Crimson Red Sports

The weather last night was much better than last weeks game against Georgia but the opponent was about as nasty as the weather was last week against Georgia. The game wasn't for the lighthearted for most of it as the two heavyweights seemed to be sparring with each other waiting for the knockout punch to happen which didn't come though until the fourth quarter. Needless to say, I thought the play that changed the outcome of the game came out of nowhere, Les Miles style, and surprised everyone watching, a fake punt. The element of surprise can be very rewarding sometimes but it can be a heartbreaking experience as well, just ask Arkansas.

I think most folks thought Bama would come out swinging last night after the big win in Athens last weekend. Surely us Bama fans have learned by now about their games after a big win usually aren't so pretty. It isn't very often that the team looks sharp after a big win and last night was no exception but let's give Arkansas some credit, they came here to win the game as Bama did and played that way.

Offensively the team was a total opposite of how well they played against Georgia. Henry, running the ball, looked very average for most of the game as the offensive line wasn't doing much to help his chances of making a big run. The receivers weren't making their catches and the quarterback made a few bad decisions as well with one of them being very costly that led to a touchdown by Arkansas that put Bama behind in the game. Let's also add in the missed field goals and we're pretty much talking about how the team had looked prior to the Georgia game. The one bright spot last night though was the resurgence of our punter. Scott looked the best he has looked all season and hopefully he's made the turn and there are brighter days ahead for him.

Defensively, the team played very tough, something that has improved with each game. To me the defense will be the reason of Bama making the playoffs or not because of the up and down play of the offense.

Arkansas made the big gamble last night and it pretty much cost them the game but Bama did something after the stop of the fake punt that we haven't seen them do in a long time, they took control of the game and I mean in a big way. Bama was not the same team after the big stop as they played with so much more intensity on both sides of the ball which we led to the touchdowns that sealed the victory for them. They played like they did against Georgia, to win the game rather than not to lose the game.

It wasn't easy last night but how many conference games are easy in the SEC and it only gets tougher for Bama in their games ahead. Going to Texas A&M next Saturday will be much tougher than the game last night. Johnny Manziel laid the ground work in his days at A&M that has turned this game into a pretty big rivalry between the two and I'm sure A&M has had this game circled on their schedule. The history of Bear Bryant and Gene Stallings at Bama only adds to the reason for each team to win next Saturday.

The remaining schedule looks very tough for the team and with Florida improving so much, it only adds to the difficulty of winning the SEC to make it to the playoffs. Bama is going to need more big plays as they did with the fake punt and a lot of luck to make it to the playoffs. The sad part about playing Texas A&M though is we have LSU following them.

No one said it would ever be easy in the Southeastern Conference and I think that is exactly right. RTR!!!  

great write up Jamos

CNS said it "can't win with just D you got to put points on the board too"

the Hogs came to play but it worked out just fine   :clap:

All things considered, I'm very pleased with the team's performance last night.  As much as CNS preaches one game at a time, this was a sandwich game against a good team that could have turned out much worse. 

Early in the game I felt that Bama was trying to control time of possession, wear Arky's defense down, and keep Bama's defense fresh (which will be much needed next week).  It was working well other than not getting more than three points on the board.  Bama was sustaining drives, Arkansas wasn't staying on the field when they had the ball.  After the late tipped ball interception and Arky touchdown things were looking a little iffy for a while.  The long TD and failed fake punt sealed the game though. 

The team got the win, Coker and Ridley are getting comfortable with each other, and as far as I know there were no injuries.  Coker to Ridley is emerging as a genuine threat for opposing defenses to worry about, which should stop teams from keying in on stopping the run.  Anything can happen in the last half of the season, but I still have confidence that this is a championship caliber team.

I thought the fake punt was not the turning point in the game but the play that put the game away. We took all the momentum on the long TD pass to Ridley. Alabama baited the Hogs into that fake punt. We had been playing punt safe all game expecting a fake at some time but we lined up like we were going for the block and changed coverage as the ball was snapped. Good coaching and execution IMO.

Best thing about the Ridley 81 yarder was the surprise call. We'd been sacked trying to hit the bomb already, but give Kiffin credit; he called it again. Kudos to all...

Well said Jamos. Great win in a ver hard fought game. One thing guys I am not sure about and I still wonder about his back. Why is Adam missing so many Fg attempts? I know what back injuries are all about and if that could be the reason behind his missing. If so, I thought we had another young guy that had come onboard as a Fg kicker, am I wrong on that? RTR!

Good report, Jamos! I thought offense played very flat for two plus quarters, then someone flipped a switch and they played with intensity the rest of the way. Disappointed with no TD's on early red zone possessions, particularly the second. Just run the ball inside the five! No need to get cute at that point.

I thought Bret Bielema made two coaching mistakes in the game, the biggest was trying that fake punt.  If you were sitting in the stadium, you could feel the wind go out of Arkansas' sails.  If was a long-shot gamble that didn't pay off, and their players knew it.  Arkansas had to be desperate to try a 4th and 4 fake.  When it didn't work, game over.

The other mistake I think he made was not going for it at 4th and inches at midfield earlier in the game.  I know Arkansas was stopping Bama's offense, had the lead, and didn't want to give Bama's offense any chance at field position.  BUT, they were a road underdog.  You have to make the most of your opportunities to win against a team like Bama.  You have to get lucky.  Despite their lead, Arkansas wasn't going to beat Bama straight up, in a 4 Quarter battle in the trenches.  A fake there probably would have gained those needed inches; Arkansas also had a decent shot of getting a first down lining straight up and going for it.  It might not have changed the outcome in the long run, it might have finally woken the sleeping giant.  But I think that was where Arkansas should have tried something, earlier in the game with the lead, not with worse field position and more yards to cover.  By not going for it there, Arkansas picked the wrong fight -- a trenches battle, instead of a bounced pass off the helmet game.  They were playing not to lose, instead of going for the win.

I thought the same thing. Running was tough for them, but if you can't put a halfback and a tail back out there to get an inch, there's something wrong. Perhaps it was a testimony to our D-line.

Calling Arkansas a heavyweight might be a little over-the-top. How about wanna-be heavyweight?



 ;)

They literally are heavyweights.  Their offensive line averages 328 lbs, which I believe is the largest in the country, including NFL teams.

I think our backup kicker was recently dismissed from the team for drugs.  The kicker you are probably thinking about is a recruit that won't be on campus until next year.