Time to do a little pre-season thinking with A-Day a week or so away and with that,the NCAA finals, the draft, baseball, and more to cover, it is a nice time to be a sports fan....
Spring is sprung and if talent were flowers, Bama has a friggin 3 mile garden....
The stats of scrimmages don't mean much when it is the Saban way. In the past, probably did a little more, but with Saban being more about situations and using the spring to test and tweak things before summer and serious drill time comes, it won't mean a lot to me if someone rushes for this or passes for that.
So what does catch my eye or ear? I like hearing the staff talk about the depth. I like hearing that there is serious competition at a lot of positions and some of them are with existing starters. That I like because a bland spring with no competition is really almost wasted practices. I like seeing the depth chart with players that are versatile and could start elsewhere. Guys like McCullough and Boswell who can play a lot of positions and could start about anywhere else, but they push the starters and if the starters fail, they will pick up the slack. I know Steen gets a lot of hype, and I hope to see a much better player than what I saw last year, and with a new voice and style, maybe that is gonna happen. Players like Aaron Douglas can bring experience and an edge....as long as that edge leaves rapping to Jay Z.....
I like seeing and hearing that Hightower looks like 2009 Donta again. I like knowing that CJ and Nico are starting to get their roles down better. CJ especially. This is a big year for him, and for Upshaw. Courtney has the ability to control a game, we have witnessed that, but this is a bigger season because he needs to show the NFL that he can put together a full season. I hope to see him take that challenge on and Bama will benefit from that. This is a big year for Richardson. Trent has the chance to be THE guy. He now has 13 or 14 games to show off and get the 20 carries a game he hasn't always gotten before. Last season, with Ingram out, he looked good with more touches and he played better later in the game than he did at the start. This is a big year for DJ Fluker because he now has a year under his belt, and he should be a lot more comfortable in his role and how to play at this level.
The spring is always a good time to get your rough edges smoothed and enter the summer ready to make that next level jump.
Ten things that I want to look at/see this A-Day
Like I said, I don't care about the stats or scores of the scrimmages or A-Day. There are a few things that I want to see or know:
1. When it comes to the QB battle, who looks more comfortable leading the 1s?
They aren't going to name a leader or a starter after A-Day. I would be surprised if they even name one before game week to be honest. I don't see a great gap between the two candidates and haven't read or heard anything that tells me there is a real leader in the race. So, all the message board politicking and hype for either is just fodder and fun, but there will be something to listen for when Saban talks and there will be something for each of us to look for. I want to see the guy who handles things best. I don't care who throws the TD pass because it is true, for a good Offensive play, a bad Defensive play happens. I do care about the whole game and how both look when leading the 1s. I wanna see what happens if one gets stuck on the 2s and how they handle that job. AJ sulked a bit as a freshman about those moments, and I hope to see that he's matured and taken a huddle leader role. I wanna see if Sims can take the opportunity and show the skills and poise he did as a HS Senior. It will at least be worth watching.
2. How tough is the Offensive Line now?
I know some of you out there will balk and complain saying that they are tough....blah blah blah.... Being tough has merit, and playing line is a tough thing, I get that. However, playing tough is a different thing and often times in 2010, I didn't see the Tide's OL play tough. Will this OL be able to put some of the past bad habits in the past and start to establish itself so that it is as important a weapon as the 2009 line was when called on.
One of the big disappointments from last year was the drop from the ground and pound, take teams out of the game line in 09 and the flop and plop, can't get 2 yards when it needed it version that came around 3 times last year. I hope that Vlachos is healthy because when I re-watched last year's games, he wasn't near the player he was the year before- both physically and condition wise. Carpenter has graduated, and I wish the guy at the Senior Bowl showed up for a game in 2010, but in his place will be a host of contenders. At this moment, looks like Alfred has taken the lead on Aaron Douglas with Cyrus hoping to get in and make a case in the summer. I like McCullough, you can read past years to know that, but I think Douglas once he gets the speed and style down, is still the go to guy. One thing that is very interesting is that Chance Warmack is being pushed hard and rightfully so. With Arie K, Steen, Boswell, among others, pushing him, that's good for Chance and good for the line. Chance is great when he gets his hands on someone, it is just a matter of that happening. If someone is gonna beat him out, they just need to play centered and be able to pull on a counter a few times, and if they can do that, they can beat him.
3. Can the Defensive line find the streak?
Let's be honest. Bo Davis lost his voice and the line lost that mean streak. It is easy to look good when you have great players, but it means more if you do it when you are working with good players but not great players. This year, Bama has more depth, and a few new faces to try out. The latest word is that the down 3 are Square, Chapman, and Williams. That isn't a surprise really, but Williams at DE is a bit of one. I thought they would move Chapman over, but he's taken that same challenge that Warmack has and stepped his game up. This is good news because for the depth and talent at LB, they need 3 guys to take those tough gap assignments and let them do their thing. I think with Square back to his pre injury form, and Hightower there too, there is a lot of good things to expect from the front 7.
The offensive line was bad at times, but the front 3 or 4 was bad a lot more down the stretch. There are some who will quip a stat line. Let me stop you now, because stat lines are shit. I know two things, there are 3 losses, especially Auburn, where the front didn't make the push or the play when they needed to. There were even games where the team won, but they faded down the stretch or in the case of Arkansas, took a half to show up. I wanna see them step it up and from scrimmage one to A-Day, I wanna read how the D line is ahead of the O line, because that is usually the way it is and needs to be.
4. Can a punter kick the damn ball?
Mary Katherine Mother of Kate, I absolutely hate poor special teams. It is 3 leg of winning football. You run the ball, you play defense, and you play solid special teams. That's all. And when you have a kink in one of those 3, that sucks. Last year, there were great punts, and there were iffy punts, and there were some that I am surprised that Coach Saban didn't shove his foot up a punter or coach's ass. The lack of a solid kicking/punting bothers me because there are some games that they could be the difference.
5. Can the secondary grow up and be a lockdown group?
You can talk about the whole 5 stars, 4 stars and the hype and potential, but for all the issues the front had/have, the secondary contributed its share of mistakes during games too. Kirkpatrick doesn't look like he is going to be challenged, but Millner will be. Fulton and Menzie aren't slouches by any means. Fulton is probably the best compliment to DK as far as lock down guys. Menzie is experienced and played better than I expected with a rehabbed Achilles. He just didn't have the stamina to keep the starter role. Millner reminds me a lot of Green at the same stage. Good player, but a bit of a tweener. Millner was a guy that some projected to play safety. I can see why after watching him last year. He is better at tackling and playing straight than playing in space or having to cut and chase a faster player. That is kinda the Robbie Green story after his freshman year. They move him to safety to compliment Woodall and Barron, and it is magic. With Green probably done, he could be that same player who is the Star, the Money, or FS that they missed last year. Also, at some point, Williams and Perry have to practice or their spots may fall down the roster. They've missed a great opportunity due to injuries, but both were injured most of last year too if memory serves right.
They need to find a 6 man group that can be the closers for the front 5 (4 down and 1 LB). They have a variety of options but none that looked solid together. I hope to see a 6 man set of DK and Menzie or Fulton at corner, Millner or Menzie at Star, and Barron, Lester and Millner/Menzie/Dix in the back. When Bama has a great dime unit, they are hard to play. When they don't, they are too slow for some of the top end offenses in the SEC.
6. Will the post-Julio era hurt as bad as it feels like it will?
Don't bother with stats. After the first scrimmage, last year, there was about 500 yards passing. Why? Cause they called about 55 pass plays. Not that impressive, especially when Jones had 150 of them. What Jones did is provide a two headed weapon. He could take the game on his shoulders when he wanted to and he could be the greatest decoy for Maze and Hanks when he was asked to. They don't have that today. They have names and hype, but no substance. That's a problem.
Maze and Hanks will lead the charge, but they need compliments because they neither one are top tier WRs, they are role players who do a hell of a job in those roles. Bell is fast, but I wanna see him go over the middle and take a hit for once. Gibson is the Georgia Bulldog of the group. Next year is his year every year. Well this is it, step up. White and Malone are young and will get some chances, but I am not thrilled that they aren't taking that step and beating those mentioned already. That is what they were signed to do. Norwood is Darius Hanks, he blocks, he catches, and he can make a mistake turn into 6 when it happens, but he isn't flashy. He also doesn't compliment the starting 2, and that is a common issue with all of the ones on the campus is that they are all small speedsters at 6' or under and don't give a sideline or corner of the endzone the same threat a 6-5 player can. Michael Bowman is still the same player he was when he started, just thicker. He will make a great catch, but will miss a route as well. It isn't a make or break year for MB, but it would be great to see the light come on here. Carter comes in the fall with a lot of promise that is probably a little over stated. He is a good player, but he isn't Julio Jones. The great thing about a JC WR is that they know the basic play book already, and know how to practice (should). He will get a chance to show his stuff and earn a starting job. There intails the ah ha moment for the WR core too. They take another WR from JuCo with 9 on campus and 3 or 4 more in the fall, doesn't sound like they have the fit they thought they should have doesn't it???
7. The joy of seeing DePriest and others for the first time.
I liked what I saw of him in High School, so seeing him against his peers will be a nice thing too to see where he is at, and how much growth he needs to do. Same for Carswell and Dee Hart. Both, like Trey, are competing in deeper roster spots and have little to no chance of serious PT outside of special teams, but the spring is a chance to see what 2013 can be. Getting to see if Jesse Williams is the beast that so many proclaimed his is or is he just a really good big player? Seeing him as well as Dial and Douglas come in this spring and compete will be fun and should tell us a lot about the existing players and the new JUCOs as well and what level of excitement we should have for this year and beyond.
Remember- we all thought that this past team was the shiznit and couldn't be beaten.
8. Can the staff get over their own issues and become the finishers again?
The talk is great, and I am glad to hear them talk about how they let up on Auburn and such, but I wanna see some walk on that talk. I wanna see them scrimmage and play to finish, not observe and protect. With so many new coaches on board and Saban screaming it all day, it has to sink in and become culture again. If there is one thing from the Auburn loss that was kinda good, it is that it woke Saban up about how they managed the game on their side. The tight play calling, the lack of adjustments, and the predictability on both sides at times (see wildcat tamed, and oh look Bama sits in a zone, let's cherry pick) all culminated in a shocking loss to the rival. Two things shouldn't happen in the Process- first you never lose a 20 point lead after the half, and second you don't coach like you are playing Georgia State when you are playing Auburn. It will be interesting to see in the scrimmages and A Day if they are catching themselves when they let up on the throttle of the games.
9. Can Michael Williams and Co. bring the best of 09 with the best of 10?
Let's face it, Williams is like a 6th lineman out there most of the time and has never been able to showcase his catching ability. He is plenty athletic and can catch. He's not fast, but TEs who actually block usually aren't. He isn't going to be flashy, but he can be more than the tackles cha cha partner. Smelley's absence has been a good chance for Vogler and Jones to push for more consideration along with newest H Back convert Jalston Fowler. Neither Vogler or Jones make the ideal H Back, but they can be used as traditional TEs more and allow Bama to showcase the 2 TE power sets again. Fowler is probably better suited at H Back than tailback as there are plenty of bruisers back there that run faster. However, with Dial gone, and Smelley MIA, he's got a great chance to steal that from him. If he can catch at all and block at all, he's probably got Brad beaten. If those things happen, then maybe, just maybe, Williams can be allowed to be an offensive threat and not a hidden helper.
10. Will the real Jerrell Harris ever stand up?
He ain't got a choice now does he? He's the starting Sam in the spring, but like each of the last few years, he seems to wither in the summer drills and is lost in the shuffle and playing ST again by October. Physically, he's got the gifts. Mentally, he can't seem to ever cut the corner and progress beyond "I like hitting things". There isn't a twist of fate or luck in the fact that a true freshman, a half injured sophomore, a former bust, and a slower but smarter linebacker beat him out over the years (that's CJ Mosely, Nico Johnson and his hernia, Chavis Williams, and Cory Reamer for those keeping score). All these things can be a positive if he actually tries to make those experiences pan out now. Sam is the least used position and that kinda says something in itself, but if he can make the most out of it and produce from it, he will at least finish better than he started. That is something 24 months ago, I didn't think he could do and he may not still, but this is that time for him and this is that season for him to get things turned around and be a real football player and not the fly around, build lore, and not do shit player he seems to wind up being each fall. The potential in him is there, we all see it, but he has gotta put that potential into reality or he will be a bust and need to rely on his education instead. This, again, is that season for Jerrell Harris, no more chances, no more next years, no more well you see what happened was or buts about it, this is it and he's gotta show he can play the game without the mistakes for once.
UConn wins it all.....and so ends my worst bracket ever!
Since I have been at the age of accountability, I don't think that I have ever missed all 4 final four teams. Parity has taken basketball over thanks to the NBA. I think Dick Vitale said it best, and I am paraphrasing, the reason these mid majors look so good against the traditional powers is that they have a roster full of 3 and 4 year players while most of the traditionals have 1st and 2nd year guys. He went on to say that the talent gap is not there when you put a 22 year old on a 18 year old that often. He's right. The reason the Dukes, UConns, Butlers, and VCU/George Masons seem to do better than Kentucky and others now is that they get more guys that go 4 years or 3 minimum. They get the bond and the chemistry that the talent rich teams don't typically have. In basketball, that will beat talent gaps 9 times out of 10.....as long as we are talking bout gaps not trenches.
I will say I wanted Butler to win and give the mid majors a forum to push for more recognition because the team that pistol whipped Bama in the Garden (pronounced Gahhden by Knick fans) was a mid major who deserved to get a bid just as much as Bama and Colorado did. I think it is better basketball to be honest when I see Butler play, wasn't tonight/yesterday but up until it was. I thought VCU looked well coached and played well beyond where they should have especially when 25 million people were crying foul that they made it at all. What I hope to see more of is real basketball and not this junk I see too much of in college and the pros. Defense, passing, pick and rolls, give and gos, etc are boring and all, but they win championships. Not 3s and dunks, sure they help, but when you can't buy a bucket outside, pound that SOB inside some more. I see that so many times when I watch the NCAA tournament now, teams go in thinking they live and die by 3 pointers and when they die it is like watching John Starks all over again in game 7 vs. the Rockets years ago. The game is getting sloppy because the coaching is getting sloppy up and down the org chart. I hope the VCU and Butler upsets will make folks take a look at how fundamentals and building a real team can pay off.
Tall Draft ahead
Alabama will have a good showing at this year's draft for sure. They will have 3 1st round picks this year and should have 5 overall taken. My gut instincts think:
Marcel Dareus- Top 5. Not anything earth shattering since all have had him there since the Rose Bowl, but I would say that using the 1st overall is good for Bama, but probably not best for Dareus right now either. I have always said that it isn't what pick you are, it is what team picks you that makes you in the NFL. Carolina and Buffalo aren't that great of a teams any more and it would serve Dareus well to slip down to Denver or Arizona or Cleveland or Tennessee. Given Marcel is a guy who likes the lights and the stage, I would think Denver would be a nice home for him with the 2nd pick.
Julio Jones- Top 10. The combine basically sealed the fact that he's a freak. He would work well in San Fran in the west coast. He would do well in Shanahan's offense at Washington. I don't think he will go ahead of AJ Green but for either, it is about the QB and the offense that will determine the final "Who is best" debate. It wouldn't hurt Julio's greater good to slide down to 14 with the Rams or 17 with the Patriots or 19 with the Giants. All have good QBs and a passing oriented offense that likes to vertical. I think the main thing for Jones and the final draft spot is what is important to the draft team- is it the potential that he has, or the resume he has that features the great with the good and the bad.
Mark Ingram- Late 1st Round. Ok, here's the thing, there is a lot of rumblings about Ingram's injuries and some teams who aren't that enamoured any more with taking a RB early are starting to cool on him. It isn't any thing to do with his physical measurements or his stats, but just the fear that taking him too early will cost them more than he is worth if he cannot handle the pounding for 5 or 6 years. I won't be shocked if he falls down in the 20s or out of the 1st round all together because teams just don't like taking RBs unless they are just that damn good. Ingram at 100% with no injuries was that good, but the dings and rumors of arthritis in the knee makes him not that sure bet. If the Dolphins pass on him, the Giants might take a look at him, the Eagles will be in a position to take him late and get defensive quality down the board, the Saints might, and the Patriots will have a hard time passing him at 28 if still there. The Dolphins will be the best home for him with the Wildcat and the 2 back system in place now, but the Dolphins have the Ronnie Brown injury bug taste in their mouth, and don't want it again.
James Carpenter- Had the Senior Bowl of his life. His draft depends on where teams see him. If they see him as a tackle, he may be out there for a while. If they see him as a guard, he probably is gone in the 4th round, maybe 3rd if a team is hungry for linemen. I think Carpenter needs to go to a team that can finish grooming him and working on his basic skills a little more and help him transition to guard if that is what they want him for. Asking him to start or compete for a starting job is probably not best for him today, but he has the size and want to, and that has gotten him this far. Rounding off the edges and teaching him a few things will improve him down the road.
Greg McElroy- Late 5 or 6th round. I think 2 things get him drafted. First, he's like a 2nd coach for the quarterbacks. He can read it, talk about it, and articulate a solid theory about plays and teams. Second, he is a leader and a winner and has enough skill sets to warrant a late pick. Letting him go to FA will not pan well for the 6 to 8 teams that would probably like him. He picks who he wants to play for, Dallas or Houston, as opposed to other alternatives. I wouldn't be surprised to see Jax take him and reunite him and Shula. Nor would it surprise me to see him at the Raiders, Packers, Patriots, or Chiefs. The mission for Greg isn't starting, but it is being the 3rd QB this fall. Then working to number 2 and taking that opportunity when the starter goes down. He's tough, and he has seen about every speed rusher and blitz package known to man. He's worth a pickup late for teams needing a little depth at QB.
Damn you dirty Braves!!!!
I admit it. I am that homer Braves fan that holds hope even now that they can find magic again and make a miracle run. Every year I believe, because deep down that boy holding a wooden bat and dreaming of being Dale Murphy still exists. The Braves are going to break my heart like they did each year for the last 20 minus one year. They have Uggla who has some pop and post season resume to him, but they have nothing around him. There is no power on this lineup and I can see another post season where they can't manufacture enough runs because the playoff pitching is too good. They don't have those big bats they need in that 2nd season. Chipper Jones of 8 years ago could, but this one can't. Heyward is a good hitter but he won't deliver 30 homers I don't think. Prado, nope. Gonzalez, probably not. Freeman hasn't hit the ball hardly yet. McClouth can't decide if he wants to slug it or bunt it. McCann's body won't be great at the end due to all the abuse he takes at the plate. I really hope they can pull a trade or something to find one good veteran bat to help push them in the playoffs because the Phils and Giants still have too much pitching for the Braves.
April 4, 2011
February 7, 2011
Random Thoughts- bawlin, bowlin, cruitin, and cryin
Time for some fun with the Signees....
Brent Calloway- He will get a nickel tour at running back, but he has very little upside as a back. His probable home is Sam or Will with some time and bulking up. As a linebacker, he has good speed and he moves well with surprisingly little wasted motion for a guy who doesn't play it much. He is a fundamentally good tackler who uses good form and drive and very little arm tackling. He likes to blitz and is a north south guy and will need a little time and coaching to work on the reads and skills that it will take to play for Saban, but that is what redshirting and playing ST can do. If he is dead set on playing RB, he is in that Mike Marrow family of depth chart. I think he will see the light faster than BJ Scott and some others did.
Ha Ha Dix- Geez what a nickname. As far as style goes, he reminds me a lot of Barron in how he loves to pursue and seems to always be around the ball. Has been well coached because he moves to the action with almost 0 wasted steps or motions, if you wonder what that means, that is the difference in 4th down and 1st down 9 times out of 10. He gets called a headhunter by some, but he's not quite that big of a hitter, but he won't shirk a shot over the middle to some poor slot WR. It won't surprise me if he isn't the Money some this year or next as he transitions the same way Barron and Green and Lester have. He will benefit from playing behind those guys too. The one thing I have seen in video of him is that he's the typical ESPN SportsCenter generation guy who wants to get on TV for the hit more than just making the play. I would like to have seen more plays where he just wraps up and drives the carrier down instead of trying to load and pop. At the SEC level, that technique will work once and a while, and the rest of the time is a bounce off and extra YAC. He probably will play ST and mopup for the secondary this year as they groom him to transition after Barron is gone. Add Eddie Williams to Dix and you have a really good duo for the future.
Trey DePriest- This is one guy that I really like what I see. There are some guys that a program gets just because they are the home team, and others are a real work to get. Going to Ohio and yanking this guy out from OSU and Notre Dame is a great recruiting job. The thing I really like about Trey is that he can play on the line or back off the line and still disrupt from outside or inside. He really does a nice job of keeping linemen off his pads and getting inside them. He moves well to the ball, but like most HS LB's, he can be a little stiff and gets too high at times. I think he probably will be in the mix at Will or Mike in a year or two. He needs to RS due to depth and to learn the system a little more. Physically, he is D1 ready as he can do 28 reps and has a weight room ethic that Saban and Cochran will like.
Quinton Dial- The Tide was able to keep Dial on the hook 2 years later and he has matured and grown. He is a gap filler who can play the end and the tackle in the 3-4. He will be a good compliment to Upshaw and Square as well as whomever the NG ends up being if he plays end. If they use him at Nose, I think he can be a little bigger version of Chapman. That isn't a knock because I like Chapman in pass situations. He does a good job of getting low and exploding into the gap like most bull rushing linemen do. He will play this year and give more depth and options to the Tide front. I look for him to compete for the inside end and will help Upshaw out a great deal as he will require some double teams due to his size.
Xzavier Dickson- The state of Georgia represented well in recruiting and Bama did a nice job of getting this guy out from Tech and UGA. He is a Jack at the next level so he is almost a lock to redshirt because Upshaw and Hightower are available as well as Stinson. So they are deep there and it really is good for the X Man to learn the difference in Jack and Rush End. He is very athletic and could play TE if Jack is not his thing. He does remind me of Upshaw coming out of school in that he has so much upside, but has not been taught how to harness that talent. He, like Upshaw, can play lights out on one play and disappear for a while. He plays in a higher division of GA football so he is seeing top end players on a regular basis. That will pay dividends for him and the Tide because the speed won't be as much of an issue. I think a year in the weight room and grooming in practice, he'll be a contender for Jack next year.
Aaron Douglas- Douglas was probably the most hated recruit for about 3 days as Cyrusgate went on. Douglas is a great athlete for his size and while at UT was a really impressive Freshman. He took on some big name players and did well against them in 2009. He isn't going to just plow through guys like Andre Smith would, but he is going to be a major upgrade as a pass blocking LT. He has really good footwork and keeps his frame squared and low so that defenders don't get inside him or around him. Has a real thrust when he engages defenders and has a lot of power for a lineman under 300 pounds. He is enrolled and will probably open spring as the starting LT. His experience in the SEC and extra practice time will put him in a good position to win the job in the spring or summer.
Phillip Ely- Here is the thing that I really like about him, he played against the nation's best teams as Plant traveled across the area to play the best of the best. He is from the same school as Aaron Murray and Robert Marve. He is a little small, but he has good speed and is smart. Yes, he probably is a game manager. He will get a lot of comparisons to McElroy because he's less big arm QB and more system and ball control oriented. That part I like. He isn't quite as football smart as McElroy was coming out of HS, but who was? He will win the staff over if he can be accurate and manage the huddle. That's what Saban and McElwain want. Not pretty boy highlight chasing. The one thing that worries me is that he's a spread QB. He has very little pro style QB time under his belt and will take a while to get used to being under center. This wouldn't be an issue if there wasn't uncertainty about QB depth. McElroy had the same issue, but nobody worried about Wilson going anywhere. Ely needs 2 years on the side to get up to speed and bulk up some. He may hang in there and be a competitor down the road, but the 2012 QB class could shadow him fast too.
Malcom Faciane- Meet the next Michael Williams folks. He isn't quite as big physically as Williams was coming in, but that's where he's headed. He tore his ACL this past year, so he will not be expected to contribute now. That's not a problem because Bama has 4 TEs that can. He has good hands and is really athletic for his size. He is ok as a blocker, but with a RS he can learn how to be a real down hill blocker. Most folks won't think about him in this class as far as a "name" recruit, but like Williams he can be a big on field contributor in time. With a little coaching, and weight room ethic he will be one of those guys.
LaMichael Fanning- Another big get from Georgia, and as a GA resident I take a little swelled chest pride about. He's a big kid and will be a rush end at the next level. He is about as raw a recruit as you will find, and that isn't surprising given he played for 4 teams in 4 years. I fear he may never see a field due to grades though.
Dee Hart- I know a lot of folks had high hopes for snagging Isaiah Crowell, but this was the guy I liked best. He is going to be a nice fill in for Ingram because he does some of the things that Ingram did so well. His vision, and cutback move are similar. He is a multiple threat as he had 2200 yards rushing, 500 receiving, and can return kicks. He probably is the starter at returning kicks by default. He also reminds me some of Maurice Jones Drew and Michael Turner because he can bounce off hits and keep pinballing forward to get first downs. He isn't going to bust out an 80 yard dash, but he can get 80 yards on 7 carries and wear out a linebacker core. When put in with TR, he will be a nice balance to him and will give Trent a push just as TR did for Ingram.
Chris Jones- This may be the most anyone will talk about Jones all year. Jones is overlooked because his grades are pretty iffy. If he makes it on the field, he is a really really sound DB. He has a quick backpeddle and turn, he is a ball hawk. Plays for a great program, and has zone coverage skills which is rare. He isn't afraid to hit, but is a corner quality tackler. He is well coached and does a really good job of doing the little things that a lot of players don't do like look at the QB and not the WR's eyes, looking for the ball, and taking the right angles to break up routes. If he can find the will, and an A, I would like to see him on the field some this fall.
Ryan Kelly- Like Jones, this may be the most anyone talks about him too because he's a center. Centers rarely rate high on recruiting boards, but when you have a shitty one (Britt anyone), you know it. He won't play for a few years, and with the ACL injury, he won't be expected to. He is big but needs to bulk up and get stronger (16 reps for a lineman?). He is aggressive and plays downhill well, but I really like that he's good at keeping his pads low and his hands inside. He is a really well coached guy when I watch him. He just needs a lot of polish in the weight room area to get to the next level as a starting center because the mechanics look good to me.
Cyrus Kouandjio- The soap opera has ended and the fans love him again. I think the hype has blurred the bar a bit for Cyrus, but the potential does meet the hype. He has all the measurements, numbers, and stats you want in a future LT. He has some of the best footwork I've seen out of a high schooler and when he did the drills at the UA game, it sent a message. He will get a lot of comparisons to DJ Fluker or Andre Smith just because that's what recruiting freaks measure to, but he's not either. Smith was a lot more game ready than Cyrus is physically and played LT before. He's ahead of Fluker from a football standpoint but is nowhere near the physical talent that DJ was. He played RT and there is some difference between LT and RT, but it isn't something that will keep him from playing if he's the best available. He is a true 5 star player, and has earned that mark. What will keep him from being Tyler Love is the one unmeasurable that folks miss- Cyrus Kouandjio has a mean streak and wants to kill you. I like watching him run block, he does everything almost textbook. I would like to see him look more comfortable in the pass block. I thought against Clowney he looked good at times, but lost containment a little more than I would want from a starter at LT. Clowney is a good litmus test, but there are a lot better, experienced, ends and linebackers that he will see in the SEC that will expose him more early and hopefully he can learn and adjust to it. I would expect him to redshirt or just do mop up as Douglas is game ready and with a green QB, he will need that more than potential. Also, the redshirt will give him a chance to get up to the speed while trying to block Bama's defenders.
Isaac Luatua- If he is a Hawaii type lineman, Bama fans and myself will love him. The taste of that ass kicking they put on Bama several years ago is still fresh on my mind. He is a little short but has a lot of power and is a pure pull trap guard. I know the talk of center is there, and he may be it, but I think his atheltic ability may have him at LG to pull and trap more. While he is a little short, he uses his body as a weapon and is so strong he can take on much bigger linemen and stand them up. He is really dominating at times and plays mean. I think he could start at a WAC type school right away, but he wants to win and learn. I like his attitude and his playing style. I think folks discount him cause he's a 3 star player in most rankings, but don't forget him. He's got all the things that a coach wants and I can see him pushing for PT next year. He may push Steen out of the rotation this year if he plays for it.
Jeoffery Pagan- I know he was a signing day surprise and the star thing plays up, but the knee thing worries me with him. He tore 2 ligaments in his right knee and is a little unknown. This is the part where some will say trust in Saban....How'd that Chris Bonds thing work? He also is pretty raw and lacks a lot of fundamentals from a coaching standpoint. He's big and what I have seen of him, he likes to use his size to get through, but he won't be as big at the next level. The biggest positive is that before the injury, he has the athelticism and motor to be a real pass rushing end. He is big enough to put on some weight and really anchor down an end. He does need a lot of coaching though so don't expect him to show up for a couple of years because the stars don't match the player right now, but will in 3 years.
DJ Pettaway- He was forgotten about because he committed so early, but he is a player. I could see him bulked up and playing end or working towards being a Jack. DJ loves to use his hands and drive blockers back. He does a real good job of closing on the carrier and once he gets inside on a blocker, it is over. He is the typical HS prospect though, he is inconsistent. He will get too high and lets his hands drop, both result in him getting beat. I have heard him compared to Luther Davis, that's probably close but I hope he isn't as flaky.
Marvin Shinn- I like Shinn and if there wasn't a guy named Julio Jones, he'd be the biggest thing in years to the Tide. That's really where the comparisons to JJ end too. I know a lot of folks compare him to Jones, but he isn't nearly as strong and physical as Jones was. He is more of a vertical threat and more of a ski step runner than a galloper, whereas Jones was more of an over the middle and gallop runner. Shinn is probably a lot more consistent in how he catches and runs routes. He has a great stride and can jump out of the stadium to get a ball. He reminds me more of D Rogers at UT in that regard. I haven't seen a corner jam him because he uses his hands to keep them off him and his hips to buck them off his stride. I also haven't seen him get beat for a ball in the air either. The thing to remember about him is that he's not a life long ball player like many big time WRs. He's a Basketballer turned WR. He also played Wildcat QB some too so he is a little raw at WR. He may get overwhelmed by the playbook. I think he gets in the rotation this fall, but he could be the next great WR at Bama and he could be BJ Scott.
Vinnie Sunseri- Ain't no worrying about coaching with this guy. Sunseri's dad is one of my personal favorites and his son is a good ball player too that turned heads when given the chance to show off. For all the Will Lowery posts out there about how great he is, Sunseri is probably the next Rudy type. He's a bit small, but he has all the instincts and intangibles to be a great contributor even if he never starts. Everything about him is likeable too. He moves to the ball well, plays bigger than he is, and always seems to make the play when the team needs one. He is pretty fast, but jumps like a white boy...so did I. I could see him as a Will in the Nickel or as a Money in the Nickel or Dime to give underneath coverage. He moves real well side to side and is a natural MLB. I would compare him to Dat Nguyen. Great motor, great player, but not the biggest or strongest. If Bama played 4-3, he would be higher on the list, but as a 3-4 he may not bulk up enough to play in that scheme.
Bradley Sylve- Meet Bama's version of Percy Harvin. The guy is blazing fast and can change directions on a dime. He is a slot WR and a nightmare for defenses if he comes in focused. He will probably play as a TFr because he can return kicks too. He isn't afraid to go over the middle and take a hit. I like that he wants the ball all the time. You can see it in how he plays that he wants to make the move and get the ball. He is a lot farther along than Shinn in understanding the game, but not as big. He has a freaky 2nd burst that gives him separation. I can see him getting a lot of looks in the cat and in the shotgun sets.
Jabriel Washington- He projects as a cornerback. I get queezy about players from "academies" and he is a good example. Pretty raw as a corner. He's fast, and he is athletic, but he isn't real fluid as a corner. He is a little more of a project than most of the others. He is the Anthony Steen of this class. Maybe he pans out, but what little I can find to watch on him, isn't earth shattering.
Jesse Williams- Boy, the frats will want him at the party. I like what I see out of him too. I think the fans are expecting him to be the next Cody, but he's not a Cody. He is a little more versatile than Mount was. Cody was not a pass rush threat. Williams is a disruptive every down player. He does get a little high at times off the snap, but he is so strong that he can really create separation with his arms. He does a really good job of pursuing the ball from side to side. He will draw a constant double team because he is so strong. His motor runs all game and he won't quit on a play. He seems to always get inside the blocker and take the inside gaps out fast. I can see why folks think he will start day one. He can, and he might. He and Chapman along with Dial will all get plenty of chances to shine.
Danny Woodson- There are some flags here. Rumblings about grades, weight room discipline or lack there of, and just a hunch makes me worry here. His Nike Camp was ick...but his AL/MS week was great. So which one does Bama get? His body almost says tailback. I wouldn't laugh, he could be that Harvin type back. He is deceptively fast and has good hands. In some respects, he reminds me of Nikita Stover. He isn't going to just blaze away from defenders, but you give him a crease and he will house it. He does a nice job of keeping his hips loose and uses them to separate and make his tackle zone smaller.
Super Bowlin, Fans a Bawlin, and a Cryin....
If you want to see sports get ruined, ask Fox Sports to handle an event. Baseball wonders why their ratings drop each post season, and why the BCS sucked? Fox, that's why. The whole production and use of Joe Buck as your premier announcer will almost always result in FAIL. The NFL is gonna have to get over the Janet Jackson thing too. The halftime and pregame stuff is getting harder to do. You could see the Black Eyed Peas struggling to do a show that fit in the box. Getting Christina Aguilera should have been a slam dunk, but damn that was rough. The commercials even were a little sub par this year. A great game between two of the storied teams in the NFL was kinda an afterthought due to all the junk.
In other bitching, I kid, but not really. I am really starting to hate recruiting. It was great when I was a kid. My dad and I would sit up on Friday and Saturday nights to hear Bill King or get a Forrest Davis mag. When the Internet went primetime, it was great for recruiting. You could find out who was visiting, who was favoring who, and so on. Then came the hat thing, and the me thing, and now it is the commitment is just a technical thing thing. Folks wondered why I would step out and defend Cyrus K's coach, it was because it was nice to see a person stand up and actually try to make a player be a man about the situation. How bad has recruiting gotten? Well, Pagan was committed to 3 different teams this past year. Marcus Roberson went from his uncle's team, Texas Tech, to Auburn, and then to Florida. Brent Calloway garnered attention that most wouldn't want when he went a year with Bama, then spent a nickel tour with Auburn, only to return to Bama on signing day. I'm not alone in the I hate where this is going camp, Newberg is starting to question how this thing can get civil again.
I don't like the fans side of it either. The players should have their moment, and if they wanna do the hats or animals or burn the logo in the sand, whatever it is, that's their thing. I just wish they would have some respect for the programs and not make it so much about them per se, but the fans on the other hand have taken things too far. Facebook stalking didn't start with CJ Johnson. It has gone on for a while. I think fan support for recruits can be good if channeled right, but some of the things I see now make me cringe at what is ahead. The message board society has blurred the line as far as what is ok and what is creepy. Hint, if you are over 25 and following and posting to an 16 or 17 year old's page, that's creepy if you aren't family. I fear that one day we will hear of a zealous fan gone wrong who loses it when player X who the fan base believes salvation comes with his signature, doesn't sign and blows the kids brains out. That is where recruiting is headed because now we give the fans and recruits platforms and attention that neither side can handle at times. I hope that recruiting can get a little less cut throat and a little more professional. I also tire of hearing how every recruit lost to a rival is bought. Bama fans are as guilty as Auburn fans about that. The stories of grandjure are starting to be as annoying as the number of insiders out there. I get the I like attention thing, I get accused of it enough, but I don't post a lot of shit and say "the situation is still fluid" all the time.
Long story short, recruiting wants to go primetime, fine, but it needs to have boundaries and a few more rules if it is. The BCS is driving competition harder and harder as is, and if recruiting is going to be cut throat, the odds of cheating are more likely. Like I said, I hate seeing that accusation every time a player goes to another team, why not make the rules of engagement work towards eliminating that instead of forcing teams to. The thing about cheating is this, it is easy to accuse, but hard to prove, and often has paybacks. It isn't like every team does it by the book, as much as we all want it to be that way, there are textbook slip ups, rogue boosters, coaches under the scope and desparate to make it happen. That shit happens regardless.
Brent Calloway- He will get a nickel tour at running back, but he has very little upside as a back. His probable home is Sam or Will with some time and bulking up. As a linebacker, he has good speed and he moves well with surprisingly little wasted motion for a guy who doesn't play it much. He is a fundamentally good tackler who uses good form and drive and very little arm tackling. He likes to blitz and is a north south guy and will need a little time and coaching to work on the reads and skills that it will take to play for Saban, but that is what redshirting and playing ST can do. If he is dead set on playing RB, he is in that Mike Marrow family of depth chart. I think he will see the light faster than BJ Scott and some others did.
Ha Ha Dix- Geez what a nickname. As far as style goes, he reminds me a lot of Barron in how he loves to pursue and seems to always be around the ball. Has been well coached because he moves to the action with almost 0 wasted steps or motions, if you wonder what that means, that is the difference in 4th down and 1st down 9 times out of 10. He gets called a headhunter by some, but he's not quite that big of a hitter, but he won't shirk a shot over the middle to some poor slot WR. It won't surprise me if he isn't the Money some this year or next as he transitions the same way Barron and Green and Lester have. He will benefit from playing behind those guys too. The one thing I have seen in video of him is that he's the typical ESPN SportsCenter generation guy who wants to get on TV for the hit more than just making the play. I would like to have seen more plays where he just wraps up and drives the carrier down instead of trying to load and pop. At the SEC level, that technique will work once and a while, and the rest of the time is a bounce off and extra YAC. He probably will play ST and mopup for the secondary this year as they groom him to transition after Barron is gone. Add Eddie Williams to Dix and you have a really good duo for the future.
Trey DePriest- This is one guy that I really like what I see. There are some guys that a program gets just because they are the home team, and others are a real work to get. Going to Ohio and yanking this guy out from OSU and Notre Dame is a great recruiting job. The thing I really like about Trey is that he can play on the line or back off the line and still disrupt from outside or inside. He really does a nice job of keeping linemen off his pads and getting inside them. He moves well to the ball, but like most HS LB's, he can be a little stiff and gets too high at times. I think he probably will be in the mix at Will or Mike in a year or two. He needs to RS due to depth and to learn the system a little more. Physically, he is D1 ready as he can do 28 reps and has a weight room ethic that Saban and Cochran will like.
Quinton Dial- The Tide was able to keep Dial on the hook 2 years later and he has matured and grown. He is a gap filler who can play the end and the tackle in the 3-4. He will be a good compliment to Upshaw and Square as well as whomever the NG ends up being if he plays end. If they use him at Nose, I think he can be a little bigger version of Chapman. That isn't a knock because I like Chapman in pass situations. He does a good job of getting low and exploding into the gap like most bull rushing linemen do. He will play this year and give more depth and options to the Tide front. I look for him to compete for the inside end and will help Upshaw out a great deal as he will require some double teams due to his size.
Xzavier Dickson- The state of Georgia represented well in recruiting and Bama did a nice job of getting this guy out from Tech and UGA. He is a Jack at the next level so he is almost a lock to redshirt because Upshaw and Hightower are available as well as Stinson. So they are deep there and it really is good for the X Man to learn the difference in Jack and Rush End. He is very athletic and could play TE if Jack is not his thing. He does remind me of Upshaw coming out of school in that he has so much upside, but has not been taught how to harness that talent. He, like Upshaw, can play lights out on one play and disappear for a while. He plays in a higher division of GA football so he is seeing top end players on a regular basis. That will pay dividends for him and the Tide because the speed won't be as much of an issue. I think a year in the weight room and grooming in practice, he'll be a contender for Jack next year.
Aaron Douglas- Douglas was probably the most hated recruit for about 3 days as Cyrusgate went on. Douglas is a great athlete for his size and while at UT was a really impressive Freshman. He took on some big name players and did well against them in 2009. He isn't going to just plow through guys like Andre Smith would, but he is going to be a major upgrade as a pass blocking LT. He has really good footwork and keeps his frame squared and low so that defenders don't get inside him or around him. Has a real thrust when he engages defenders and has a lot of power for a lineman under 300 pounds. He is enrolled and will probably open spring as the starting LT. His experience in the SEC and extra practice time will put him in a good position to win the job in the spring or summer.
Phillip Ely- Here is the thing that I really like about him, he played against the nation's best teams as Plant traveled across the area to play the best of the best. He is from the same school as Aaron Murray and Robert Marve. He is a little small, but he has good speed and is smart. Yes, he probably is a game manager. He will get a lot of comparisons to McElroy because he's less big arm QB and more system and ball control oriented. That part I like. He isn't quite as football smart as McElroy was coming out of HS, but who was? He will win the staff over if he can be accurate and manage the huddle. That's what Saban and McElwain want. Not pretty boy highlight chasing. The one thing that worries me is that he's a spread QB. He has very little pro style QB time under his belt and will take a while to get used to being under center. This wouldn't be an issue if there wasn't uncertainty about QB depth. McElroy had the same issue, but nobody worried about Wilson going anywhere. Ely needs 2 years on the side to get up to speed and bulk up some. He may hang in there and be a competitor down the road, but the 2012 QB class could shadow him fast too.
Malcom Faciane- Meet the next Michael Williams folks. He isn't quite as big physically as Williams was coming in, but that's where he's headed. He tore his ACL this past year, so he will not be expected to contribute now. That's not a problem because Bama has 4 TEs that can. He has good hands and is really athletic for his size. He is ok as a blocker, but with a RS he can learn how to be a real down hill blocker. Most folks won't think about him in this class as far as a "name" recruit, but like Williams he can be a big on field contributor in time. With a little coaching, and weight room ethic he will be one of those guys.
LaMichael Fanning- Another big get from Georgia, and as a GA resident I take a little swelled chest pride about. He's a big kid and will be a rush end at the next level. He is about as raw a recruit as you will find, and that isn't surprising given he played for 4 teams in 4 years. I fear he may never see a field due to grades though.
Dee Hart- I know a lot of folks had high hopes for snagging Isaiah Crowell, but this was the guy I liked best. He is going to be a nice fill in for Ingram because he does some of the things that Ingram did so well. His vision, and cutback move are similar. He is a multiple threat as he had 2200 yards rushing, 500 receiving, and can return kicks. He probably is the starter at returning kicks by default. He also reminds me some of Maurice Jones Drew and Michael Turner because he can bounce off hits and keep pinballing forward to get first downs. He isn't going to bust out an 80 yard dash, but he can get 80 yards on 7 carries and wear out a linebacker core. When put in with TR, he will be a nice balance to him and will give Trent a push just as TR did for Ingram.
Chris Jones- This may be the most anyone will talk about Jones all year. Jones is overlooked because his grades are pretty iffy. If he makes it on the field, he is a really really sound DB. He has a quick backpeddle and turn, he is a ball hawk. Plays for a great program, and has zone coverage skills which is rare. He isn't afraid to hit, but is a corner quality tackler. He is well coached and does a really good job of doing the little things that a lot of players don't do like look at the QB and not the WR's eyes, looking for the ball, and taking the right angles to break up routes. If he can find the will, and an A, I would like to see him on the field some this fall.
Ryan Kelly- Like Jones, this may be the most anyone talks about him too because he's a center. Centers rarely rate high on recruiting boards, but when you have a shitty one (Britt anyone), you know it. He won't play for a few years, and with the ACL injury, he won't be expected to. He is big but needs to bulk up and get stronger (16 reps for a lineman?). He is aggressive and plays downhill well, but I really like that he's good at keeping his pads low and his hands inside. He is a really well coached guy when I watch him. He just needs a lot of polish in the weight room area to get to the next level as a starting center because the mechanics look good to me.
Cyrus Kouandjio- The soap opera has ended and the fans love him again. I think the hype has blurred the bar a bit for Cyrus, but the potential does meet the hype. He has all the measurements, numbers, and stats you want in a future LT. He has some of the best footwork I've seen out of a high schooler and when he did the drills at the UA game, it sent a message. He will get a lot of comparisons to DJ Fluker or Andre Smith just because that's what recruiting freaks measure to, but he's not either. Smith was a lot more game ready than Cyrus is physically and played LT before. He's ahead of Fluker from a football standpoint but is nowhere near the physical talent that DJ was. He played RT and there is some difference between LT and RT, but it isn't something that will keep him from playing if he's the best available. He is a true 5 star player, and has earned that mark. What will keep him from being Tyler Love is the one unmeasurable that folks miss- Cyrus Kouandjio has a mean streak and wants to kill you. I like watching him run block, he does everything almost textbook. I would like to see him look more comfortable in the pass block. I thought against Clowney he looked good at times, but lost containment a little more than I would want from a starter at LT. Clowney is a good litmus test, but there are a lot better, experienced, ends and linebackers that he will see in the SEC that will expose him more early and hopefully he can learn and adjust to it. I would expect him to redshirt or just do mop up as Douglas is game ready and with a green QB, he will need that more than potential. Also, the redshirt will give him a chance to get up to the speed while trying to block Bama's defenders.
Isaac Luatua- If he is a Hawaii type lineman, Bama fans and myself will love him. The taste of that ass kicking they put on Bama several years ago is still fresh on my mind. He is a little short but has a lot of power and is a pure pull trap guard. I know the talk of center is there, and he may be it, but I think his atheltic ability may have him at LG to pull and trap more. While he is a little short, he uses his body as a weapon and is so strong he can take on much bigger linemen and stand them up. He is really dominating at times and plays mean. I think he could start at a WAC type school right away, but he wants to win and learn. I like his attitude and his playing style. I think folks discount him cause he's a 3 star player in most rankings, but don't forget him. He's got all the things that a coach wants and I can see him pushing for PT next year. He may push Steen out of the rotation this year if he plays for it.
Jeoffery Pagan- I know he was a signing day surprise and the star thing plays up, but the knee thing worries me with him. He tore 2 ligaments in his right knee and is a little unknown. This is the part where some will say trust in Saban....How'd that Chris Bonds thing work? He also is pretty raw and lacks a lot of fundamentals from a coaching standpoint. He's big and what I have seen of him, he likes to use his size to get through, but he won't be as big at the next level. The biggest positive is that before the injury, he has the athelticism and motor to be a real pass rushing end. He is big enough to put on some weight and really anchor down an end. He does need a lot of coaching though so don't expect him to show up for a couple of years because the stars don't match the player right now, but will in 3 years.
DJ Pettaway- He was forgotten about because he committed so early, but he is a player. I could see him bulked up and playing end or working towards being a Jack. DJ loves to use his hands and drive blockers back. He does a real good job of closing on the carrier and once he gets inside on a blocker, it is over. He is the typical HS prospect though, he is inconsistent. He will get too high and lets his hands drop, both result in him getting beat. I have heard him compared to Luther Davis, that's probably close but I hope he isn't as flaky.
Marvin Shinn- I like Shinn and if there wasn't a guy named Julio Jones, he'd be the biggest thing in years to the Tide. That's really where the comparisons to JJ end too. I know a lot of folks compare him to Jones, but he isn't nearly as strong and physical as Jones was. He is more of a vertical threat and more of a ski step runner than a galloper, whereas Jones was more of an over the middle and gallop runner. Shinn is probably a lot more consistent in how he catches and runs routes. He has a great stride and can jump out of the stadium to get a ball. He reminds me more of D Rogers at UT in that regard. I haven't seen a corner jam him because he uses his hands to keep them off him and his hips to buck them off his stride. I also haven't seen him get beat for a ball in the air either. The thing to remember about him is that he's not a life long ball player like many big time WRs. He's a Basketballer turned WR. He also played Wildcat QB some too so he is a little raw at WR. He may get overwhelmed by the playbook. I think he gets in the rotation this fall, but he could be the next great WR at Bama and he could be BJ Scott.
Vinnie Sunseri- Ain't no worrying about coaching with this guy. Sunseri's dad is one of my personal favorites and his son is a good ball player too that turned heads when given the chance to show off. For all the Will Lowery posts out there about how great he is, Sunseri is probably the next Rudy type. He's a bit small, but he has all the instincts and intangibles to be a great contributor even if he never starts. Everything about him is likeable too. He moves to the ball well, plays bigger than he is, and always seems to make the play when the team needs one. He is pretty fast, but jumps like a white boy...so did I. I could see him as a Will in the Nickel or as a Money in the Nickel or Dime to give underneath coverage. He moves real well side to side and is a natural MLB. I would compare him to Dat Nguyen. Great motor, great player, but not the biggest or strongest. If Bama played 4-3, he would be higher on the list, but as a 3-4 he may not bulk up enough to play in that scheme.
Bradley Sylve- Meet Bama's version of Percy Harvin. The guy is blazing fast and can change directions on a dime. He is a slot WR and a nightmare for defenses if he comes in focused. He will probably play as a TFr because he can return kicks too. He isn't afraid to go over the middle and take a hit. I like that he wants the ball all the time. You can see it in how he plays that he wants to make the move and get the ball. He is a lot farther along than Shinn in understanding the game, but not as big. He has a freaky 2nd burst that gives him separation. I can see him getting a lot of looks in the cat and in the shotgun sets.
Jabriel Washington- He projects as a cornerback. I get queezy about players from "academies" and he is a good example. Pretty raw as a corner. He's fast, and he is athletic, but he isn't real fluid as a corner. He is a little more of a project than most of the others. He is the Anthony Steen of this class. Maybe he pans out, but what little I can find to watch on him, isn't earth shattering.
Jesse Williams- Boy, the frats will want him at the party. I like what I see out of him too. I think the fans are expecting him to be the next Cody, but he's not a Cody. He is a little more versatile than Mount was. Cody was not a pass rush threat. Williams is a disruptive every down player. He does get a little high at times off the snap, but he is so strong that he can really create separation with his arms. He does a really good job of pursuing the ball from side to side. He will draw a constant double team because he is so strong. His motor runs all game and he won't quit on a play. He seems to always get inside the blocker and take the inside gaps out fast. I can see why folks think he will start day one. He can, and he might. He and Chapman along with Dial will all get plenty of chances to shine.
Danny Woodson- There are some flags here. Rumblings about grades, weight room discipline or lack there of, and just a hunch makes me worry here. His Nike Camp was ick...but his AL/MS week was great. So which one does Bama get? His body almost says tailback. I wouldn't laugh, he could be that Harvin type back. He is deceptively fast and has good hands. In some respects, he reminds me of Nikita Stover. He isn't going to just blaze away from defenders, but you give him a crease and he will house it. He does a nice job of keeping his hips loose and uses them to separate and make his tackle zone smaller.
Super Bowlin, Fans a Bawlin, and a Cryin....
If you want to see sports get ruined, ask Fox Sports to handle an event. Baseball wonders why their ratings drop each post season, and why the BCS sucked? Fox, that's why. The whole production and use of Joe Buck as your premier announcer will almost always result in FAIL. The NFL is gonna have to get over the Janet Jackson thing too. The halftime and pregame stuff is getting harder to do. You could see the Black Eyed Peas struggling to do a show that fit in the box. Getting Christina Aguilera should have been a slam dunk, but damn that was rough. The commercials even were a little sub par this year. A great game between two of the storied teams in the NFL was kinda an afterthought due to all the junk.
In other bitching, I kid, but not really. I am really starting to hate recruiting. It was great when I was a kid. My dad and I would sit up on Friday and Saturday nights to hear Bill King or get a Forrest Davis mag. When the Internet went primetime, it was great for recruiting. You could find out who was visiting, who was favoring who, and so on. Then came the hat thing, and the me thing, and now it is the commitment is just a technical thing thing. Folks wondered why I would step out and defend Cyrus K's coach, it was because it was nice to see a person stand up and actually try to make a player be a man about the situation. How bad has recruiting gotten? Well, Pagan was committed to 3 different teams this past year. Marcus Roberson went from his uncle's team, Texas Tech, to Auburn, and then to Florida. Brent Calloway garnered attention that most wouldn't want when he went a year with Bama, then spent a nickel tour with Auburn, only to return to Bama on signing day. I'm not alone in the I hate where this is going camp, Newberg is starting to question how this thing can get civil again.
I don't like the fans side of it either. The players should have their moment, and if they wanna do the hats or animals or burn the logo in the sand, whatever it is, that's their thing. I just wish they would have some respect for the programs and not make it so much about them per se, but the fans on the other hand have taken things too far. Facebook stalking didn't start with CJ Johnson. It has gone on for a while. I think fan support for recruits can be good if channeled right, but some of the things I see now make me cringe at what is ahead. The message board society has blurred the line as far as what is ok and what is creepy. Hint, if you are over 25 and following and posting to an 16 or 17 year old's page, that's creepy if you aren't family. I fear that one day we will hear of a zealous fan gone wrong who loses it when player X who the fan base believes salvation comes with his signature, doesn't sign and blows the kids brains out. That is where recruiting is headed because now we give the fans and recruits platforms and attention that neither side can handle at times. I hope that recruiting can get a little less cut throat and a little more professional. I also tire of hearing how every recruit lost to a rival is bought. Bama fans are as guilty as Auburn fans about that. The stories of grandjure are starting to be as annoying as the number of insiders out there. I get the I like attention thing, I get accused of it enough, but I don't post a lot of shit and say "the situation is still fluid" all the time.
Long story short, recruiting wants to go primetime, fine, but it needs to have boundaries and a few more rules if it is. The BCS is driving competition harder and harder as is, and if recruiting is going to be cut throat, the odds of cheating are more likely. Like I said, I hate seeing that accusation every time a player goes to another team, why not make the rules of engagement work towards eliminating that instead of forcing teams to. The thing about cheating is this, it is easy to accuse, but hard to prove, and often has paybacks. It isn't like every team does it by the book, as much as we all want it to be that way, there are textbook slip ups, rogue boosters, coaches under the scope and desparate to make it happen. That shit happens regardless.
November 29, 2010
Random Thoughts
I typically do a GBU after each game, and for the last 2 games (MSU & GSU) I haven't been able to for a variety of reasons. I won't this week because the emotional termoil that comes from losing to Auburn is such that regardless of what one says, he/she will be wrong. When Bama loses to Auburn, there is always 2 crowds: Crowd 1 wants blood for failure, and Crowd 2 wants Crowd 1 to shut up and pretend the loss never happened.
So, in lieu of the GBU, this week, is more random thoughts about things as is for Alabama Football.
Reality Bites
When it gets down to it, we all oversold the talent level and coaching depth that Bama had. From spring on to Friday's debacle, the truth is that this team has underachieved the hype level, and possibly overachieved the realistic bar that should have been set when the season was starting.
The truth is that this team has a lot of jimmy's and joes but not many that get the Xs and Os. That's why you see the same OL failures regardless of who they plop in, that's why you see the same breakdowns in the zone coverage each week, that's why you see the same missed opportunities each week, and why the defense always seems to let the opponent live in the second half. They just don't know football beyond a talent overcoming knowledge level. There isn't a Rolando McClain, that craps more football knowledge than most on the team have, to lead them. There isn't a Mike Johnson to pick up the slack when others fail. There isn't a Javy Arenas to tackle clean on the edges and read the play pre snap. We all believed that the names we had heard about each year would be enough to overcome a lot of odds on defense, and the glaring issues up front on offense. The truth is that while the names are there, the game isn't there to follow it. We all believed that guys like Ingram, Square, Hightower, and other injured players would be fine. They weren't. It was painfully obvious with Ingram and Hightower that they were gutting it out. It also has become painfully obvious that there wasn't a sense of urgency as before. More players are thinking about Sundays than they are playing in the Championship.
Fans scapegoated Greg McElroy for a lot of things about the offense. You notice the fans have started to dull down that complaint after AJ McCarron- the heir apparent- continues to live in the Saban woodshed. The truth is the offense is more of a victim of poor coaching and an unwillingness to change than the talent or packages used. The wrinkles of 09 were now more of the same this year. The Wildcat was tamed so often that it is now painful to watch. The first half of the Auburn game was open and attacked the defense. The second half was tight and conservative and took all the air out of the Tide offense. The players didn't change from half to half, but the coaching philosophy did. That's what is wrong with the offense. The philosophy is not geared to win games like USCar, LSU, and AU.
The coaching is near non-existent on offense when it gets down to it. Many of you have lauded Coach Pendry, but if you see what they look like now that it is 80% his players and really 100% his coached players, the offensive line is just not gritty and tough enough to win in the SEC. The passive, and often exposed offensive line resembles much of what his lines did at Houston when David Carr was being ruined. Players like Warmack, Carpenter, and Steen are getting beaten by "lesser" recruits because those guys are getting coached to win, Bama's guys are getting by on talent.....well those that have it do. During the Shula years, I tired of hearing what great recruiters some coaches were and that they were too valuable to lose. I said then as I do now, what good is recruiting if you can't coach what you get? That's where Bama is in so many positions. With the defensive line just not making a dent in any team, it left me to wonder, where's all this stud/beast/monster talent they've recruited? It is there, but it has plateaued as well because the coaching was getting a pass thanks to veterans and a 400 pound nose guard that bought in. Davis has really not produced on his end of the process when you watch players like Luther Davis and Darrington Sentimore look the same today as they did in the spring. The linebackers are getting good coaching from Sunseri, but they were better when the OLBs were getting coaching from a dedicated coach. Watching Chavis Williams get exposed as the teams got better was hard on the eyes and heart. Watching Jerrell Harris just play at all just is hard to watch really.
And there is where the reality bites deepest. The names like BJ Scott, Jerrell Harris, Tyler Love, the countless names of DBs no longer on the team, JuCo's like Brandon Lewis that cannot break the 3 deep, Kendall Kelly, Nick Fanuzzi, Star Jackson, and on and on that were just studs, beasts, monsters, or whatever the hell you call them these days but not a one has the intangibles like toughness, desire, or knowledge to contribute and really for those still on the team don't look like they will contribute ever. Physically, they look the part. They look good in their uni's, they run fast, and have all the weight room stats, but on the field, they are inferior. They can't catch, block, or follow the play. That's where coaching starts. It starts in the recruiting process. It should be weeded out before they sign the LOI, and while it isn't perfect and Saban is probably better than most. However, the gaps are showing itself again. Poor DB and DL recruiting has started to rear its head. Suspensions happen and attrition happens, but losing a Robbie Green should not have hurt as bad as it did. Losses like Alfy Hill, for now, shouldn't hurt as bad as it did, but it did when Upshaw was gimpy.
Yes, Virginia, there are problems internally. Nothing as cancerous as what Auburn has, nothing as severe as what Georgia or UT or the Shula years were like, but problems. They are stale, and the voices are stale. They need new ideas from new voices that get new buy in. That is why Coach Willis was so good for the team. He had a new view of things from a style that beat the spread. Saban listened to Willis often and his coaching of OLBs was very very good. His loss was big this year because they needed him more than before. However, with a little soul searching, and a few new faces internally that can bring some new intensity to the process, next year can be a good year.....
Reality Rules....
While things may seem bleak, and some of the feelings I have may be emotionally driven, there is a good chance that with tweaks, next year has promise. While the QB is a question mark, and really whomever it is between AJ and Sims, they are going to be on a short leash, but the line should be better with a focus on grit. The QB will have Trent Richardson, the spinning Eddie Lacy, and possibly Crowell or another player to be named to carry the load. With a renewed focus on smash mouth football, and drubbing defenses instead of dink and dunk, they can be dominating on offense again. They will still have Hanks, maybe Maze, Norwood, and a host of young talent that hopefully will be ready.
On defense, a year of growth from Square will only improve him as he is playing better than Dareus right now. Getting Williams at NT will do wonders since Murphy is about as imposing to defenders as all you can eat buffets are to OLs these days. Getting Mosley yet more coaching and PT will improve his game. Getting Nico healthy will help his game a lot. He's played so well in spite of things really, that when 100%, he should resemble the player of 09 v. 2.1. Finding a Sam and Jack will be a challenge, but the Jack should be covered. If Hightower returns, and he should, he would be better suited there now. Mosley and Johnson can cover the ground now and know what they are doing. Hightower is at his best going north and south and attacking the QB now than he is at playing in space. The secondary can't be much worse than it was at times this year. Millner and Kirkpatrick will be a year more experienced, and Menzie will be healthy. With Menzie healthy, he should beat out Millner or flip with him. Fulton hopefully will play some. Green's return will be big as he and either Lester or Barron (doubtful) will be experienced in the deep cover. Getting some fresh blood like Dix and others will give them some options too.
There is a lot of ifs and buts in the future, and with that always comes that damn * that seems to follow any prediction. However, it is this simple- if Bama gets back to tough, gritty play on both sides of the ball and gets away from the passive aggressive style they've allowed to take over this year, they will win more games than this year. If they continue to play stylish yet without real substance, these types of years where the quality wins are fewer than the process should allow will continue.
Why message boards are fun, but dangerous....
I know, the boards are where fans brood, and who am I to deny their place in the world? I would say that the only bet I haven't seen at this point is a trade of spouses or a poke in the pokesack with one. I love stupid. I'll bet you 5000 dollars......, I'll bet you 1000 dollars...... that stuff is comical because you aren't going to pay up, either side, it is just conjecture. The fighting and foolishness is fun to me. However, I've learned over time that folks take this shit serious. Folks, if you read it on a message board, it ain't gospel, it is opinion.
See Camgate. There was another shoe to drop for weeks. Have you heard the thud? I haven't. Sure, it stinks like shit, looks like shit, probably is covered in it, but that doesn't matter today does it? Really? The truth is that there are way too many people talking out of their poopmaker about the subject and using all this mystery and cloak and dagger reference to mask that they don't know jack, but can make it entertaining. For the record, I don't know a whole lot of firm subject matter on it other than what some folks in ATL have told. Nothing earth shattering or stuff that wasn't already said. So, why don't I mask it and make it sound like I'm In Like Flynn? Because I don't have time to sit and keep a lie going each and every freakin day. Really, message boards are fun, and there is sometimes truth in the drumbeat, but so many folks now wanna be the next Walls that they press and get pissy when you call bull.
If you wanna history lesson, the GBU was originated a decade ago to balance against the bull that posters put out there. Funny how after 3 coaches, 4 if you count Price, an SEC Championship, a National Championship, and so much more, the same ol fan bull stays true.........
So, in lieu of the GBU, this week, is more random thoughts about things as is for Alabama Football.
Reality Bites
When it gets down to it, we all oversold the talent level and coaching depth that Bama had. From spring on to Friday's debacle, the truth is that this team has underachieved the hype level, and possibly overachieved the realistic bar that should have been set when the season was starting.
The truth is that this team has a lot of jimmy's and joes but not many that get the Xs and Os. That's why you see the same OL failures regardless of who they plop in, that's why you see the same breakdowns in the zone coverage each week, that's why you see the same missed opportunities each week, and why the defense always seems to let the opponent live in the second half. They just don't know football beyond a talent overcoming knowledge level. There isn't a Rolando McClain, that craps more football knowledge than most on the team have, to lead them. There isn't a Mike Johnson to pick up the slack when others fail. There isn't a Javy Arenas to tackle clean on the edges and read the play pre snap. We all believed that the names we had heard about each year would be enough to overcome a lot of odds on defense, and the glaring issues up front on offense. The truth is that while the names are there, the game isn't there to follow it. We all believed that guys like Ingram, Square, Hightower, and other injured players would be fine. They weren't. It was painfully obvious with Ingram and Hightower that they were gutting it out. It also has become painfully obvious that there wasn't a sense of urgency as before. More players are thinking about Sundays than they are playing in the Championship.
Fans scapegoated Greg McElroy for a lot of things about the offense. You notice the fans have started to dull down that complaint after AJ McCarron- the heir apparent- continues to live in the Saban woodshed. The truth is the offense is more of a victim of poor coaching and an unwillingness to change than the talent or packages used. The wrinkles of 09 were now more of the same this year. The Wildcat was tamed so often that it is now painful to watch. The first half of the Auburn game was open and attacked the defense. The second half was tight and conservative and took all the air out of the Tide offense. The players didn't change from half to half, but the coaching philosophy did. That's what is wrong with the offense. The philosophy is not geared to win games like USCar, LSU, and AU.
The coaching is near non-existent on offense when it gets down to it. Many of you have lauded Coach Pendry, but if you see what they look like now that it is 80% his players and really 100% his coached players, the offensive line is just not gritty and tough enough to win in the SEC. The passive, and often exposed offensive line resembles much of what his lines did at Houston when David Carr was being ruined. Players like Warmack, Carpenter, and Steen are getting beaten by "lesser" recruits because those guys are getting coached to win, Bama's guys are getting by on talent.....well those that have it do. During the Shula years, I tired of hearing what great recruiters some coaches were and that they were too valuable to lose. I said then as I do now, what good is recruiting if you can't coach what you get? That's where Bama is in so many positions. With the defensive line just not making a dent in any team, it left me to wonder, where's all this stud/beast/monster talent they've recruited? It is there, but it has plateaued as well because the coaching was getting a pass thanks to veterans and a 400 pound nose guard that bought in. Davis has really not produced on his end of the process when you watch players like Luther Davis and Darrington Sentimore look the same today as they did in the spring. The linebackers are getting good coaching from Sunseri, but they were better when the OLBs were getting coaching from a dedicated coach. Watching Chavis Williams get exposed as the teams got better was hard on the eyes and heart. Watching Jerrell Harris just play at all just is hard to watch really.
And there is where the reality bites deepest. The names like BJ Scott, Jerrell Harris, Tyler Love, the countless names of DBs no longer on the team, JuCo's like Brandon Lewis that cannot break the 3 deep, Kendall Kelly, Nick Fanuzzi, Star Jackson, and on and on that were just studs, beasts, monsters, or whatever the hell you call them these days but not a one has the intangibles like toughness, desire, or knowledge to contribute and really for those still on the team don't look like they will contribute ever. Physically, they look the part. They look good in their uni's, they run fast, and have all the weight room stats, but on the field, they are inferior. They can't catch, block, or follow the play. That's where coaching starts. It starts in the recruiting process. It should be weeded out before they sign the LOI, and while it isn't perfect and Saban is probably better than most. However, the gaps are showing itself again. Poor DB and DL recruiting has started to rear its head. Suspensions happen and attrition happens, but losing a Robbie Green should not have hurt as bad as it did. Losses like Alfy Hill, for now, shouldn't hurt as bad as it did, but it did when Upshaw was gimpy.
Yes, Virginia, there are problems internally. Nothing as cancerous as what Auburn has, nothing as severe as what Georgia or UT or the Shula years were like, but problems. They are stale, and the voices are stale. They need new ideas from new voices that get new buy in. That is why Coach Willis was so good for the team. He had a new view of things from a style that beat the spread. Saban listened to Willis often and his coaching of OLBs was very very good. His loss was big this year because they needed him more than before. However, with a little soul searching, and a few new faces internally that can bring some new intensity to the process, next year can be a good year.....
Reality Rules....
While things may seem bleak, and some of the feelings I have may be emotionally driven, there is a good chance that with tweaks, next year has promise. While the QB is a question mark, and really whomever it is between AJ and Sims, they are going to be on a short leash, but the line should be better with a focus on grit. The QB will have Trent Richardson, the spinning Eddie Lacy, and possibly Crowell or another player to be named to carry the load. With a renewed focus on smash mouth football, and drubbing defenses instead of dink and dunk, they can be dominating on offense again. They will still have Hanks, maybe Maze, Norwood, and a host of young talent that hopefully will be ready.
On defense, a year of growth from Square will only improve him as he is playing better than Dareus right now. Getting Williams at NT will do wonders since Murphy is about as imposing to defenders as all you can eat buffets are to OLs these days. Getting Mosley yet more coaching and PT will improve his game. Getting Nico healthy will help his game a lot. He's played so well in spite of things really, that when 100%, he should resemble the player of 09 v. 2.1. Finding a Sam and Jack will be a challenge, but the Jack should be covered. If Hightower returns, and he should, he would be better suited there now. Mosley and Johnson can cover the ground now and know what they are doing. Hightower is at his best going north and south and attacking the QB now than he is at playing in space. The secondary can't be much worse than it was at times this year. Millner and Kirkpatrick will be a year more experienced, and Menzie will be healthy. With Menzie healthy, he should beat out Millner or flip with him. Fulton hopefully will play some. Green's return will be big as he and either Lester or Barron (doubtful) will be experienced in the deep cover. Getting some fresh blood like Dix and others will give them some options too.
There is a lot of ifs and buts in the future, and with that always comes that damn * that seems to follow any prediction. However, it is this simple- if Bama gets back to tough, gritty play on both sides of the ball and gets away from the passive aggressive style they've allowed to take over this year, they will win more games than this year. If they continue to play stylish yet without real substance, these types of years where the quality wins are fewer than the process should allow will continue.
Why message boards are fun, but dangerous....
I know, the boards are where fans brood, and who am I to deny their place in the world? I would say that the only bet I haven't seen at this point is a trade of spouses or a poke in the pokesack with one. I love stupid. I'll bet you 5000 dollars......, I'll bet you 1000 dollars...... that stuff is comical because you aren't going to pay up, either side, it is just conjecture. The fighting and foolishness is fun to me. However, I've learned over time that folks take this shit serious. Folks, if you read it on a message board, it ain't gospel, it is opinion.
See Camgate. There was another shoe to drop for weeks. Have you heard the thud? I haven't. Sure, it stinks like shit, looks like shit, probably is covered in it, but that doesn't matter today does it? Really? The truth is that there are way too many people talking out of their poopmaker about the subject and using all this mystery and cloak and dagger reference to mask that they don't know jack, but can make it entertaining. For the record, I don't know a whole lot of firm subject matter on it other than what some folks in ATL have told. Nothing earth shattering or stuff that wasn't already said. So, why don't I mask it and make it sound like I'm In Like Flynn? Because I don't have time to sit and keep a lie going each and every freakin day. Really, message boards are fun, and there is sometimes truth in the drumbeat, but so many folks now wanna be the next Walls that they press and get pissy when you call bull.
If you wanna history lesson, the GBU was originated a decade ago to balance against the bull that posters put out there. Funny how after 3 coaches, 4 if you count Price, an SEC Championship, a National Championship, and so much more, the same ol fan bull stays true.........
November 7, 2010
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly- LSU
After 2 weeks off due to travel requirements (I was in Little Rock and Atlanta after the Ole Miss and UT games), the GBU returns....and not to the best of times.....I'm switching it up because there are some things that I'd rather put up front than the good parts and the bad parts because I think we all know the deal there.
Random Thoughts....
Kenny Bell won't be saved by his bell or his dumb mouth.....
Really, here's a guy who can't beat out anyone and is more or less a tackle dummy these days (specialist), but he feels like he can jump up and toss his teammates under? I know how this gets cured and he keeps his spot and it isn't an apology. He tried that on his page, but was called out on his weak answer (wasn't bout the team apparently....). He'll be asked to run over the middle and get de-strapped on an in route. When nobody helps him up, he'll know he's been setup and you move on, stay quiet, and work your way from the bottom up. When he is attritioned, and the odds are better than running Republican in the south that he's gone, he'll just be another mouthy, lazy Louisiana player gone.
Enough with the "If we play X...."
I love how there is always a cast of fans that believe that an unknown, untested player is always better than the starter and after each loss it is an opportunity to say such. The only QB not mentioned to be better to start is Thomas Darrah. The interesting twist is next year, if AJ doesn't throw for 400 yards and 5 touchdowns each Saturday, do you turn on him?
I get that some get mad that McElroy isn't a gun slinger and has flaws in his game. I see them too. I also see him playing with a lot of effort and doesn't take plays and games off like some do. I would be more apt to read about players who aren't playing to their capacities and not be as irked as I am to see someone complain when a guy is playing up to his level and is making plays. McElroy will never beat this team, he won't win the game each and every week, but in the LSU game, he put the defense in a position to give him the chance. The defense, as has been a theme for a while, didn't step up. If folks want to find a focal point for their anger, look at the defense. The defense has yet to play a complete game since conference play started. I keep reading stupid comments from a guy named "Luciano" who says the team is rebelling against GMac....that's so dumb. I keep reading how this team would be better with AJ....again dumb. I had one real man of genius tell me that if Saban had pulled Greg early in the year (when and why?) and gotten AJ in earlier, they would have won Saturday.....again, dumb.
The offense has issues. I won't deny that. However, the play calling and offensive line play are where the issues start and continue to hamper things. It is hard to say which is causing more problems because the execution up front or lack thereof is making possible good plays go bad, and the playcalling has no identity to it. In the last 2 years, this team was a downhill running team, and they made their mark with power football. This year, I can't tell you what they are because it changes by the series. One series, they run strong, the next they play out of the gun, the next they throw 3 times and go out, then they run, then they mix it up, and so on. There is no balance or methodology to what the game plan is/was/has been. I keep saying it and it keeps going on, but you have 2 Heisman caliber guys in the backfield, but yet they don't get fed regularly and cannot get a rhythm going. If Bama wants to be a pass heavy team, that's fine, be that. If Bama wants to be a run heavy team, that's fine, be that. If Bama wants to mix it up and do both, that's fine, be that. Just don't be a team that has no purpose like they were Saturday and have been several times over. Personally, I like Bama's offense more when they go north south with Ingram and Richardson and mix some play action passes. Sitting in the gun and trying to execute from it hasn't been as fruitful. Of course, everything skunks the Wildcat in execution and productivity now. In the end, LSU had given up 21 or more points to UF and AU. AU's high end O only got 24 off this defense. Bama got enough points on a really good D, they just didn't get enough help.
The Defense is where my ire and concern really lies though. 9 games in and they still can't play zone, still can't tackle, still can't get in position, and now cannot pressure or create plays against a bad team. Here's the facts on the ground, LSU's offense was horrible going in, their QBs had been subpar all year. Jordan Jefferson had not thrown a TD since their opener and had 8 INTs including 7 in the last 7 games. He really is one of the worst QBs in the conference. You wouldn't know it from the game would you? Jarrett Lee is a guy we all know. He has not been much better. He did have a nice game against the Gators, but his game against Auburn was Lee's par game. Did either look weak or confused? No. Did Stephen Garcia? No. Why? Saban and Smart have become stale and scared in the play calling. The good game plan in the first half went away and was lethargic and predictable in the 2nd half.
I don't have as many issues with a player like CJ Mosley because he's trying hard and learning on the job. I do have a problem when I see guys with experience that aren't playing hard or with focus. After 9 games, and a bye week, the defense should not be dealing with poor tackling nor should you be seeing blown assignments like it has had. Millner is a freshman, and I give him that discount, but he's played enough downs because they can't get off the field....anyways, he's got enough time and practice to know his zone assignment. Each week, he gets bassackwards with that and that play is usually a damaging one. Each week, someone in the secondary has a blown assignment and gives up a big play. Each week, the linebackers suck inside too quick and expose the backside and give up a big play. Each week, you see the opposing offense wanting it more than Bama's defense. That part bothers me more than anything. The difference is more than vocal leaders on defense. The difference is that last year, they made plays and got turnovers, sacks, and 3 and outs. Those things put the offense in better spots and created more scoring opportunities. This year, they aren't doing any of those things often and it forces this offense to execute more 80 plus yard drives.
Really folks, if you want to complain, complain about the defense. Fussing because someone is not a vocal leader is just a hard on grudge. Vocal leaders are born, they aren't coached. Vocal leaders have to be recruited. Bama has recruited a lot of names and a lot of potential, but I think we are starting to see that they have the bill of goods but have not received nearly the appraised value from it.
OFFENSE
The Good....
Julio's catch
He can't make the easy ones every time, but he makes the tough ones every time. When he gets in the endzone and extends his body, it is about as automatic as it gets.
Ingram looking like the Ingram of old
I thought Ingram played his best game since Duke or ARK. He was shifting, cutting, and using the blocks the way he did last year. There was one play where he stopped on a dime, made 2 guys miss, and got an extra 5 yards. The reason you won't remember this much is because the staff iced him in the second half. In any case, it was a good start for the 2nd half run, and really they need him to start demanding the ball and getting the ball. He makes great things happen when he does.
McElroy doing as much as he can
I can sense some of you grinding your molars just reading that. Piss off. Given how poorly the line played, and how many drops were committed by the TEs and WRs, he had a really solid game. He did his part in all honesty. His passes were good as a whole, and he only missed on a handful. The interception was on Dial, McElroy will carry it on his stats, but Dial flat out muffed it. The fumble was a bang bang play that was on the OL, but he'll carry that stat too. He missed Maze by about 2 inches on a go route, but that happens. His TD pass to Jones was one that he doesn't make last year or 4 weeks ago. I know there are those who want to detract from what Greg means and has done for this team, but he plays tough, plays smart, and does enough to win the game.
The Bad...
Playcalling.
As mentioned earlier, you have to have an identity. This staff has yet to find one for them. McElwain got p'wned by Chavis, and Saban has continued to stay neutral as each week the same plays are called that are now stale. They are gonna have to open up the playbook or gear it down and grind it out with a power run attack. This fruit basket turnover philosophy just doesn't work.
The Ugly....
Offensive line play just flat out stinks
I get so tired of seeing the whiff. Vlachos has really really really regressed. His preseason injury has him out of shape and when you watch him play, he just looks like a guy who isn't in game shape, even for a lineman. What's worse, they let a guy who is not even 300 lbs look like a bulldozer against them. Warmack couldn't contain any of his assignments. Jones contained but didn't budge them. Carpenter is just happy to be there, and I'll be happy when he's matriculated. McCullough pass blocks ok, but is too small to push the right side in the run block. For weeks, they have let McElroy take hits that he didn't need to take. The fumble Saturday was another in the long line of poor communication and fundamentals up front. I don't know how many times this year it has happened, but there sure have been a lot of sacks that occur because the guards double down instead of covering their space. Warmack is a habitual offender of that. Fluker can't get back fast enough, but next year can't either in a lot of positions up front.......
DEFENSE
The Good....
First half effort
I thought that the defense answered the bell early. They got put in a tough spot after the INT, but held to a field goal. After a horrible punt, they held to a 3 and out. The entire first half, they kept LSU off balance and made them look more like the offense that we had watched week in and week out. They had 3 3 and outs in the first half and held the Tigers to a field goal. All in all, going into the half, I thought things were in good shape. Sadly, the defense never came out of the tunnel after the half.
The debut of a healthy 4some of Upshaw, Dareus, Square, and Hightower
It has taken 8 games and a bye to see the healthy foursome, or as healthy as it will be this year, but they looked good when they used them up front on nickel situations. Of course, the bigger thing here is that when they put Donta up and put his hand down, they have to have good play from Johnson and Mosley. They played as well as could be asked.
The Bad....
No 3 and outs in the 2nd half....
When you just don't stop an opposing team, you don't win games. Bama had LSU pinned down, but did not stop LSU once in the 2nd half. Say what you want about the offense, but Bama's defense did not get off the field on their own. They also gave up a score or a score opportunity each drive in the 2nd half. LSU scored 21 points and missed a FG in the 2nd half. That's just too many points and too much moving up and down the field going on. The same team that just looked good as anyone for the first 30 minutes, was MIA the entire second half.
Mark Barron picked the wrong week to have his worst game of his career
The two biggest plays by LSU were both moments where Barron was out of position. The Randle TD romp was a really telling play. Barron gets out of position and doesn't really try to catch him or take an angle to try. To his credit, he did hustle to stop Shepherd later on, but he flat out didn't try on that play. If it had only been that play, it maybe wouldn't have been so bad, but the 4th and 1 reverse was another out of position moment. Will folks remember him for this game? No. They'll remember the MSU game. I wish that player was appearing at this point. Hopefully, in film study, they ride him and it makes him play pissed.
The Ugly...
Letting another subpar offense look spectacular
I'm not going to beat the horse any more today, but when you let the 3 worst QBs in the conference look awesome, well, it isn't just a "played the best game of their life" moment, it is a "coached the worst game again of my life" moment for Smart and Saban. Really, the defensive issues are as much coaching as they are player issues. The thing that really starts to irritate me about things is that Saban spends a lot of time talking about being results oriented and all that bull. At some point, the coaches need to just say that they got beat in a coaching duel. Saban got his process processed by a grass eatin wild eyed guy, and he's got another humbling in a few weeks if he doesn't start getting things turned around on defense. As great as Saban is, and as great as he is at creating defensive mismatches, this year hasn't been one of those years. It has looked more like the LSU team after their championship.
Random Thoughts....
Kenny Bell won't be saved by his bell or his dumb mouth.....
Kenny Bell ...bck n ttown already no it ain’t nun 2 do cuz dis ttown so I’m bout 2 shower n watch tv..sn: not even mad cuz its gne b more if da favoritism keeps up take it how ya wanna....kb7First, I get that when one is young and such, dumb things are said, it is a given and I'm not innocent of that. However, there are two things here that just piss me off. One, if you are going to complain, do it in an intelligent tone. That shit needs Beaver's mom to step to the back of the plane and decipher for me. Second, you never, EVER, say things like this during the season. EVER. Bell is a loser and his career at Alabama is over before it started. Keeping him on the team only rewards selfish, undisciplined, and cancerous behavior.
Really, here's a guy who can't beat out anyone and is more or less a tackle dummy these days (specialist), but he feels like he can jump up and toss his teammates under? I know how this gets cured and he keeps his spot and it isn't an apology. He tried that on his page, but was called out on his weak answer (wasn't bout the team apparently....). He'll be asked to run over the middle and get de-strapped on an in route. When nobody helps him up, he'll know he's been setup and you move on, stay quiet, and work your way from the bottom up. When he is attritioned, and the odds are better than running Republican in the south that he's gone, he'll just be another mouthy, lazy Louisiana player gone.
Enough with the "If we play X...."
I love how there is always a cast of fans that believe that an unknown, untested player is always better than the starter and after each loss it is an opportunity to say such. The only QB not mentioned to be better to start is Thomas Darrah. The interesting twist is next year, if AJ doesn't throw for 400 yards and 5 touchdowns each Saturday, do you turn on him?
I get that some get mad that McElroy isn't a gun slinger and has flaws in his game. I see them too. I also see him playing with a lot of effort and doesn't take plays and games off like some do. I would be more apt to read about players who aren't playing to their capacities and not be as irked as I am to see someone complain when a guy is playing up to his level and is making plays. McElroy will never beat this team, he won't win the game each and every week, but in the LSU game, he put the defense in a position to give him the chance. The defense, as has been a theme for a while, didn't step up. If folks want to find a focal point for their anger, look at the defense. The defense has yet to play a complete game since conference play started. I keep reading stupid comments from a guy named "Luciano" who says the team is rebelling against GMac....that's so dumb. I keep reading how this team would be better with AJ....again dumb. I had one real man of genius tell me that if Saban had pulled Greg early in the year (when and why?) and gotten AJ in earlier, they would have won Saturday.....again, dumb.
The offense has issues. I won't deny that. However, the play calling and offensive line play are where the issues start and continue to hamper things. It is hard to say which is causing more problems because the execution up front or lack thereof is making possible good plays go bad, and the playcalling has no identity to it. In the last 2 years, this team was a downhill running team, and they made their mark with power football. This year, I can't tell you what they are because it changes by the series. One series, they run strong, the next they play out of the gun, the next they throw 3 times and go out, then they run, then they mix it up, and so on. There is no balance or methodology to what the game plan is/was/has been. I keep saying it and it keeps going on, but you have 2 Heisman caliber guys in the backfield, but yet they don't get fed regularly and cannot get a rhythm going. If Bama wants to be a pass heavy team, that's fine, be that. If Bama wants to be a run heavy team, that's fine, be that. If Bama wants to mix it up and do both, that's fine, be that. Just don't be a team that has no purpose like they were Saturday and have been several times over. Personally, I like Bama's offense more when they go north south with Ingram and Richardson and mix some play action passes. Sitting in the gun and trying to execute from it hasn't been as fruitful. Of course, everything skunks the Wildcat in execution and productivity now. In the end, LSU had given up 21 or more points to UF and AU. AU's high end O only got 24 off this defense. Bama got enough points on a really good D, they just didn't get enough help.
The Defense is where my ire and concern really lies though. 9 games in and they still can't play zone, still can't tackle, still can't get in position, and now cannot pressure or create plays against a bad team. Here's the facts on the ground, LSU's offense was horrible going in, their QBs had been subpar all year. Jordan Jefferson had not thrown a TD since their opener and had 8 INTs including 7 in the last 7 games. He really is one of the worst QBs in the conference. You wouldn't know it from the game would you? Jarrett Lee is a guy we all know. He has not been much better. He did have a nice game against the Gators, but his game against Auburn was Lee's par game. Did either look weak or confused? No. Did Stephen Garcia? No. Why? Saban and Smart have become stale and scared in the play calling. The good game plan in the first half went away and was lethargic and predictable in the 2nd half.
I don't have as many issues with a player like CJ Mosley because he's trying hard and learning on the job. I do have a problem when I see guys with experience that aren't playing hard or with focus. After 9 games, and a bye week, the defense should not be dealing with poor tackling nor should you be seeing blown assignments like it has had. Millner is a freshman, and I give him that discount, but he's played enough downs because they can't get off the field....anyways, he's got enough time and practice to know his zone assignment. Each week, he gets bassackwards with that and that play is usually a damaging one. Each week, someone in the secondary has a blown assignment and gives up a big play. Each week, the linebackers suck inside too quick and expose the backside and give up a big play. Each week, you see the opposing offense wanting it more than Bama's defense. That part bothers me more than anything. The difference is more than vocal leaders on defense. The difference is that last year, they made plays and got turnovers, sacks, and 3 and outs. Those things put the offense in better spots and created more scoring opportunities. This year, they aren't doing any of those things often and it forces this offense to execute more 80 plus yard drives.
Really folks, if you want to complain, complain about the defense. Fussing because someone is not a vocal leader is just a hard on grudge. Vocal leaders are born, they aren't coached. Vocal leaders have to be recruited. Bama has recruited a lot of names and a lot of potential, but I think we are starting to see that they have the bill of goods but have not received nearly the appraised value from it.
OFFENSE
The Good....
Julio's catch
He can't make the easy ones every time, but he makes the tough ones every time. When he gets in the endzone and extends his body, it is about as automatic as it gets.
Ingram looking like the Ingram of old
I thought Ingram played his best game since Duke or ARK. He was shifting, cutting, and using the blocks the way he did last year. There was one play where he stopped on a dime, made 2 guys miss, and got an extra 5 yards. The reason you won't remember this much is because the staff iced him in the second half. In any case, it was a good start for the 2nd half run, and really they need him to start demanding the ball and getting the ball. He makes great things happen when he does.
McElroy doing as much as he can
I can sense some of you grinding your molars just reading that. Piss off. Given how poorly the line played, and how many drops were committed by the TEs and WRs, he had a really solid game. He did his part in all honesty. His passes were good as a whole, and he only missed on a handful. The interception was on Dial, McElroy will carry it on his stats, but Dial flat out muffed it. The fumble was a bang bang play that was on the OL, but he'll carry that stat too. He missed Maze by about 2 inches on a go route, but that happens. His TD pass to Jones was one that he doesn't make last year or 4 weeks ago. I know there are those who want to detract from what Greg means and has done for this team, but he plays tough, plays smart, and does enough to win the game.
The Bad...
Playcalling.
As mentioned earlier, you have to have an identity. This staff has yet to find one for them. McElwain got p'wned by Chavis, and Saban has continued to stay neutral as each week the same plays are called that are now stale. They are gonna have to open up the playbook or gear it down and grind it out with a power run attack. This fruit basket turnover philosophy just doesn't work.
The Ugly....
Offensive line play just flat out stinks
I get so tired of seeing the whiff. Vlachos has really really really regressed. His preseason injury has him out of shape and when you watch him play, he just looks like a guy who isn't in game shape, even for a lineman. What's worse, they let a guy who is not even 300 lbs look like a bulldozer against them. Warmack couldn't contain any of his assignments. Jones contained but didn't budge them. Carpenter is just happy to be there, and I'll be happy when he's matriculated. McCullough pass blocks ok, but is too small to push the right side in the run block. For weeks, they have let McElroy take hits that he didn't need to take. The fumble Saturday was another in the long line of poor communication and fundamentals up front. I don't know how many times this year it has happened, but there sure have been a lot of sacks that occur because the guards double down instead of covering their space. Warmack is a habitual offender of that. Fluker can't get back fast enough, but next year can't either in a lot of positions up front.......
DEFENSE
The Good....
First half effort
I thought that the defense answered the bell early. They got put in a tough spot after the INT, but held to a field goal. After a horrible punt, they held to a 3 and out. The entire first half, they kept LSU off balance and made them look more like the offense that we had watched week in and week out. They had 3 3 and outs in the first half and held the Tigers to a field goal. All in all, going into the half, I thought things were in good shape. Sadly, the defense never came out of the tunnel after the half.
The debut of a healthy 4some of Upshaw, Dareus, Square, and Hightower
It has taken 8 games and a bye to see the healthy foursome, or as healthy as it will be this year, but they looked good when they used them up front on nickel situations. Of course, the bigger thing here is that when they put Donta up and put his hand down, they have to have good play from Johnson and Mosley. They played as well as could be asked.
The Bad....
No 3 and outs in the 2nd half....
When you just don't stop an opposing team, you don't win games. Bama had LSU pinned down, but did not stop LSU once in the 2nd half. Say what you want about the offense, but Bama's defense did not get off the field on their own. They also gave up a score or a score opportunity each drive in the 2nd half. LSU scored 21 points and missed a FG in the 2nd half. That's just too many points and too much moving up and down the field going on. The same team that just looked good as anyone for the first 30 minutes, was MIA the entire second half.
Mark Barron picked the wrong week to have his worst game of his career
The two biggest plays by LSU were both moments where Barron was out of position. The Randle TD romp was a really telling play. Barron gets out of position and doesn't really try to catch him or take an angle to try. To his credit, he did hustle to stop Shepherd later on, but he flat out didn't try on that play. If it had only been that play, it maybe wouldn't have been so bad, but the 4th and 1 reverse was another out of position moment. Will folks remember him for this game? No. They'll remember the MSU game. I wish that player was appearing at this point. Hopefully, in film study, they ride him and it makes him play pissed.
The Ugly...
Letting another subpar offense look spectacular
I'm not going to beat the horse any more today, but when you let the 3 worst QBs in the conference look awesome, well, it isn't just a "played the best game of their life" moment, it is a "coached the worst game again of my life" moment for Smart and Saban. Really, the defensive issues are as much coaching as they are player issues. The thing that really starts to irritate me about things is that Saban spends a lot of time talking about being results oriented and all that bull. At some point, the coaches need to just say that they got beat in a coaching duel. Saban got his process processed by a grass eatin wild eyed guy, and he's got another humbling in a few weeks if he doesn't start getting things turned around on defense. As great as Saban is, and as great as he is at creating defensive mismatches, this year hasn't been one of those years. It has looked more like the LSU team after their championship.
October 12, 2010
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly- South Carolina
There is a lot to learn from losing, but you hope that your veterans have learned enough that this kinda thing doesn't happen a whole lot. This loss wasn't on a player or a position group. No. This loss was on everyone from top down. South Carolina outcoached Bama, and Spurrier smiles because his golfing addicted ass can mail it in each year and now beat you, South Carolina outmuscled Bama, and they out wanted Bama. That is what has me still pissed about the loss. It isn't that they lost, and it isn't that USCar was just better, they are right now, it is that they wanted to play and wanted to make a statement and Bama's whole team and staff let them without much more than a whimper.
OFFENSE
The Good....
McElroy hanging in and making plays sometimes...
I know a lot of folks are trying to spin this loss on Greg and how he holds the ball, more on that soon, but really the only thing holding the Tide in the game was McElroy. The offense had basically given up on running and being balanced. That was a bad start to things, and being down 21-3 had a part in that, but this loss wasn't on McElroy. This loss was lessened by his efforts. For the "Play AJ" jort wearers, you got 2 good examples Saturday of why he won't see real PT.
Julio's grab
Jones had the ceremonial drop a few plays before, but he stepped up big and made a huge grab on a good throw in the back of the endzone. Yes, you are supposed to put it up high to where your WR is the only one who should be able to get it. My worry now is that with Jones down and out for a few weeks, can this team find a go to playmaker?
Hanks continues to make the big plays
Hanks is quietly having a great season and is probably McElroy's 3rd favorite target behind Jones and Dial because he makes about 9 out of every 10 snags he gets. It was a good job on Hanks part to create separation on the route and make one additional move to get to the end zone.
The Bad...
Hey, when you get a thumpin like this, there aren't many good things going.....
Running?
I guess the score and the way USCar schemed Bama just baffled Saban and McElwain to the point that running the football is what other teams do. 17 carries between Ingram and Richardson is about 10 to 15 too few. That's just poor playcalling and poor management from top to bottom really. You don't sell out to who you are just because you are down, if anything, you settle in and let the running game slow the game down and take the Cock offense off the field for long chunks.
Tick Tick Tick Tick Tick
The thing with McElroy's refusal to ditch the ball is hard to figure out. You can tell he just doesn't want to make a mistake, but in doing so, he's gonna make 5 or 6 mistakes. Granted, the sacks aren't as damaging as interceptions are, but they take the air out of the sails too. To be fair, some of the sacks on McElroy were on the OL, the fumble was, but some were on him not getting rid of it, at least 2 sacks were on the playcalling/route running of the WRs and the WRs not ditching their routes to help Greg out. Lots of guys sitting on routes. For those who will say there was a wide open guy....the one play where they show the routes and Maze was open on the other end of the field, that's a 40+ yard throw when throwing across the field and down field 20. That's a low, LOW, percentage pass play. I'd rather see him eat it than try to make that play because the ball is gonna hang up there and defenders can make up the gap in that time frame.
Offensive line gets down right offensive to watch
They just flat out get too high off the snap. I keep mentioning it because it is why they get bent back so much and can't just line up and go on these teams. They have to live on counters and misdirection because those plays are more about backfield execution and reading than OL plowing and digging. Carpenter and Fluker are slow off the edge and have a real hard time containing a good rush. They are at their best when just running behind them, but when you have to throw, you almost have to do a max protect because one or the other, or both will lose their man on a consistent basis. For Fluker, it is just about learning, and for his part, he plays hard and I can see his improvement from game 1 to now. For Carpenter, it is the same ol, same ol, no improvement, no emotion, no nothing football he plays each week. It is amazing how Johnson made him look so much better compared to now. Warmack and Jones do ok but Warmack is guilty of at least 2 penalties or missed assignments a game. Jones when pulling is great, but one on one he gets shoved around too much. Vlachos is tough, but it is hard for him to cover when so many guys are either out of position or trying to compensate for another guy missing. The fumble was a busted play somewhere on the line assignment.
When McElroy was hit and fumbled from the blind side, Warmack pulled and went outside Fluker. Williams moved from outside to inside to cover that gap, or was trying to get there, hard to tell with it looking like junk from snap to end. Either Carpenter or Vlachos had to slide in to that gap because even with Williams moving inside, it takes a few seconds and a lineman can shoot the gap faster than a TE can swing inside and more than likely won't have position to do anything but hold him. The play was busted before it had a chance and was a good example of the way the day was going up front. Lots of confusion and a lot of missed assignments.
The Ugly...
Preparation, Game plan, and Playcalling
There were some who said that Bama was having a great week of preparation. Ummmm, no. Great week of prep doesn't come out with deer in the headlight expressions. They were flat and didn't look like they had thought through what all was ahead. Part of this may just be that they had gone through 2 emotional games and just didn't have it in them to pull a 3rd act. That's not an acceptable answer if true. The game plan, wasn't much of one. You have a Heisman winner, a future Heisman candidate, and a status quo that follows them that if you feed them, the wins will come. The game plan was to basically starve them and try to establish the passing game. I don't mind getting the QB going with some screens and such, but get your linemen and running backs in the game too with some good down hill running. Even if you are down 2 scores in the 1st or 2nd Qtr, grind it out and take your shots on offense, don't throw it all over creation and wonder why things are not improving. This team isn't built or made to be successful when you call 47 pass plays (34 attempts by GM, 12 runs by GM all scrambles or sacks, and 1 by AJ). That's really on Saban too. He always says he has the veto power to change a play, but they got lopsided in the style and philosophy that had won all those games. All the way around, it was not a situation that looked like they were comfortable and it was a game where they did all the things that went against what won ballgames for them for the last 2 years.
DEFENSE AND SPECIAL TEAMS
The Good...
Reality Bites
The reason this post is on Tuesday and not Monday is simply to take extra time and not be quite as emotionally pissed as I was Monday. The reality is that his Defense has a lot of potential and a steaming pile of hype to it, but very little in tangible substance. They have 1 good to great pass rusher in Upshaw and when he goes down every other game, every other game is a struggle for this defense to create dissruption. Dareus has not shown any of the hype and potential that we all thought we would see. It really is more or less a reality check that now that he's a known name, he's not able to handle the doubles that come with it. The rest of the D Line is either overhyped or underdisciplined. Square and Sentimore show flashes that they are playmakers, but Square gets lost in translation at times and Sentimore is always good for at least 1 lost containment per series. Both are things that will keep them in rotation and not every down players. Nose had a bigger drop off then anticipated as Murphy and Chapman have yet to establish themselves as guys that could replace Cody. Both just don't have the drive in them to be great nose tackles. For a guy as big and as old as Murphy is, it is really disappointing that he cannot translate all that into a great ball player.
The linebacker core has been a sore spot all year really, but we've ducked the bullet until Saturday and now their undiscipline ways and other issues have come front and center. They don't have a Mike LB they like. Donta isn't going to be utilized to his best at it. Johnson looked good at it last week but the staff apparently felt otherwise. Mosley will be a good Mike in the future, but he's way too green for such a role against great offensive minds like Spurrier and Malzahn. Harris is a bust and has now returned to the bench and the schemes will never let Chavis Williams play enough to contribute more than 5 to 10 times a game. The biggest problem is that Donta isn't healthy. They want him to be ready to roll, but you can tell each week that he just can't move well enough to do the things he is being asked to do. He also lacks confidence in his knee. There were 3 or 4 times Saturday where he had a chance to snuff a play out and stop the running backs at the line or behind it and let them drag him forward 3 yards because he just won't plant the bad knee and drive with it.
The secondary is very green and very average. Kirkpatrick is their only cover guy, but he's very undisciplined and loses containment too often. Millner has yet to show that he's ready. Menzie like Hightower is not healthy enough to play substantive downs. I think if he were, this secondary would be much better. He at least shows that he can read the play. He just can't move to it. Lester is fine in cover 2, but against the run and when in man coverage, is average at best. The loss of Robbie Green is really showing itself now. Barron is only one man and he cannot be asked to do it all, and he too suffers when asked to cover a WR. The biggest villian going against the secondary isn't the players, it is the coaches though.
The coaches continue to try and cover and live in a false assumption that if you cover it, you can win. The 1st half vs. ARK, the 2nd half vs. UF, and all of the USCar game show that covering all day is how you get beaten up and worn down. All 3 examples have the same theme. Bama sends 3 or 4 and drops the rest, the QB has plenty of time and makes his progressions. Each example, Bama cannot get the D off the field fast enough. Florida made enough mistakes that it didn't show up as substantively as it did in the other two.
So how is this good? In re-reading it, it seems rough, but that's really what needs to be done. Fans and player got too high on the product and didn't spend nearly enough time realizing that this defense isn't as good as last year's. It is more of a mirror to some of Kines defense. Lots of bending and the hope of not breaking, but it works at times and doesn't others. Still, while it isn't the most optimistic thing, you know what you have, and if Saban does what he usually does, he'll start making roster moves and trying to find the best 11 in each situation to win. Folks in the BJ Scott breakout game camp, your chant may come soon enough. I'm starting to wonder how he's that far behind the others. Same for Fulton, I get they may not do the best in zone, but have you seen the finished product? Nobody plays well in zone except for Lester. To me, that's kinda good news that we'll see what Bama has over the next few weeks at several positions. In the meantime, it will do the fan base good to quit talking shit all day.
The Ugly...heck, it was so bad it got ugly....
Special Teams are just dysfuncionally special....
I hate watching special teams mistakes. So, you can bet that there was a lot of times where I was hating life Saturday with each blunder. I'll start with the fake FG. There are three things about the FG that were bad from the start:
1. If you call timeout, you almost have to fake it because otherwise, you wasted a timeout or just iced your own kicker.
2. Everyone in the lower 48 states knows by now that Shelley is the short yardage FG kicker and a 42-45 yard try is out of his range, so the fake is on.
3. Using a Jack Linebacker as the safety valve is about as bad an option as any imaginable. The old addage held true, if you can't catch, you play linebacker.
AJ also showed 2 times on special teams that he gets rattled quick. He was in such a hurry to get rid of the ball that he just needed to wait about 2 more seconds and Underwood would have been angled and separated enough to put it over his shoulder for a 1st down at least. The missed EXP was really on him. If the snap hits your hands, it is yours to bring down and plant, it doesn't really matter if it is high, low, right or left of target, if it doesn't hit the ground first, its on the holder to put it laces out. Laces out DAN.
The snapper isn't without fault though. His snaps have been earth diggers all season and Bama will have a punt blocked due to the timing delays from the snaps before the year ends. Maybe 3 or 4 at the rate it is going. The whole thing stinks.
Defensive Theories of Macro Proportional Ineptness
Despite the special teams blunders, and the offense having the sputters at times, the loss really falls on the defense. They had 2 stops the whole day. The safety and the interception were the only stops they made, and really the defense didn't cause the safety. As a whole, if any defensive decision maker thinks that the best way to protect this team is to cover it, they've only assured themselves of an 8 or 9 win season. This team has to be ready to play a lot more man with the corners and prepare to put more than 3 or 4 men on the rush against the meat of the SEC schedule. They can't zone out Ole Miss, and UGA proved that UT is just one blitz away from disaster, LSU same thing, and Auburn same thing. You must be ready to give up the big play once or twice to get 5 or 6 bigger plays. They just aren't good enough to play the amount of cover they do. That isn't a player issue, or a talent issue, it is a coaching realization issue. They also really really need to think about how this team's packages are going to be used. They got caught more than once trying to late sub and Spurrier caught them each time. That is just a sign of lack of preparation on the coaching staff's part. They need to find the best 11 potentially and grow with them and do the things that they do well and be ready for the parts they don't do well. Of course, if the offense can run the ball and keep the defense off the field, this kinda lessens the concern.....
OFFENSE
The Good....
McElroy hanging in and making plays sometimes...
I know a lot of folks are trying to spin this loss on Greg and how he holds the ball, more on that soon, but really the only thing holding the Tide in the game was McElroy. The offense had basically given up on running and being balanced. That was a bad start to things, and being down 21-3 had a part in that, but this loss wasn't on McElroy. This loss was lessened by his efforts. For the "Play AJ" jort wearers, you got 2 good examples Saturday of why he won't see real PT.
Julio's grab
Jones had the ceremonial drop a few plays before, but he stepped up big and made a huge grab on a good throw in the back of the endzone. Yes, you are supposed to put it up high to where your WR is the only one who should be able to get it. My worry now is that with Jones down and out for a few weeks, can this team find a go to playmaker?
Hanks continues to make the big plays
Hanks is quietly having a great season and is probably McElroy's 3rd favorite target behind Jones and Dial because he makes about 9 out of every 10 snags he gets. It was a good job on Hanks part to create separation on the route and make one additional move to get to the end zone.
The Bad...
Hey, when you get a thumpin like this, there aren't many good things going.....
Running?
I guess the score and the way USCar schemed Bama just baffled Saban and McElwain to the point that running the football is what other teams do. 17 carries between Ingram and Richardson is about 10 to 15 too few. That's just poor playcalling and poor management from top to bottom really. You don't sell out to who you are just because you are down, if anything, you settle in and let the running game slow the game down and take the Cock offense off the field for long chunks.
Tick Tick Tick Tick Tick
The thing with McElroy's refusal to ditch the ball is hard to figure out. You can tell he just doesn't want to make a mistake, but in doing so, he's gonna make 5 or 6 mistakes. Granted, the sacks aren't as damaging as interceptions are, but they take the air out of the sails too. To be fair, some of the sacks on McElroy were on the OL, the fumble was, but some were on him not getting rid of it, at least 2 sacks were on the playcalling/route running of the WRs and the WRs not ditching their routes to help Greg out. Lots of guys sitting on routes. For those who will say there was a wide open guy....the one play where they show the routes and Maze was open on the other end of the field, that's a 40+ yard throw when throwing across the field and down field 20. That's a low, LOW, percentage pass play. I'd rather see him eat it than try to make that play because the ball is gonna hang up there and defenders can make up the gap in that time frame.
Offensive line gets down right offensive to watch
They just flat out get too high off the snap. I keep mentioning it because it is why they get bent back so much and can't just line up and go on these teams. They have to live on counters and misdirection because those plays are more about backfield execution and reading than OL plowing and digging. Carpenter and Fluker are slow off the edge and have a real hard time containing a good rush. They are at their best when just running behind them, but when you have to throw, you almost have to do a max protect because one or the other, or both will lose their man on a consistent basis. For Fluker, it is just about learning, and for his part, he plays hard and I can see his improvement from game 1 to now. For Carpenter, it is the same ol, same ol, no improvement, no emotion, no nothing football he plays each week. It is amazing how Johnson made him look so much better compared to now. Warmack and Jones do ok but Warmack is guilty of at least 2 penalties or missed assignments a game. Jones when pulling is great, but one on one he gets shoved around too much. Vlachos is tough, but it is hard for him to cover when so many guys are either out of position or trying to compensate for another guy missing. The fumble was a busted play somewhere on the line assignment.
When McElroy was hit and fumbled from the blind side, Warmack pulled and went outside Fluker. Williams moved from outside to inside to cover that gap, or was trying to get there, hard to tell with it looking like junk from snap to end. Either Carpenter or Vlachos had to slide in to that gap because even with Williams moving inside, it takes a few seconds and a lineman can shoot the gap faster than a TE can swing inside and more than likely won't have position to do anything but hold him. The play was busted before it had a chance and was a good example of the way the day was going up front. Lots of confusion and a lot of missed assignments.
The Ugly...
Preparation, Game plan, and Playcalling
There were some who said that Bama was having a great week of preparation. Ummmm, no. Great week of prep doesn't come out with deer in the headlight expressions. They were flat and didn't look like they had thought through what all was ahead. Part of this may just be that they had gone through 2 emotional games and just didn't have it in them to pull a 3rd act. That's not an acceptable answer if true. The game plan, wasn't much of one. You have a Heisman winner, a future Heisman candidate, and a status quo that follows them that if you feed them, the wins will come. The game plan was to basically starve them and try to establish the passing game. I don't mind getting the QB going with some screens and such, but get your linemen and running backs in the game too with some good down hill running. Even if you are down 2 scores in the 1st or 2nd Qtr, grind it out and take your shots on offense, don't throw it all over creation and wonder why things are not improving. This team isn't built or made to be successful when you call 47 pass plays (34 attempts by GM, 12 runs by GM all scrambles or sacks, and 1 by AJ). That's really on Saban too. He always says he has the veto power to change a play, but they got lopsided in the style and philosophy that had won all those games. All the way around, it was not a situation that looked like they were comfortable and it was a game where they did all the things that went against what won ballgames for them for the last 2 years.
DEFENSE AND SPECIAL TEAMS
The Good...
Reality Bites
The reason this post is on Tuesday and not Monday is simply to take extra time and not be quite as emotionally pissed as I was Monday. The reality is that his Defense has a lot of potential and a steaming pile of hype to it, but very little in tangible substance. They have 1 good to great pass rusher in Upshaw and when he goes down every other game, every other game is a struggle for this defense to create dissruption. Dareus has not shown any of the hype and potential that we all thought we would see. It really is more or less a reality check that now that he's a known name, he's not able to handle the doubles that come with it. The rest of the D Line is either overhyped or underdisciplined. Square and Sentimore show flashes that they are playmakers, but Square gets lost in translation at times and Sentimore is always good for at least 1 lost containment per series. Both are things that will keep them in rotation and not every down players. Nose had a bigger drop off then anticipated as Murphy and Chapman have yet to establish themselves as guys that could replace Cody. Both just don't have the drive in them to be great nose tackles. For a guy as big and as old as Murphy is, it is really disappointing that he cannot translate all that into a great ball player.
The linebacker core has been a sore spot all year really, but we've ducked the bullet until Saturday and now their undiscipline ways and other issues have come front and center. They don't have a Mike LB they like. Donta isn't going to be utilized to his best at it. Johnson looked good at it last week but the staff apparently felt otherwise. Mosley will be a good Mike in the future, but he's way too green for such a role against great offensive minds like Spurrier and Malzahn. Harris is a bust and has now returned to the bench and the schemes will never let Chavis Williams play enough to contribute more than 5 to 10 times a game. The biggest problem is that Donta isn't healthy. They want him to be ready to roll, but you can tell each week that he just can't move well enough to do the things he is being asked to do. He also lacks confidence in his knee. There were 3 or 4 times Saturday where he had a chance to snuff a play out and stop the running backs at the line or behind it and let them drag him forward 3 yards because he just won't plant the bad knee and drive with it.
The secondary is very green and very average. Kirkpatrick is their only cover guy, but he's very undisciplined and loses containment too often. Millner has yet to show that he's ready. Menzie like Hightower is not healthy enough to play substantive downs. I think if he were, this secondary would be much better. He at least shows that he can read the play. He just can't move to it. Lester is fine in cover 2, but against the run and when in man coverage, is average at best. The loss of Robbie Green is really showing itself now. Barron is only one man and he cannot be asked to do it all, and he too suffers when asked to cover a WR. The biggest villian going against the secondary isn't the players, it is the coaches though.
The coaches continue to try and cover and live in a false assumption that if you cover it, you can win. The 1st half vs. ARK, the 2nd half vs. UF, and all of the USCar game show that covering all day is how you get beaten up and worn down. All 3 examples have the same theme. Bama sends 3 or 4 and drops the rest, the QB has plenty of time and makes his progressions. Each example, Bama cannot get the D off the field fast enough. Florida made enough mistakes that it didn't show up as substantively as it did in the other two.
So how is this good? In re-reading it, it seems rough, but that's really what needs to be done. Fans and player got too high on the product and didn't spend nearly enough time realizing that this defense isn't as good as last year's. It is more of a mirror to some of Kines defense. Lots of bending and the hope of not breaking, but it works at times and doesn't others. Still, while it isn't the most optimistic thing, you know what you have, and if Saban does what he usually does, he'll start making roster moves and trying to find the best 11 in each situation to win. Folks in the BJ Scott breakout game camp, your chant may come soon enough. I'm starting to wonder how he's that far behind the others. Same for Fulton, I get they may not do the best in zone, but have you seen the finished product? Nobody plays well in zone except for Lester. To me, that's kinda good news that we'll see what Bama has over the next few weeks at several positions. In the meantime, it will do the fan base good to quit talking shit all day.
The Ugly...heck, it was so bad it got ugly....
Special Teams are just dysfuncionally special....
I hate watching special teams mistakes. So, you can bet that there was a lot of times where I was hating life Saturday with each blunder. I'll start with the fake FG. There are three things about the FG that were bad from the start:
1. If you call timeout, you almost have to fake it because otherwise, you wasted a timeout or just iced your own kicker.
2. Everyone in the lower 48 states knows by now that Shelley is the short yardage FG kicker and a 42-45 yard try is out of his range, so the fake is on.
3. Using a Jack Linebacker as the safety valve is about as bad an option as any imaginable. The old addage held true, if you can't catch, you play linebacker.
AJ also showed 2 times on special teams that he gets rattled quick. He was in such a hurry to get rid of the ball that he just needed to wait about 2 more seconds and Underwood would have been angled and separated enough to put it over his shoulder for a 1st down at least. The missed EXP was really on him. If the snap hits your hands, it is yours to bring down and plant, it doesn't really matter if it is high, low, right or left of target, if it doesn't hit the ground first, its on the holder to put it laces out. Laces out DAN.
The snapper isn't without fault though. His snaps have been earth diggers all season and Bama will have a punt blocked due to the timing delays from the snaps before the year ends. Maybe 3 or 4 at the rate it is going. The whole thing stinks.
Defensive Theories of Macro Proportional Ineptness
Despite the special teams blunders, and the offense having the sputters at times, the loss really falls on the defense. They had 2 stops the whole day. The safety and the interception were the only stops they made, and really the defense didn't cause the safety. As a whole, if any defensive decision maker thinks that the best way to protect this team is to cover it, they've only assured themselves of an 8 or 9 win season. This team has to be ready to play a lot more man with the corners and prepare to put more than 3 or 4 men on the rush against the meat of the SEC schedule. They can't zone out Ole Miss, and UGA proved that UT is just one blitz away from disaster, LSU same thing, and Auburn same thing. You must be ready to give up the big play once or twice to get 5 or 6 bigger plays. They just aren't good enough to play the amount of cover they do. That isn't a player issue, or a talent issue, it is a coaching realization issue. They also really really need to think about how this team's packages are going to be used. They got caught more than once trying to late sub and Spurrier caught them each time. That is just a sign of lack of preparation on the coaching staff's part. They need to find the best 11 potentially and grow with them and do the things that they do well and be ready for the parts they don't do well. Of course, if the offense can run the ball and keep the defense off the field, this kinda lessens the concern.....
October 3, 2010
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly- Florida
The best part of Saturday's game was that the team came out and executed a business as usual ass kicking. It wasn't hyped up or emotional, it was controlled, physical, and methodical. With that said, this will be a longer GBU because there is a good bit to talk bout with the game and around the SEC. So, for those who hate long posts, this was the warning....
OFFENSE
The Good...
First half game plan
As you know if you read old posts on here, I often get irritated by the game plan that Bama goes with at times because it is often too cute and sometimes has issues with consistency. This week's 1st half game plan was really really well thought out and did a great job of keeping Florida's defense back peddling. They didn't execute perfectly, but they did score at will early on and each play lead to a future play. There was great balance and good execution as they scored on all of their first 4 drives of the game.
Amazing play
The one thing I often wanted to see when Bama went to the "Wildcat" was a pass. After 18 games of it, it finally came on the 19th tried. Maze has a ton of talent and has matured a lot from the Sugar Bowl to now, and I really wish they would get him more involved in the game plan because he's got the ability to make big plays every time he gets the ball. The thing that now happens with Maze's pass to Williams is that it will make defenses finally back off the line. Florida was stacking 8 and 9 when Bama went cat Saturday, and they did on that play and they even released Williams selling out on the run. It was also nice to see them continue to incorporate Williams and Dial into the offense.
Combined rushing effort...
Ingram and Richardson had ok nights individually as Mark had the TDs and TR had the yards, but together they had a very nice night with 22 carries for over 100 yards and 2 scores. The Gators spent a lot of time making sure they weren't going to be posterized by Ingram the way they were 10 months ago. Instead they let Richardson do it with some of his big runs. The shotgun off tackle play was a great execution on Florida's nickel formation and Richardson hit the 2nd gear and flipped the field. Ingram's first TD was a great effort by Fluker and Dial and Ingram to have the patience to let everything happen. I see so many running backs rush the lane and try to create before the moment is there when I watch games on Saturdays, and to see Ingram just let the play happen even with the game playing as fast as it does, he slows it down and makes a 4 yard play into an 8 or more play with ease.
McElroy leads the way
I'll be honest. I am getting pretty damn tired of reading threads and opinions about how "poorly" McElroy is playing. Perhaps I missed the game those folks saw???? He didn't have a great 2nd half, but he didn't turn it over, he kept the offense out of trouble, and for all his flaws that some can point to, there are 2 things he'll bring that nobody in America can: First, he is just a winner. Second, he is so smart and such a coach in the huddle, it is rare that he makes mistakes and when it does occur, they don't kill the team the way most QBs do. Saturday, that was the status quo. He plays to his strengths and the game plan was simple. They were going to play short on the passes and make quick passes to keep the pressure on Florida and not the OL or McElroy. His first 3 drives were very nice drives, and he moved the offense up and down the field with very few glitches. As a whole, he played well, hit the passes he needed to, got rid of it when he needed to, scrambled and made things happen (Florida got frustrated each time he made a dash for it and made a first down). I get it that folks want the QB to throw for 200 plus and have 3 TDs and all the ESPN fantasy football stats, but with Ingram and Richardson and the style that this OL has, that's not who they really are going to be this year. He can do it, but they don't have to ask him to do it because they have great weapons that are safe options in Saban's mind.
The Bad...
Too tight playcalling in the 2nd half....
I was disappointed that they took the foot off the gas at the half. I thought when Saban started talking about 60 minutes and such, they would keep pushing the gas and control the time of possession. Instead, they got tight and didn't do much of anything the rest of the night. The best plays that occurred for the offense were off McElroy's hustle. In fact, the only 10 plus yard plays Bama had were McElroy runs. That's not what anyone wants to see because those are guaranteed busted plays or poor plays. Some will fuss because they wanna talk about the complete win. This wasn't a complete win. This was a 30 minute win and 30 minute go through the motions.
The Ugly...
The return of Julio Drops...
Fans want Jones to be the best in the SEC and you can go out on the Internets and find a thread here there and yonder that argues that. Saturday was not that day for those proponents. He had two or 3 plays where he just flat dropped passes he has to catch and the rest of the night he let Florida's corner just shut him down. Here's the part where the proponents wanna say the knee. Bullshit, he just flat got beat back again. Julio will get a 1st round pick because he's freakishly talented, but he needs to start showing the concentration and capacity to make plays consistently before he even deserves "best" monikers. Right now, I wouldn't put him as best on the team. Hanks probably is their best through 5 games. Argue away there....
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
The Good...
Funny how pressure makes them look better
When Bama plays man and plays with a mix of blitz and pressure packages, they look like a different team than the team that hee hawed through the first 3 and a half games. This defense isn't going to be as good as last year's, but they can win 14 games too. Bama is starting to get full speed finally with Upshaw and Dareus getting close to healthy, and Nico and Square's emergence have helped round the defense out. Hightower looked a lot more like the Hightower of old because he wasn't having to bark plays and get everyone in position. Nico made probably the key play of the game on 4th and goal because he is more comfortable in the Mike position getting folks in position and looking for tips on the play pre-snap. As a result, Bama could go with Square/Murphy/Chapman/Gentry and Dareus in the middle and putting Upshaw and Hightower/Stinson at the ends. These down four created a lot of pressure and kept Brantley uncomfortable all night.
Great efforts
I thought this was Upshaw's best game of his career. He played with purpose and looked like the guy that fans have imagined. Dareus looks much more comfortable playing inside than he does at rush end, and played inside most of the night. Dre Kirkpatrick also had his best night yet. He had been abused by Arkansas for most of the game, but he returned the favor for the most part Saturday. Even when he gave up a reception, he was on the guy like velcro. Chavis Williams in limited duty had a very nice night on his assignments. His contribution on 4th and goal won't get a lot of mention, but he cut the primary option off on the jump pass and as a result when Burton jumped, he only had 1 play, and it wasn't the right one because Williams had shut him down.
CJ Mosley again is gonna be the next Rolo
Honestly, he's probably gonna be better than McClain if he keeps playing and learning. The thing about Mosley that tells me he's gonna be great isn't that he scored a TD or that he gets x number of tackles, it is that he's always in the right position to make plays. His instincts to the play are just special and it isn't something that can be coached, he's gonna be a coach on the field eventually. I was really surprised that he didn't really play much, if at all, against ARK, but the staff recognized they needed more of him out there so that they can do more of the things with Hightower, Johnson, Dareus, and others.
Great job by specialists
Short of the 1st punt of the night for Bama that was a sorry snap that resulted in a shank, the special teams played pretty well. Jones had a tough night as a WR, but his 41 yard return shocked the Gators who probably had not given up 41 yards in the last 2 years on punt returns. Shelley continues to be money in his range and Foster got his kickoff leg back in line after 3 weeks of Wild Thingesque play. Overall, the special teams got the job done and kept Florida from having anything to work with short of the 3 points they helped with.
The Bad...
Too much junk given up
While in the 1st half, they pretty much shut down Florida's offense after the 1st series, the second half was not as productive. When you are on D, you have kinda a hierarchy of objectives. You wanna create turnovers or get off the field fast and get your O back on the field. Then it drills down to keeping the yards allowed low, not flipping the field, etc. Bama did the 1st a few times, but the second didn't happen. Bama only created 2 short 3 and outs after the half. They also let Florida chew up clock and yards. Bama only had 5 snaps in the 3rd Qtr. and 15 in the 2nd half. Now, that is on the O more than the D, but they did let Florida have 38 snaps in the 2nd half and 21 minutes on the field. It didn't catch up with Bama and it didn't hurt them on the scoreboard thanks to turnovers and red zone miscues on Florida's part, but you don't wanna live that way much.
The other thing that happened too much was Bama went zone or blitzed a corner and nobody covered once the corner released or blitzed. There were 3 or 4 times where that happened and it just kept Florida on the field and feeling like they had a chance. The 1st play of the second half and the 2nd down from the 4 yard line were both situations where that happened. The 2nd down play probably bothers me more because when you have gotten a punt downed at the 1, you don't let them loose like that. You just don't.
It's Millner time.....sure ain't the high life....
He's young and the potential is there, but geez he's gotta start playing right eventually. The holding penalty was silly and was a case where he panicked before he should have. They tried blitzing him and the guard just swatted him like a bug. Now, you are saying "yeah he's a lineman and Millner is a DB", yeah, but if he blitzes from the proper angle, he has a safety. He took a straight b line to the QB instead of executing the right angle and getting from Brantley's backside. If he had gotten to him, it would have been a highlight reel moment decleater probably, but they are rare in occurance because of what happened. I don't mind the pass interference as much because it beats giving up a TD. The Gators picked on him a good bit in the 2nd half, and he best get used to it until he proves to opposing OC's that he isn't the easy target.
The Ugly...NONE
Random Thoughts...
Fourth and Stupid strikes again....well almost....
Les Miles continues to live dangerously and if they had lost, you can bet the Bayou would have started sharpening pitchforks and lighting torches. As is, he survives another week til Florida gets them. While this year's Florida team is not a title contender team, they can beat the snot out of a severe underachiever in LSU. That's really the part that amazes me. They have plenty of talent and plenty of depth, short of QB thanks to the freshman going to the MLB. What they don't have is heart. Everything is a struggle, and everything is confused and unscripted. It is like a bad dinner theatre every Saturday for LSU and that won't fly long with their fans.
With that said, Derek Dooley is a bigger idiot today. You have your goal line D out there, you don't have to sub just cause LSU does. How they get 14 players on the field is beyond me. That's just poor coaching and to out poor coach Miles says something. They had the game won, but the coaches lost it. LSU made a poor move in sending a corpse cold QB out there and ran an option play that was stuffed. LSU panicked and ran out a new set of players and couldn't get set. Hebert had to quick snap and it went to the 30. All stupid on their part minus the center who did the right thing by snapping the ball to make sure they got the play off. However, because UT and the staff were lost in the moment or whatever, they bailed out the Hat again.
Of course, the Vol fans begin their annual recital of the NCAA rule book and bend it worse than a DC Politician. They wanna talk about the officals not letting them get set. Hell, they had 25 seconds and didn't get their guys out there right. How long are they supposed to have? The clock can't run either, I don't think, if the official is over the ball. Two, all the crap about slinging helmets is getting old. If you get a chance to watch the last play again, UT's players slung helmets when they thought they won, plus they were on the field before the play ended....all things the janitor fans missed.....They should take time to pray and give thanks, they could be
The Dawg Nation and their Delusional Drive to Dominance.....
Living here in the midst of Jawga fuuutbawwwwl, I can tell you that Dawgvent is a nice cross sample of how bizzare and lost the GA fans are now a days. The bottom line with the Bulldogs is that they have quit listening to Richt and he's not doing much about it. For those of you who have not paid a lot of mind to them, and rightfully so if you didn't, in the mind of UGA fans the first 3 losses really didn't count because AJ Green didn't play. I guess they are PS3 or XBox people and that whoopin MSU gave them didn't happen. Colorado was where they were gonna turn things around. Oops. Also, they will tell you that their D isn't that bad, it is just that AJ Green hasn't played. I guess he plays DB too and linebacker. Also, the coaching is getting used to the new QB and the 3-4 because AJ Green hasn't played. You get the hint.
Well, now the fans are about where we (the Bama fans) were 3 years ago and 7 years ago. They are starting to divide amongst the loyalist and those who see this turd won't float much longer and it is time to flush. Sound familiar? Looks familiar to that futile 6 and 6 team that didn't show up for Auburn 3 out of 4 years and lost to anyone directional. Feels like those teams that quit on the staff time and time again. The Dawgventers are having grand visions for the future though. The only coaches they haven't tied to the job, that isn't open yet, are Bryant, Rockne, and Landry. They are vastly convinced that Kirby Smart will jump on their opening and is on top of this situation already. More on that soon. If they can't get him because AJ Green hasn't played, Jim Harbaugh will surely leave Stanford for a lesser educational outpost. I can say that, I have a certification from UGA. It ain't Stanford educationally, athletically, and is less of a campus. Now, if either of them aren't up to the challenge, well, Jon Gruden could come because he wants in. Or Muschamp will balk at the millions he'll make and a sure fire job that waits for him at Texas for UGA. Keep in mind, they have never been big on finding big name coaches and botched Dooley's replacement moment by letting Erk Russell go to GA Southern in a snit.
So what happened? Well, this goes back a ways for UGA. When VanGorter (sp?) left for the NFL and other stops, so went the spine that Richt used. The UGA fans and staff are way too loyal to their coaches in a way that makes Shula and Croom look like they have a quick hook. They didn't want to make moves on some of their coaches that weren't SEC caliber like Willy Martinez until it was way too late. So, when they signed Grantham, there was this false optimism that came through the UGA nation. I told UGA fans it took Bama a year and a heck of a recruiting job to get the 3-4 working. Pish posh, this is UGA, they know next year is their year every year. Well, Richt is saintly and a great guy, blah blah blah, so much so that those silly 2 a days that never did nothing for nobody because AJ Green hasn't played, and now here we are. UGA is soft, has 0 drive, 0 leadership, and 0 hope because they skipped 2 a days, and skipped making tough staffing choices in 2005-8. Richt and the Dawgs are gonna be hard pressed to win 5 games right now. They have Vandy and Idaho St as probably wins, but the rest are teams that are either just better, or can run the ball and UGA can't handle the run because AJ Green...ok I now have over used that.
Don't feel bad for them Jawga fuuuutbawwwwl fans, they think they are better than you. Just ask em, Saban is that 4 million dollar jerk who yells and screams at people and is mean to folks on TV. They don't want that. They want a nice guy. That's why they never win. Nice guys suck in football. Visa vi, Georgia sucks.
Ever wonder why ClemPson and Old Piss suck?
Well, they staffed up with every Shula loser and former Bama staff dud you ever saw. Uncle Charlie Harbison................................................................................................................................ok, I edited the long cussing rant about that joke. He's there. Danny Pearman is there, he still can't coach. Brad Scott, who didn't coach on Dubose or Shula's bad staffs, but can ruin a steel ball is there too. Lots of junk on their staff, and when you watch them lose to Auburn the way they did, and lose horribly to the U, it is because they are infected with loser coaches.
Dave Rader is trying to ruin Masoli over in Oxford. Just ask JPW how great it was to get turned around sideways by the insurance salesman. Croyle is still wondering why he plateued after his sophomore year. That staff is full of duds, and they're ruining a guy that I thought was a great young coach in Tyrone Nix. It is what it is, and Houston Nutt is on life support with a staff of losers too.
BCS troubles ahead
Bama's schedule isn't easy. It will be a real testimony of Cochran's 4th Quarter work if they go 12 and 0 again, and to the grit of the players too. If they do, they will join a host of potentials out there that could or will. Boise State more than likely will. Utah and TCU have a date with undefeated again. The winner of that game is going to the Fiesta Bowl. Oregon has pitfalls but they control their destiny. They should be the favorite the rest of the way against Oregon State, UCLA, and USCal. Ohio State controls their destiny, but look like the typical Big 10 team. November will make or break them as they get PSU and Miiiiiichigan at home and go to Iowa. Circle that one. Boise has nothing on their schedule that should be an issue, after all, Fresno is supposed to be a game for them and Ole Miss pimp slapped them. What happens if Nevada beats Boise? Do they go to the BCS bowls like the others have? They have just as good a resume as Boise, Utah, and TCU. As you know, I hate the BCS because it leaves too much error to be made as fact. Bama, Oregon, and Ohio State all could be undefeated and then you have screaming over who should be where. Bama if they win out, they're in, no worries there.
However, what happens if Bama slips but still wins the conference? How can anyone say they aren't better than Ohio State? OSU has yet to play anyone worth mentioning. Miami isn't that special, and I gotta hunch FSU will expose them. Oregon probably is legit as the number 2 team out there in the BCS as is. But, the what ifs are gonna be a problem this fall, I can see that already unless there are some major letdowns ahead.
Looking ahead to USCar
This is the game that has worried me all summer and fall. Lattimore is a really good player and has a great future ahead of him. He's given Spurrier balance in their offense and with their WR core being as physical and tall as they are, they are gonna be trouble. However, if Garcia chokes again, Spurrier will yank him, and throw in a green QB that needs seasoning before he plays a Bama type team. However, as you remember last year, Spurrier can coach against Saban and throw wrinkles that frustrated a veteran D, he can do that and then some to a young but growing D. On the other side, USCar's D isn't anything to sneeze at. You can run on them, Cam Newton is still lumbering on them in their minds. Ingram and Richardson will have to have big nights and silence the crowd early. Colombia is a tough place to play typically too. They will be a louder and more distracting and disorienting crowd than Arkansas was. They also will come after Bama harder than Arkansas did because they can run and can play good D.
I hope to see Bama continue to dial up the heat and not try to protect the secondary so much. I hope to see Bama get Ingram and Richardson going early and get down hill fast like they have most of the year. They will need to get better play from the WRs and safeties than what they got this week, but I don't think the D will have to stretch and play so many assignments this time. I worry about this game because the let down factors are there with a young team, and Spurrier has got the week off and home field advantage for him. However, I can see Bama establishing a tone and controlling this game to a point where folks start talking bout the Iron Bowl being the real SEC Championship too.
OFFENSE
The Good...
First half game plan
As you know if you read old posts on here, I often get irritated by the game plan that Bama goes with at times because it is often too cute and sometimes has issues with consistency. This week's 1st half game plan was really really well thought out and did a great job of keeping Florida's defense back peddling. They didn't execute perfectly, but they did score at will early on and each play lead to a future play. There was great balance and good execution as they scored on all of their first 4 drives of the game.
Amazing play
The one thing I often wanted to see when Bama went to the "Wildcat" was a pass. After 18 games of it, it finally came on the 19th tried. Maze has a ton of talent and has matured a lot from the Sugar Bowl to now, and I really wish they would get him more involved in the game plan because he's got the ability to make big plays every time he gets the ball. The thing that now happens with Maze's pass to Williams is that it will make defenses finally back off the line. Florida was stacking 8 and 9 when Bama went cat Saturday, and they did on that play and they even released Williams selling out on the run. It was also nice to see them continue to incorporate Williams and Dial into the offense.
Combined rushing effort...
Ingram and Richardson had ok nights individually as Mark had the TDs and TR had the yards, but together they had a very nice night with 22 carries for over 100 yards and 2 scores. The Gators spent a lot of time making sure they weren't going to be posterized by Ingram the way they were 10 months ago. Instead they let Richardson do it with some of his big runs. The shotgun off tackle play was a great execution on Florida's nickel formation and Richardson hit the 2nd gear and flipped the field. Ingram's first TD was a great effort by Fluker and Dial and Ingram to have the patience to let everything happen. I see so many running backs rush the lane and try to create before the moment is there when I watch games on Saturdays, and to see Ingram just let the play happen even with the game playing as fast as it does, he slows it down and makes a 4 yard play into an 8 or more play with ease.
McElroy leads the way
I'll be honest. I am getting pretty damn tired of reading threads and opinions about how "poorly" McElroy is playing. Perhaps I missed the game those folks saw???? He didn't have a great 2nd half, but he didn't turn it over, he kept the offense out of trouble, and for all his flaws that some can point to, there are 2 things he'll bring that nobody in America can: First, he is just a winner. Second, he is so smart and such a coach in the huddle, it is rare that he makes mistakes and when it does occur, they don't kill the team the way most QBs do. Saturday, that was the status quo. He plays to his strengths and the game plan was simple. They were going to play short on the passes and make quick passes to keep the pressure on Florida and not the OL or McElroy. His first 3 drives were very nice drives, and he moved the offense up and down the field with very few glitches. As a whole, he played well, hit the passes he needed to, got rid of it when he needed to, scrambled and made things happen (Florida got frustrated each time he made a dash for it and made a first down). I get it that folks want the QB to throw for 200 plus and have 3 TDs and all the ESPN fantasy football stats, but with Ingram and Richardson and the style that this OL has, that's not who they really are going to be this year. He can do it, but they don't have to ask him to do it because they have great weapons that are safe options in Saban's mind.
The Bad...
Too tight playcalling in the 2nd half....
I was disappointed that they took the foot off the gas at the half. I thought when Saban started talking about 60 minutes and such, they would keep pushing the gas and control the time of possession. Instead, they got tight and didn't do much of anything the rest of the night. The best plays that occurred for the offense were off McElroy's hustle. In fact, the only 10 plus yard plays Bama had were McElroy runs. That's not what anyone wants to see because those are guaranteed busted plays or poor plays. Some will fuss because they wanna talk about the complete win. This wasn't a complete win. This was a 30 minute win and 30 minute go through the motions.
The Ugly...
The return of Julio Drops...
Fans want Jones to be the best in the SEC and you can go out on the Internets and find a thread here there and yonder that argues that. Saturday was not that day for those proponents. He had two or 3 plays where he just flat dropped passes he has to catch and the rest of the night he let Florida's corner just shut him down. Here's the part where the proponents wanna say the knee. Bullshit, he just flat got beat back again. Julio will get a 1st round pick because he's freakishly talented, but he needs to start showing the concentration and capacity to make plays consistently before he even deserves "best" monikers. Right now, I wouldn't put him as best on the team. Hanks probably is their best through 5 games. Argue away there....
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
The Good...
Funny how pressure makes them look better
When Bama plays man and plays with a mix of blitz and pressure packages, they look like a different team than the team that hee hawed through the first 3 and a half games. This defense isn't going to be as good as last year's, but they can win 14 games too. Bama is starting to get full speed finally with Upshaw and Dareus getting close to healthy, and Nico and Square's emergence have helped round the defense out. Hightower looked a lot more like the Hightower of old because he wasn't having to bark plays and get everyone in position. Nico made probably the key play of the game on 4th and goal because he is more comfortable in the Mike position getting folks in position and looking for tips on the play pre-snap. As a result, Bama could go with Square/Murphy/Chapman/Gentry and Dareus in the middle and putting Upshaw and Hightower/Stinson at the ends. These down four created a lot of pressure and kept Brantley uncomfortable all night.
Great efforts
I thought this was Upshaw's best game of his career. He played with purpose and looked like the guy that fans have imagined. Dareus looks much more comfortable playing inside than he does at rush end, and played inside most of the night. Dre Kirkpatrick also had his best night yet. He had been abused by Arkansas for most of the game, but he returned the favor for the most part Saturday. Even when he gave up a reception, he was on the guy like velcro. Chavis Williams in limited duty had a very nice night on his assignments. His contribution on 4th and goal won't get a lot of mention, but he cut the primary option off on the jump pass and as a result when Burton jumped, he only had 1 play, and it wasn't the right one because Williams had shut him down.
CJ Mosley again is gonna be the next Rolo
Honestly, he's probably gonna be better than McClain if he keeps playing and learning. The thing about Mosley that tells me he's gonna be great isn't that he scored a TD or that he gets x number of tackles, it is that he's always in the right position to make plays. His instincts to the play are just special and it isn't something that can be coached, he's gonna be a coach on the field eventually. I was really surprised that he didn't really play much, if at all, against ARK, but the staff recognized they needed more of him out there so that they can do more of the things with Hightower, Johnson, Dareus, and others.
Great job by specialists
Short of the 1st punt of the night for Bama that was a sorry snap that resulted in a shank, the special teams played pretty well. Jones had a tough night as a WR, but his 41 yard return shocked the Gators who probably had not given up 41 yards in the last 2 years on punt returns. Shelley continues to be money in his range and Foster got his kickoff leg back in line after 3 weeks of Wild Thingesque play. Overall, the special teams got the job done and kept Florida from having anything to work with short of the 3 points they helped with.
The Bad...
Too much junk given up
While in the 1st half, they pretty much shut down Florida's offense after the 1st series, the second half was not as productive. When you are on D, you have kinda a hierarchy of objectives. You wanna create turnovers or get off the field fast and get your O back on the field. Then it drills down to keeping the yards allowed low, not flipping the field, etc. Bama did the 1st a few times, but the second didn't happen. Bama only created 2 short 3 and outs after the half. They also let Florida chew up clock and yards. Bama only had 5 snaps in the 3rd Qtr. and 15 in the 2nd half. Now, that is on the O more than the D, but they did let Florida have 38 snaps in the 2nd half and 21 minutes on the field. It didn't catch up with Bama and it didn't hurt them on the scoreboard thanks to turnovers and red zone miscues on Florida's part, but you don't wanna live that way much.
The other thing that happened too much was Bama went zone or blitzed a corner and nobody covered once the corner released or blitzed. There were 3 or 4 times where that happened and it just kept Florida on the field and feeling like they had a chance. The 1st play of the second half and the 2nd down from the 4 yard line were both situations where that happened. The 2nd down play probably bothers me more because when you have gotten a punt downed at the 1, you don't let them loose like that. You just don't.
It's Millner time.....sure ain't the high life....
He's young and the potential is there, but geez he's gotta start playing right eventually. The holding penalty was silly and was a case where he panicked before he should have. They tried blitzing him and the guard just swatted him like a bug. Now, you are saying "yeah he's a lineman and Millner is a DB", yeah, but if he blitzes from the proper angle, he has a safety. He took a straight b line to the QB instead of executing the right angle and getting from Brantley's backside. If he had gotten to him, it would have been a highlight reel moment decleater probably, but they are rare in occurance because of what happened. I don't mind the pass interference as much because it beats giving up a TD. The Gators picked on him a good bit in the 2nd half, and he best get used to it until he proves to opposing OC's that he isn't the easy target.
The Ugly...NONE
Random Thoughts...
Fourth and Stupid strikes again....well almost....
Les Miles continues to live dangerously and if they had lost, you can bet the Bayou would have started sharpening pitchforks and lighting torches. As is, he survives another week til Florida gets them. While this year's Florida team is not a title contender team, they can beat the snot out of a severe underachiever in LSU. That's really the part that amazes me. They have plenty of talent and plenty of depth, short of QB thanks to the freshman going to the MLB. What they don't have is heart. Everything is a struggle, and everything is confused and unscripted. It is like a bad dinner theatre every Saturday for LSU and that won't fly long with their fans.
With that said, Derek Dooley is a bigger idiot today. You have your goal line D out there, you don't have to sub just cause LSU does. How they get 14 players on the field is beyond me. That's just poor coaching and to out poor coach Miles says something. They had the game won, but the coaches lost it. LSU made a poor move in sending a corpse cold QB out there and ran an option play that was stuffed. LSU panicked and ran out a new set of players and couldn't get set. Hebert had to quick snap and it went to the 30. All stupid on their part minus the center who did the right thing by snapping the ball to make sure they got the play off. However, because UT and the staff were lost in the moment or whatever, they bailed out the Hat again.
Of course, the Vol fans begin their annual recital of the NCAA rule book and bend it worse than a DC Politician. They wanna talk about the officals not letting them get set. Hell, they had 25 seconds and didn't get their guys out there right. How long are they supposed to have? The clock can't run either, I don't think, if the official is over the ball. Two, all the crap about slinging helmets is getting old. If you get a chance to watch the last play again, UT's players slung helmets when they thought they won, plus they were on the field before the play ended....all things the janitor fans missed.....They should take time to pray and give thanks, they could be
The Dawg Nation and their Delusional Drive to Dominance.....
Living here in the midst of Jawga fuuutbawwwwl, I can tell you that Dawgvent is a nice cross sample of how bizzare and lost the GA fans are now a days. The bottom line with the Bulldogs is that they have quit listening to Richt and he's not doing much about it. For those of you who have not paid a lot of mind to them, and rightfully so if you didn't, in the mind of UGA fans the first 3 losses really didn't count because AJ Green didn't play. I guess they are PS3 or XBox people and that whoopin MSU gave them didn't happen. Colorado was where they were gonna turn things around. Oops. Also, they will tell you that their D isn't that bad, it is just that AJ Green hasn't played. I guess he plays DB too and linebacker. Also, the coaching is getting used to the new QB and the 3-4 because AJ Green hasn't played. You get the hint.
Well, now the fans are about where we (the Bama fans) were 3 years ago and 7 years ago. They are starting to divide amongst the loyalist and those who see this turd won't float much longer and it is time to flush. Sound familiar? Looks familiar to that futile 6 and 6 team that didn't show up for Auburn 3 out of 4 years and lost to anyone directional. Feels like those teams that quit on the staff time and time again. The Dawgventers are having grand visions for the future though. The only coaches they haven't tied to the job, that isn't open yet, are Bryant, Rockne, and Landry. They are vastly convinced that Kirby Smart will jump on their opening and is on top of this situation already. More on that soon. If they can't get him because AJ Green hasn't played, Jim Harbaugh will surely leave Stanford for a lesser educational outpost. I can say that, I have a certification from UGA. It ain't Stanford educationally, athletically, and is less of a campus. Now, if either of them aren't up to the challenge, well, Jon Gruden could come because he wants in. Or Muschamp will balk at the millions he'll make and a sure fire job that waits for him at Texas for UGA. Keep in mind, they have never been big on finding big name coaches and botched Dooley's replacement moment by letting Erk Russell go to GA Southern in a snit.
So what happened? Well, this goes back a ways for UGA. When VanGorter (sp?) left for the NFL and other stops, so went the spine that Richt used. The UGA fans and staff are way too loyal to their coaches in a way that makes Shula and Croom look like they have a quick hook. They didn't want to make moves on some of their coaches that weren't SEC caliber like Willy Martinez until it was way too late. So, when they signed Grantham, there was this false optimism that came through the UGA nation. I told UGA fans it took Bama a year and a heck of a recruiting job to get the 3-4 working. Pish posh, this is UGA, they know next year is their year every year. Well, Richt is saintly and a great guy, blah blah blah, so much so that those silly 2 a days that never did nothing for nobody because AJ Green hasn't played, and now here we are. UGA is soft, has 0 drive, 0 leadership, and 0 hope because they skipped 2 a days, and skipped making tough staffing choices in 2005-8. Richt and the Dawgs are gonna be hard pressed to win 5 games right now. They have Vandy and Idaho St as probably wins, but the rest are teams that are either just better, or can run the ball and UGA can't handle the run because AJ Green...ok I now have over used that.
Don't feel bad for them Jawga fuuuutbawwwwl fans, they think they are better than you. Just ask em, Saban is that 4 million dollar jerk who yells and screams at people and is mean to folks on TV. They don't want that. They want a nice guy. That's why they never win. Nice guys suck in football. Visa vi, Georgia sucks.
Ever wonder why ClemPson and Old Piss suck?
Well, they staffed up with every Shula loser and former Bama staff dud you ever saw. Uncle Charlie Harbison................................................................................................................................ok, I edited the long cussing rant about that joke. He's there. Danny Pearman is there, he still can't coach. Brad Scott, who didn't coach on Dubose or Shula's bad staffs, but can ruin a steel ball is there too. Lots of junk on their staff, and when you watch them lose to Auburn the way they did, and lose horribly to the U, it is because they are infected with loser coaches.
Dave Rader is trying to ruin Masoli over in Oxford. Just ask JPW how great it was to get turned around sideways by the insurance salesman. Croyle is still wondering why he plateued after his sophomore year. That staff is full of duds, and they're ruining a guy that I thought was a great young coach in Tyrone Nix. It is what it is, and Houston Nutt is on life support with a staff of losers too.
BCS troubles ahead
Bama's schedule isn't easy. It will be a real testimony of Cochran's 4th Quarter work if they go 12 and 0 again, and to the grit of the players too. If they do, they will join a host of potentials out there that could or will. Boise State more than likely will. Utah and TCU have a date with undefeated again. The winner of that game is going to the Fiesta Bowl. Oregon has pitfalls but they control their destiny. They should be the favorite the rest of the way against Oregon State, UCLA, and USCal. Ohio State controls their destiny, but look like the typical Big 10 team. November will make or break them as they get PSU and Miiiiiichigan at home and go to Iowa. Circle that one. Boise has nothing on their schedule that should be an issue, after all, Fresno is supposed to be a game for them and Ole Miss pimp slapped them. What happens if Nevada beats Boise? Do they go to the BCS bowls like the others have? They have just as good a resume as Boise, Utah, and TCU. As you know, I hate the BCS because it leaves too much error to be made as fact. Bama, Oregon, and Ohio State all could be undefeated and then you have screaming over who should be where. Bama if they win out, they're in, no worries there.
However, what happens if Bama slips but still wins the conference? How can anyone say they aren't better than Ohio State? OSU has yet to play anyone worth mentioning. Miami isn't that special, and I gotta hunch FSU will expose them. Oregon probably is legit as the number 2 team out there in the BCS as is. But, the what ifs are gonna be a problem this fall, I can see that already unless there are some major letdowns ahead.
Looking ahead to USCar
This is the game that has worried me all summer and fall. Lattimore is a really good player and has a great future ahead of him. He's given Spurrier balance in their offense and with their WR core being as physical and tall as they are, they are gonna be trouble. However, if Garcia chokes again, Spurrier will yank him, and throw in a green QB that needs seasoning before he plays a Bama type team. However, as you remember last year, Spurrier can coach against Saban and throw wrinkles that frustrated a veteran D, he can do that and then some to a young but growing D. On the other side, USCar's D isn't anything to sneeze at. You can run on them, Cam Newton is still lumbering on them in their minds. Ingram and Richardson will have to have big nights and silence the crowd early. Colombia is a tough place to play typically too. They will be a louder and more distracting and disorienting crowd than Arkansas was. They also will come after Bama harder than Arkansas did because they can run and can play good D.
I hope to see Bama continue to dial up the heat and not try to protect the secondary so much. I hope to see Bama get Ingram and Richardson going early and get down hill fast like they have most of the year. They will need to get better play from the WRs and safeties than what they got this week, but I don't think the D will have to stretch and play so many assignments this time. I worry about this game because the let down factors are there with a young team, and Spurrier has got the week off and home field advantage for him. However, I can see Bama establishing a tone and controlling this game to a point where folks start talking bout the Iron Bowl being the real SEC Championship too.
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