Crimson Red Sports

These notes are going to be a little different.                                           
                                       LSU vs Bama

I will say Bama is officially out of the playoffs.  This game was hard to watch and even fathom what the offensive game plan was.  I saw a lot of questionable calls, especially when you ran the ball a effectively on the first drive and then on the next three drives the run game was basically abandoned.  There were 2 runs on these three drives, one was a scramble and the other was called back for holding.  I didn’t understand the routes at times as I saw a couple of deep routes and only an underneath release when you needed 10 yards for a first down.  Too me without the threat of a running game, play action is not very effective.

OFFFENSE:  The offense started out with a good drive only to end up with an interception in the end zone which means Bama left 3 to 7 points on the field.  This would have probably been game winning points.  It is hard to imagine Bama outgained LSU by almost 100 yards.

Negative plays:  2 tackles for losses, 2 sacks, 1 interception, and a fumble which was fortunately not loss.

3 and out: Bama had 4 three outs and 3 of them came in succession after their first drive. 

Red zone:  Bama had 2 trips into the red zone and threw an interception and kicked a field goal.  This doesn’t include overtime.

QB:  This is as bad as I have seen Young look.  There were times he didn’t move his feet to the target.  The complete offense looked discombobulated or confused.

RB: It is hard to believe, but Gibbs had 99 yards on 15 carries.  For the game, not counting scrambles, Bama only had 26 rushes.

Rec:  Brooks was the main target last night.  However, many balls we not thrown in the areas where catches could be made.

OL:  It seems to me that the OL has digressed instead of progressing.  There weren’t a lot of negative plays, but the QB was pressured about 10 times last night.  There was not a big push, in my opinion, in the running game.  It seems to me they are back to playing to high and catching blocks instead of attacking.  I know stunts and the blitz makes this difficult at times. 

Def: The mobile QB gave Bama problems again.  The quick passing game was effective with the short passing game and they had a comparable running game to keep drives alive. 

Negative plays:  I have Bama for 5 tackles for losses, 6 sacks, an interception, and a fumble that wasn’t lost.

3 and outs:  Bama had no three and outs

Red zone:  got into the red zone 3 times and scored 2 touchdowns and kicked a field goal.  One touchdown came from outside the red zone.

DL:  Most of the night they played pretty well, but in crucial times they allowed the QB to escape and make big plays.  Same story different game.

LB:  Same as the DL.  I will say they were in a bit of a bind with the short passing game combined with the adequate running game by LSU.

DB: Most of the throws were under or around the 10-yard mark.  There were a few deep balls.  There were times when the rec out muscled the DB, but also, I have to give the LSU QB credit for putting the ball in the proper place. The did miss a few tackles.

Special teams: Noting really spectacular here, except, didn’t seem to be able to flip the field position when punting.  LSU did pin Bama back with poor field position.

Penalties: Bama had 9 penalties for 92-yard.  Five penalties were on the D with crucial ones on 2 TD drives and a FG drive.  The special team’s penalty put Bama back in bad field position.

Finally, Bama now need to find some pride and finish out the season.  They cannot allow 1 loss to turn into more losses.  You will find out who the competitors are now with the playoff shot gone.  I have come to the point, where I think there may be time for some coaching changes.  I honestly think if Kiffen or Sark were the OC, this team would be different.  I really can’t understand the OL.  Are we not supposed to have top talent there?  Defensively, I really don’t know what to say.  Is it the scheme or the execution.  At times it looks like both.   Hopefully, they will win out and we can all dream about what could have been.  I, like many had high expectations for this year.  The fact is they have lost 2 games by a total of 4 points; however, this could possibly have been avoided if the team was more disciplined, especially in the penalty department.  Or maybe, our players aren’t as good as we thought they are.
Feel free to comment:

18 and Counting

Nice job of putting lipstick on a pig Coach.  Thanks for your efforts.

FWIW, I don't see us beating OM next week. We will likely be a 3 loss team going into the bowl games...

hscoach thanks for your work. I just couldn't read it all cause my heart is broke because we have no football team that hunts anymore. RTR!

Thanks for the analysis coach.

As good as Ricks looked against Miss. State it seemed like he was a different player yesterday.  Hard to believe we don't have a DB that can cover better than he did last night.

Ole Miss will be ready for us.  Hope we are ready for them.  We need to play loose but with INTENSITY!

ROLL TIDE!!!

Thanks for the write up Coach.  A rough night for the tide.  I was hoping to see improvement for a late push but the week off seemed to do more harm than good.

Thanks again and Roll Tide!

Like you, I told my brother during the game that this is a hard team to watch. Discombobulated is a good word - I can't for the life of me figure out an offensive plan for this bunch. As a whole they have definitely regressed. Even in the win against Miss St, I thought they weren't clicking on all cylinders. Defensively, they are hot and cold and extremely undisciplined. They make crucial mistakes at the worst possible times. I don't like to call for firings for coaches usually - you're talking about livelihoods for men and their families. However, it is most apparent that O'Brien and Golding are not the men who should be in charge as coordinators. Probably need to look at several position coaches as well, particularly OL and DB. Very disheartening to see a team with this much talent flop around and play like they do.

Normally I would agree with you regarding calling for coaches to be fired.  The part about "talking about livelihoods for men and their families" though is pointless IMO when talking about someone who is making $1.1Million (O'Brien) and $1.73Million (Golding).  It is painfully obvious that they have under-performed and it is time for them to go whether CNS fires them or strongly encourages them to find work elsewhere.

I totally agree. They have cost us a NC Trophy last year and now we look like a couple of 3rd world team. RTR!

While I agree we aren't performing to 100% capacity, let's calm down a little.   Bama has lost two games to top 10 teams by a total of 4 points.   Both games came down to the last play.   Not sure we're "like a couple of 3rd world team", whatever that means.

I'm not exactly happy about the season, but we're not always going to be #1.   Weren't even revelent in the national championship picture from 1980-1991 or 1995-2008.  Now we pretend like it's our right to be there.   It isn't.   It's a blessing every year that we are.  And it's dadgum hard to do it.   Just being named Alabama doesn't do any work.

I agree.  Okay, I admit it, I'm spoiled.  ROLL TIDE!!!  Beat Ole Miss!

Well I am spoiled also. Since, 1963 when Chris Economaki called the first Alabama football game on abc wide world of sports. RTR!