OFFENSE
The Good....
Arkansas will be drinking from a fire hose when doing film study
Bama flung a lot of looks both in formations, plays, and personnel. Some may have missed it, but the following did occur during the game Saturday.....
- Bama ran the Wildcat. AJ's handoff to Maze was the same set and personnel, but they kept AJ at QB instead of lining him up in the slot.
- Chris Jones played at WR and HBack once. His first catch came as he lined up behind Smelley in a 2 TE set.
- Bama used a slew of shotgun formations that will be hard to read. Bama flashed a counter shotgun play that was used as playaction to Maze.
- They used about 5 different WR/TE sets in the shotgun.
- They highlighted Smelley and how they can use him. Last week it was Williams.
- They reminded folks they have 2 running backs that can carry the mail.
- Bama flashed a zone read option early on.
- Bama again introduced Brandon Lewis and his road blocking fullback skill
- They displayed about 3 different OL sets with the starters and key reserves.
- Jones/Warmack/Vlachos/Steen/Fluker
- CyKo/Warmack/Jones/Steen/Fluker
- CyKo/Warmack/Vlachos/Steen/Jones
I know as I type this, some of you will piss your drawers and wet my leg along with it. While it was good for the team to see itself make plays, it was one of the worst D's against the run in the nation. But, like I said, they needed to see themselves make the blocks and see the runners make the plays. It took a while and a few adjustments in how they ran the ball- lots more stretch runs and getting outside the tackles than the 1st 2 weeks- but once they did make the adjustments, the offense looked much improved.
AJ continues to make strides
I don't care what his stat line says. That isn't the end all be all. What I did see was better reads, and a better control of the offense from week to week to week. You don't see any confusion in the formation, or shuffling around pre-snap. You see a group that seems to have a little more focus now and while I am sure this will not please some, he is checking down better. That was one of the biggest complaints about AJ was that he tunneled in and wanted to zip it.
WR Core getting better
Get over the Carter stuff, he wasn't going to contribute if he hadn't played by now. The return of Hanks did a lot this week. He was solid on his routes and always catches the ball. The bigger upgrade he brings is that he's a very good blocking WR. Maze had a better game this week, but he missed one really big pass early in the game. Jones has the work ethic, and he plays the game well. I am really surprised at how well he's adapted to his role. Bell had his best game and will provide some time in some 4 and 5 wide sets. Norwood played well last week but was missing this week, however he will play a lot. Gibson will play a lot, but he's gotta work on separating better. His blocking is solid though.
Good to see Richardson and Lacy get big plays
Both young men are running neck and neck in about all categories. Both have a shade over 300 yards rushing. If you missed it, Lacy is second in rec. yards and has been over 90 yards in all three games in all purpose yards. Even more important, they aren't having to do anything real exotic. Lacy's first TD was all him. It was a shitty snap, McCarron did a good job reeling it in, and Lacy made one cut and was gone.
Always good to see the 4th stringers find the field.
This is one of 3 games that Bama has that you expect to see the walkons and forgotten few. Needless to say, the participation chart for this one was pretty long. That's always a good thing for the good guys because it never hurts to see the future and build experience.
The Bad....
Enough with the rotating door at QB
I like Sims, but the momentum is killed every time they have done the switch. I will disclaim that I do not like 2 QB systems and never will. With that said, once they finished with the exercise, McCarron was cold and out of rhythm. I get why they want to throw Sims in early, but keep in mind, AJ hasn't had that many reps on the field either. I guess it would be different if Sims was playing better than he has, but he has yet to show he can motor the team to the endzone really.
Too many misses up front again....
North Texas D Line was small and really flaccid. Yet, they did create pressure and sacked the QB 2 times. The individual struggles have been documented here enough that you know where it is. The constant shuffling that will make teams pay attention, wasn't exactly bona fide when you get down to it. Granted, I know the genius that looks like Captain Kangaroo will say I'm just picking on things because they had 300 plus yards rushing. They did, and North Texas swallows as well as suck. It wasn't a terrible performance, or a horrible or really bad performance, but there were just too many misses and it took way too long to establish themselves to be a good performance. If you need validation minus my lack of insider status, denote the total of 5 different sets of linemen lineups. They weren't experimenting, they were searching.
The Ugly....
1 TD in the redzone
1 for 5 in the redzone touchdown ratio, 3 for 5 overall thanks to 2 missed kicks and 4 stalled drives. If this were Arkansas, I probably don't point to it, but this was North Texas and they didn't have Sinbad at DT. Just as seeing Bama run with purpose was good for the team to see for growth, this is one of those things they need to do better because teams like Arkansas, Florida, and LSU will capitalize on these kinda issues.
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
The Good.....
Mandell finally hit a good punt!
He totalled 35 yards but it was inside the 5 which is more than ok.
Third and punt
Bama's D had a very solid showing in that even if it was a bad team and an overhyped tailback, they still took care of the business and for the most part didn't let NT breathe. Giving up only 5 3rd or 4th down conversions for the night is what you want to see, especially in these games. It keeps them off the field, and keeps the offense building, and it ensures that you can keep the ears pinned back and play your game.
Tarnishing the Doak Contender
Dunbar probably looks good in the Sun Belt world. In the real world, he was not real impressive and the Bama defense was a big reason for that. As Auburn and Ole Miss can tell you, if you give a team life, they can make plays- see Utah State and Jax State- but when you defeat them mentally and physically early, things are easy.
Don't just make their ass quit...make them say OH SHIT
If you haven't payed attention, or watched the telecast, there is one of the more amusing moments in this game. Williams broke free on a rush and had a free shot at the QB. It was like watching Unneccesary Roughness where the backup is screaming blow the whistle, but the mic picked up the Quarterback as he looked up and yelled "oh shit!"
Nice look at the future
I am still very pleased to see guys like Hubbard and Dickson step up and play meaningful minutes. They both have looked good in their moments and I really like both. Trey DePriest is a starter in a lot of schools. He sees the field well and while he will make some freshmen mistakes, he is well ahead of where he should be. Vinnie Sunseri makes a big play every week it seems and with time, he will be a full time player. He had 2 great plays- one sprung Maze, the other saved a score.
The Bad...
Missed FGs
Shelley has a slight case of the shanks starting up. Nothing gets in Saban's nose worse than blowing scoring opportunities. He already is pissed because they didn't score a touchdown, but to miss the field goals to boot......I wouldn't answer my phone on Sunday if I were Shelley.....
Still not creating turnovers
3 and outs are great, don't misconstrue this as a complaint but it is an issue that I know the staff is on them about, but 0 turnovers against a lousy offense and very few turnovers created year to date will keep the staff barking. Maybe that is a good thing.
The Ugly....
NONE
Random Thoughts.....
I would love to have a heart to heart with the 2 percent of voters who said Darby was the Tide's best running back.
While I won't say he sucked or anything to that degree, I wouldn't have even put him in the conversation with great runners like Musso, Humphrey, Alexander, or Ingram. Heck, I would probably take Circle Button or Trent over him. My vote went to Humphrey by the way. My dad voted Musso.
SEC Expansion and the Super Conferences start to shape.....
I was guessing 2 weeks ago when I posted my thoughts on expansion. So far, so good minus I never thought the ACC would charge 20 big stacks to leave. Most fans are gonna be disappointed in the way this thing shakes out for the SEC. They've set their mouth on FSU or OU, or some great football school. That isn't the SEC to begin with and history says they won't go looking for big fish but more diamonds in the rough that round out the big diamond. Remember back to 91 when they were expanding before, Arkansas was more of a basketball school at that point with Nolan's 60 minutes of Hell and a football team that was rich in history but short on wins over the last few years. USCar was a middle of the road football program at the time too. So, if you are expecting more than the West Virginias, Texas A&Ms, Missouris, and more than likely South Florida (if they will up their academic standards) or Louisville, well Santa ain't bringing any ponies for Christmas folks.
I personally like getting a program with more upside to it than one that is going downhill like a Penn State or Notre Dame would be. Speaking of the last dancer on the dance floor, Notre Dame is probably gonna have to join the Big 10.2 to stay alive. They will have to model the Pac12's pact with Texas. That or NBC can work a deal with the Big10.2.
I will probably always wonder what life would have been like if Menzie was healthy for 2 years instead of 1.
It probably would have changed the outcome of at least one of the 3 losses.
More Offensive Line Thoughts....
They looked their best when they stretched the field and worked into more zone block schemes (which most of you know I don't prefer) but continued to struggle when asked to grind between the tackles. Right now, if it wasn't for Lacy and his mix of power and ability to get real small at the box, they really would be a net neutral between the tackles.
To be fair, they are pass blocking better. That seems to be the line that they recruited is a pass block/finesse style of line. Yet, they want to still maul it out and ground and pound. It is kinda like asking your Honda Accord to 4 wheel like a F150 or Silverado. I get the feeling that we will see more 2 TE sets and more back to basics as the SEC schedule wears on because that is really the only way they will establish the line is keeping Williams and Underwood/Smelley in to block. Jones and Fluker will need support throughout the season too as Jones is overperforming out of position and Fluker just lacks the first step to catch rush ends. The "When will Cyrus Start?" threads will start to slowly dominated message boards now that the "Carter Update" threads should be about over. I don't know that anyone knows that answer yet. I think fans have a bit of an unrealistic opinion about CyKo because of Andre Smith. They want to see him do what Smith did, but this isn't Shula at the helm and Smith was a natural left tackle and CyKo is learning how to be a LT.
I like that on the eve of SEC play, they had their best showing, but I really would have liked to have seen the O Line leaning forward more and asserting themselves more. I also know that I hope to never see Jones at RT again. If he has practiced it, it was 2 years ago because that is how he played it.....
There are just so many things that are confusing about how this Offensive Line plays and how/where it should be. Granted, the death of Douglas and lack of progression by various other LT candidates have forced longer looks at less than ideal candidates, it shouldn't be this hard to run and enforce will on defenses. Not having Jones at guard has proven to be a bigger issue than anticipated, but that is just part 1 of the issue really. Warmack and Steen are 3rd year players. Warmack has enough starts under his belt and enough PT to be a leader on the line. Steen has not played as much, but he has practiced enough to know how to play and know the plays. I had hoped that Steen would use the Auburn game to grow and progress from, but he continues to miss an assignment here there and yonder and against PSU, there were a lot of heres. He is in shape, but is very slow off the snap. For the record, while on the subject, the reason I know Warmack is out of shape (without being an insider) is that for starts he's been seen puking on the sideline this year, and he looks and acts winded during long series. Stoutland has a lot of work to do and no time to do it in now. He will earn his paycheck this year.
Before you start.....
Last week, I read a lot of comments directed at me that put a lot of assumption or injected comments that I haven't said...ever. Folks, this blog shouldn't be viewed as me being better than you or whatever stupid ass idea some of you get. The blog is my vehicle to actually say what I want without having to overfilter. It isn't even my choice to be honest. However, if you click on it, that is a personal choice. So, I know some of you out there will always click because you want to find something to complain about or argue about. I get that. I do get to see who and how many of you read. It isn't hard to figure out.
However, for the record, I have never said or believed that:
This Bama team is mediocre
This Bama team is not a BCS level team
This Bama team is below standard
Just because I talk about parts of the game that were bad or ugly, which is more theme than harshness more often than not, doesn't mean the world is ending. It means there are areas of the week's game that needed work. I can guarantee that as I type this that when I post it Monday that some will say that I was too negative in light of a shutout. That would probably be a true statement if Bama beat Arkansas 41-0, but really, it is what it is folks.
In all honesty, the culture of many boards has become less about real discussion and more about how great things are and if you can't say so, piss is coming for you. Now, I do go back and read most boards on Sunday and Monday to see what was said Saturday, and some things that are said are pretty off the wall. I would lie if I said I hadn't said a thing or two over 10 years that was over the line, but just as much as we talk about improvement for our favorite team, I apply that and try to work on improving what I produce each week too. Hey, it's free, enjoy that, but don't mistake that this is just opinion and it says so at the very top of the page you read each day. It also is an opinion versed in experience and practice and has a better track record than most of your betting percentages. The fact that we have to have this discussion really says a lot about the culture these days...don't it?
1 comment:
Thank you. your blog is one of the highlights of my week. RTR
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