|
|
BAMADOG'S TAKE ON THE GAME
- 2006 SEASON -
BAMADOG'S 2006 SEASON RECAP
This season was definitely a season of ups and downs... seems to be more downs than ups however. Bama beat the teams they were supposed to beat (except MSU & Arkansas) and lost to everyone they were supposed to. And for a team that just came off a 10-2 season, you'd expect things to get rolling, especially with practically no one leaving on offense. Darby comes back of 2 impressive seasons, and the defense has just been dominant. We could definitely expect at least an 8-win season, right? We all wish...
Things got off to a rough start though we did beat Hawaii. Then we played Vandy down to the wire as well... We head off to Arkansas and literally GIVE the game away with 3 missed FGs, a missed PAT, and the most conservative play-calling since Gene Stallings. The only difference is that we look sick doing it. Each week, we were given the same old speech -- "We're still a young team. We'll look at the film and see what we can do to improve. I thought we'd be further ahead by now." You name it, it was the same results, same speech. It was sickening, especially losing to Auburn for the 5th straight year. If I actually LIVED in Alabama, I think I would have to kill myself - it's THAT bad. Living in Dallas, TX, I guess I don't have all the pressure of AU fans left and right jabbing me in the back on yet another loss. That's the only plus-side of living away from the state. With that being said, it's EASY to see why Mal did what he did. Shula had to go, period. The program just was not evolving - it was digressing. No improvement was made from the first game to the last - as a matter of fact, they seemed to get worse as the season got longer. That should never happen. Though I wanted Shula to be successful, he just wasn't cutting it. He kept the slate clean in a very crazy time after probation, Fran disappearance, and Mike Price debacle. He brought stability, but in the process, he just didn't win enough - and moreso, he rarely ever won the big game. He beat UT once, Arkansas once, and won the Cotton Bowl. When those are your ONLY highlights of a 4-year career as head coach, you know you're not doing what you need to do to retain your job.
As for the players, I liked the effort I saw, especially with that of JP Wilson and Bama's WRs. DJ Hall is just a stud, and Keith Brown could play in the NFL if he can stay healthy. It was good to see Oakley play an entire season as well. Caddell had high hopes at the beginning of the season, but then he fell into the usual 3rd string rarely-play syndrome because he couldn't be consistent in catching the ball (that is, until the freaking bowl game - go figure). JP spread the ball around and even hit the TE in the first few games of the season. Wow - we finally got the TE involved!! But then midway thru the season, we seemed to abandon it yet again. Sux to see such a weapon go unused. They did try from time to time to hit the TE, but it just wasn't as effective for the most part. DJ Hall had to do most of the work all season with keeping Wilson's stats so impressive. Without Hall (ie. see results of the loss of Prothro) we would have not won a game in the 2nd 1/2 of the season. No one else even stepped up to the plate. I just hope his offseason surgery on his shoulder is successful (I assume he'll have surgery, that is).
The offensive line was horrible. And though we say all 5 starters will be back next season, what does that mean - we'll see more of the same crappy blocking? Let's hope not. They actually pass-blocked better than they run-blocked for some reason. Beats me how that happened since it was the same 5 guys with Andre added to the mix (which made them stronger)... just strange how that happened. JP Wilson could be a heisman candidate by the time he leaves Bama if he keeps improving and putting up good numbers next season. He's got that much potential. All of Brodie's records should be thrown out by the time Wilson graduates.
As for the defense, Kines had put together one of THE best units in the country the previous 2-3 years and then he goes to a lame-duck 3-3-5 defense which screwed the entire team all season. Yeah, it semi-worked against Hawaii, but why the heck do you run that crap against a team like Arkansas that's going to run the ball 70% of the time? Regardless, you need a 4-3 or 3-4... not that 3-3 bullcrap. That's one less body to clog up the trenches, which is what we really needed to do. Why we continually ran that defense and consistently didn't stop anyone was beyond me. I sit here shaking my head in disbelief still. As for the rest of the defense, they did ok for what they had to deal with. Castille may get burned from time to time, but every DB gets burned eventually or even multiple times. He more than made up for it with his timely interceptions along with the rest of the secondary. They are the ones that lost and won games for Bama this year. The problem is that the offense couldn't do anything to help out. Red zone woes were the front page news every weekend practically. It's no wonder that Christensen's leg didn't fall off from all the FG attempts... and Tiffin's at the season start. Actually Tiffin's leg did fall off in Fayetteville.
So as for last season, it was a defining season for Alabama football. Though Bama had increased Shula's pay and contract, he still lost to Auburn, UT, and LSU for a 3rd time in 4 years. His team was getting worse instead of better... and off he went. Mal had no choice. Mississippi State came to Bryant-Denny and basically put a stake in Shula's back to solidify the decision. Only a win against AU the following week could have POSSIBLY held Shula as Head Coach, but not even that happened. Ciao. Adios. Aloha, coach. Thanks for trying, but you just didn't get the job done, period. Even daddy couldn't help you at that point. Next time you get a head-coaching job, make sure you LET YOUR COACHES COACH AND DO THEIR JOBS - that includes play-calling. Look at the bowl game against OSU. We scored in the redzone, scored 31 points, yet still lost. I guess that also proved my point - the fact that Kines was busy being a head coach, it looked like the defense was running around the field like a chicken with its head cut off. It was the same play time after time... a handoff to the left side of the line and we NEVER stopped it. What did they run it - 3 times in a row and continued getting 1st downs or some crap? I couldn't have been more pissed off. I guess if Kines had had a defensive coordinator to prepare, things might have been different - or maybe he actually DID do that job and forget the head-coaching job since Radar was calling plays for the offense anyway. Guess we'll never know.
As for NEXT SEASON, things already look brighter with the hire of Nick Saban. He has already made a huge impact on recruiting and the whole Bama Nation in general. He might not bring Bama back to the BCS picture this upcoming season, but he'll have plenty to work with and mold us into what he sees for this team. I don't expect miracles this fall, but if JP stays healthy and someone can actually team the OL how to block, we're looking very good with Hall/Brown back and a backfield that should be improved over the dancing Darby show. The biggest loss will be LeRon McClain. He was a hoss, a massive blocker, and a great receiver out of the backfield. Also, Christensen is back and so is the punter. Some people knock Christensen - but people listen, without him, Bama isn't 10-2 last year either. NO, and I repeat, NO FG kicker is perfect, even in the NFL. Even a 'simple' 19-yd FG attempt by the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs got botched. Though it wasn't the FG kicker's fault, it can happen anytime, and we always take it for granted. Christensen has made more than he's missed and we should be grateful, that's for sure. I'll take him over the previous few years of 50/50 chance... or even the punt return crap the year before with Brooks constantly fumbling punts and the coaching staff continuously putting him back there to do it again and again. Ugh. Bad memories.
So anyway, after A-Day we probably won't know much more about the team since the whole playbook won't be for show... but come fall, I do expect a huge change in attitude in our team. We may actually hit the field EXPECTING to win rather than HOPING to win, which is the way it should be... the way I always saw it back when I was a student. Yeah, I was a lucky one - I was there during the Gene Stallings years including the national championship. Ahh... good times. ROLL TIDE!
Good luck, Coach Saban!
BAMA 31 - OKLAHOMA STATE 34
After another poor showing during the reguar season, Bama showed up somehow for Bowl season - the Independence Bowl - at 6-6. Great. Just another opportunity to give us yet another losing season. At least at 6-6 we're assured of not losing against a quality opponent, right? Oh well - there goes that idea.
But with the bowl game, new life did appear for the Tide. They scored in the red zone and even scored 31 points - something it couldn't do all season except a couple of creampuff teams. Of course, it DID take a couple of breaks for that to happen like a punt return for TD and an ensuing kickoff fumble by OSU - but the fact is, is that Bama came back in the 4th quarter to tie the game though it still did lose. But at least there was hope. Would Shula EVER have thrown the ball to Smith down near the goal line? Nope. Worked to perfection too. Up the middle for no gain doesn't tend to score many TDs. Good to see some ingenuity by Ungerer who gave the play to Rader. Nice call.
The defense on the other hand just got run all over. How many times in a row did OSU run that same freaking play to the left side of the offense??? And every time we didn't have an answer NOR would we adjust to stop it. OSU is like "We'll run it until you stop it" which we rarely did. Anyway, it was another average game at best for the Tide, but at least we have glimmers of hope now. I'll say this - Arenas is the real deal. The guy has no concious. He may be short, but with that kind of speed and determination on punt returns, I can dig it. Plus, I don't believe we had one fumbled punt all year long. Gotta be happy with the future of Bama punt returns. Last year with Brooks, we didn't even want anyone back there. ROLL TIDE for next season..... it should be a good one hopefully. It couldn't be much worse considering the competition.
It's been real, people. Enjoy hoops season as Bama is currently #8 in the country and pushing for a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. ROLL TIDE!
BAMA 15 - #15 AUBURN 22
Sorry for the late take here, but I honestly don't remember much of the game except it sucked that we just lost the 5th straight time to those Commies. Dang I'm pissed. Right now Shula's gone, so I guess you have to give the game an F and the decision to get rid of Shula - well, you decide. :) Now for the bowl game, maybe we can see some play-calling that's non-Shula based - and see what happens!
BAMA 14 - #12 LSU 28
This take doesn't need much explanation. Add in the fact that I haven't had my laptop working the last couple of days due to a faulty hard drive and well, I'm just not in the mood to write much. Sorry guys.... BUT.....
I'll say that the offense played hard and came up with a way to move the ball yet again, but not score. We missed a couple of FGs which obviously would have made the game a bit closer... but in this game, the defense dropped the ball. This team can barely score 10 points. We gave up 28. As soon as LSU got 20, I knew we were in trouble. We just dug a hole too big to get out of... again. Until we start playing an ENTIRE game on BOTH sides of the ball, we're not going to win many games. I don't know if it's the players, coaches, or strength and conditioning - but whatever it is, something obviously needs correcting. I like the effort, but the end result is just not acceptable. With other coaches doing MORE with LESS, all I can do is shake my head in disgust. We're still hurting from the scholarship losses (as intended by the NCAA), but we can still expect better than what we're seeing every week.
Congrats to JPW and DJ Hall. JPW just hit the 2000+ mark in the LSU game throwing more yards in this game than any other during the season - and against the BEST defense in the country. You couldn't ask for much more - except points on the scoreboard. Hall is poised to be THE #1 WR in Alabama history. He's obviously going to shatter every receiving record in the Alabama record books, barring injury. The dude is a stud and knows how to get open. I'm glad we have him and the rest of the Jr's for one more season. We definitely don't need anyone leaving a year early for the NFL.
Overall, the team gets a C. We were ok in some areas and not-so-ok in others. We probably overachieved against a team such as LSU, but in the end, Russell just sliced and diced our defense like we were Duke (with someone else playing Duke instead of Bama). We just had no answer and couldn't win the turnover battle. Hopefully the 3-man line is gone after this season as all it has done this year is allow teams to run like heck all over us. With no horses up front, we're not going to STOP anyone. Instead, we just have to HOPE the other team makes a mistake - which LSU really didn't do...... thus the loss. A win next week will REALLY REALLY REALLY help heal these wounds for the season. Another loss puts us in the category of "bowl...maybe". Just because you have 6 wins doesn't mean jack. With everyone playing 12 teams this year, the bowls will have a lot more choice of who to pick - so Bama's not a definite if we lose the next one. As for LSU, it's done, and I'm sick of thinking about it. I'm just glad hoops have started up... maybe we can stay on the winning track there.... ROLL TIDE!
BAMA 16 - MSU 24
Darby summed it all up in his interview after the game...
"Sure, the odds are against us and I know everybody is counting us out in these last two games," Darby said. "But, hey, that's what makes it exciting because we've got a lot of people going against us. We've got our backs against the wall. That's when we work the best and when we work the hardest."
That's right - you work the hardest when you think you might lose... what about the other times when you're expected to win?? Well, you struggle and eventually, you lose like you did Saturday. What a lame mindset - all we get is that they are pissed off and talk smack about how they are going to improve and yet all we see each week is our team getting worse and worse...
This game had upset written all over it. Let's face it - Bama is getting worse before it gets better. The injury to Brown has obviously been huge, but dang if the OL isn't playing like a bunch of novices. Everytime the ball is snapped, our guys are getting blown off the line - pushing the OL back into the pocket which doesn't give JPW any time to throw the ball. Granted, JPW is holding the ball a little long from time to time, but still, the DL shouldn't be backing up the OL at all. It should be a wall created to give the QB time to throw the ball downfield and move the chains. Instead, almost every play, he's either running for his life or on his back. I look at other teams play on Saturday and it's simply AMAZING how other OL's just stand there and the DL doesn't have a chance to get to the QB. Texas Tech is one example and so is Michigan and Ohio State. Even the cupcakes have kept US from getting to them... ie. Vandy.
Another thing that did us in AS USUAL is the red zone offense. There is not another college football team IN AMERICA who is more inept at getting the ball into the endzone fromt he red zone. It's in-freaking-sane at how many chances we have gotten all year and can't punch it in for 6. Again I say, look at other teams - see what they are doing. Look at what you're doing and figure out what the crap you can do to IMPROVE instead of doing the same thing week-in and week-out. The goal of a season is to get better and better - this team is going backwards and I see no signs of improvement coming soon. Sure, players can talk about how they will be up for this game against LSU, but so what?? You couldn't even get up for Mississippi State. You got knocked around on your butts by the worst team in the conference. Then Shula says we'll tweak this and that.. and we need to improve here and there... and that we're "CLOSE". What the crap are you talking about?? Other teams have VERY similar rosters as the Tide and they have no problem taking care of business. We're not even CLOSE to "CLOSE". We're 6-4, going on 6-6 and maybe even 6-7 if we make a bowl game. "Close" is being 10-2. "Close" is showing signs of improvement that give us hope for the games to come. At this point, we're nowhere close to "Close". We're near the bottom of the barrell, people. Bama is 2-4 in the SEC. Check this - Mississippi State is 1-5. They are ONLY ONE STEP BEHIND THE TIDE. One more win for them, and they are ahead of us since they beat us head-to-head. Is that what you call freaking "CLOSE"???? NO!!!
Dang, it's Tues night/Wed Morning and I'm still pissed about this past weekend. I'm more pissed about this game than I was the Duke game. I'm sick of the excuses. This team is young, but it ain't THAT young anymore. they have nearly a full season under their belt, and most of these guys still played last year. Look at Notre Dame. Weiss comes in the first season and gets that team to compete every game. They win a lot more than they lose - but they expect to win every game. New coach? So what? How freaking hard is it to learn a playbook and execute?? Shula's been here long enough for the players to know the system. They're not SO young that they can't compete for the SEC West. That leaves one thing - Coaching. You do the math.
Next, the defense played an OK game. Sure they played lights out in the 2nd half SCORE-WISE, but that's not all that matters since they're the ones that dug that huge hole for 24 points in the 1st half (though 1 TD was and int for TD). Bama couldn't stop running plays for the last 5 minutes of the game. We KNEW they were going to run the ball and we STILL couldn't stop a winless Bulldog offense. What the freaking crap, people???? Have we become the Vandy of the SEC now? Looks like it - because MSU and Ole Miss are at least getting better instead of worse. I'm just beside myself and dumbfounded at the moment.
On a slight positive note, we had ONE weapon and somehow we utilized it to the fullest ability. D.J. Hall. Without him, the Bama offense is literally NOTHING. Ok, add JPW to the list because he's definitely doing his job for the most part. But I tell you one thing - that one long pass that Hall missed - he's got to hang on to that one. He makes play after play after play, and we can't complain, but that one we really needed. That was as perfect a pass as Romo threw in the 'skins game to Owens last Sunday. He just should have made the catch. It hit him right in the chest and 49 times out of 50, he'll catch those. I guess that was his one time to miss that we needed badly. We just need Brown back and quick. He was in for a reverse play that didn't do anything and I guess at that point it didn't matter much since he was still hurt. Johns was in the same boat and didn't play much. He ended up getting hurt on a special teams play, so hopefully he'll be ok.
The other good? Christensen. He has been solid as of late. People say he's inconsistent, but I'll tell you this - he's a LOT more consistent than the red zone offense we field each week. Until the offense starts getting the job done, we don't need to say anything about him right now. He won 3 games for us last year including UT... now it's time for the offense to buckle up and get some points. Because right now, we're looking down the barrell of a gun - kinda how Shula looks at every game.
Oh, one last thing I almost forgot - the SEC refs for that game should have a full game's pay docked for that blown call against Arenas' punt return. His knee CLEARLY didn't touch the ground after the replay was shown in slow motion - a punt return in which would have possibly changed the face of the game as he was heade for the endzone, tying the game. The refs on that play made a huge mistake - they blew the freaking whistle on a very close play in which they thought his knee was down... and with that stupid whistle, the play is DEAD. No review, no continuation, no nothing. Now if they had just let him run it down the field and see what happened, it could have been reviewd AND THEN RETURNED BACK TO WHERE HIS KNEE WENT DOWN. Unfortunately, those morons got the call wrong and it likely cost us the game, at least at that point. Sure, Bama shouldn't have to have needed 7 points to tie or win the game, but regardless, it's PART OF THE GAME and yes, it's INCLUDED on the scoreboard. For a team struggling like us, yeah, we DO need every single point we can get because until we can prove we are the best, we're with the rest. So we can get off our high horse thinking we're so much better than everyone until we actually are. I'm sick of how this team is playing in nearly every aspect and the Bamafans in this country deserve better. If you're going to field a team that plays like crap, then don't make the fans pay $40 per ticket just to watch that filth. It's just downright embarrassing and LAME.
For this game, there is no grading for each aspect of the game because when you get BEAT by the WORST team in the entire SEC, there's only one grade to give. No we weren't close. We didn't score even ONE offensive Touchdown. We scored 3 times out of 4 in the redzone - but FG's. The game was never really in doubt in my mind - even at 10-10. We had proven at that point that we just couldn't hang... if defense or special teams didn't score, then MSU would win - and that's what happened. As far as I'm concerned, Bama can stay home for the bowl season unless we win one of the last 2. 6-6 only gives us a chance at a losing season... I'd rather not even be given the chance to embarrass this University anymore... Get some leadership on this team, get an offensive coordinator to game-plan and call the plays (not Shula), and let's start winning games. This losing bullcrap has got to go. PERIOD.
OVERALL GRADE: F
BAMA 38 - FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL 3
I was at the game Saturday, so I haven't had a chance to actually watch the game on TV as of yet. But from what I saw, Bama was again sluggish for a lot of the game against an undermanned team in FIU. If not for special teams and the defense, it would have been a closer game though still a game that wouldn't have been in doubt. I'm short on time this week, so I'll make it quick this go-around...
OFFENSE - the offense surprised me (well, not really) on how slow we started and how we just didn't DOMINATE the game. Of course JPW wasn't healthy the 2nd half, but when he was healthy, we just didn't do much. Hall's streak of 100+ yard games receiving stopped, and Brown will hopefully be better in the upcoming weeks. I guess that knee is worse off than we all thought. Now JPW is in a bind with his injury - we'll have to see how that plays out.
Darby was ok, but still nothing of what he should have been. 70 yards against a team like winless FIU is just lame. Period. Johns had an average game at best, and one FIU figured out that when Johns was at QB, he was going to run it, they pretty much stopped that after a while. Oh, and Coach Croom - you said Jimmy Johns would never play QB at Alabama? Wrong, yet again. What a trip...
As for Barnes, he looked ok, and I'm glad Shula opened it up at the end and got Barnes to try and pass for a TD. At that point, we didn't really NEED points at 31-3 late in the 4th quarter, but it was VERY good to give him some reps, especially in the red zone to operate Bama's offense. That playing time could be very valuable should JPW go down anytime in the near future. The ball was spread out a bit since Brown was injured. 8 guys caught a pass and strangely enough, Caddell lead all receivers with 29 yards. There should have been more catches, and more touchdowns, but WRs are dropping the ball quite a bit. We have got to eliminate dropped passes when the QB puts it between the numbers. Got to get better though on offense. Against FIU, we racked up a whopping 224 yards. That's about the worst we have done all season against what is definitely THE weakest team on the schedule - yeah, worst than Duke. Beating Mississippi State next week is going to be a real chore if we continue to play like this.
GRADE: D+
DEFENSE - The defense seemed like they could have played better, but the stat sheet says differently. We put pressure on them most of the day and actually got a defensive TD by Ramzee Robinson. We also recovered one fumble. The only blemish really was on a long pass play which set up FIU's only points of the day, a FG. If not for that long prayer, FIU would have been scoreless. They ended up with only 175 yards on the day. So we can't complain, though we should still be getting more sacks.... But with the 3-3-5 defense, Gilberry and company will just have to deal with the fact that it'll be 3 on 5 every game and getting sacks will be nearly impossible. We blitz a bit, but another DL would be most helpful as weight in the trenches is what makes a huge difference. Anyway, they gave up 3 points... I can dig it.
GRADE: A
SPECIAL TEAMS - Special teams played pretty well. No fumbles yet again and Arenas, Bama's true freshman punt returner, took back a punt 65 yards for a touchdown. Hopefully this is a glimpse of things to come. It really gave Bama an edge late in the game as it didn't put pressure on the offense to score (along with the defense TD). Christensen hit his only FG attempt of 46 yards and it was a good kick - good height and distance. Keep it up. Can't complain here either. We got a blocked punt as well, and played solid all day in this area. Yeah, I can dig it here, too.
GRADE: A
OVERALL - Overall, everyone played well except the offense, which seemed enemic for the most part. It seemed like we did the best in the 2nd half when the game was out of reach. I guess by that point, FIU had given up and it was another hopeless cause for them to come back and win - it really took the fight out of them. In any case, Bama got the win which is the most important thing, and now we're bowl eligible. JPW was a man to play in the 2nd half, but I'm not so sure he should have been out there with the injury. I would have thought Shula would have remembered what happened to Croyle... but you know football players want to play, even if hurt, so you have to give JPW credit there. He didn't want to let the team down... nor the fans. At least it's a good sign that he was still out there able to do something. He just needs to get well in time for the LSU game. I say start Barnes next week if necessary and just let things happen as they may... but I doubt that will happen. But overall, Bama won, and the score didn't reflect how poorly Bama played. Just over 200 yards of offense is not how you dominate a winless team. We need to improve bigtime on offense. When Brown gets well, that'll help tremendously... but if he stays on the sideline, look for more of the same - and possible a loss here or there. Brown and Wilson need to be well for the Tide to win against bigger competition... else, it's lights out Tide.
GRADE: B
BAMA 13 - #9 TENNESSEE 16
Something happened to my UT take......... It was here - now it's gone for some reason.... In the unlikely event that you saved it, can you send it back my way? Thanks...
BAMA 26 - OLE MISS 23 (OT)
Congrats to Mike Shula and the staff for FINALLY getting an overtime victory for the Crimson Tide. I didn't think we'd ever get one after squandering the last few. I was like 'Here we go again'... But somehow we made it without having to kick a FG, which in my opinion would not have been good.
OFFENSE - I felt pretty good coming into the game knowing that if we corrected some mistakes, we could have a pretty good offensive day. We're still making mistakes that are EASILY fixable, and with experience, we're getting there for sure. Penalties seem to be one of THE biggest problems with our offense. Throw in a couple of overthrows by JPW and that's about the extent of our problems in the Ole Miss game. I thought the play-calling was excellent. On 4th and 2, we went for it, and I'm glad. At that point, Shula probably knew Christensen wasn't "feeling it" due to his nagging injury. I mean, what else is he going to do right now - put in a struggling Tiffin? It's hard to say since we don't know what's going on injury-wise behind the scenes. The problem with that play not working is the fact that the Guard didn't block the LB coming in. He's got to have better vision than that - that's for sure. All we needed was 2 yards and Darby gets those yards if he makes that block. Anyway, I won't harp on that... but it should improve. I've been telling Shula through the TV all year to run plays off tackle while pulling a guard, and for the most part, those plays get us huge yardage. I can't seem to understand why we are JUST NOW doing that. Strange.
As for the other 4th down call, JPW just overthrew Walker. Plain and simple. With experience, he'll hit that 9 out of 10 times or more. Remember, he's still a sophomore and learning. One thing's for sure: we can't complain on his offensive play for the season. He has been quite the unexpected good QB this season. Of course, DJ and Keith Brown have made his job a bit easier. Those guys are incredible... I just hope these injuries don't linger or it will hurt our chances at these last few games bigtime. Also, JPW's ankle looked to get knicked too... he should be ok though. Nothing a little ice can't help during the week.
Anyway, I liked what I saw, and I want to see more of it. Darby had a coming-out day. But check this - he had only a mere 25 or so yards with 8 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. INSANE!! After that, he ran another 140 yards in the last quarter and a half. He had barely run that total in the first 4 games. Hopefully he's back for good and we can continue to have strong blocking for him. If he's truly back, then we'll see more of the same Darby for the UT game. And if so, I'll have to put the countdown back up on the front page (to break Alexander's record)... or maybe that'll jinx it? We'll see. But overall, great game, and kudos to Will Oakley for making some HUGE catches, especially in the OT period. Wow - what a difference that play made to keep the drive alive. Great job, guys. And way to take control of the game and not leave it up to a FG to determine your fate. Even then, a FG would have only tied the game...... Keep it up. Just cut back the penalties and score more in the red zone.
GRADE: B-
DEFENSE - The defense is so sporatic right now, I don't know what to think. We give up a lot of time of possession in the 1st half because we can't stop them... they take the lead at halftime, then we come out in the 2nd half and close down shop except for the one long TD pass. It's obvious that Kines is not going to leave the base 3-3-5 defense, but hopefully he'll see that we definitely are a better team with an extra defensive lineman in the trenches. That's the only way we're going to clog up the other team's running game. We just can't have DB's blitzing and expect to stop the run that way. It just doesn't work, and hasn't worked for most of the year. What's really odd about this game is the fact that there were no interceptions OR fumbles by either team. We also didn't get any sacks, something we already don't accel at. It just seems like we're relying more on turnovers than actually STOPPING the other team in their tracks this year. I guess that's what Kines is thinking - try to get more interceptions, which we ARE doing well at this season. Though that can change the face of a game, you STILL must top the other team's rushing game to have a chance, and we're just not doing that enough.
And last, what's with the STUPID personal fouls? You need to run about 50 laps around the football field come Monday for getting that crap. I'm sick of it. That's NOT how you stop the other team - by giving them a huge 15 yards and automatic 1st down. Shula, let's get some discipline in that area. There is no need for that on this defense. All you're doing is shooting yourself in the foot. It's just retarded, and it plays into the grade of this defensive grade, not to mention we gave up 20 points in regulation. With our offense woes in the red zone, that's WAY too much to give up, regardless. End it, now.
GRADE: C-
SPECIAL TEAMS - Christensen is obviously still feeling the affects of the groin pull. If he has to sit all week to get better, do it. We need him strong for this weekend.. and as accurate as possible. If we can't kick it in bounds, then squib-kick it and have it bounce everywhere. Seems like a lot of times that ends up working better than the deep ball to the 1 yard line. Punting is still acceptable - nothing is getting blocked... and kick/punt returns I can live with. We're hanging on to the ball all year and have had at best moderate success... but the key is (compared to last year) that we're holding on to the ball - and with a freshman returner. But the kickoffs out of bounds hurt us more than anything along with the fact that a long FG try might have been out of the question for Jamie on Saturday. Thanks to the offense for sticking it over the goal line to finish it the real way.
GRADE: B
OVERALL - Overall, I can't complain. We didn't lose to Vandy, now did we? (How 'bout them Dawgs?) Shula called a great game and had the team prepared to run the ball in the 2nd half as shown by Darby's 4th quarter explosion. With Johns hurt, that was huge. I just hope we keep this momentum going into next weekend because we're going to need it. So to improve, cut down stupid penalties (personal fouls, pre-snap offensive penalties, and blocks in the back on returns). Holding always kills us on offense, so actually, add that one too. Anyway, good game plan, and kudos for getting in the players' heads that yeah, we can win in OT if it comes down to it. That could come into play later this season if we continue to improve our play. Just get better, get better, get better!
GRADE: B-
BAMA 30 - DUKE 14
After a few days (as with Arkansas) of mulling over how our team played, I can finally sit down and make some sense out of all this. Bama is just an average team. Period. That's why we're 4-2 and barely winning games except for LA-Monroe. The problem I see is our run defense. If we could stop teams from running, we would get the ball back more often and thus score more points or at least have the ball on offense a bit more. Instead, other teams are starting to control the clock and it's keeping us from having more chances at putting the ball in the end zone. The problem?... let's take a look at a few...
PROBLEMS:
RUNNING THE BALL - Hopefully, the coaches have figured out that we just cannot run between the tackles. Every time Darby ran on a toss sweep or a running play behind the tackle, we got big yards almost every time. The only time we did get movement in the middle was at the end of the game when we actually had some movement by the WR's that came into the backfield (which gives the defense the illusion that we could have an end around - imagine that). WE HAVE NO DECEPTION IN OUR RUNNING GAME. That is the problem. Look at Arkansas. They run the ball about 80-85% of the game, but you NEVER know who is going to get the ball until it's too late. They always have guys in motion and there's usually the chance that any 2 or 3 guys could have the ball on a handoff which easily can confuse defensive players since they don't know where the ball is. We have none of that anywhere. If it's not a fake handoff up the middle, then plain and simple - we're going to pass the ball. We have a reverse play every blue moon, but running a reverse once a game isn't going to revamp your entire running gameplan. So if we are not going to have any deception in our running game, it's time to run the ball outside, pull an offensive guard off the line to help block, and just cram the ball down their throats. This running up the middle NFL style crap just will not work at this level, especially with teams now putting 8 guys in the box - yeah, they looked at how LSU and Auburn beat us last season and now everyone is doing it to us, and yet we CONTINUE to run right into the box where all those defensemen are. If it's not working at all, WHY THE CRAP DO WE CONTINUE TO DO IT??? Last, I like the idea of putting Jimmy Johns at QB for a quick running play, but what the crap if you can't even get the ball off due to stupid false starts?? The last 2 games, the Jimmy Johns play has not worked due to someone moving on the line. Are we just plain stupid?? Whenever you run a 'trick' play, that's the ONE time you really have to get your lame head in the game. Imagine if the Hogs had jumped offsides for their trick plays. They'd have a couple of losses right now. But no - they're thinking - something our OL just can't seem to do lately. Too many pre-snap penalties. It's absurd, people. No discipline. GRRRRR.
3-3-5 DEFENSE - yeah. That's right. For some strange reason, Kines thinks he's playing Hawaii every single week. You cannot, I REPEAT, YOU CANNOT beat a running offense playing with 3 offensive linemen, 3 LB's (even blitzing), and 5 DB's. If you have 7 guys on the OL, why the crap do you need 5 DB's??? By the time they get to the ball, the offense has already put up at least 5 yards or more. I mean seriously - this isn't rocket science. We rarely ever played a 3-man line last year... we played a 4-3 and it worked to perfection. Then against Texas Tech, we played more of a 3-3-5, which is expected. But against Arkansas, UF, and Duke, what the crap are we doing? Obviously we're not stopping anyone on the ground - and HAPPLESS DUKE??? Are you kidding me, people??? How in the crap does DUKE, of all teams, get around 200 yards of rushing offense??? Well, it comes down to the scheme you're running - and when you don't have enough hosses up front in the trenches to help clog things up, well, you're going to get run over. And that's what happened against everyone we have played. We're not stopping the run where it starts. Do that, and we'll start having a defense that can actually stop a running offensive game. Crap... I'm so pissed about this I can't stand it. Kines - are you listening? I know you guys want speed on the defense to help make up for experience, but these guys are experienced enough - and the speed CLEARLY isn't working on a consistent basis. Like I said, having speed in the 2ndary doesn't really help you when the RB is already 5-7 yards past the line of scrimmage does it?
OFFENSE - Offense is still having trouble scoring in the red zone. I guess we're just inept. Maybe we're retarded. Maybe it's coaching. To me, it seems strange how we can rack up all these yards and move the ball between the 20's and when we get to the end of the field, we clam up. Other teams don't have this problem as much as Bama - and I'd like to hire their coaches when we get inside the 20 from now on. So Shula pre-redzone... someone else IN the redzone. Let's see how that pans out. 30 points against Duke is not enough. And 7 of those were the defense. We struggled the entire game. I guess we're just lucky to have JPW progressing in light years else this team could be 0-5. Again, Hall and Brown do all the work, and no one else at the WR position wants to step up. TEs are becoming extinct too. What the crap is going on?? If we play like this against Duke, the rest of the schedule is going to be H3LL. Yeah, I'll try and tell you something you don't know. Yards are great, but offensive points are still a HUGE problem.
GRADE: C
DEFENSE - Fix the 3-3-5 crap and we're going to be alright. I like the turnovers, but again, if we don't start stopping the run, we're not going to go bowling this year. We thought Duke was tough? ha ha ha ha Good stuff. Imagine a step up to Ole Miss. We might lose if we continue this bull crap. Go back to a 4-3 and play like we have some balls.
GRADE: B-
SPECIAL TEAMS - We're doing ok - nothing that's going to lose games for us just yet (no wait - we did lose one because of S.Teams), but we did miss a FG that should have been made. I guess it's 'flip-a-coin' time when it's FG time - all the more reason to learn how to score TDs in the red zone. We shouldn't have to rely on the leg of a kicker against these lesser teams.... On a positive note, I'm quite pleased with the return games for Bama this year - punts and kickoffs. They have been nothing spectacular yardage-wise, but when you compare that to not turning the ball over, that's huge - something we gasped at everytime we returned a punt last year. So far, we're securing the ball well and getting decent returns in the kickoff game. I can live with this for sure... but FG kicking definitely still needs improvement. Even when it's 'good', it's not very good coming off Christensen's foot.
GRADE: B-
OVERALL - We are an average team, overall. We do some things well, some things ok, and some things not ok, and some things badly. Well - passing offense. Ok - pass defense. Not ok - Running game. Bad - run defense. If we can bring the bad phases of the game up to par with the good parts, we have a great chance and doing something great.... but it starts with the coaches getting the right gameplan on the field. And right now, I'm not sure I'm seeing it. Redzone woes and run defense woes. No TDs and we're not stopping the run. I'm facing reality - we're average and that really pisses me off. There's no reason why we should be playing like we are... it's just plain out NOT ACCEPTABLE. PERIOD. GRRRRRRRRR.
GRADE: C
BAMA 13 - #5 FLORIDA 28
There's honestly not much to say about this week's game that isn't obvious.... here's some quick notes on my observations of the game...
1. The glaring thing about this offense is that we can't score TDs inside the red zone. Fix this and we'll go far. Don't, and we'll continue to be an average run-of-the-mill football team.
2. The defense looked to play well in the 1st half and broke down in the 2nd half. Looks like a repeat of almost every game this year. The defense needs to learn to play the entire 60 minutes - not just the first 30... and we'll go far.
3. We gotta come up with interceptions on defense when they hit you in the numbers. Period. As a senior, Robinson should have taken that one to the house. Hit the juggs machine this week?
4. John Parker Wilson is still a good QB in the making, regardless of the 3 interceptions he threw Saturday. People will realize this once he goes down with an injury and we see the dropoff at the next guy. I'm glad he's our guy. He made some mistakes, but overall on the year, he has played well. He has thrown for over 200 yards every game this year. Definitely a good foundation to build on.
5. Ken Darby is regaining SOME of his form. He definitely looked better than the previous 4 weeks, but he's still not where he needs to be. But he did look better by not juking BEFORE he even got to the line of scrimmage. I want more of that and then some.
6. The offensive line is pass blocking better than any other OL I have seen at Bama since 1990. They tend to lack in run-blocking which is totally opposite of what we have seen during that same time period. I'm not sure how something like that can just change so drastically from one season to the next with no one really leaving, but it has happened. Weird.
7. DJ Hall is a stud. Keith Brown is too... that's why he was double-covered Saturday. Too bad for other teams we have 2 high-calibur WRs. Now if we can get Caddell and another WR to step up, we'll be unstoppable in our passing offense.
8. The game would have changed in some shape, form, or fashion if the idiot replay officials would have stopped play to see that KB's foot was in bounds on his catch on our first drive of the game. Instead, we punt. You just never know what would have happened had we kept that drive alive.
9. Run defense is still lacking for some reason. That's always been a trademark of Bama defenses, but right now, as long as we continue to only use 3 down linemen, we're going to get nailed with the run all year. I did see some 4-man lines for the UF game and when we had that, we did MUCH better in stopping the run. Stick with that - screw the 3-3-5 alignment. We really only need that with Hawaii and Texas Tech.
OFFENSE - Red zone, red zone, red zone. If you haven't seen it somewhere, then you have been living in a cage. If you can't score touchdowns in this league, then you need to question being in this conference. Crap. Get the ball in the endzone. Averaging one offensive TD per game in the last 8 SEC Games is just freaking SAD, people. Moving the ball between the 20's is great... and getting into the redzone more than any other SEC team is great, but if you're not going to finish the drive, then what's the point???
GRADE: D
DEFENSE - Good 1st half, lackadaisical 2nd half. Gotta play 60 minutes and make plays when they are presented to you. I will say it was a VERY heads-up play by Prince Hall (only a redshirt freshman) by not falling on the ball which most guys would do to assure possession - but instead, picking it up and going the distance to put up points for Bama. If the offense doesn't score, then the defense will have to. Questionable calls by the refs, but still no excuse for the D to just whither away in the 2nd half. You just have to play through that. Right now, I just expect more from a Kines defense, though they did play a decent game. The offense just didn't help them out... it's not like the gators scored all 28 against the defense. 3 turnovers which result in 2 TDs definitely doesn't help your cause.
GRADE: B
SPECIAL TEAMS - Much better this week. 2 for 3 on FGs with the lone miss coming on a 52-yarder, though one of the chip shots was a near miss. Punting looks to be sufficient for now, and punt coverage is very good. Teams aren't getting much room to run after a Bama punt... but in saying that, neither are we. Arenas is playing well, but hasn't had any serious returns except for one against Arkansas I believe. Kickoffs by Christensen are ok - mostly high but not deep. That could be due to his groin, but I'll take it. It's better than low, quick kicks that we were getting earlier in the season. UF didn't get any long returns which was great. Cover teams are doing their job.
GRADE: A-
OVERALL - Bama lost against the #5 team in the country. In my opinion, we threw the game away - UF didn't beat us. We were dominating the game in the 1st half even though we got screwed on a couple of calls. The problem was the 2nd-half meltdown. Fix this and Bama is a totally different football team. Don't poke up those 4 fingers unless you plan on playing thru the 4th quarter like Bama teams of old. Time to refocus and finish this season strong. Beating UT, LSU, and AU can still get us into the championship game if we can get a little help. Regardless, doing that will put Bama into a BCS bowl in my opinion... but that's a big IF. But for this game, it's all about points and the scoreboard. That's the bottom line - and we didn't put them up. Yep, we're average at best right now.
GRADE: C
#22 BAMA 24 - ARKANSAS 23 (OT-2)
Ok, I have had a couple of days to stew over the heartwrenching loss to the Hogs so now I won't be quite a pissed-off-sounding in my take. I thought about writing it on Saturday night - but that would NOT have been a good take. lol I'm still reeling from the loss, but maybe I can put down something coherent now...
THE BAD
Playcalling. As good as the passing game was going, why we continue to run the ball almost every time on 1st down up the middle with Darby for one yard or less, is beyond me. Whenever we did any other play besides run up the middle, good things happened, especially when we put the ball in the air... the toss sweep also worked well. The answer could be replacing Darby for sure as he's not being affective this season. Being a senior gives you seniority as the name suggests - but if you're not producing, it's time to ride the pine and figure out what you're going to do to change things and help this team. Starting on the bench might actually do him some good.
Also, in OT-1, if you're FG kicker is struggling, don't play the odds, thinking he couldn't miss another one after going 1 for 3. Think to yourself, "Let's get this ball in the end zone so we don't have to worry about hitting a FG." At that point, the Hogs were done. They had their chance, and we squandered away a great chance of moving the ball and even getting it closer in for Tiffin. If you're just going to run it up the middle every time, you might as well just try and kick the stupid FG on 1st down. With JPW playing as well as he was, there was absolutely no reason to concede in a FG attempt by a struggling kicker on the road. Not smart at all - and it bit us in the butt.
Darby. As I mentioned, the senior is not producing like he should. If he's hurt, then he doesn't need to play. Period. Forget the record. He'll be lucky to even get close at this point...thus the reason I have taken down the rushing record countdown on the front page of this site. It would be unrealistic at this point to even fathom him breaking the record with the defenses he has to go up against the rest of the year when he couldn't even break 100 yds on the weaker opponents this season. It's sad when you rush for 1000+ yards the last 2 seasons and now, you seem to tackle yourself due to too much dancing around instead of just running like you used to. The field was wet, but I didn't see any other RB have that problem. Hit the hole and go.
OL run blocking. Maybe it's a problem, maybe it's not, but Darby couldn't get jack squat except for the first run of the game. Johns didn't fare much better, but did take a bit more to be tackled. Based on previous games as well, he's been hitting the hole and dragging people with him - and for the first time, he atually did a nice spin move in the Arkansas game to get a few extra yards. I honestly think that Upchurch is Bama's RB of the future because he's a mix of speed, agility, and skill at that position. Next year, we might actually see Jimmy Johns at FB with Coffee/Upchurch/Grant fighting for the RB spot. Johns is huge and will make an excellent FB... but obviously, he can play both positions as a big power guy. The OL just need to run block better... maybe just a few more sweeps rather than running up the middle. We tend to block better that way. But obviously, Darby is proving totally ineffective at this point, and something needs to change.
Special teams. It's obvious that Tiffin and playcalling cost us the ball game. His job is to kick FGs and he hit 1 of 4 FGs and missed a vital PAT in OT-2. He was obviously rattled or something. Maybe he just didn't have the mentality as a true freshman in an away game - I don't know the reason. But playing the odds, Shula was right in keeping him in as the PAT guy - he hadn't missed one the whole year, nor in that game.... but with the other misses, maybe that's what did it. It's time for Christensen to get more reps this week if his groin can handle it. If he can't go, Tiffin just needs to forget about this game and think about doing better next time. We'll need him bigtime if Jamie can't go in the upcoming weeks. I believe the reason Christensen didn't do FGs was due to the fact that he hadn't had many reps in doing that all week - he could have been rusty... it's all hindsight. Then you have to figure - how could Tiffin miss a PAT. Didn't think it was possible... but it happened. Our defense should have just stopped the Hogs' pass for TD in OT-2... then it would have been 4th down with one last gasp... but we'll never know. Just get better in kicking the football. That's the bottom line, regardless of who is the PK.
WR #3 & #4. The only WRs that seem to be making plays are Hall and Brown. The TE got some action as well and that's huge. But Caddell and Oakley need to get involved more and not get abused by the defense like they were on Saturday. If Brown/Hall goes down, we're in for some hurtin'.
Run Defense. The ONLY thing we really needed to do was focus in on stopping McFadden and Jones. Mustain wasn't going to beat us. That's exactly what the Hogs did to us - only we were able to pass the ball because we have a 'potential' Heisman QB in our midst. What did we do? We put 3 stupid defensive linemen up there instead of 4. Since Arkansas is STILL mostly a running team even out of the shotgun, why in the crap do you NOT play 4 down linemen??? That's the reason McFadden was seeing all those holes everywhere. Mustain wasn't going to beat us and we acted as though he was. Why, I don't know. Our 2ndary handled him. But playing 4 LBs that were obviously focusing in on something else in the game (the cheerleaders, the big screen, etc.), I don't get it. We had more tacklers than they had blockers but we still couldn't get things done. Lame - just lame. Now McF is one of the premiere backs in the country in my opinion, but we could have still done a LOT better. Stop this 3-man-front crap and put some cahones of 4 DL on the line. We need 4 linemen when facing a running/balanced offense. What the crap are we thinking?.. that the best running offense in the SEC is going to air it out for 500 yards?? Whatever. Kines has done well with our D the past 2 years, but this philosophy is really making me wonder what's up.
THE GOOD
John Parker Wilson. Who would have thought that JPW would be putting up numbers that hardly any other Bama QB in recent memory would put up. It's crazy. He's averaging nearly 230 ypg and has thrown 7 TDs in the first 4 games for 913 yards. I mean, what the crap, people?? He thew one pick a couple of weeks ago and that was it. He is honestly surpassing every expectation I had of him before this season started. He doesn't get rattled, and dude can run and make some pretty smart decisions. He'll make his share of mistakes, but all in all, he's doing better than Croyle in my opinion. I'm glad he's the head of our team because he and the WRs have been the one true bright spot of this team so far. 16-20 passing in the Hogs game. Wow. And then don't forget that massive hit he took going out of bounds - I guess he'll think twice now about slowing up and get out of bounds a bit quicker. I don't know if he knew what state he was in after that hit. Good thing he was ok though. That ankle shouldn't hurt him in upcoming weeks.. just be careful on it. Now if we get some of this passing game going a bit more in the upcoming weeks, (which we'll need to do if the rushing attack stays stuck in the mud) he could really make a run for the Heisman by the time he leaves Alabama. He's that good, and he's still very young and will get better.
Hall & Brown. They are playing bigtime football right now and I couldn't be more proud of these guys. JPW is getting them the ball, and they are hanging on to it and then some. They are even making the catches you wouldn't expect. I like what I see. These guys are keeping Bama in it this year. With Hall/Brown/JPW back next season, watch out SEC. This offense is on the verge of exploding some serious points on the board.
Kickoff returns. Hall replaced Grant since Grant is out for the year. So far, no fumbles, but no long returns. The biggest thing is that Hall brought it out past the 20 every time he got the ball. You don't realize how important this is until it happens, but no fumbles in the return game is huge. So far, we haven't had to gasp every time the other team punted either. Kudos to Castille and Arenas in this area. Giving the ball up right after the other team kicks it to you is how you screw momentum that's in your favor. So this is a good thing... good returns setting up our offense past the 20 with no turnovers. Huge in my book.
Pass Defense. 3 interceptions were huge in the Hogs game. But how you win the turnover battle, yards, 2 to 1 time of possession and still LOSE, well, again, that just comes down to being too conservative and relying too much on a long FG - even if you have a trusted kicker. Arkansas didn't win the game - we lost it, and so did Vandy the week before. Hogs should now be 1-3. Instead they are 3-1/2-0 because we didn't play to our strengths on that given day. But back to pass defense... we're playing well considering the passing offenses we have played. I like the fact that we're actually intercepting the ball when given the chance. And the way things are going, Simeon Castille could be on his way to being a candidate for the Jim Thorpe award. Dude is making some big plays in the 2ndary this year.
TE's. We're finally passing the ball to the TE's and it's reaping major benefits in our passing attack. When the TE's have been thrown the ball, we have caught practically every single pass for big gainers including the last TD in the Arkansas game. Great play-fake there though with 3 plays in a row for Castille up the middle, we likely would have gotten in anyway. But the TE's are playing well and are for real this season. I want to see more. I like it.
OTHER NOTES
It's hard to fault a team that won the game statistically and then lost it largely on the leg of a freshman kicker that was struggling. But Alabama could've done things here and there that wouldn't have had to put Tiffin in this situation. There was NO play that Nutt called that made Leigh Tiffin miss those FGs and PAT, and no offseason planning strategy forced Mike Shula to call for three straight running plays when the Tide held Nutt's fate in its hands in the last half of the first overtime. It's a shame that this Bama team had to lose this game when we totally dominated the game. I mean, how do you win the turnover battle AND keep the ball 40 minutes out of 60 and still lose? Well, Arkansas' defense made a play and returned a fumble for a TD (and yeah, I hate to say it, but it was a fumble by JPW). That's the difference. Arkansas' offense would only score one time in regulation even though McFadden ran wild for the game. We have to find a way to win close games and not be a bonehead when calling plays. Play to win. And play the odds when they are in your favor. Saturday, the odds weren't in our favor when Tiffin was 1/3 on the day... we should have done something else - If the offense had actually tried to move the ball and been unsuccessful, that's another story. But it was clear (even said by Radar) that that was the plan all along. That's just the worst offensive philosophy I have seen from Shula in a while. It's good to be conservative at times... but when you get TOO CONSERVATIVE - that's when it bites you in the @$$. In my opinion, this particular loss is 80% coaching and 20% special teams. Anyway you look at it, Tiffin still should have kicked a successful PAT... that's his only job, and right in the middle of the field on the 3 yard line. Even then, the game goes to the 3rd OT... but it's better than ending in a loss in OT-2. I like that we have Tiffin - he probably just had an off-day - but we need Christensen back. Tiffin's psyche is hurt right now, and going into the swamp, I don't know if that's a good thing for a true freshman right now.
OFFENSE - good passing game, non-existent running game with 1st down up the middle with Darby not getting anything. Fix it and Bama rolls.
GRADE: B
DEFENSE - good pass defense, but again, the run defense is killing us. Good thing we can get interceptions or we're hurting bigtime.
GRADE: B+
SPECIAL TEAMS - gotta do better than 1 for 4 FGs and 2 of 3 PATs. 10 points were left on the field and we only needed 3 of those points in regulation to take home the win. Just one more of the 4 missed tries and the outcome is totally different. How does one hit the longest FG of the night and miss the others including a PAT?? I'm still stunned by that one.
GRADE: F
OVERALL - Points. That's the bottom line. If you don't put points on the board, you lose the game. Time of possession is huge, and turnovers are huge. I never would have thought after looking at the box stats that Bama would lose. No way, especially with TOP and TO's numbers we put up. But dang if the Hogs didn't put up more points in the end. Crap. We're better than the Hogs, but with that said, we're now in 4th place in the SEC West. Not good. Beating the gators next week will help this team tremendously. We need a road win bad.
GRADE: C-
#24 BAMA 41 - LOUISIANA-MONROE 7
Wow. We scored 41 points. For a couple of quarters, I thought we might decide to play down to the level of our competition... but then the 2nd half came along and Bama put the clamp down for once. It was rather freaky - but definitely better than waiting for a hail mary down the field for the other team to possibly win. Definitely a better change of pace this week. Plus, now maybe the offense has got a little confidence back though it was ULM High School. Ain't much to disect this week...
OFFENSE - The offense looked to be a bit stagnant in the 1st half with Bama hanging on to a mere 17-7 halftime lead and not controlling the clock. Then in the 2nd half, the backups pretty much came on for the Tide and boom. Of course, those backups came mostly in the 4th quarter, but it seemed like they controlled the game better than the 1st-teamers. I'm not sure if ULM had their starters in at that point though, but Upchurch, Sharriff, and Grant looked unstoppable. The way they kept hitting the holes HARD really impressed me and gave me some serious hope about next year and years to come. Plus, the speed - dang... the SPEED, people, especially Grant. I'll say this - they were doing better than Darby. I don't know if it was due to ULM getting tired, but those boys were getting some serious yards, and if Darby doesn't stop all this dancing at the line and just GO, I wouldn't care if another RB started for Bama. Record or no record, Senior or no Senior - the best man needs to be back there, and right now Darby just isn't doing anything to impress me at all. If he's hurt, take him out. But if you didn't know he was a senior on this team, you'd be like 'why are we playing this guy' because he hasn't done anything to impress yet.
As for the rest of the offense, I like what I see for the most part. The TEs are finally getting involved, and they are getting big yards. Keith Brown continues to impress me more than anyone at the WR position, and DJ Hall only had one catch on the day, but it was a big one... a long TD catch and run. On the offensive line, they are blocking well and not letting the defense get to JPW which is key to this season. No JPW? No more offense. Keep him healthy Bama. Everyone is continuing to work hard and it's paying off. Take it with a grain of salt though - remember, it WAS the University of Louisiana Monroe Warhawks (formerly called the Indians until the NCAA decided to bestow their lame wisdom upon member schools with Indian names).
But for a team that had a lot of problems in the red zone, and a lot of problems putting the ball in the end zone, we got some things done. That will definitely give our guys some confidence going into the tough SEC slate ahead. At least they know they can do it - it's just a matter of executing. We still need to hang on to the ball though. The fumbles have got to stop. Everyone has fumbled once - that's it. No more. We have used them all up. Other than the fumble and lack of scoring in the 1st half, we did well - especially when the 2nd teamers came in. I just wish Shula would have given Jimmy Barnes a chance to throw the ball. You're not running up the score - you're giving him game experience. And at that point, if we throw an int, it didn't matter. The guy needs to throw the ball, not just hand off. Else we're going to be in a bad situation should we have to use those backup QBs. Just my .02.
GRADE: A-
DEFENSE - The defense has played pretty ok in the 1st 2 games, but Saturday, #22 Dawson for ULM ran up about 125 yards of rushing offense in one quarter, and he's the backup RB. They put up some points and got us a little scared there for a minute. This was the biggest concern for the defense - can we stop the run when the pass is also a threat? I guess we were just stunned that they ran so much. We better get on our toes, Bama. A lot more teams in the SEC will be running on us especially next weekend. But in the 2nd half, we really clamped down just like we did the Vandy game. If we can continue to finish strong, that will be huge when we head out on the road the next 2 weeks. We definitely need to finish games so we can keep the lead and not give the other team a chance to pull out a win.
I'm thinking that the main reason ULM may have gotten so many yards could have been the absence of Juwan Simpson who was serving a suspended game that Shula explained afterwards regarding 7 total players.... I'll get into that later. But overall, we held them to 7 points and less than 200 yards. We definitely can't complain. They did their job Saturday... now can they keep the momentum going into Fayetteville? I like what I see so far...
GRADE: A
SPECIAL TEAMS - It was good to see Jamie Christensen out there Saturday. Though he wasn't performing FG duties, he is exactly what the special teams needed with a strong leg on kickoffs. Coverage has been kinda shotty lately though they did cover well Saturday against lesser competition. But if Jamie is ok, and the groin isn't bothering him, I say great. I just hope he doesn't come back too quickly because his booming kickoffs are going to be needed bigtime starting next weekend. Arenas looks to have taken over the punt return duties as well, though I'm not sure Ungerer will stick with that plan come Hogtime next week. He may stick with Castille just for the sake of securing the football. But if Simeon can't get better results than negative yardage on returns, we might see Arenas back there again... just no fumbles guys. We don't need to relive the 2005 epic of Brandon Brooks syndrome. EEEK! If Arenas can get some clean catches, he could do some serious damage. Just putting a freshman in one of the most dangerous positions during a football game - that can really get your nerves up since you don't know what's going to happen. But in this game, overall, the Special Teams did well. Tiffin hit 2 of 3 FGs and continues to be the leading scorer of the team. I can dig it... he just needs to kick more PATs than FGs.
GRADE: A-
OVERALL - You can't complain. It was close at the half, but Bama clamped down and in the end, ULM would only put up 7 points. Bama put up 41. We covered the spread and had a good 444 yard day of offense. The defense held ULM under 200. We came out of the game relatively injury-free. Bama's 3-0. Got any gripes besides the top 25 poll? Let's be happy - we're not 2-1, 1-2, or 0-3. We are tied with the best winning percentage in the country. Don't worry guys - the polls will work themselves out if we win them all, especially with our upcoming schedule + SEC Championship game. If we take care of business, we'll be ok. In this game, we did take care of business though we took care of it mostly in the 2nd half. That's all it takes. Good Job Bama.
GRADE: A
ON JUWAN SIMPSON (and anyone else disciplined by Shula)
Now, to address the stupid crap on Juwan Simpson. Can everyone, reporters and all, just give it a rest on how everyone was 'in the dark' and 'Shula should have said something earlier' and he shouldn't have 'deceived Simpson' blah blah blah blah freaking blah. What the crap ever. Basically, reporters want to put their nose somewhere that wasn't invited and frankly, it's nobody's business except the coaches, players, NCAA (if necessary), the player's family, and God. Everyone else can take a back seat because what Shula does or says about player disciplinary issues is his business. So he didn't tell reporters (ie. the world) about what kind of suspension he would give out. Big freaking deal. He doesn't have to. Since when are OUR punishments broadcast to the world everytime we do something bad? Everyone, in some kind of way, is still seen in the public. Just because these kids are in the spotlight, people think they are ENTITLED to know what's going on in their lives and to make sure their punishment is what should be deserved. It's all a bunch of freaking crap, and it pisses me off when I read that stuff.
PLUS, Shula has ALREADY explained WHY he doesn't address injuries and discipline issues and who will play and not play. The reason? Well, if you haven't heard, it's because it definitely gives the other team an advantage. If they KNOW that JPW isn't going to play, they will put together another defensive plan against the other QB - maybe more rushes or different formations on D. Or if they knew Simpson wouldn't play, maybe offenses would call plays a bit differently. That puts Bama at a disadvantage and for that, I agree with Shula. Issues with the team CAN and WILL be handled accordingly, but keeping it internal keeps the opposition from knowing what to expect on gameday. Plus the fact that it's honestly none of MY or YOUR business even though we want to know what's going on. With Shula suspending a few players at a time to keep the team from being punished was a great way to deal with it. Mark Richt of UGA did the same thing and it's a good concept. Suppose Shula suspends all 7 players for Hawaii and we lose that game. Then what? All the players that DID make good judgement over the summer (or whatever else for that matter) would have paid the price as well, and that's not right.
So with all that being said, when Shula says it's internal and they're dealing with it, just let it go, and whatever happens, happens. Things ARE being done, and it's not for us to decide on what happens or that we even need to know. Coach Shula honestly seems to be a good guy and wants what's best for the team and players, but he will not take disciplinary issues lightly and that's all we need to know. Every case is different - and we don't have to compare what Shula does to what other coaches do either. If players are accountable for their actions and Bama stays away from the NCAA cloud, that's all we should care about at this point. Players learn from their mistakes. They are penalized when they do wrong. Period. End of Story. Now let's move on and play some freaking SEC FOOTBALL people and forget about the stupid DRAMA the Press keeps bringing up. Agree or disagree? Talk about it on the BAMADOG.COM Tide Board if you want. I want to know how many people out there agree with me or do you think differently?
Anyway, that's my take, and I'm stickin' to it. ROLL TIDE, BAMA!
#25 BAMA 13 - VANDERBILT 10
Week 2 is in the books and Bama's got a better record than 2005 National champion Texas. Ok, so we didn't play #1 Ohio State either, but we did pull together after losing to Vanderbilt at halftime 10-3. For a young team that is realistically 1-2 years away from being where we should be, I'll take it. I know it's tough, Tidefans, but we're almost out of this probation funk. The scholarship losses are finally on their last leg, but they are still affecting the program...
OFFENSE - The offense seems to be playing like we did once Prothro got hurt last year. We seem to continuously score in the teens, which in the SEC will not win a lot of games for you. You can't constantly rely on your defense to win games. You have to put up points. In this game, we had ample oppotunities to do so. Three turnovers will do that do a score. Twice in the red zone we squandered TD chances to cough up the ball, once by Johns and the other by usually-dependable Tim Castille. Freak of nature for our RBs since we normally hang on to the ball quite well. So again this week, the score could have been a lot better if we just convert in the red zone, which has been called the 'Dead Zone' as of late. You can't have 3 times as many turnovers as TDs and win games on a consistant basis. Must do better here in protecting the ball. The throw by JP that was intercepted was just a good defensive play. DJ was wide open, but the ball was just underthrown. Again, we just have to improve there.
With the ball down on the 3 yard line, I'm just curious as to why Castille wasn't in the game instead of Johns. Castille IS the goal-line carrier 99% of the time. I guess the coaches wanted to see if Johns could punch it in. It could be a sign of things to come next year when Castille and McClain leave (Johns could be the FB?). Not sure... but Johns learned a valuable lesson - if you go airborn, secure the football.
Next, if we're having so much trouble running the ball, why don't we screw with them like we did one play (and what Hawaii did to us constantly) - run the shovel pass a bit more. It can only be run at certain times or it'll get eaten up... but more times than not, the shovel pass gains good yardage - it could be a great play even inside the 20... something to think about. And again, speaking of the red zone, if you can't score IN the red zone, then GO OVER THE RED ZONE... that's just what Bama did. The long pass to DJ Hall counts just as well as a 1-yd plunge. Maybe our offense is more for moving the ball between the 20's... so when you get to the 25-yd line, just air it out to the end zone 3 plays and wish for the best. :) ha ha... ok, that's not realistic, but something's gotta give. Bama was 0-for-4 in the red zone this week. We need to figure out a different offensive scheme when we get that deep in the opponent's territory. Try some trickeration... line Johns up at QB and run a QB sweep... anything to throw the defense off guard and get that ball in the end zone. No more turnovers, please.
Last, the play of the day was definitely JPW to Nikita Stover. Of all the 1st plays you can make in your college career, that was about as good as any. If he had had that breakaway speed, a TD would have been nice. But to get out of a 3rd and forever, and to keep the drive alive to kick the winning FG, that was huge. Period. That has definitely raised his stock, and the coaches shouldn't have any problem putting Stover back out there if they have to.
Now the good thing Bama has to keep in mind about our offense is that we have a NEW QB who has just made his 2nd start of his career... and he is 44 of 58 passing for 560 yards. Not bad. The problem is in the running game of all places. Darby is still not 100%, and as long as he's not 100%, dude needs to ride the pine and get well. He's not helping the team when he's running for mere 1-2 yards and a cloud of dust on each carry. He's slipping and falling down... he's not finding the holes, granted the OL doesn't seem to be making any holes of worthiness... but it's weird how when Johns is in there, he just barrels through for 5+ yards nearly every time. I guess defenses are just saying, if Darby's in there, then we're going to make JPW beat us, and so far, JP has done pretty well considering. And with a slew of talent at the WR spot along with the TEs, that might exactly what the Tide needs to get the running game open - pass more. Run blocking isn't working, so we might have to specifically revert to the passing game (ie. like the Iron Bowl last year). For some reason, defenses are just homing in on the run. Time to air it out Bama. In the meantime, protect the ball, and let's get the red zone offense going. If we can't do it against LA-Monroe next week, then what are we playing in the SEC for? Turnovers were the key in this game. ALL of Vanderbilt's points came off of turnovers. Huge. If not for Simeon Castille getting the ball back, Bama loses this game. 13 points ain't gonna cut it, people. Last, I hope Brown is ok... he landed on his back very hard. Mr 2006 Playmaker can't go down in the 2nd game. Get well Keith!
GRADE: C
DEFENSE - Castille is the MVP right now. Without those interceptions, Bama, in my mind would be 1-1 with a loss against Vander-freakin-bilt. This is NOT Alabama Football. Vandy got 10 points all on Alabama turnovers - which means they may or may not have scored if we had just taken care of the football... and we wouldn't have to gasp for the 2nd week in a row on whether or not we might lose on the last play of the game. Only this week, we would have actually LOST. Good thing they were just too deep and couldn't heave it into the end zone or there might have been trouble.
But the defense played an ok game - they forced 3 turnovers and held Vandy scoreless in the 2nd half, which is EXACTLY what had to happen for Bama to win as we could only put up 3 more points after we tied it at 10-all. Crap. Unbelievable. I still can't believe it was that close. Dang we gotta tighten up, Bama. I really don't have a ton of complaints on the defense. I mean, without the turnovers, Bama puts up a goose egg. They literally bent, but didn't break much the entire game. They didn't play like last year's team by any means, nor will they this year, but they got the job done. Rankings defensively don't mean jack squat to me - nor should it to anyone - all that matters is that W/L column, and as a team, they are 2-0. But if we want to remain undefeated, both sides of the ball are going to have to step it up bigtime, especially offense. Good job Defense. 3 key turnovers were huge in keeping Bama at par to win this game... now we just need to get more pressure on the QB and step up on stopping the pass. That seems to be a thorn in our side right now - our pass defense is lacking.. but we'll get better. We have to. But in this game, Bama's defense kept us in it. A scoreless 2nd half (and only 81 total yards) by Vandy was our only hope - and we got the job done.
GRADE: A-
SPECIAL TEAMS - What can you say about Tiffin. Our team has now reverted to winning games off the foot of a kicker instead of putting the ball in the end zone. My oh my how things have changed. 3 of Bama's last 7 wins have been 13-10 and 4 of those were from converting 4th quarter FGs. Again, this is NOT (or should not be) Alabama Football. This is how you get beat. LSU last year would not have won if we just put the ball in the end zone... UT wouldn't have been so close if we just put the ball in the end zone... all those games. We playing with fire, but as long as we can hold the team to fewer points that us, that'll usually win 100% of the games for you.
But now, Tiffin is 5 for 6 in 2006 with the Vandy game him going 2 for 2. Both, you could say, were the game winners as it turns out. Miss one, we go to OT - miss both, we lose. Good thing he was perfect on this day including a HUGE 47-yarder with plenty of room to spare. You can't complain about his accuracy, that's for sure. His only miss was against Hawaii, and it even hit the upright. Then he's perfect on PATs. The coaches say Christensen is still the starter. I agree..... for now. He won 3 games for us last year, so let's not forget that. He might have hit all 6 FGs, but we'll never know. We do know that Tiffin is for real, and should be an all-star by the time he leaves Bama.
The one thing I miss most about Jamie is the fact that he can kick the ball thru the end zone. We don't have that with either of the kickers right now... so hopefully that groin injury gets better by the Florida game at least. For now, we can deal... just don't reinjure that thing by coming back too early.
As far as returns and kickoff coverage - let's just say that we're near the bottom tenth of the NCAA in stats in those aspects of the game. Clearly we need help here. We need to average more than -2 yards on punt returns, people. That just ain't cutting it. As for punting, PJ is getting it done. No complaints - just keep up the good work, dude.
Last... the play. The fake FG. People need to get over it. It was a longshot to get the 1st down, but dang - at least Shula did something different for once. That's a good sign. Maybe we can see that he actually has a pulse - THOUGH, I believe the decision to run the play fell on the players in that particular instance. If Vandy lined up a certain way (so the story is told), then they would try a fake. In that instance however with 9 yards to go, he might have opted to go for the FG... but that's something we'll not know for a while I'm sure. But in any case, it was different - and in Bama lack-of-offense system, different could be good. If he had made the 1st down, we'd all be calling himself a genius right now. We all know about hindsight, right? Duh. Now, maybe we'll do something different on offense next week - like score more TDs from within the red zone, yanno?
GRADE: A
OVERALL - Offense is what this team REALLY needs to win games. Our defense is definitely good enough to win plenty of we can just score 20 points. We're having a hard time doing that in the last 9 games. We scored more than 20 last week... the previous time we scored over 20? Utah freaking State. The time before that? the Florida 31-3 massacre, the day Pro went down. Before that, we did well. So the post-Prothro era is still a thorn in our side for some reason. Something is not clicking... not gelling. Not sure what it is, but it's clear Bama can't score big points. If Bama doesn't score in the 30's against LA-Monroe... well, I don't wanna go there, because based on what we have seen so far, it might actually happen.
One thing to note is that this is the 2nd straight game Bama ended the game with an interception. Has it really come to this? No one here wants to relive the days of LA-Tech and Central Florida. Again, this is NOT Alabama Football. Offense, if you're reading this, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. PLAY LIKE AN ALABAMA FOOTBALL PLAYER ON SATURDAY... NOTHING LESS.
On another note, Darby now has to average 90 ypg including a bowl game if he expects to break Shaun Alexander's record. At the current rate, he'll be a bit short - but there's a reason why SA is Alabama's leading rusher - he was really really good. So if Darby doesn't reach that point, there's a reason for it... Shaun's just better. Darby - what you got bro? Bring it, dog!!
GRADE: B-
The last thing I want to bring up is this:How did this game only last 2 hr 47 mins?? The NCAA in my opinion has taken part of the game away from college football fans... and as much as we pay for tickets, I like the longer game. This was ridiculous. Having the clock start on change of possession is not good... it's a total waste of the clock since you know it won't be used at the end of the 1st half (and other times)... what's the point of the time on the clock if you're not going to use it, even if downing the football?? I hate that aspect of the rule change, and I hope something is done next year to fix it. How lame. As for kickoffs, the new rule is actually how it used to be - not much time is lost there... but for Bamafans (and college football fans alike) to pay between $35-$50 per ticket (and more if you buy on the internet) and get LESS GAME ?? That sucks bigtime. If they're going to try and make games closer to and NFL time frame, then freaking pay the players while you're at it. This is just stupid.
Now Bama has gotten in MORE plays in the games so far than its average last year, but fans want the game to last more than 3 hours... let's get our money's worth at least. NCAA Football is exciting, and when we just let seconds melt off the clock and nothing happens, what's the freaking point?? Idiots. It's like they do a good thing adding instant replay to make sure the calls are correct, but then they pull a Tubberville and do something moronic. I guess they have to break even or something... I don't like it. That's my take, and I'm sticking to it. ROLL TIDE!
#24 BAMA 25 - HAWAII 17
The Tide's first game is over and done, and regardless of how we got here, we're 1-0. Only 1/2 the teams in the country can say that right now. But in my opinion, I think Bama played as well as we could have expected, given the personnel changes we had and the opponent we were playing. We had control of pretty much the whole game and made plays when we had to. Obviously more improvement is needed to make it thru the rough SEC schedule, but Bama is on its way. With the most improvement coming between weeks 1 and 2, I'm looking forward to playing Vandy this coming weekend and seeing how we have gotten better these next 6 days.
OFFENSE - On offense, Bama came out of the gates, and for the 1st half really, playing with some confidence. John Parker Wilson played like he knew what he was doing, and made sure he didn't do anything that would lose the game for Alabama. With 250+ yards of passing, 1 TD, and no interceptions, I think he did just that. To start out with, the coaches wanted to be sure he would be comfortable out there, so initially the coaching staff went to more of a run-oriented game with extra blocking. After all, if we get JPW hurt, what else do we have to work with?? - Not much. Senior Guillon, Redshirt Freshman Barnes, and True Freshman McElroy. Though Guillon is a senior this year, there still seems to be a major dropoff in most fans' eyes due to how he played 2 years ago, mainly in the South Carolina game. Maybe he has improved since then... I'm sure he has, but it's evident that the coaches are really hoping for an injury-free year for JPW.
At RB, Darby didn't look to be his normal, comfortable self - and rightly so as we found out Monday. Darby had a hip pointer that he got during the game after a Hawaii player hit him with his helmet. Though Darby says he'll be ready for Vandy, take it with a grain of salt. He would say that if he had a broken leg. That's just Darby. The tell-tale sign will be him running like his old self in a week, which may or may not happen. But that's why Darby didn't look his normal self... I hope he gets better because we all KNOW he can run with the best in the country. With Darby injured, Jimmy Johns stepped up his game to get nearly 60 yards of offense on the ground - and Hawaii had a rough time stopping him. If Darby can't go against Vandy, Johns will be the man, followed probably by Upchurch who has had a great fall camp. I figured the running game would definitely get over 200 yards, but with the injury, I think we still did ok getting 125. Thank goodness for WR's, right?
At WR, D.J. Hall ended up being suspended for the first game even though he had gotten injured earlier in the week. That was convenient, right? Well, as with Prothro going down, Bama's best WR didn't play, so now other guys had to step up. Enter Keith Brown. Brown actually had some very good games last year, but he showed up in spurts. But this marks the 2nd game in a row in which he has played some big-time ball for the Tide. He caught 6 balls for 132 yards and if JPW had thrown the ball in-bounds on a couple more plays, Brown would have had closer to 200 yards and 3 total TDs. Instead he had 1 TD, but still another 100+ outing which is still good for any Bama WR. Without the heroics of Brown, Bama might be 0-1 right now. He had some very sweet grabs. Also making some noise was Matt Caddell who also dropped a couple of passes... he'll get better. And then #7, who I want to continuously call Sam Collins. I gotta get Will Oakley in my head, not Sam Collins. But Will made a nice grab and by the looks of it, he looks to have Sam Collins type hands - very reliable. I think he's going to be a Chris Doering type of guy (remember that guy from Florida??) by the time he leaves Bama. He has some serious potential.
And then you have the TE's who even got into the ball-catching phase of the game. Freaky. TE's actually caught the ball - and more than once. They looked good out there and I look forward to seeing more of that.
The offensive line was suspect at times when running the ball - or though it seemed. Darby could never get anything going - so that could have been Darby's fault or the OL. Let's hope it was just the injury because this OL is supposed to be better this year - and for the most part, I think they did play a bit better and they did look solid. Pass protection was good, and JPW usually had enough time to do what he wanted. And when the pocket broke down, he ran to get positive yardage which I liked to see. By the time he has a few real games under his belt, he could end up being something very special to this team. We just need JPW to remain healthy, or we could be looking at another 2004 when Brodie got hurt (oh noooo).
So overall, the offense didn't play up to par, but like coach Shula said - that's good because we know we can get better, and we know we could have done more. Sure, Hawaii's thinking if they hadn't have had the turnovers, they might have won... but on the other side of the ball, if JPW had just thrown those 2 passes (or even 1) to Brown in-bounds, we'd have between 30-40 points to their 17 and then a last-second heave to the endzone is irrelevant. Chalk up a missed FG by Bama, and the score could have been worse still for Hawaii... all the more reason to believe that if we can work out those kinks on offense, then get D.J. Hall and Darby back to full-speed, good things are going to happen to this offense, even in the ill-fated redzone which we pretty much botched in this game. Get better offense... getting 31 total yards in the 4th quarter is not how you finish a football game especially with 4 of those yards coming on the ground on 5 carries. Ouch! Not good. Gotta get more than one first down in the 4th quarter too if you want to close out games the way you should. But at least you got the job done and we look for better things next week. But no turnovers was a big key to this game. Good job.
GRADE: B-
DEFENSE - The defense had a huge chore on their hands... do what they did to Texas Tech, but to Hawaii with 7 of your starters now gone to the NFL or elsewhere. Well, they did what they had to do, and they got the job done. We gave up the usual 17 points (as most games in years past) and just hoped our offense could at least visit the endzone 3 times. We did the equivalent and then got 4 more pts. Anyway, the defense started a little sketchy and we ended up allowing Hawaii to get a FG... the good thing is that that's all Hawaii would get the 1st half. 3 whole points in 2 quarters of play. They forced 4 turnovers, one huge one near the goal line (fumble) and then one monumental one to end the game (interception). The score was about what I had predicted, but I figured we would have had a stronger finish instead of the other way around. Though the Hawaiian players were constantly showed as getting cramps, it was the Bama defense that looked confused near the end of the game. Call it first-game jitters, call it inexperience... but Joe Kines will get it straightened out, ok? So keep the faith. We still kept one of THE best offenses in the country from last season to 17 total points, people. We shouldn't have to face anything like that for a few weeks... so that's a good sign since we should only progress from this point.
Now at LB, as advertised, Matt Collins got the start, but it was apparent that Prince Hall was a guy that was constantly making plays on defense, especially at the beginning of the game. He has some serious speed as does Terrance Jones. Simpson was just a hoss as well leading the defense in tackles. And even though we didn't do a whole lot on the defensive line, the defense as a whole really didn't break, but we did give way a bit near the end of the game. Hopefully the team will continue to go thru conditioning excercises to help us keep that edge in the 4th quarter. I just didn't see it in this game.
Then in the 2ndary, we had a good rotation of guys, but here is where the tackling needs to get better. There were too many times where we didn't tackle like we should have, and we constantly weren't in position to make the plays when we needed to. The shovel pass nearly destroyed us as everytime we would blitz, they would just run it up the middle with the shovel. It was like - are you guys going to stop that play or what??? If future teams are watching this game, they will quickly install that play into their playbook - because we only stopped it about 10% of the time.
Anyway, given that the statbook isn't what matters in the overall outcome of the game, you have to give it to the defense - they held Hawaii to 17 points. If we do that each and every game, there's no reason why we shouldn't score more than 17, period. Obviously, the 6-3 win over UT last year is an exception to the rule, but generally, you should at least score in the 20's to have a chance to win a game if you have Bama's defense. I feel good about that right now, but we'll see what happens in the next few weeks. Good game overall - you guys really helped us win the game when the offense didn't click on all cylinders like the coaches would have hoped for. And you preserved the win with the interception to end the game. Kudos, baby. Now it's time to take no prisoners...
GRADE: A-
SPECIAL TEAMS - Special teams was broad. Bad kickoff coverage due to shorter and not-as-high kicks... not-so-great (or average) kickoff returns on our own team... a missed FG... but on the good side, we hit 3 FGs with a backup kicker, had good punting by Fitzgerald including a huge 50+ yarder on his first collegiate punt that ended on the 1-yard line.... and no fumbles on punt returns. Once the first kickoff return by Bama was in the books, I think that settled down Arenas a bit. It was like he didn't know where to go. But he and Grant should hold down those positions pretty firmly unless one of them get fumblitis. They're speedy and can make things happen. Arenas just has to be careful not to run backwards to try to outrun the opposing team. Lucky for him he was able to get back to where he started near the 20, but he soon realized that wow - these college guys can all run fast - even the LBs.
I think it was a good move to hold out Christensen for this game, even if he was feeling 90%. All it takes is coming back too early to ruin an entire season for a kicker... so the coaches are definitely watching that. Tiffin has proven he can hang with the big boys, but he's still got less game experience than Jamie... and we need Jamie back, especially on kickoffs, which I'm not sure he'll be doing for a while since a kickoff uses a lot more blunt force than a regular FG. I miss those endzone kicks... looks like we might have to endure another year of the ball landing at the 5 or 10 yard line and just having to get down the field quickly so teams don't start at the 40 yard line. That's one of the biggest things we miss from Christensen's leg - the kickoff distance. Neither of the other 2 kickers have that consistency yet. But I did like what I saw - we just have to get a TON better on kickoff coverage. If we need to put in more experienced guys rather than freshmen, then do it. Don't play freshmen on special teams if there is a junior that can play it better. Starting field position is huge - and it's something we shouldn't sacrifice just so younger guys can play. They should play if they can get the job done, which clearly didn't seem to be the case Saturday. I'm sure Ungerer and company will take a hard look at this area of the game.
GRADE: B-
OVERALL - Overall, the coaches had a good gameplan on protecting JPW above all else, and making sure the team played as a whole. I think they accomplished this even when playing so many new guys. It's hard to say which freshman played the best, but it's definitely between Andre Smith, Prince Hall, and Leigh Tiffin. Given the fact that we won by 8 points and Tiffin got us 9 points in FGs and made his PATs... I'll go with Tiffin on this one. Even with a last-second completion for Hawaii and 2-pt conversion, it's still a tie because he came up and hit 3 of his 4 FG attempts. Though you want 4 for 4, you have to be grateful for what you did get from a backup. And when your kickers/snappers/holders aren't spoken much about after a game, that's usually a good thing, right? Hopefully the coaches will continue to get the right people in at the right spots... I think that will happen with a full set of game film to watch.
Before long, Prince Hall will be starting, and the 5 starting OL guys will probably play nearly every snap of the game if not all snaps. When Bama subbed in guys on the OL, that's when we had the least success. Improvements needed are the kickoff coverage and believe it or not, possibly our running game. Hopefully it was just Darby having an off-day with his injury because Johns actually looked good. Now once we get DJ back out there, we'll have a double-threat at WR, and that can only mean good things for John Parker Wilson. Just think - next year, JPW will have a year under his belt, all our WRs will be Seniors (Hall, Brown, & Prothro if he makes his return)... and we'll still have a stable of RBs and an offensive line which only loses senior backup RT Tatum. People, we're just gearing up for next year's explosive offense... this is just the beginning... the evolution of next year's chamionship team. That's right - we're probably at least one year away from having a legitimate shot at getting back to the SEC Championship and national title picture. I say get it this year, but it's going to be a long road with this tough road schedule. ROLL TIDE.
GRADE: B
So keep the faith Tidefans. This year has just started, and we couldn't have asked for a better record after one game. Vandy's next. Let's get conference win #1 in 2006 and keep the dream alive. This team played well, but with a few adjustments, we have some serious potential on the horizon....
|
