Over the 100 posts on this site, you will see several times where I say the following "it was a tale of two games" or something akin to that. That is what the Mizzou game would be- the game before the delay and after the delay.
OFFENSE
The Good....
Getting back to basics
The thing that had begun to happen before the break was the playcalling was getting away from what they do well. Saturday, they got back to basics before the delay. Lots of running, lots of plays that set up other plays, and both of which got the line going in the right direction and made them play more aggressive. That in turn made things easier for AJ early on. The other basic that had become missing was TJ Yeldon and using him again. The carries had diminished as they leaned on Lacy, but they found ways to utilize both and it made the offense look better.
Running from the Shotgun
Something that has been sorely missed in the scheme of things is to be able to effectively run from the shotgun. I thought that Bama was able to keep Missouri off balanced in the early going because they couldn't read how the play was going to go. When you can disguise your plays and there are plays where you can run or throw from the same look and design, it is a good thing. It makes play action work better, it makes draws work better, and it makes safeties freeze which creates one on one situations to the outside.
Finding the TE again.
It was one of the things that Nuss wanted to do, but it too had gone into hibernation during the season. Williams is their best option, but he is also their best outside blocker. That includes the two tackles. So, he won't get all the chances they would like, but featuring him 4 or 5 times a game is something else that can make them honest each week.
Back to the pulling linemen
Bama's double 100 yard rusher performance can be accredited to 3 things. Their talent. Missouri's lousy defense. Third, the ability to pull Warmack, Jones, and Steen outside and clear out space for Lacy and Yeldon to create from. Both backs are good enough that when you get them to the 2nd level, they can make players miss and create space and scores. See Lacy's chug run. I thought by pulling Jones more, they were able to get him back into a role that he was more comfortable with. His performance against Ole Miss was his worst in a long while, but he bounced back and had probably his best game as a center.
The Bad...
Playcalling after the delay
Nuss forgot in the delay what had worked. I thought they regressed back to that cute stuff that had not worked well and it was just not clean or coherent. There was some execution issues, but a lot of it was just sloppy playcalling and personnel usage.
Was there a reason to keep the starters in that long?
Thankfully, there was not any major injuries, but there were plenty of near misses. I don't claim to know more than anyone, but I would have a much smaller ulcer today if Bama had ran Sims and Drake out there about half way through the 3rd quarter. In all honesty, if they were going to slop around and do what they did, I'd rather saw Ely and Sims do those assignments. It also was a miss for getting younger backups more reps. That part is probably the biggest bad part of the game on both sides of the ball.
The Ugly....
My underwear after AJ's knee injury
I said it then did it when he crumpled to the ground. I kid, but you get the point. The simple fact is that if McCarron goes down, Bama has zero chance of winning the BCS. Zero. As I said above, I don't know why they were using him, and I don't know why they felt he needed to play in the conditions and a huge lead, but they did and it nearly was a total disaster. It was another unnecessary risk that they seem to inadvertently take this year.
DEFENSE
The Good...
Pagan will be the next big thing
I like his effort and how he always seems to be around the play when he's on the field. The guy has all the traits and the look of a good bull rushing end and I won't be shocked if he doesn't end up winning the bulk of the carries down the stretch because he does all the things that Dial and Stinson cannot do. That isn't a knock on them, but more of a compliment to a young player that is starting to realize his potential.
Dee Millner has made his NFL resume stand out from the rest
What else is there to say? Right now he is the best defensive back in the BCS and is by a long distance. Teams don't throw at him as much. They can't run at him because he gets into the trash and makes the hit. He just does all the phases of his role better than I ever thought he could.
Mosley left imprints on Mizzou players
I thought this was his best game of the year as Missouri stretched the field and created a bad mismatch for themselves that CJ took advantage of. DePriest and Johnson had moments in the game, but with all the 5 wide looks, it put Bama in the Dime and gave Mosley an easy opportunity to find gaps to bust plays and make things difficult for a rookie QB.
The Bad...
Once the delay happened, things just got sloppy
This isn't really just a defense/special teams thing, it is the entire team thing. They lack a leader in the huddle on both sides of the ball. That's why you see so much lackluster with this team at times. I would have liked to have seen them come back out and really broken Missouri in two, but instead they lost their edge and got relaxed thinking the game was in hand. While it was, you can't assume that in the 2nd quarter against a team that has beaten Oklahoma and other quality schools in the recent past.
Fanning
While I didn't think it was the most bastardish thing in the world of warcraft or whatever Gary Danielson was going for, it was bush league play. You are taught to anchor down and drag them down. You never try to pick up a player, the risk of injury is as high for you as it is them. He probably gets a game suspension from the SEC, but it wasn't the most horrible thing ever in football. Woody Hayes punching a player is still that honor.
The Ugly...
The return of shitty special teams
It is what it is. The return that had 0 chance of being stopped. Some weak punts that didn't help matters. Christian Jones fielding punts at the 5 after not backing up where he should have been and his continued desire to run back punts that needed to be fair caught. All of those things added to the old complaint about how badly they play special teams. The kick makes the 5th return for a TD against the Tide in the last 2 years. That isn't cutting it.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
Aubsession still seems to dominate over Bama's season
I get it still, but folks, the eyes need to be on the prize. All of Auburn's implosion fun will still be there in January. They won't be able to fill the job before Bama finishes their season (barring AJ being asked to play middle linebacker). I know this much, I would like to be able to flip through Bama sites and read something other than Aubsession.....
The Hat cannot be flattened long
Despite all the theories that Miles is an idiot or a lousy coach, he is a guy who doesn't lose many games and hasn't lost 2 in a row in a long while. He only has once, 2008, and he always seems to follow a loss with some of their better games. LSU is not where it was last year. Nobody will tell you that at this point, but they are good enough to win the SEC even after losing all the talent they have lost. Do not sleep on the Hat's ability to befuddle Saban in a week's time.
Jawga likes LSU winning, but Jawga needs to man up and win one for once
There is nothing more satisfying than to hear Georgia fans, players, and even Mark Richt find joy in LSU barely beating USCar. Spurrier just mindscrews them without trying these days. The ol ball coach is getting the best from his best team at Carolina, no question, but they just didn't have the start they needed to survive LSU. That doesn't give Georgia a reason to smile today. That tough Missouri team has been debunked now. Carolina and Bama both shred them to pieces. Tennessee had another flop against Mississippi State, and they look and sound like a team ready to collapse. Georgia doesn't have a quality win on their resume, and I would be surprised if Florida lost to them. So, the Fla/USCar game is probably the play in to play the LSU/Bama winner.
In Beano's last season, Notre Dame (notrah dahme) is running for first
Lots of Bama fans used to loathe Cook because he was pro Penn State and pro Notre Dame, and that meant he was anti-Bama. He was good for football in a lot of ways because he wanted what was best for it. There aren't as many of those guys left in College Football because the money doesn't work that way any more, but Beano's legacy is both in humor and legend. Ron for Heisman was serious to him, but the ND QB never got the point....Cook normally did, and his point will carry on long after his last act.
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