Crimson Red Sports

Congrats to players and coaches on the big win at UF.  This was again against a good offensive football team.

Offense: The offense moved the ball both with the run and pass.  They had very few negative plays which includes no turnovers.  When Bama threw the ball on first down, they only used play action 3 times and one of those was a half-a** fake.   AJ only completed one of those passes.  Since they were running the ball so effectively, I would think play action would be a more effective part of the 1st down passing game.  Bama left points on the field again with the overthrow and settling for the field goal on the 1st drive.  In the 2nd half Bama wasted good field position and went 3 and out.  This was the 2nd overthrow of a deep rec.  There was a time in the 3rd quarter on first down when UF had 6 in the box on first down.  I thought it would have been effective to check out of the pass and check to a run at this point.  Bama did put the nail in the coffin with a 92 yard drive that started in the 3rd quarter and capped off with a TD in the 4th quarter.  Late in the game, and I am not big on running up the score, but I would have like to have seen PS throw a pass when UF was loading the box and hammering the running backs.  Finally, the offense had very few negative plays.

QB:  AJ did not have a great game, but he did not make a mistake that cost Bama the game.  Most of his passes were off target even if they were completions.  I can’t remember but about one pass where the rec caught the ball on the run without having to reach back.  He was fortunate; he was not intercepted on the slant route.  Also, I don’t think he did a very good job finding a secondary rec since he threw into coverage a couple of times.  He also missed a couple of deeps throws again, one of which would have been a TD.  I also think PS could have gotten in the game earlier for some valuable experience.

RB:  TR had an outstanding game.  Unofficially, I have TR at 96 yards after initial contact.  He blocked well when need and never knocked backwards except for one play where the OL got blown up. TR also had a key block on the screen to MM that put them in position to score a TD after a penalty in the red zone.  EL came in and played well.  He also made yards after contact.  EL also protected the ball well when UF was trying to strip the ball late in the game. 

REC:  The rec’s made some good catches.  As I stated above many of the ball were thrown behind the rec’s.  MW had a good game both catching and blocking.  He almost made a one handed circus catch on a ball thrown behind him.  KB should have had a TD.  I know it would have been a difficult catch, but I bet he makes that catch 8 out of 10 times.  This was points left on the field.

OL:  I think the OL played great.  I saw players getting to the second level on the running plays off the combo blocks.  Also, the pass protection was great.  What really impresses me is seeing the OL down field on long running plays, but even more when you see them getting downfield after a completion and making blocks.  The biggest negative I have was when AS got blown up late in the 3rd quarter.  He did not even get a stalemate, he was knocked into the backfield and the play was destroyed.  The O, especially O line needs to have a killer instinct when the other team loses a QB and knows they are in trouble.  DJF had a better game and again CW did a good job pulling and getting to the 2nd level.


Defense:  The D started off shaky but played well.  I look at it like this.  They gave up 222 yard to a potent O.  If you take away the 65 yard TD and the 31 yard scramble, UF had 126 yards of offense.  Of this 126 55 yard came on 2 pass plays.  Most of this was either very early or very late when Bama was playing a little safer  One of the big plays was a result of a missed tackle by 3 Bama players.  I may be wrong but it looked like the UF QB was taking a deeper drop than normal which would give him additional time.  The D came up with 2 TO’s one which was a TD and the other led to a TD drive.  I would like to see the LB’s start taking a shot at the rec’s when they come across the field. UF’s big play maker were held to 42 yards, Rainey had 36 and Demps had 6.  The D did a great job by not allowing UF speed to get on the outside very often. 

DL:   The DL did a great job.  In my opinion they are getting better each week.  They were able to put pressure on the QB without bringing the house and still play the run.  UF ended up with 15 total rushing yards.  I didn’t keep up with it, but there were many sacks as well as tackles behind the LOS. 

LB:  The LB’s played well.  NJ did a good job playing for CJM.  As, I stated above, I wish they would start redirecting the rec’s when they decide to come across the middle.  There was a busted coverage on the 2nd drive by UF when they dumped the ball off and almost scored.  I don’t know if you remember the play, but if was in the 3rd quarter around the 5:28 mark, CU did a great job using his hands to shed the blocker and still make the play on an elusive running back.  He actually use the blocker to force the running back inside.  CU played a very good game. 

DB:  The Db’s started out shaky but came back strong.  If you play man coverage, you have to have a pass rush.  On the first TD, DK had no help from the safety by his alignment.  He was probably line up there to help on the run game which put DK on an island.  I saw two problems here.  First, there was no jam on the rec which gave him a free release.  Second, when he was beat he was looking back.  When a DB is beat in many coverage, they must have their eyes on the man to make up ground, you can’t run as fast looking backwards.   DK did recover after this and played a solid game.  I thought Menzie should have come up with the int. The more effective pass rush really help in the coverage.

Special teams:  The KO team gave up more yards than they normally do, but didn’t allow a TD.  The depth of the KO could be better, but if not deeper at least higher to give the cover team time to get down.  The punts were effective since UF really did not get any substantial returns.  As far as Bama’s punt return, MM should have fair caught one and on the other where he touched the ball, he should have gotten out of the way or caught it on the big bounce.  The good thing is Bama retained the football.  I don’t know about you, but the punter looks like he takes a long time to get the ball off. 

Penalties:  Probably the biggest penalty was the personal foul on the fair catch signal when UF roughed the punter.  Bama would have retained possession and had good field position. 

Please feel free to comment.

Good Luck and Roll Tide Roll

Thanks coach!  I agree that AJ played well enough but not well.  If he improves his precision just a little this team could be as close to unstoppable as you'll ever see. 

Thanks Coach for your insight and football knowledge.

Thank you hscoach, and I agree AJ needs to practice the deep throws. I see another thing we better get good at and they is keeping the mouth shut. We had 3 times I seen that could have gotten flags and did not. So the Ref's let them play last night. Our deep kickoffs needs some help. I saw Cody punt out of bounds which was great, we gain 35 to 40 yds that way. Take what he can get and out of bounds there is not run back to the 40 or 50 yd line. RTR!

Thanks guys.  One thing I left off was the kicker had 2 tackles on kickoffs.

Excellent assessment, Coach.  The best parts of your notes (to me) are they point out issues that I missed and teach me something new each game.  I appreciate your work.   #+

Thanks Coach, great info. I agree about the punter taking too long to get the punts off.

Thanks hscoach. I always enjoy reading your comments and observations.

The OL turned in their best performance of the year. That was good to see. If they can give TR and EL just a little room our running game clicks. I don't think the OL gave up a sack. Other than the first play of the game and a couple of plays on the Florida FG drive the defense played great. This team is just getting better.

Hscoach, do you think the coaches will have any trouble keeping the team focused for the next few weeks? I am concerned we could have a let down with Vandy and Ole Miss coming up after the two big SEC West wins.

Good stuff. Thanks.

I think they will keep their focus for a couple of reasons.  One they don't like being ranked behind anyone, LSU or OU.  Second the leader seem to be strong on this team at this point.  They have faced adversity in a sense they fell behind UF and came back.  I know the coaches, as  they always do, stress the importance of the next game. 

Thanks for the analysis hscoach.


I saw this too.  He came back on the very next play and did a good job to help on a big run.

Yes, I noticed that.  He did a good job on those 2 plays.  He was a linebacker in high school if I recall correctly, and it shows when he has to make the tackle.  Most kickers would get run over on those kind of plays.

He had the angle and if the blocker would of got to him it would've been a TD for sure.

It seems like he out ran the blocker on one of them going toward the sideline away from the TV camera.  I just knew he was about to get creamed and it was going to be a TD, but he surprised me with how he was able to avoid that block and make the play.

Foster has a little size and strength. He is not your typical kicker. He takes pride in his ability to help cover the kickoff return.

Seems to me this is a variable in that he would take less time if the "D" has the rush on, as opposed to taking longer if they are setting up the return? hsc?

good stuff Coach .... thanks !

it's those two things that I quoted you on that worry me the most
we seem to pretty solid everywhere else ...  well , then there is our little problem with kicking  ;D

Thanks Coach for your analysis. What do you think about the rugby style kicks their punter did? Their gunners were running along side of the ball and it seemed to roll along way.

A couple of questions. First, on your hoping to see more of Sims in the 2nd half. We all realize our offense is in deep trouble if AJ goes down, the way things are now. But AJ is also a first year QB (less a little PT here and there in 2010). So as many reps as he can get against QUALITY defenses is invaluable.  Also, the limited things PS can do in a game right now, also limits the practice/experience of the rest of our team.

I just feel the upcoming series of Vandy, Ole Miss, and even UT will be better suited for getting him the reps he needs to develope. Not to mention, disrupting offensive "rhythm" or cohesiveness.

While talking about QBs going down, I've often wondered about a theory floated around after the NC game. When Colt McCoy went down, Gilbert actually did a better job--got the UTx offense moving. Folks theorized that Bama had studied and therefore practiced for the style of Colt. But the different style of Garret Gilbert gave Bama fits. In your experience, would that make a huge difference? If so, why not plug in backups more often, when things get stalled?

Also, I listened to a couple UF post game interviews. Defensive guys talking about the crowd noise was even disrupting them in their signal calling and change-ups. This maybe explains AJ's difficulty checking off at the LOS.


Oh, and thank you for your game notes. My favorite part of Sunday.

Coach -- Good observation about AJ's passes being a little off target, even the shorter ones.  This causes rec's to adjust and that 1-sec loss of momentum gives the DB time to close in.  I'm still concerned that we don't have a serious passing threat.  The shorter throws have been effective -- I'll give AJ that.  But the longer the pass the less on target it is.

I will say it gives the coverage team a better chance to get down to cover.  I really didn't notice a change when UF did have their rush on. 

I really don't like them, but they were effective last night.  I worry about the block.  I think Bama did block one of those against a team last year.  I also don't like punters kicking to the near sideline on punts because if he shanks it then they lose valuable yardage.  What ever happen to kicking to the corner across the field, then if you shank it you still may get a decent kick.

HS- great notes. I have noticed a couple of things.
1. Lacey is dancing a little in the holes. He has strength and speed. He needs to hit the hole and go through it. I don't know if the turf toe caused any of that last night.

2.Last year Foster could reach the endzone. This year we have gone with direction and height. I like the idea, but you do have to be careful with speed on the other end. Lucky Demps didn't return kicks after he rolled his ankle. But why do you think we did not change up and reduce the speed by kicking deep?

So.... Foster was known as a high-school phenom who regularly kicked off deep in the endzone.  You don't suppose he's kicking short just so he can smash the runners and put little twerps, like Demps, out for the game?   :dunno:

I would think they worry about the trajectory.  It is lower when he hits it out of/into the endzone.  If he doesn't make it that deep then the returner has a full head of steam and he cover team is not down there.  Just my opinion.  As I have said before, it looks to me that he is trying to kill the ball and muscle up before hitting it.  I equate it to a smooth golf swing.  Think about what happens when you try to muscle a shot in golf.

Reply to 1--Lacy did not "dig" in the game.  He ran higher in the saddle, only slightly, but he wasn't centered over his base and couldn't have spun out of an arm tackle if he wanted to.  Nor was he lowering his center enough to punish anyone with a leading shoulder, which suggests that he wasn't able to push. 

Reply to 2--Saban addressed this in the presser, claiming that there was no design to kick higher or shorter, that Saban would prefer he kicked it "in the stands every time," I believe the quote was.  Saban compared the issue to confidence in a golf swing, suggesting that Foster is more concerned with technique than he should, that he needs to gain confidence in his kicking in the game.  Saban said that Foster does not have this issue in practice, that he is more than capable of booting the ball through the end zone.

Welcome to the forum vikinghorse!  Have some e-creds.

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