Crimson Red Sports

MSU vs Bama

First, congrats to the Bama players and coaches on the victory versus MSU.  This is a game that could have been a problem for a couple of reasons.  First, Bama was coming off a tough emotional win vs LSU.  Second, players are a creature of habit, the earlier start time is an excuse some teams use when they don’t play well.  This was also a game where it was obvious that Bama was looking to improve the passing game.

OFFFENSE:  Bama put together 615 yards of total offense; 218 yards rushing and 397 passing.  As I said above it was obvious they were working on the passing game, but also they were protecting the beat up running backs since they had limited carries.  As far as negative plays, I have Bama’s offense with 1 sack, 5 tackles for losses, a lost fumble and an interception.  The Tide also had 2 three and outs.   For play of 10+ yards, the Tide had 5 runs and 15 pass receptions that covered that distance.  Bama spent a lot of the day in the red zone.  I have Bama in the red zone 7 times.  Out of these 7 times, I have them for 5 touchdowns and 2 field goals.  Two other scores came from outside the red zone with one touchdown and one field goal.  It seemed that the Bama coaches picked up something on film as they seem to attack the right defensive side of the MSU team.  I also noticed early that there was a new starting right guard. 

QB:  As far as percentage wise, Hurts has a day where he completed 76% of his passes.  However, there were a few of hiccups.  First on the interception it looked as though he was trying to drive the deep ball in there instead of putting some air under it.   Second he did miss a wide-open receiver a couple of times and was off the mark on a couple of throws. Third, out of all the negative plays Hurts was responsible for 3.   Now with all this being said I think he finished stronger than he started.  I thought his accuracy got better and saw the field better.   The TD pass he missed to Howard was in part because Howard slowed down on his route.  As far as Bateman, he came in a did a decent job.

RB:  There are two or three notes here.  First Bama could keep their top running backs from taking a lot of punishment by running the ball.  Second, Jacobs got a chance to shine.  Third, the pass blocking by the running backs got a lot of work today and I thought they did well.  I noticed a couple of times the backs sliding across the formation to pick up the proper rusher.

Rec:  Stewart had a big day and turned some short passes into big gains.  Others mad big catches and moved the chain, especially Howard.  Between the two quarterbacks, ten players had catches.

OL:   I thought they played well.  They had a lot of the day to improve their pass blocking.  There were some key blocks on the OL’s left side as that is where some of the big gains came.  There was once instance where I saw Robinson work combo blocks and get to the next level.  There was also an instance where I saw him basically use a stiff-arm for a block.  I thought for a first start, Kirven played well.

Defense:  The defense played well again today.  They gave up a total of 274 yards which included 94 rushing and 180 passing yards.  As far as negative plays, I have the defense recording 3 sacks, 6 tackles for losses and 1 interception.  I don’t have MSU getting into the red zone at all.  For three and outs I have only 2 three and outs and 1 four and out.  There only score came on a field goal from outside the red zone.  For the plays covering 10+ yards, they had 2 runs and 6 pass plays.  It also looked to me that Bama only attacked with 4 most of the day, especially in the first half.  I also want to mention that it looked like the MSU center was trying to get the Bama player to jump off sides by using his non=snapping hand with a little flinch before he snapped the ball.  I thought that should have been a penalty.

DL:  They played well.  I mean what can you say here.   They do a good job containing the QB and stopping the run.  I do think it looked tried to rip the football out instead of making the tackle. 

LB:  Again they played well.  What I will say is when they get to the ball carrier it looks like they come with bad intentions.

DB:  They were in phase most of the day.  They may not have made the play, but they affected the results of the play.  If the catch was made, most of the time, there wasn’t a lot of yards afterward.  There was a busted coverage which MSU failed to capitalize on.  The other fact was MSU players dropped some catchable balls that would have helped them greatly. 

Special Teams:   For kickoff returns the coverage was good except for one.  The Bama players got out of their lanes a bit and allowed the returner to spits them.  All field goals were good.  The only concern was a low kick on one of them.  Punting was good as well as the coverage.

Penalties:   For penalties Bama had 2 pass interference calls and I think 1 or both were questionable.  It looked to me that they had established position and didn’t interfere.  The false start was a penalty that aided the stopping of a drive. 

Finally:  This was a huge win for a few reasons.  One, a big win after an emotional physical game against a team that came in hot from an upset the week before.  Two, it allowed Bama to rest key running backs and work on the passing game which they needed to do.  Three, Bama got some quality playing time for some backups.  Four, and this is my opinion, Bama looked a little tired on defense at times.

Feel free to comment:

Good stuff, coach!  Thanks!  With the Auburn loss, we are the SEC West champs!  Hope we stay focused!  CNS is giving the team Monday off and that should help some bumps and bruises heal.  We need to get through the Chattanooga game with a win, no injuries and an attitude to whip Auburn.  Which shouldn't be a problem!  ROLL TIDE!!!!

Thanks Coach. Great stuff as usual!  #+

I hope the ist stringers get some rest and don't have to play much against 'Nooga. We'll need everybody fresh and healthy for the barn.

Good write-up Coach.  Thanks for your insight.  I'll be at the Chattanooga game and I too hope the 1's get to rest much of that game.  I suppose I am being a bit selfish though because I would love to see Hurts and at least two of the RB's to each rush for 100+ yards... :-[

Has Bama ever had three ball carriers rush for 100+ yards in one game?  :dunno:

I don't know unless it was back in the old wishbone days.  However, Bear played so many running backs it would be hard.

 #+  Thorough and quality comments, coach.  Thanks. 

I peeked ahead at Chattanooga, and their record is 8-2 (albeit, weak opponents).  I had no idea what type of offense they run, so I searched.  Looks like Auburn junior -- HUNH fast paced.

Coach, do you have any insights into our defensive schemes for Chattanooga and the Aubs?  Looks like we scheduled the Mocs to practice for that bs Aub offense. 
 :dunno:

I would expect much of the same from what they have been doing.  More of a 4-2-5 look.  Also, I expect their running back to return from injury which should give them a lift.  The positive for the d is White is not a great running QB.

Thanks again, coach.  I'm giving you an e-cred daily!   :lol2: :lol2:

Is ricky Ok?   He usually makes a comment?

We haven't heard from him since last Thursday.  I am very concerned about him.

Yes, that is concerning.

I am back after my heart attack hscoach. Thanks for asking sir. As always your notes are so great. My compliments. I actually thought we also looked very tired on defense even from the kick off. RTR!

I will keep you in my prayers.

Thank you sir. While I am here do you think CNS will try and rest as much as possible our players this week? RTR!

I think he would like to get the starters out as soon as possible.  However, you know Saban is going to present Chattanooga as a team that should be in the running for a playoff team.  Hopefully Bama comes out strong and can have this game put away by the 2nd quarter.