Some of these games have been closer than people have expected.  I think, Bama goes with the hot hand/reliable hands of Harris.  Both he and Robinson are game tested.  Hopefully, they can work some of these guys in in the next few games.

Moses was actually picked as one of the players of the week from the defensive side of the ball from the coaches.  He wasn't flashy, but he was consistent most of the game.  He overran that one play which led to the 20+ yard gain, but other than that, he played pretty well.

Did anyone else notice the Braves pitchers didn't push the Dodger batters off the plate like the Dodger pitchers did to the Brave hitters?

Not saying they are not relevant to winning, but I think the "standard" has changed.  You also look at the rules that have changed seem to benefit the offenses.

They may be too close, but I guess they are coached to play that way.  Some people believe if you are too deep it allows the OL to get to you at the 2nd level easier.  Moses had a pretty good game, stat wise.  He was the 2nd leading tackler with 10 which included a sack and a TFL  % were solo tackles.

                                                                                                            UG vs Bama
First, congrats to the Bama players and coaches on the big win today. This was a much better game defensively, but they can still do better.

OFFFENSE:  The offense put together 564 yards of total offense on the number 1 defense.  They threw for 417 and rushed for 147.  For negative plays, I have Bama with 1 tackle for a loss, 3 sacks, and an interception with was caused by a blown blocking assignment.  They also had not three and outs forced by the UG defense.  For plays that covered 10+ yards I have Bama with 18 passing plays and 4 running plays.  Bama got into the red zone 4 times and scored 3 touchdowns and kicked 1 field goals.  The scored 3 times from outside the red zone with 2 touchdowns and a field goal. I do think the points they got right before the half were huge, especially right after UG had scored.


QB:  Jones played a very good game.   He completed 75% of his passes and I thought I counted, what I consider, 2 drops.  If he was the one calling pass protection, he did a great job because UG brought pressure a lot last night.  He averaged 17 yards per catch, and 12 per pass.  Jones also did a good job finding the 2nd receiver when necessary.

RB:  Harris had a good game running hard against a solid defense.  With 152 yards on 31 carries, he averaged right at 5 yards per carry.  He had all runs of 10+ yards.  Also, I noticed him picking up the blitz in pass protection.  He added 1 catch for 10 yards which means he accounted for 162 yards of offense. Robinson had a bit of a tough day as far as yards gained.  He ran hard, but just didn’t have the hot hand Harris did.

Rec: The receivers were led by Smith and Waddle who both had over 160 yards receiving.  Smith did it on 11 catches, while Waddle did it on 6.  Those 90 yard receptions really help.   Both Metchie and Forristall added 3 catches to the total.  I also think these receivers do a very good job coming and getting the ball as well as scramble drill when the QB needs help. 

OL:  I think the OL played a good game except for the bust that caused the interception.  They got good push on the defensive line which allowed Bama to rush for the 147 yards.  They also picked up the twist and stunts that UG was throwing at them. 

Def:  Bama gave up a total of 414 total yards which included 269 passing and 145 rushing.  The good news is they gave up only 146 in the 2nd half.  For negative plays I have the defense with 2 tackles for losses, 2 sacks, 3 interceptions, and caused 1 fumble which UG recovered.  After each interception Bama put points on the board and one stopped the Bulldogs drive when the ball was intercepted in the red zone.  I have the defense with three 3 and outs and they were mostly caused by the interceptions.  For plays that covered 10+ yards, I have 10 passing plays and 4 running plays.  UG got into the red zone 3 times and scored 2 touchdowns and missed a field goal.  The other points came from outside the red zone where they scored a touchdown and kicked a field goal.  They didn’t miss as many tackles this game and played better assignment football.  The lost the edge a few times, but not as much as in the past.  They can still do a better job.  I also think the days of tight defensive games are a thing of the past.  It seems today if you can hold team to 350 to 400 yards, it may be a good defensive day. 

DL: The play of the DL was better today.  They did a better job staying in their lanes when pass rushing.  They got their hands up and batted about 4 balls.  The blitzing safety got the other.  There were only 2 sacks, but they did pressure the QB. One 12 yard run was caused by the end man on the LOS took on the block with his outside shoulder on the inside of the blocks.  This allows the runner to bounce outside instead of being forced back inside to where the help is.

LB: The LB’s were better today.  There were a couple of mistakes.  The biggest was the scheme that puts and inside backer on the running back when he motioned to the outside of the formation.  I can’t expect a LB to be able to run with this type of athlete.  What he has to do is drop and give him the space and try to keep him underneath.  They cannot allow the guy to get on their feet as they say because at that time they are beat.  Also, it would help the LB’s in coverage if they outside rusher would get a chip on the back releasing to their side.  Another mistake was when the LB overran the hole and the RB ran for 24 yards. 

DB: I thought they did a better job at the LOS.  I do think they are looking in the backfield too often and too long and that is where some separation is coming from.  I did think they were more physical this game and even though they had a couple of bust, they were as damaging as the one like the OM game.  I don’t know who they actually had filling in for Battle in the first half, but they did a good job.

Special Teams:  I have been waiting for someone to start returning the Bama kickoff since many don’t make it to the end zone.  UG did and gave themselves good field position, except once.  A short punt gave UG good field position on one drive where the scored a touchdown.  Bama lost good field position on a good punt return because of a penalty.  Bama was good on all field goals and extra points.

Penalties:  Bama had 6 penalties for 43 yards.  The two biggest were the block in the back on the punt return and an offsides on a 4 and less than 1. I have never seen so many defensive holding calls in one game.

Finally, this was a game Bama had to play well, not just to win, but to be competitive.  The made great strides this week on the defensive side of the ball.  They still need to continue to improve on that side of the ball.  I would double down on what that work on the week before the game. 

Feel free to comment:

17 and Counting

Next paragraph from Saban
“So, if the players are mis-executing, that’s not a good thing from a coaching standpoint because that means we have to do a better job of teaching them or make sure we’re not trying to teach them too much so they go out there and they can’t perform well with confidence and make plays we’d like for them to make.”

From Saban
“First of all, I don’t think the call is necessarily the issue," Saban responded. "I think the execution of the call has been the issue. Sometimes we coach players for what we want them to be. But we really need to coach them for what they are. And when I say that I’m talking about how much experience do they have? How much can they handle? How much can they execute?

I would also think it is amplified without a spring training.

I have said before, I don't think they let the athletes play sometimes.  Maybe this group need to keep it simple.  That being said, it doesn't account for the busted assignments and missed tackles.  Like I said earlier, I would be livid at film time with some of these players.

A note I left off, not counting kicking game Bama defended 87 offensive plays while running 71 offensive plays.

The offenses have changed drastically.  Kid are coming in to college ready to play, especially on the offensive side of the ball. 

It was Saban directed at Golding