams not falling apart between now and the end of the month. UGA, UT, KY, and ARK have not won the qualifying 6th game yet. UGA stands in a perilous spot with Auburn ( I think UGA wins), Kentucky, and Ga Tech left (UGA probably loses both). With UT v. Ole Miss and Ark v. LSU still ahead, some of the already ins have some position movement possibly. UT is the biggest whomever is playing LSU fan there is. Ole Miss is the "kingmaker" so to speak of the non-BCS bowls because they play UT and LSU. Ole Miss could win out and be in the Cap 1, lose out and be in Nashville for the holidays, or keep LSU or UT from the Cap 1 bowl. Fun times for the diagram junkie that I am.....
OFFENSE
The Good....
Mark Ingram gets the damn ball and good things happen.
Here's the thing that it doesn't take playing D1 football to know, when you have a player that is a Heisman candidate, you feed him the damn ball. Starving your star running back with something like 8 total touches (6 rush, 2 rec) is not going to make things happen. However, in the second half, the light came on and the playcalling went with the guy they knew could win the ball game. He did. Ingram continues to make the plays time and time again when called upon. Watching him play this year compared to last is amazing because he's nothing like he was last year. He's more confident, he's focused, he finds the right lanes on each touch and gets more than he should on about every carry. That's really the difference in 08 and 09 is that Ingram changes the game and controls it whereas Coffee plodded and chewed up 3 to 5 per carry.
Finding the endzone and shutting up the no passing TDs since puberty...
That's sarcasm at CBS not McElroy folks. Anyways, he missed a big play earlier in the game, but after they started running the ball, it allowed Greg to do what he is more comfortable in doing, play action waggles, and it lead to a near perfect pass to Hanks (who miracled his ass by catching one) . McElroy as a whole had a good day, nothing spectacular or would warrant all SEC nominations, but it was a game that he was more in control of and that in itself was a good sign for the road ahead. LSU's defense was nothing to sneeze at and if he can do what he did to them each week from here on in, the path is golden.
1 bad missed tackle = 73 yards to victory
Nobody was happier to see open field than Julio Jones. He's not been that open since high school and he was sprinting like a guy trying to keep the lil bulldog (Saban) off his heels. If he felt the bark as he ran, he should have, he played like crap up until that play. It was a redeeming play and will be what folks remember 5 or 10 years from now, but if he drops that pass, we'd all remember the chewing....
Digging down deep and finding the will to overcome
There were 2 points in the game where if the former/past Tide had been there, defeat would have been likely. There was the safety and subsequent march down the field to take the lead 15-10, and there was the INT at the end of the half that took the wind out of the sails going into the half. A Shula or Fran led Bama would have rolled up into the fetal and took it like a prison girlfriend, last year's team didn't exactly react well when behind for long periods of time. This year's team seems to almost enjoy that down at the 4th feeling because they play better from behind in the 4th than they do when leading.
Maze's 1st half
About the only thing going on the passing game in the 1st half was Maze and McElroy's connection with each other. When Bama went run in the 2nd half, it pretty well ended his day because he doesn't play on any of the run formations (2 TE, Wildcat, I, etc), but he was a big reason they were able to keep the ball and keep drives going in the 1st half.
The Bad...
General play calling
I almost had to buy a new tv when Saban said before the game he didn't think Bama could run on them. Regardless of how much he really meant it, the whole idea of passing to win vs. LSU was not the best gameplan they could have had. Whether it was trying to get McElroy confident or get the WRs confident, or getting Julio into the game more, etc., it wasn't working. There were some things they did that I did like in the passing game, getting Williams involved, getting Maze into the game to expose a speed difference, getting the ball to the backs on screens, and things like that were nice plays. The problem that occured though was all the spread field situations left McElroy naked and LSU was committed to blitzing off the ends with their rush end and corner/safeties regardless so it was causing some hurries (see the INT at the end of the half). When Bama tried to run in the 1st half, those drives were the best looking drives of the day to that point.
Julio's day pre- the catch.
Needless to say, two catches for 19 yards, a penalty, and probably the biggest dropped catch in his career all had lead to a day where if Calgon could take him away, he'd let them. With Julio it is about focus, and when he's focused, he's as good as anyone. The problem is getting him dialed in. The drop before the safety was another in the long line of drops that he's had and they all are him trying to catch it with his body and not his hands. The play that has no excuse though was the penalty. Bama would have punched it in on the play, but for whatever reason he wasn't in the game mentally and cost them 4 points. (7-3) One person on BOL said "I don't think that was Julio's fault", um no. When you see Cody coming on the field, you know there won't be a WR in sight.
The Ugly...
Whomever called and ok'd the late game pass needs a come to Jesus meeting....
Ok, here's the scenario so that you get why that play call just sucked. Bama runs it burns clock down and has the ball at midfield, they elect to punt and get a running into the punter call. This puts the ball 4th and inches. Bama now inside LSU territory sees that a punt nets them very little and putting faith (finally) in Ingram and the defense, they go for it and make it. On the next first down, they run again, and get 3 yards. The clock is ticking down and things are good. On a 2nd and 7, Bama calls play action and throws towards Jones and are blessed to get an incompletion call (more on that in a minute), but if it is called an interception, they give the ball, momentum, and maybe the game back to LSU. There is no real good reason why that play is called when you have successfully ran the ball all half, and you have no need in doing anything but bleeding the clock and getting what you can whether it is a FG, punt or TD. If it is called an INT, and they score, we are all here wondering why Jim McElwain still breathes air in the state of Alabama. It was a bad play call and one that Saban should have cut short and said no, run it.
Now, as to why I said blessed. I'm not going to get into the is it a pick or not debate, but what I will say is that if the side judge calls it an INT, the replay wouldn't have reversed that call either. There was not enough evidence either way to reverse the play and all these "the rule book says in article x section up the tight ass" crowd should know that the refs and coaches are not throwing out the book and reading it during the game. Instant replay is not about that anyways, it is about possession of the ball, feet in or out, etc. The bottom line is that Bama was blessed to get the call in their favor prior to the replay because they weren't going to get help from the video. Karma has a way of paying you back I guess.
Defense/Special Teams
The Good...
The rest did some folks good...
I thought that the defense looked a little faster and had a lot more wind in its sails this week compared to the Tennessee game where they were gasping from fatigue. The week off had several hungry to hit people (Deaderick, Woodall, McClain). The week off came at a good time because they had to be fresh for the speed that LSU throws at you.
Giving up 7 tough points for the night
The 6 they gave up after the safety was a short field situation, but really the defense only allowed one drive of substance all day. I thought they did real well at keeping LSU deep all day. There weren't a lot of 3rd and shorts, and when Bama had them backed up inside the 10, they did a good job of not letting them out with the exception of the TD drive. After the 91 yard drive, LSU went
3 and out- 6 yards
3 and out- 5 yards
12 and out- 29 yards
6 and score after safety 59 yards
3 and out- 9 yards
3 and out - loss of 8
5 and Turnover- 8 yards
They gave up a net of 108 yards on 35 plays (3.1 per). That is a marked improvement from the UT game where they let UT bleed them over and over again on long drive after long drive.
Making the plays when they had to
I'll give LSU credit where it is due, they were ready for Bama's defense. They had decided that they had to go outside as much as could and expose Bama's power to their speed. Bama fans will remember this is what caught Bama in the Sugar Bowl was the hurry up, late subs, quick plays and fast routes. LSU, however, was not prepared for Bama's ability to contain the talented freshman and big time WR duo with their dime formation. All three corners had good games and only allowed one big play on them all night, and that came from a slip.
Tiffin in the books
The game clinching FG was also his mark in the record books for points scored at the U. The player that had the scats earlier has dissappeared and the guy who has confidence and clutch going for him has appeared. Thank God.
The Bad...
Tackling
The off week had a good bit to do with the poor tackling across the board. They had not been as physical in the down time, and with good reason, and it reflected when Charles Scott ran. I don't know how many arm tackles he got, but it was a baker's dozen if it was one. The tackling issues led to a lot of the problems they were having with containing LSU. They would have LSU hemmed up and then the tackling would allow them into a 3rd and managable.
3rd and 32 visions of Kines dancing in the sky
Again, here's the scenario and why it wasn't good. The poor tackling had allowed 2 first downs and that's when Nico nailed Jefferson and knocked him out of the game. Lee throws an incompletion and it is 3rd and what should be forever. LSU calls time out to scheme the play. Bama goes prevent, which is only preventing victory nine out of ten times, and LSU dumps it in the soft zone and gets 20. Now, for most a 4th and 12 is instant punt. However, the play allowed 2 things to be entered into the discussion. First, it let LSU get in that no man's land where they are too far for a FG, and too close to get a punt by percentages. Second, it let the Mad Hatter go to the bag of tricks. The 4th down play is a conversion, but Bama is saved by a false start. (the second saving grace from a false start of the day) LSU has to punt because the 5 yards knocks them out of that zone. However, if Bama does what it had done all day, they probably don't even flinch or have to sweat the details.
Off day for Reamer and Barron
To say they played bad might be an overstatement, but they didn't put in their standard performances. Reamer was picked on a lot, and part of that was by design. LSU had a WR that played TE and knew that was a matchup problem. They were making late subs to get that confusion and mismatch on occasion and the TD was one of those. Bama wouldn't have typically let Reamer cover a guy like that, he would have been on the back and Barron or Green would have been on him, but the subs caught them. Charles Scott was not a good matchup for Reamer either. He gives up too much size and bulk to that bulldozer. Barron was late on his cover duties too. He got away with one because Bama had called cover 2 on 3rd down, with Bama getting LSU deep in their own endzone. The WR goes over the middle and up the field, Reamer releases (might have released a little early) and Barron hesitates before stepping up to stop the play. He was bailed out on a false start. There were a few others that did count where he was a step late and a lot of it is probably from being off the week before. It will be interesting to see how the 2 respond from practice this week. However, for the "put Jerrell Harris in" crowd.... keep the dream alive because that's about all it is right now. He won't see a real down unless there is an injury or the 2010 season starts at this point.
The Ugly...
Gary Danielson sucks it
I tend to not get too drawn into the commentators or the very lame and weak "they are out to get us" stuff. Danielson has it out for Bama though. While both Meyer and Saban are tops at what they do and very good at it, they aren't confusable to the average joe. Good job Gary, you confuse the two on live tv and it takes your producer screaming at you to catch it. He was on thin ice after the post game commentary from the UT game, he didn't let it stop him from more commentary this week with the profound "I'll state for the record I thought his foot was in". That's nice Gary, since when did color commentary need op ed? Dick.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
BCS and AP confusion...
Florida, Bama, and Texas are all in a win and in situation. However, in the AP poll where they are doing their own thing these days. They have made the same decision, but the track record seems confused. Last week, Bama's off and falls to 3rd because Texas beat OSU minus their 2 best skill men and UF keeps winning. This week, Bama beats a top 10 team and gains on TX by 12 votes, but is still 8 behind? I'll put it like this, if anyone thinks that Texas can beat either UF or Bama right now, they are smoking pot. Texas has yet to play anyone worth a crap on defense, the best they have seen is OU and that's not exactly special when you look at the SEC, and they won't play anyone until the BCS when it gets down to it. The truth is that TCU has played better teams (Clemson and BYU) than Texas. Cincy has as well by beating Oregon St on the road, and USF on the road. They also have 2 big games vs. WVa and Pitt.
If you have picked up on the hint that I'm not big on Texas, good, because I'm not. They need to show something before I'll think they are more than the typical Big 12, Big 10 pretender. Plopping 14 on UCF in the 4th to make it look good isn't impressive, plopping it on in the 2nd maybe. Beating a short squad Okie State isn't impressive either. Beating OU isn't special this year either, just ask Nebraska. I know the BCS and AP feel bad for last year, and Texas deserved to go to the BCS last year and get pounded by Florida. That was last year though. Texas is going to have a hard time keeping TCU fans and supporters from getting on them if they make it and get walloped by the SEC champ. TCU has a legit gripe and I would rather play Texas than TCU.
SEC Bowl Dreaming...
As a result of Saturday, we can pretty well start eyeballing bowls and guessing the locations:
BCS- Bama
Sugar- Florida
Cap 1- LSU
Cotton- UT
Outback- Ole Miss
Chick Fil A- Auburn
Music City- Arkansas
Liberty- UGA
Independance- Kentucky
Papajohns.com- USCar
How far has Spurrier's Gamecocks fallen to be in B'ham for the holidays when 2 or 3 weeks ago they looked like an Outback Bowl team? Also, how good of a job has Petrino done at Arkansas? Nobody had them winning 6 or 7, but now they look like they could at worst be 7-5 with Troy, MSU and LSU left. Of course, all of these estimates are based on teams not falling apart between now and the end of the month. UGA, UT, KY, and ARK have not won the qualifying 6th game yet. UGA stands in a perilous spot with Auburn ( I think UGA wins), Kentucky, and Ga Tech left (UGA probably loses both). With UT v. Ole Miss and Ark v. LSU still ahead, some of the already ins have some position movement possibly. UT is the biggest whomever is playing LSU fan there is. Ole Miss is the "kingmaker" so to speak of the non-BCS bowls because they play UT and LSU. Ole Miss could win out and be in the Cap 1, lose out and be in Nashville for the holidays, or keep LSU or UT from the Cap 1 bowl. Fun times for the diagram junkie that I am.....
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