Ok, let's start with the disclaimer. I have been going around the Internets and there are some who are hyping up Bama's win over LSU as the greatest ever and AJ is the best QB ever and so on and so on. If you are that person....click back now because you won't like a full analysis of the game. Don't email me with complaints or post here there or yonder saying what a bastard I am for pointing out things that you don't like.
As to the game, this game was needed because the players needed to see that they were mortal, but in other ways they didn't need the nation seeing Alabama bleed like a mortal. Part of the Process has been that folks buy into the hype and the storyline that comes with it. That is gone now because Oregon, K State and Notre Dame all have seen that you can beat Alabama. The question is can they match what LSU did. Of the three, KSU is probably the closest to that type of team. Oregon is a finesse team and has no power game on either side of the ball. Notre Dame has a mediocre offense but a strong and slow defense. Snyder's greatest coaching accomplishment, and folks he is one of the greats by rehabbing KSU not once but twice, has them pounding away.
With that said Saturday night had a lot of everything for me to cover.....
OFFENSE
The Good...
Bama's last act was its best act
What do the numbers 6,5,1,3 and 34 have in common? They are the total yards in all drives in the 2nd half before Bama got one last shot at a win. Alabama didn't play well all night, but when they had to, they came together and the nation saw Norwood step up and be a clutch player. He sold out on a few balls that most wouldn't have to keep the drive alive. The nation saw AJ McCarron suck it up after a Heisman losing performance for 58 and a half minutes and deliver a Daniel Moore worthy moment. The nation saw TJ Yeldon prove yet again that he is that special and it wasn't just the screen. He threw 2 or 3 key blocks in the drive to give AJ the chance to step up and fire. Then when called upon, he chucked the blitzer, set up, and then broke the ankles of a defender to get into the end zone. I have read a lot of comparisons, but it reminded me of 09 Auburn but it really reminded me of 96 Auburn. That game had the screen and Bama had slopped through in the midst of Gene Stallings farewell.
Running game
Later on, you are gonna read a lot about play calling. However, when they did dedicate to the run, they did very well and in the 2nd half, the only progress the team had was in the running game until the last drive. It was clear early that Lacy and Yeldon both wanted this game. This was the best front 7 they were going to see and the challenge was there. The play calling shorted them on the chance to really display their talents, but they rolled up 150 yards between the two and averaged nearly 7 per carry. They were not the reason the offense sputtered. They really were the 2 guys that kept Bama in the game throughout. Every time they needed a play it came from Lacy and Yeldon.
DJ Fluker finally found his religion
No it isn't a religious reference. It is a saying, but in the end he finally had his game and had it against a top end defensive end. He had been weak on the inside rush all year, but he was up to the task to take on Mingo and Montgomery and beat them inside and outside.
Kevin Norwood loves Corndogs
His best two games of his career are against LSU and what is sad is he didn't score against them either time. The effort he gave Saturday is one to show your kids on how you sell out for the game.
The Bad...
Play calling flat out sucked
Now some will bark and say the last drive this and that. Football is 60 minutes and 58 of it was just rough. The offensive philosophy was to pass to set the run up. In hind sight, Bama probably needed to do the opposite. LSU was banking on the Tide throwing early and confused AJ most of the night. Bama looked its best against LSU when they ran the ball. Their first score- 6 of 11 plays were runs. Their second score started with a run and a dump pass to Lacy. In between the two scores, they froze the run game for incomplete passes.
As the game wore on, the play calling on offense seemed frantic and it was like they were flinging poo and hoping it would stick. The defense was gassed and getting beat down slowly but surely because they could not stay off the field. For some reason, they could not slow the game down. They had the lead, and the defense just needed some help. Instead it was a lot of passes that were obviously not going to work as long as LSU played their game. Instead, it was cute plays like the faked reverse dive play that messed up and cost Bama points and gave LSU life. Instead of a few first downs and a fresher defense, they were running the punter out and Bama's defense was looking at nearly 90 plays against it.
The Ugly....
When Bama gets cute, it usually gets caught...
Bama ran the fake reverse a couple of times to "throw off" LSU. They never bit on the play because they had studied film and knew Bama didn't reverse. Their linemen aren't fast enough on the outside to do that and you can't pull a guard because that opens the middle to blow up . The fumble in the red zone was just about a killer, but it was a play that just needed to be ran without selling the fake. Yeldon gets saddled with the fumble on the records, but it was on AJ who was more interested in the fake sell than sealing the hand off. It didn't cost them the game, but you would be lying if you said you felt good about things at that point.
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
The Good...
When they had to have it, they got it...
Overall, this was a game that exposed the Tide defense. However, it also exposed that when beaten, down, and in trouble, they could get it together and make the plays when they had to. Mosley and others made key plays when they had to and forced Miles to take gambles. When he gambled, it failed him and saved Bama's hide Saturday.
Cody Mandell
It is rare that I actually think a Bama punter does well. He was the best weapon the Tide had in the 3rd and 4th quarters. He hit 3 40 plus punts and flipped the field enough to balance the special teams and offensive surge the Tide defense was seeing. It probably won't get a lot of praise, but he deserves a helmet sticker as much as anyone because if he had shanked a few, the game wouldn't have been where it was and the odds of pulling out a win would have been none.
85 plays, 435 yards, and only 17 points
Miles and his gambling habits played a large part in the fact that 85 plays only produced 17 points. While this is the high water mark for the Tide in scoring defense, the bottom line is that they forced the tricks to happen. The fakes and the wildcats and out of range field goal attempts were all created because this defense found its spine when it had to.
The Bad...
Secondary exposure
My travel schedule didn't allow me to talk about MSU, but the secondary has played like I expected them to in the 1st 2 weeks not the last two. Granted, some of the plays that occurred were good plays by the WRs, but there were way too many moments where it was obvious that LSU had found Bama's weak links. Sunseri and Perry were practically pistol whipped all night. Every time they needed a first down, and converted 50% of them, it seemed they were targeting Perry or Sunseri. Rightfully so, most Bama fans have known where the kink was, but when Bama went zone they threw at Perry. When Bama went man, they went after Sunseri and Belue because his height and less physical play was a target. If you are Oregon, you have a little more pep in your step today because you know you have the speed to expose this again. Not sure they have the size or physical nature to do it like LSU did, but we will see.
Personnel Issues
I would argue with anyone, including any coach, why DePriest and/or Johnson cannot be better than Mosley in any package. I'm sure the true believer will point to one play here or there, and I can pretty well call up the last 2 years where Mosley makes big play after big play and covers better than DePriest ever will. I had hoped after Trey embarrassed himself with that cop out tackle on Copeland that they would adjust, but they didn't. Neither Johnson or DePriest had a good game Saturday. They both looked out of position and over matched by the LSU front.
It wasn't just the linebackers. Belue was getting picked on all night and they kept letting them do it. Perry cannot be on the same side of the field as Belue and expect that to work. Both are not great tacklers. Both are slow to react and it cost them a lot of plays Saturday. Conversely, they also knew that if there was man coverage, Sunseri was the guy they wanted to hit on the quick hits because he can't cover. Honestly, I still think that Sunseri needs to be playing where Perry does in about every formation and slide Fulton in at corner and move Millner to Star. He's faster and can rush the QB. Sunseri has yet to look good when they call him for a corner blitz. He's too slow to do it and he hesitates when he sees the lineman instead of trying to speed past them.
To LSU's credit, they had saw this in film and made about as good a game plan as they could have to beat Alabama. Their offense did beat Alabama all night. They made adjustments at half and Bama didn't. The saving grace was Miles, again, but there is a lot of work for Alabama to do if they think they are going to go all the way. The bottom line is that even if they win the SEC, if they have a loss, the won't be in the BCS game if all things keep going this way. Oregon, ND, and KSU all look like they will go undefeated, so Bama will not have the resume to argue a one loss SEC champ jumping them.
The Ugly....
Will a real punt returner please stand up...please stand up
We're gonna have a problem here. You act like you haven't seen a punt before. Les and Ed Orgeron bust through the door start picking ears and eating grass.... ok, enough Eminem theme. It is just not acceptable that this late in the year, they are still hunting a return man. Neither Jones has displayed that they can be trusted. They both take risks they cannot take and it is pretty clear that they are not coaching them about how to approach the job. When to fair catch, when to run, when to let the punt go, and so on. Out of the two, Cyrus is the better option, but that may or may not be an option depending on how the staff views his fumble and fair catch issue from Saturday.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
Fixed Assets
Joker Phillips was the first to be liquidated, but he will have company pretty quick. To be fair, Kentucky is a tough job with Basketball being the top priority. However, when your game is so thinly attended that ESPN has to pan in so that you cannot see the stands for the game, you have lost the faith. It wasn't a shock, they aren't competitive and won't be for a while. With that said, his firing wasn't a shock but I thought Dooley would be out first.
The list of SEC liquidation assets are growing by the week. Dooley, Chizik, and John L Smith are all pretty well buzzard bait unless they pull off a miracle. Les Miles is tip toeing towards that mark because of all his gambling and time management debacles reappearing after 2 years off. A loss to MSU or Arkansas would send the fan base over the edge. That or a poor bowl showing again.
On the other side, guys who probably are about to make some serious cash money are guys like James Franklin who has done nothing short of a coach of the year performance at Vandy. Guys like Kirby Smart and Brent Pease or Dan Quinn are all top end coordinators who will get a lot of looks. Sal Sunseri will get looks elsewhere also. Don't hold it against him that he's in a mess with a lousy program.
The one name I really don't want to see as hired is Charlie Strong. He was a top end DC for Florida and USCar and has done a really nice job cleaning up the Kragthorpe and Petrino debacle. Kragthorpe was over his pay grade, but Petrino's bad seeds and poor talent were starting to show while he was there. Just look at Arkansas now. He's gone and they can't make them work because they can only work in his complex and pass happy system. Strong's clean up job is nothing short of impressive and you put him in a Tennessee or Auburn, watch out. He can recruit and more importantly, he can coach.
If another Internet wannabe says "they have had a very good week of practice", light the bags of poop and have at it!
It is the dreaded kiss of death it seems, but when the wannabe "insiders" come out and talk out of their ass side ways about how great Alabama practiced, they usually haven't. Why lie or talk like you know? It is ok to be a part of the 99 percent in this case too. Look, at the end of the day, we all get stuff told to us by folks who either know or don't but it sounds good. Bringing attention to yourself by talking about your insider info that never comes true is just wasting time and making people believe in Santa when it is time to let that go.
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