Crimson Red Sports

First, let me send congrats to the Bama players and coaches on the win. Again, this was nothing more than a glorified scrimmage.  Since this was what I consider it the game notes will look a little different.

 
Offense: 
Unfocused it seemed on the first 2 plays of the game.  KB TD reception saved them.
They just out athlete the other team.
Why could the recs not get open at times if this is the case?
CK has good feet and exploded into the block when he pulled on 1st play of 2nd quarter.
Too inconsistent and did not finish drives like they should.  They made some mistakes in the red zone that probably cost touchdowns.
I will say this again.  This was a great opportunity to rotate individual OL in the game so they could work with the first team.  It had to happen when AS went out and AK came in. 
Bama does not do very good with the back shoulder throw or the rec’s didn’t get the message.
The O missed making some plays when they had the chance, drop passes missed blocks/communication.
Hell of a catch on the 2nd TD and getting the feet down by DW.
The O ran the ball effectively to the left, middle and right.  They should have it was FAU. 
I have the O with 5 negative plays 2 of which were in the end zone.
Bama’s O fumbled twice, not losing any, but one lost yardage.
The O was put in great field position all day by the punt returns. 
Seven different rec caught the ball and none were to running backs.

QB:   His stats look pretty good and probably could have been better if not for a couple of issues.  First, I think the rec should have come up with a couple of more catches.  Second, I think AJ got lazy with his feet and did not make good throws.  Also, I think he had more time than he thought he did and got happy feet and didn’t put himself in a good position to make throws. 

RB:  They all ran hard.  Most of the time there was not any defensive contact until they were past the LOS.  A missed block by DH in the red zone made the QB throw the ball early and stall a drive in the red zone. 
A couple of these mistakes were in the red zone and took away opportunities for TD’s.  I will say this, I watch when AS went out and they brought AK into the game.  I like the way he looked on the pass set and putting his head on the swivel when he could help others.

Defense:   No offense, but they get a better test in practice from the second team offense.  I have them for 9 three and out or less.  One 1 and out was before half time and one was a 4 and out on the blocked FG.  I only have them for about 6 negative plays.
         They got no turnovers in the game. 
         No real big plays given up. 
   They only 1 first down in the first half.
   FAU had about 110 total yards.
   Coaching staff aided the TD drive with a penalty on the sideline.
   
DL:  Played well, no real bust that I remember.  Many were in on the gang tackling.

LB: Again same can be said here.

DB:    Not really tested.  There were only a couple of throws downfield.

Penalties:  Worst penalty of the day was on the coaches on the sideline that help move the ball closer to the goal line on the TD drive. 

Special teams:  I am going to mention this again, VS miss a tackle on the kickoff because he didn’t wrap up, tried for the kill shot.  Cade Foster has improved his technique greatly.  Even his long field goals are getting height where most kickers drive them low.  The punt return team gave the O great field position most of the day.  They did fumble once and put the D on the field where they came up with big plays and kept the other team off the board.
 
Finally,   I still don’t think Bama has played their best game.  I think this was a very vanilla game plan. 

Please feel free to comment.

Good Luck and Roll Tide Roll 
14 and counting

REC:   It was obvious that the D was outmanned.  Again, why did they have problems getting open vs man coverage down the field?  I am basing this on AJ not getting rid of the ball early.  I would love a wide angle view of the game.   There a couple of balls that may not have been the best throws, but should have been caught.  Freshman CJ seems like he has a burst after catching the ball.

OL:   They did a pretty good job against an undermanned team.  There were a couple of times they did not communicate the proper blocking assignments and the D came in free. 

Great observations, Coach. I agree, it was frustrating watching the rec's struggle to get open. They also dropped passes in addition to not handling the back shoulder catches. They'll need some work there.

didn't see the game  :wall:

but from what I've rear sounds about right
great job HSC , and Saban getting 15 ?  wow !    :lol2:

Watching, "Say Yes to the Dress"?  ???

I was asking Toxik (he missed the question) if CF was getting that consistent or whether he had a career game against Arky. I'm starting to gain confidence in the kicking game again. RTR

Kenyan Drake brought me out of my chair once yesterday. He and TJ in the same backfield or rotating like BATR and HTWMI will be a dream team!

Thanks for your notes, HSC. We should have told you to just relax and enjoy the game for a change.

 #+

I've been noticing Vinnie too.  I don't understand why a guy that is on scholarship at Alabama will not wrap up.  It does not prevent you from getting the big hit.  I submit this as an example of a big hit AND a perfect form tackle:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUoi8r32CE8

Wouldn't Vinnie like to have a painting done of him before he leaves?  :dunno:

I have a non-FAU question for you HSC: Maybe you saw where Bama is in the lead in recruiting a Florida RB named Derrick Henry. He ran for over 500 yds last week and maybe 6 TDs. Is that a HS coach's dream to get a guy that talented or a nightmare with all the attention. Also the responsibility of coaching him up and getting him up game to game. It certainly would put you, and Derrick as well, under the national microscope. Your thoughts? RTR

It is a dream to have someone that talented.  The main question is what kind of young man is this player?  In my opinion, if he is a Mark Ingram or Trent Richardson type player I doubt there is any distraction.  Also, if the coach has established guidelines for people, meaning fans and media to follow it shouldn't be a problem.  The young mans maturity has a lot to do with it.

So that sideline infraction was on a coach(s) too far out. I kept waiting to see CNS chew on whoever is the "get back" coach.

That was my understanding.  I could be wrong, but it looked like an official pointed someone on the sideline where the coaches were.

Instead he chewed on the refs, after they ended up scoring the TD.  They were supposed to issue a sideline warning on the first flag and then the penalty if they did it again.

I didn't get to see the game or listen, I was in a Grotto meeting in B'ham. I thank you for the stats because it sounds CNS held the reins pretty tight. I might be wrong. Starting this week we may see our guys turn it up a little bit. RTR!

We've had much comment about giving up a touchdown, but our first team hasn't been scored on since Michigan.

That is true.  Also, I think FAU had to convert 2 4th downs to keep the drive alive.  There were some freshmen in on D at this point in the game.  I know 36, 44, and 30 were in the game.  i know the shut out would have been nice, but I think the playing experience is more important.  One thing I left off was how well it seem the backups were able to line up correctly.

The two coaches on the penalty were CNS and I think CKS and they were about 2-3 yards on the field trying to signal to the defense.

In your reference to the subs that were playing at the end, there were many times that players were out of position and the play started a few times as they were still adjusting to get in the right position. Some of this is expected when you have 11 subs playing at the same time though. I agree that the playing time was much more important than the touchdown given up. I also think that CNS will use this as a coaching tool with the subs moving forward in that they had a chance to make a difference in the game, but failed.

Thanks for your post, good stuff.

Thanks, again, coach!

Scott Cochran used to be the get back coach.  Not sure if he still is.

I read somewhere that during at least part of the FAU scoring drive we had 5 true freshmen in and I think I remember a couple of redshirt freshmen as well.

I really enjoy the idea that we can put our young guys in and get them ready for next year. Our O-line really needs experience for next year cause we loose several great ones. RTR!