The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly- MSU

The GBU comes a day later than usual, but something tells me some could have wrote it for me.  The game was like watching 2 generations of Bama teams in one game.  The defense looked like a Coach Bryant or Stallings defense.  Stingy, tough, and constantly controlling the game.  The offense was like watching some of Dubose's and Shula's offenses.  Ineffective, poorly executed, great between the 30s. 

The Offense

The Good....

Despite it all, Richardson and Lacy will them ahead

Given that this team was beaten up a bit by LSU and given that they probably weren't amped up to play these guys, it wasn't a shocker that the offense sputtered.  With that said, when Bama had to have it and needed the play to be made, Richardson and Lacy willed this offense ahead.  I was real pleased to see Lacy back to his old self and the return of Circle Button was a pleasant surprise- even with the fumble.

Offensive Line Play

Overall, I thought the OL played well.  With McCullough at LT, I thought he did a rather good job on short notice.  They controlled the line for the most part and kept MSU off of the QB and RBs.  The run blocking wasn't great, but it was good enough to take care of the business.  They wore MSU down over the course of the night, thanks in part to the defense keeping MSU's offense off the field, and as the night went on, the run game improved. 

The rise of Norwood

For at least one week, I thought Norwood had a great game.  With Bell dropping passes like they were hot, Maze missing and hurt, Hanks hurt, White invisible, and the TE's being asked to protect more, they needed someone to step it up and I thought he rose to the occasion.  He's always been well thought of by the staff, but he can't convert it on Saturdays.  This week was that moment that hopefully he can build off of. 

The Bad....

Where O Where Did My Wide Out Go?  Oh Where Oh Where Could He Be???

How weak are the Bama WRs playing now?  2 of the top 3 pass completions were not to Wide Outs.  Losing Hanks for the night hurt because he's been the most consistent and safe bet.  Maze was still black and blue from LSU and wasn't a big factor in the night despite 4 catches.  So, it stood to reason that guys like White and Bell should/could have a big night.  Instead, they were just non-existent in the game.  My hope is that they can be taught how to create better than what both did. 

Poor Execution All Night

AJ was high again and sailed the ball.  He also missed about 4 or 5 wide open targets without pressure.  The biggest worry I have now is that he's hit his slump at a time when you need him to be peaking.  One thing that they need to walk him through is to quit trying to force the ball to a spot and just throw it.  He's really pressing to not throw a bad pass and instead he is doing just that.  His INT was just a regression that he has done 3 straight games.  It wasn't just him though, the drops didn't help.  The poor route running that continues to creep up more down the stretch was more noticeable Saturday. 

The Ugly....

4th and Ungh....

I don't mind the play call at all.  What I do mind is that you put the game on the back of your veteran lineman and he gets ate up.  The failure to not get the half a yard was not on AJ.  On a QB sneak, the QB just rides the back of whatever lineman he follows.  He goes as far as his surging OL mate goes.  When Vlachos couldn't get under his man, and was stood up almost instantly, the play was over before it could start.  It is easy to second guess and say give it to Richardson, but usually coaches don't like to go back 3 yards to get 1.  I don't think Richardson would have made it for that matter. 


The Defense and Special Teams

The Good....

I Wish More Had Gentry's Motor

Gentry isn't going to play on Sundays, more than likely, and he has 0 measurables that you look for in a 5 star player.  However, he has all the things that makes a great player.  He works every down.  He plays like it means something to him, every down.  Gentry plays at the highest gear every down.  He does a really good job and did so again Saturday at just hitting the gap and doing enough to disrupt the play or move it back to Hightower and company. 

Nice Night From the Leaders

It was a welcomed sight to see the leaders on D step up and set the tone.  Hightower and Barron combined for 22 tackles between them and really enforced a no easy yards policy all night.  They both swarmed the field and were around the play all night.  That isn't uncommon, but given how tired and beaten they were, it would have been easy for them to come out flat, slow, tired, etc.  They set the tone early and MSU knew by the end of the 1st quarter that they were not going to get anything from Bama's defense, they were going to have to cash in on Bama mistakes. 

CJ Mosley

While the leaders set the tone, I thought CJ really provided the support so that they could make those plays.  CJ was in on several plays with 1 good arm and had 8 total stops.  He really moves well in space and was a big part in neutralizing MSU's spread. 

Avoiding Disaster

Bama got put in some tough spots during the night.  AJ's near pick 6 was one.  To make a stand late in the 2nd quarter like they did says a lot about how good those guys are and how much the job means to them.  That's something that hopefully will spread down to the future leaders.  They knew as most of us did that being tied at half was not an option they could allow.  The stand helped kill the rally and Bama slowly took over from there.

The Bad....

None....

The Ugly....

Special Teams Suck

I get that Coach Saban has faith in the kicking and punting.  I get that it is all they have.  I get that they aren't coached to play special teams.  I get all of that, but I have a hard time accepting that.  For another week, Bama fans had to suffer through a lot of miscues and head scratchers.  They have effectively ruined both kickers.  They hear the moans and grumbles.  It doesn't go away when they trot out there, it magnifies in their head and in the stands.  So, when both shanked kicks, it was just more dirt on the pile.  What is worse is that the punting and kick coverage are getting just as bad.  Bama's only score came off a piss poor kickoff and coverage botch up.  The failure to execute is not on just a few players.  It has been an issue that continues to happen week in and out, and that points to Coach Williams.  Sadly, I doubt they do anything to fix it. 

RANDOM THOUGHTS....

Penn State fans now get their Mike Price moment times infinity

I tweeted last week that the only coach not asked about JoePa was Mike Price.  Was that mean?  Yes.  Was there a little truth hidden in that?  Yes.  The issue here is more than a football thing.  This is a right and wrong thing.  The issue that PSU fans will struggle with that a few Bama fans struggled with in Price's failure is that this isn't about winning on the field.  This is about winning in life.  Like Price, JoePa was given more than enough chances to right the ship, but like Price, he didn't and wouldn't. 

JoePa's arrogance has been the real surprise to me.  His "retirement" announcement was not the last straw, but it was a small sample of the big problem.  Coming out and saying he was coaching the rest of the season and that was it was about like you or I going to our bosses and saying "Yeah, I won't do it but you will pay me and like it!"  To me, JoePa's record has an * by it now.  For nearly a decade, he's been in the wrong.  For nearly a decade, he should have been fired and because he was chasing Bryant's record and 400 wins, they didn't want to deal with it. 

The lesson here for each of us to take to our kids is simple.  Wrong is wrong.  Repentance is a long road for all of us who fall short, but when it is time to own up to something, you should and make efforts to do more to correct it.  In the end, the wins and the legacy are all fake when it comes to Paterno.  He put his needs and his inner circle of friends above the good of the kids in question, the program, the team, and the University.  At risk now is the capacity to obtain Pell Grants at PSU.   Who in their right mind would want their kid to go there now?  It would be a cold day in hell before my son would enter there even if they offered to pay it in full.  The failure by so many people to do right is just scary.  Just as scary is the fact that the incidents reported got watered down by each level from rape to indecency. 

Bowden's comments are probably closer to truth than anything the staff and those involved have said.  There are a lot of things we aren't being told because if it was told, we'd hate them all.  Paterno leaves shamed and he and the others have earned that more than the accolades prior to that.

BCS Blowup Looms....

Last week, folks got mad about the thought that OU could jump Bama.  Now, folks are puffing up their chests about Oregon.  Guys, there are a lot of things in play here that aren't going Bama's way.  The media vote being 2/3rds will have to change its viewpoint a lot over 3 weeks.  Oregon's blowout of Stanford has them as the new en vogue team of the moment.  Bama fans need to root for Kiffin's USCal this weekend.  That will cure part one of the problem.  Oklahoma has already started their campaign on their stake on things.  I have doubts that OU can beat OSU though.  Injuries and a weak defense by SEC standards will doom them I am afraid.  If Oklahoma State and LSU win out, it is all great fodder for fans to discuss.  However, if either loses, then there is a lot of jockeying around for that 1 loss claim. 

Bama has to root for Arkansas each week, but they need to root them to win but not earn votes.  The question that still hangs up for me is how could LSU drop that far in the polls?  With an Arkansas win, LSU would have to drop more than 5 spots in theory and be 3rd amongst Bama, LSU, and Arkansas.  Can it happen?  Sure.  Will it?  Doubt it.  LSU even with a loss has a great resume and won't fall far just like Bama didn't. 

If OSU and LSU both lose, the mess really gets bad.  Bama has a fair resume.  Penn State, Arkansas, and Florida are the big wins.  PSU will be lucky to win another game, Arkansas has done Bama favors by winning, and Florida is a mess.  The close loss to LSU looks better on paper than Oregon's loss to LSU and Oklahoma's loss to Texas Tech.  However, Bama doesn't have as big a win as OU or Oregon will have in this scenario.  Arkansas wasn't a top 10 team at the time.  Oregon has the win against Stanford who was 4th at the time as their signature, and wins against ASU and USCal in this scenario.  Oklahoma, despite the loss of losses, would have 2 top 5 wins against FSU and OSU, and 3 top 10 wins if you add KSU.  Bama fans need to root for Baylor by the way.  A loss to Baylor or Iowa State could help things a lot.  As much as folks want to lobby on the Tech loss, their resume has a lot of upside too.  5 ranked wins, up to 10 bowl team victories, and since the loss, they have dominated opponents. 

Bama conversely has 7 bowl team wins in the scenario.  4 ranked wins.  None in the top 10.  Oregon has a weaker resume.  They have 5 bowl team wins, 6 if USCal could go in the scenario, 2 ranked wins, 1 in the top 10.  Clemson, just for the sake of fairness, would have 4 ranked wins, 6 bowl team wins respectively, but has looked weak each week and scrambled to survive. 

In all honesty, someone is going to get screwed in all of this.  Especially if each team has 1 loss.