Really this could be a pretty short and simple post. There was about zilch in the way of good for the first 30 minutes of play. Dooley's pants were better than Bama's play in the first half. The only high point was the play of Donta Hightower. None of that is a surprise because the lack of focus that had Saban mad at the press was an extension of the lack of focus by the players. Every practice report kinda gave away that Alabama wasn't exactly gearing up for war, like they better be doing around the middle of this week, and typically Bama plays like they practice. So the slow start was an extension of what they did all week. They have been blessed that they have done a great job of making adjustments and that the players respond well after the half.
OFFENSE
The Good....
When AJ can get going, he goes well....
I won't discuss the 1st half here, but it is coming. It was good for him to get some confidence back and he got it by the staff putting the ball on him to turn the game around. Then all of a sudden the passes that missed by 10 yards all of a sudden made it into the hands of everyone that it was supposed to. Hopefully, he won't sit around and worry when he makes a mistake. He doesn't need to make them, but it will happen and his progression and growth is going to depend on him not letting an INT haunt him for a quarter or more.
It wasn't Trent's best showing, but it was enough...
With all the stacking of the line, which wasn't anything new, Richardson's carries were going to be tougher than the Ole Miss game. However, I thought all things considered, he did well getting around 5 a carry for the night. I really wish that they would have kept feeding him the ball early in the game because even if he isn't getting 5 a carry, he's wearing down the UT defense and keeping the pressure off AJ.
(T)Hanks for the A-Maze-ing memories
While a lot of folks will talk about McCarron's stats or his 2nd half. You better start talking about how well Hanks has played. He laid out for 2 or 3 passes that AJ sent him and his athleticism kept those drives going. Same goes for Maze. Maze made a couple of tough grabs and had the 60 yard play early in the game. They have stepped up their play, and they have wanted to make plays. I thought last year that they were too content to let Julio do it for them, but this year they have been the leaders of the group and have made a lot of key plays.
Going for the Kill
I really liked that after UT failed on 4th and inches that Bama went for the kill right away. That turnaround pretty well ended the night and the dream for the Vols.
Kenny Bell catches it this time
Bell keeps folks scratching his head. He has a catch like he had Saturday that was tough. With a corner draped on him, he dives and makes a spectacular TD catch. Other games, he lets it hit him in the hands and he drops it. Bell and White are going to be key parts to the offense in 2 weeks. They have to be able to stretch the field and make LSU guess at what Bama is doing. Bell should be a guy that steps up in 2 weeks because the LSU game should be personal.
The Bad...
Poor Play Calling and Even Worse Execution
This game had all the markings of the La-Mo early on. They were that kinda flat, and making those kind of mistakes. With AJ in a funk, they kept plugging away with him to no avail really. I thought they killed both drives that ended in a FG by not putting the ball in Richardson's hands on 1st down. To me, and this is just my thought here, when you go to 2nd and 10 and then run, you are asking for a stall to occur most times. Go with the safe run on 1st down and get your 3 or 4 or 5 yards and then put the play action or bootleg play in after that. Heck, in the 1st half you would have thought 2 straight runs was illegal.
The Ugly....
The 1st half was just that tough to watch
I just can't begin to tell you how rough it was to know I had to do it, and then do it. Kinda ranked up there with going to the movies with the old bag to see some crap movie about a vampire, some skank and a guy who can't keep his shirt on. They tell me that movie has a sequel, but I can't take another round of such. Likewise, I hope to not have to sit through another half like that. I wish I was kidding when I said it was that ugly. The line got whipped on a ritual-esque basis in the first. It was clear they hadn't been hitting during the week. It was clear that McCullough had not practiced much at RG before the week. It was clear that they just were flat all week and it took a reaming from Saban at the half to get over it.
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
The Good....
Hightower reaches a new high...without Calloway's help
I thought this was probably his best game of the year. While a lot of guys were going through the motions and trying to make it to the bye week, Hightower was flying around and getting vocal. His energy caught on. Nico Johnson's game kept improving as the night went on as he fed off Hightower's game. After watching the replay, I realized that UT really couldn't figure out what to do about him. You can see them calling plays and trying to neutralize him, but the more they tried, the more they played into his game. They weren't used to a guy lining up all over the box, and as the night went on, UT's gameplan slowly eroded.
Avoiding the big play this week
After what seems to be a Tide Tradition of late, letting teams score on big plays early, Bama was able to keep a beaten and inexperienced UT offense pinned down to field goals. UT did gash their run defense some, nothing huge but it seemed like they got yards when they wanted at times, but everything seemed to shut down early and often for UT.
The defense is relatively healthy going into the bye
Mosley and Upshaw have some dings it appears, but nothing that will keep either out. The rest of the cast look to be healthy and good to go for LSU. It was key to come out of a rivalry game healthy and be full speed for the biggest game of the year. They have passed all the tests they need to as far as knowing they are that good and can play with LSU's diverse and physical offense. They just need to rest up for a couple of days and then start hitting and get mentally ready for the game.
The Bad...
Soft Coverage on the Fake
I still can't figure out how a safe cover gets blown like that. Nobody thought UT was punting. UT of course knew. Bama knew. The stadium knew. Yet, neither corner played for it. By giving a 10 yard cushion and a first down, they effectively allowed UT to gain life that with simple execution, never happens. Take that play out, I don't know if UT does much of anything all night because they fed off that play for the whole half.
Soft Practice = Missed Tackles
On offense, the lack of hitting results in sluggish play and missed blocks. On defense, the common giveaway to a soft week of practice is arm tackling. In the 1st half, Bama didn't play terribly on D, but they missed a lot of tackles and didn't really wrap up well in the half either. There was a lot of playing through going on. The offense was leaving them on the field for most of the 1st half, and they were not swarming around and disrupting Tennessee's offense in the half.
The Ugly....
None
RANDOM THOUGHTS....
BCS Cleaning Up
Ok, the National Champion one of the following: UA/LSU's winner, Oklahoma State, Clemson, Stanford or Kansas State. Chokelahoma's annual choke job has eliminated them because one of those teams, maybe two will run the table and keep them out even if they win out.
While it may be short lived, what an outstanding job Bill Snyder has done. The OG ol Ball Coach has taken Kansas State from the bottom and once again put them into national consideration. But the football powers that be don't like them down the stretch. They get 4 straight ranked teams (2 home/2 road). Regardless of their final record, they have quality wins against Miami, Baylor, Missouri, and Texas Tech.
I really think Clemson is the team that has the best road to face the SEC Champ. They don't have a terrible schedule, but most of it is on the road from here on out. They are @Tech, @ NCState, and @ USCar with a home layoff against Wake. They then would have a rematch in Jacksonville with Va Tech. There isn't a game mentioned that they shouldn't win. Tech is falling apart. State is....um.....well they didn't listen to Coach Valvano's speech. South Carolina has limped through and without Lattimore, they are in bad shape for a game like that. VT couldn't handle them at home, so I don't see that changing.
Nobody says LSWho now....
I don't think I have ever sat and watched Auburn just get blasted for 4 quarters like LSU did. Bama should take that tape and observe it well. LSU flexed a lot of muscle early and often. They ran and ran and ran, and when Auburn crept up trying to stop the bleeding, LSU started throwing haymakers. Is LSU beatable? Yes, very much so. Can Bama beat them? Yes. Can they lose to them? Yes. Bama has got to get over this sluggish start business. They cannot take 2 quarters to get it going against a team like LSU. They are a veteran team and they have really rallied together and gotten behind Lee. He definately isn't the player he was in 2008. He is very confident and playing without fear of making mistakes for the first time. Lee isn't a top end QB, but he's that kind of QB that killed Bama last year.
The other factor is the Les Miles risk level. With both teams having a lot on the line, he will more than likely want to step up the tricks and risks. That has been his profile since he was at Ok State. Last year, he outcoached Saban. This year, I think and hope that this is one of those games the players and coaches, Saban in particular, will want.
CyKo done, Steen scrambled,
Bama needs to stay healthy up front, that goes without saying. However, Bama has more than likely lost CyKo for the year and while that isn't a starter lost, it is a key reserve and contributor. Steen should play against LSU, but if he can't go, they are that much shorter on the bench.
Bama has been using a lot of linemen in situations all year. For example, Saturday they had a line of:
TE- Williams
LT- Warmack
LG- McCullough
C- Vlachos
RG- Fluker
RT- Jones
for a play or two. They were basically putting an unbalanced line right out there and challenging UT to stop it. They didn't really stop it. Bama has done formations like that off and on all year. They have played Jones all over the place. They have used Warmack as a pull guard all season. They need to be able to throw things at LSU that they haven't scouted. Bama will need to continue to use multiple looks for the Tigers because they need to keep them off balance. They also need to mentally prepare for what is ahead. That will probably mean less unique looks like the one above.
Next week is the bye week. I will do the mid year report card, as is tradition, and probably hit a few more random thoughts as the 2 weeks progress.
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