So I joined a group of UT fans to make the trip up to Knoxville for the game. Let this post serve as validation that I HATE TENNESSEE. It didn't take me long to remember what they are like. In the midst of the process and UT failing for a living the last 6 years or so, I had almost forgotten what they are.
OFFENSE
The Good....
When the moon hits your eye, that's Amari....
I am almost convinced that he may end up better than Julio Jones by the end of his more than likely 3 years at Alabama. The thing I see with Cooper that Julio still isn't quite as good about is his approach to the game. He knows how to get space even if he can't out run the defender. He knows how to run the route the right way and get his QBs attention because of it. He knows how to concentrate in traffic and make the tough catches every week. His first touchdown was all him. He broke the defender down and was 15 yards from anyone. Cooper the rest of the year will probably be the go to WR and when teams focus on him that will create opportunities for Norwood and Jones and Bell. Julio was more physical and has a lot of natural abilities that not many get in life, but Cooper is a better player because he can be coached and can keep himself in the game even when he is not the target for 7 or 8 plays.
McCarron's 2nd half
His whole game was probably his best since the BCS game. His 2nd half was better than that. The thing that impressed me most was that he came into the game, started a little slow, but got the tempo he wanted established in the game and systematically destroyed a UT defense that has to be getting punch drunk at the knees right now. He did a good job of picking up Sunseri's blitz schemes and they were throwing a lot of looks at him trying to get him to check. Hard to say how many times he checked out or bluffed, but either way, it worked.
Yeldon continues to grow
There are just rules in football that hold true for any running back. One of those rules is that most running backs look better on carries 11 and up than they do the first ten. Yeldon is one of those players. The thing to watch with any young RB is that they are going to not get off like they want to and there are some that get out of the game mentally when that happens. Isaiah Crowell comes to mind. Yeldon is well ahead of where he should be as a freshman. He has a lot of patience and drive to win, and those are traits that a great running back has to have. Lacy compliments him well and it has to suck to see the tandem coming at you play after play after play.
Conditioning
Alabama's offensive line did not have a great night as a whole, but as the game went on, the conditioning factor was a big reason that a 13 point halftime lead blossomed into a blowout. The difference in the drive that the line was getting in the 3rd quarter and what it got in the 1st and 2nd was a lot different. So a helmet sticker needs to go to Coach Cochran for doing what he does better than anyone in the nation.
Oh My God....You threw to Kenny....You Bastards!
Bell is a lower option in the passing game. There are reasons for that. However, Saturday he did a better job of working into space and getting the attention of his QB to get the ball.
The Bad...
Run Blocking from Opening Kickoff to Mid Third
The offensive line early on just got stoned by a tougher than usual UT defensive line. Bama could not run up the middle at all and they are not designed to run wide a whole lot. Lacy and Yeldon had a really hard time getting yards and getting beyond the 1st line because the OL was getting backed up or stood up every play. It wasn't until UT's offense couldn't create a drive for most of the 2nd half and wore down, that they were able to rack up yards.
Letting Sentimore look good
Sentimore is a bull rush end/tackle in the 4-3 or 3-4. He is big and strong, and has good speed, but he's a total basket case. DJ Fluker let a guy that he should have known better than any player he will ever see, look better than he was. To Michael Williams credit, he did stand Sentimore up a good bit and kept him out of the play as much as he could. However, there is a reason why he was never going to play big minutes at Alabama, and they should have exposed that by messing with him more.
The Ugly....
Little worn out on the read option
Does anyone really think that the opponents when Sims and Drake come in cannot scout that? I understand the concept is to burn the clock and get to the bus, but Sims is one good hit to McCarron away from having to play a lot. It is time to start letting him run a full offense to get him some real experience.
DEFENSE
The Good....
The depth chart guide is blurry after the game
Before the game got out of hand, there were a lot of players coming in and out of the game. Pagan, Devall, Pettaway, Ivory and a few others were in the game a lot early and made a lot of impact in the game. Pagan lived at Bray's hip pocket and flushed him about every time he was in. Devall wears 30 and looks like Hightower, and in time I can see him playing like him more.
Making their ass quit on 3rd down
Against Ole Miss, they let them survive too much. Tennessee on third down was ready to punt before the snap. Another thing that happened was that the fans quit on the game early. Once Bama scored their second TD, the stadium lost its energy. I can tell you that the TV sound was better than what they really were. Bama's defense absolutely smothered the UT offense short of about 3 plays.
No Nuke Threats on Offense
If you listened to anyone at Tennessee, all you have heard is how awesome the Nuke Patterson is. The awesome one netted 19 yards offense. He's a kick returner boys and girls. He lacks the football knowledge to be anything more. You can't let him get past you because he is fast, but he doesn't really do anything at this level that tells me he can play as a receiver at the high level that folks hype him at. I will put it like this, Belue didn't have a great game, but he and Millner basically went straight Geneva summit on him. There was no threat of nukes once the kickoff was over.
What Mosley and Millner started, Lester ended it.
The game was over when Lester broke on the ball and snagged what should have been a score for UT. In all of Lester's interceptions, that was probably his best one. It also is the one that shows how far he has come as a player. 2 or 3 years ago, he probably doesn't break on the ball, but the job Smart has done with him is pretty much a resume builder for both.
Cyrus is a virus
Cyrus Jones is going to be a special player. The thing that he does that Ch. Jones didn't is that he waits for the play to happen and doesn't try to force things. The Vols punter has a huge leg, but Jones didn't panic about it. He snagged the punts and made the plays because he let his teammates make their plays. I can see him breaking one soon.
The Bad....
3 really bad breakdowns
Dooley was pissed at his offense for its lack of production. Bama did a lot to help with that. However, there were three plays that were almost mirror images of each other. They figured out when Bama covers, they don't do a good job of sliding and releasing and checking off. The TE play was basically where they released from the corner and linebacker and then the safeties didn't get to him. On a good side, Dickson showed he's got a lot of want to because he stopped the play and did so coming across the trash to get him. The Hunter pass was similar just a different check down where the corner again released and the safeties didn't pick him up. That play happened right in front of me.
The Ugly...
Anything you can kick, we can't kick better...
Nothing makes a coach scream more than missing extra points. It is a play that is automatic and it needs to be a given and not a maybe. Foster wasn't in the game. He is the reason that the Nuke threat was real on special teams. There wasn't any wind going through the stadium and the air wasn't cold at all. So there isn't any nature excuses to play here. He just wasn't kicking it like he should have. Same with the field goals, he can't kick from right to left and he got out of the game. His team knows it too, that's why you see them grab him first thing and talk to him.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
BCS Troubles
So Oregon is miffed that their awesome wins over nobody hasn't gotten them higher. Let me think....awwww. They back loaded their schedule and the BCS doesn't reward for that. There are 3 things that the BCS rankings are saying right now.
One, if Bama loses a single game, they won't get another shot. Bama's computer and SOS is too weak this time to sustain a loss even to a team like LSU.
Two, if Notre Dame wins out, they will pass an undefeated Pac or Big 12 team. Their schedule and pollster favoritism is still there. Any team that beats Michigan State, Michigan, Miami, Stanford, OU and USCal potentially is gonna be in the game.
Third, KSU and Oregon's worlds are crossing. KSU front loaded their schedule and had a few late season games that didn't pan out. So they are now in a root for the teams played mode. Oregon is now hitting their real schedule. They are rooting for both KSU's opponents to fail and KSU to stumble to Okie State or TCU or Texas.
Florida is no joke
I know I thought Muschamp had a Shula mark to him. That is Dooley. More on that in a second. However, Muschamp did the one thing Shula couldn't- he made tough staffing choices. Charlie Weis was a bad fit. Now, they are playing at a really high level and played a much tougher schedule than most. Brent Pease is a very very good OC and has found Driskell's zone and calls plays right into it all day. I don't see UGA with their weak run defense having much of a chance.
The coaching hot seats wear hot pants and are brick jawed....
I can tell you that from sitting with the Tennessee fans and tailgating with them, they know. They were not really into the game as a whole. The stadium was unusually low key early in the game as if they expected to get blistered. His frustration level is high and it came out in his post game talk. To call his QB out and talk about the offense as a whole the way he did, well it was the sound of a guy who is all but checked out. The over under on how long after the season is over to fire him is about 12 hours.
Chizik is a whole different bag of cats. He does have the BCS title there, but that was a long 2 years ago. Cam Newton is proof that good players can make average coaches look better. Hell, look at the Panthers before and now. They were attrocious and he at least makes them competitive. I can see that Shula staffing moment coming where they tell him to clean staff or clean the desk out. Will he do the God thing to do????? The over and under on this is 48 hours.
1 comment:
Hey, were you affected by Sandy? Where's my GBU?
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