First: I want to congratulate the Bama coaches and players on the win.  I also want to congratulate MSU on playing hard and not being intimidated by the number 1 ranked team.  Bama did not look like a number one team last night.  AJ said the leadership would not let the team come out and play flat.   They did play flat and allowed MSU to stay in the game.  There was very little emotion displayed by Bama last night.  I know Bama just came off a huge emotional victory last week, but you have to play your best every game to be a champion. 

Offense:   The offense sputtered most of the night, they just didn’t look focused.  They only had 3 three and outs and one of those was because of a fumble.  The got into the red zone only 4 times and had 2 TD’s and 2 FG’s.  Bama was their own worst enemy. They had 4 turnovers in the game.   As far as negative plays (11), Bama’s offense gave up 6 tackles for losses, 1 sack, along with 2 ints and 2 fumbles.  One of the fumbles led to a TD and the other should have led to a TD. One of the int’s was just outside red zone.    Bama also wasted good field position twice.  First, they had a short punt and started on the 47 going in.  They went 3 and out and were hurt by a drop that would have given them a first down.  Second they had the ball on their 47 and turned the ball over on the int.  On a positive side, Bama had 4 runs for 10 plus yards while they had 9 completions for 10 plus yards.  The other positive was when Bama’s O drove for a TD after MSU scored. 

QB:  AJ did not have a good night.  I thought his footwork was lazy and he threw off his back foot numerous times.  On the second int, and the rec was open, all he had to do was step up inside the rush and throw the ball.  Instead he throws of the back foot and it becomes and int and Bama loses a scoring opportunity.  I also thought he could have checked out of some plays that would have given them a better chance to be successful.  They was also a time where he tried to throw to Norwood who was surrounded by 4 players. 

RB:   They ran hard, but didn’t protect the football.  They, both Yeldon and Drake picked up the blitz well a few times.  On one pass it looked like Yeldon was looking for contact instead of the ball. 

REC:  They caught the ball most of the night.  There was at least 1 drop that would have kept a drive alive.  I still can’t understand why the Bama recs are so bad at the scramble drill.  Once when AJ was scrambling to his left the rec down field was going away from him.  Deep recs didn’t try to come back to help.

OL:   The OL didn’t have a great game.  Usually when Bama plays the announcer point out at least once or twice how well the OL is playing.  This really didn’t happen until the 2nd half.  The OL allowed players to cross their face and make plays from the backside.  They did show how effective they could be a few times last night, but they were inconsistent much of the night.  At first you didn’t see them getting to the second level.  There was one time when it looked like Cyrus Kouandjio didn’t even know what play they were running.  There were also times when it looked like they didn’t finish/sustain their blocks and were caught standing around. 

Defense:  They looked confused at times last night.  In the first half I have them for one negative play, which was a tackle for a loss.  The second half they had 2 sacks, 3 tackles for losses and 1 interception.  They did have 7 three or four and outs.    One of the 3 and outs was after the int which gave MSU good field position. They gave up no runs for 10+ yards, but gave up 6 pass plays for 10+ yards.  The only real emotion I saw was by CJ who made the big hit in the second half and in the 4th quarter.   They did have a big stop early in the red zone.  They only gave up 199 total yards and part of this was because Bama gave them the ball 4 times.  MSU had been averaging 250 yards a game rushing and was held to 55.  This was aided by the MSU running QB not being able to play.

DL:    They played well against the run, but didn’t put much pressure on the QB until late in the game.  No one really stood out to me.

LB:  It looked like this is the most pass coverage DePriest has played this year and he did a decent job. CJ made a couple of big plays, but again, there just didn’t seem to be a sense of urgency by the defense. 

DB:  They were not tested very much.  Most of the throws were short either to the outside or underneath.  I don’t understand why a DB allows and inside release, the slant again, when you don’t have any help over the top.  Maybe the scouting report didn’t show MSU running slants with inside rec. 

Penalties:  Bama had some penalties in this game which hurt them.  If MSU had a more potent offense Bama could have been in real trouble.     

Special teams:  Two points I want to make here.  First, the hustle by White when he got down there to knock the ball out of bounds was great.  Second,  I still don’t like the pooch punt as opposed to kicking to the far corner.

Finally:  I think Bama escaped while playing a bad game.  Good team win games when they don’t play well.  Also, I do think Jones could have been called for targeting on the kick off.  It was one of the biggest hits of the night and it came from and offensive player. 

Good Luck and Roll Tide Roll 
15 and counting

First: I want to congratulate the Bama coaches and players on the win.  This was a game of two halves.  The game was won in the second half.   I honestly think the adjustments/decisions, along with depth, the Bama coaches made in the 2nd half won the game.  This was big boy, slobber knocking football. 

Offense:   The offense played a good game.  They came out in the second half and they were determined to run the football.  They had 6 negative plays and 1 three and out.  All were tackles for losses except for the 1 sack.  Bama had 14 plays for over 10 yard and these were balanced since there were 7 receptions and 7 runs.  Bama got into the red zone 4 times and came out with 4 TD’s, 100%.  They did score one TD from outside the red zone.  They also had 1 field goal just outside the red zone where two opportunities for TD passes.   Bama, after the first two drives scored on every drive except the one right before half time and the one where they were in victory formation.  After the field they scored on drives of 78, 80, 79, 71, and 79 yards. The fake punt was huge in this continued success.  They also never punted again after the 2nd drive.  It did looked like the D was getting off the LOS pretty good, I wonder if that had something to do with the snap count.  I also want to say here I like running out of the spread in the red zone so people can’t load the box especially with the rec’s Bama has. Also, after Bama trailed 7-3, they never trailed again.  They outgained LSU 190 to 83 in the second half.

QB:   AJ played a very good game.  He started out 3 for 7 and finished 11 for 13.  The only passes the missed were the deep balls.  One was on the flea flicker and the other shouldn’t have been thrown into double coverage.  I think KB actually came open on that play.  He did miss a throw on the first drive on the crossing route to White which would have given Bama a first down and kept the drive alive.   Also, a special congrats to AJ for being the best QB in Bama history according to stats.

RB:   Both Yeldon and Drake ran hard.  They secured the football and hit the hole hard.  They also caught the ball out of the backfield and pass blocked when called upon.

REC:  They caught the ball well and ran well after the catch when given the opportunity.  Two things I want to point out here.  One, OJ Howard can run, he was leaving DB’s which usually match up pretty well with TE’s.  Second, I like the wide rec screen, but asking Vogler to block a more agile CB on the screen is a hard job.  On two plays before the FG, I don’t know if OJ quit running or the ball was overthrown that much.  Also, the next play AJ threw the corner, but Jones looked like he was on a seam route.  I don’t know what the read was on that play.  I also, think Jones was grabbed by the DB and holding call could have been made.

OL:   They played pretty well.  They dominated the LOS in the second half.  Bama took all three of their drives for TD mostly by running the football.  I saw combo blocks and OLmen getting a big push.   

Defense:  The defense also was a game of two halves. LSU gained 232 yards in the first half but only 83 in the second.  Now part of this was the way the offense held on to the football.  They did give up 11plays for over 10 yards.  The good news is 8 of those were in the first half and only 3 in the second.  Only two of these plays were runs. The D had 12 negative plays.  They had 4 TFL, 5 sacks, and 2 fumble recoveries.  They also had the opportunity for 3 or 4 interceptions, but didn’t make the play.  They had 1 3 and out and one 4 and out.  The 4 and out was huge.  LSU had just taken the kickoff for 82 yards and the LSU went backwards from there.  Bama took over on downs.  They did lose the edge a couple of time early but overall played a solid game.  The players that stood out to me were 30, 32, 33, 8, 42, 49 and 26.  One of the biggest plays in the game was on the first drive with LSU going in and Patrick knocks the ball lose and Bama recovers.

DL:  I thought this was one of their best games.  I thought they were physical and got a good push on passing plays.  They may not have always sacked the QB, but they hit him a few times.   There are some plays you just have to see.  Ivory did a great job one time where you can see him extend his hands and hold the OLmen off and help make the play. This is great DL play.

LB:  I thought all played well and came up with some big hits.  I guess the negative here is CJ could have had a couple of int’s. 

DB:  They played some of the most talented rec’s they will face and did a pretty good job.  The LSU QB was 10 for 13 in the first half and only 6 for 10 in the second half.   This was also aided by a better pass rush. 

Penalties:   Bama had a few penalties, but was able to overcome most of them. 

Special teams:   I will take reasonability for the kick cover team lack of tackling.  Ever since I started a thread about this being the best special teams at Bama, they have given up big yards on kickoff returns.  A couple of observations, one a Bama player was being held so bad on the big return it could have been considered illegal activity in many states and two did  you notice the hustle of Drake trying to make the play on the long return.  I would also like to see Jones take a knee in the end zone when he is back peddling to make the catch in the end zone.  If his momentum is going out, then bring the ball out.

Finally:  Have you all noticed how young this defense is?

Peewee from Grand Bay on Rivalry Express this morning on the Headline News Network:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdG4qma165A" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdG4qma165A</a>

Roll Tide Peewee!

What's up every body!!! Glad to be a part of the group.

It was another great evening at our REC meeting as Coach Kirby Smart was our guest speaker tonight. CKS gave us a full analogy of where the team is today and some of the news was good and some of it could have been better.

There is some concern about the depth of the defense due to injuries and suspensions. There has been two players to burn a redshirt to help shore of the defense and this was something they didn't really want to do. With LSU coming up next they wanted to give Dee Liner some playing experience so that if he was needed he would have some real time experience. There are numerous DB's that are playing 2-3 positions and this makes it extremely hard on the younger players because of the complexity of Bama's defenseive schemes. He felt this makes it easier for them to make mistakes.

He was very high on C.J. Mosley, saying he is the best player he has ever coached and not only is he a great player but his off the field demeaner is tops. C J never turned in any draft papers last year because he had no intentions going professional, he wanted to finish his career at Bama. There were many players receiving kudos from the coach and he felt that better days were ahead for the defense if they can get some of the wounded back and no more gets hurt.

I did as I promised you on another thread, I asked CKS why there were so many turf toe injuries and what is the reason for them. He said that no one really knows the reasoning for so many of this type of injury and it's not just at Bama. They have had the turf inspected for the cause but that was pretty much ruled out. He explained that these young men have been playing football since their early years and as they get bigger and stronger there is more and more pressure on the muscles and tendons of the feet and this could possibly be some of the reasons for the injuries, but no one has been able to come up with solid proof of anything yet.

CKS has so much energy and when he speaks, he really gets excited and this has to be a benefit when he is coaching the players. I know he got me excited about the future of the team and players.



 

First: I want to congratulate the Bama coaches and players on the win.  The players were well prepared for the game.  It seemed to me the Bama players took a very businesslike attitude in this game. 

Offense:   The offense quietly put together 482 yards of offense.  They only had 3 negative plays all game.  Two were tackles for losses and the other the big fumble by Drake at the goal line.  They had 2 plays of 10+ yards.  However a couple of them were negated by a penalty and a fumble.  Drake led the rushing with 4 running plays for 10+ yards, but as I said he fumbled and negated one of them.  Yeldon, Jones, and Henry all had one each.  There were 13 pass plays for 10+ yards, one of which was negated by a penalty.  Norwood led the way with 6 of these plays followed by Cooper with 3, one negated by penalty, 2 by White and 1 each by Yeldon and Drake.  They only a couple of three and outs and one was near the end of the game with the backups in. Bama put together a 98 yard drive for a TD to go along with 51, 66, 66, 82 as well as a 71 yard drive that ended in a FG.  In the red zone Bama scored on 4 out of 5 trips, three TD’s and 1 FG.  They had 2 scores that came from outside the red zone a TD pass to Norwood and another to Cooper. I have noticed Bama likes to show the passing formation in the red zone and run a delay/draw in this area and it has been successful.  The negative for the offense was the wasted field position on their opening 2nd half kickoff return that put them on the 43 going in and hurt themselves with penalties and ended up punting.  Also, Bama was 7/11 on third down conversions.

QB:   Played a good game and made good decisions.  He completed 70% of his passes and if Drake and Jones don’t drop two it jumps to 78%.  He did miss a throw on what would have been a TD to Cooper.  Also, Norwood bailed him out on the catch near the goal line. 

RB:   They ran hard.  Combined they ran for 161 yards and averaged 5.5 yards per carry.  They both blocked well and caught the ball out of the backfield.  Drake did have a drop, but I really think he was expecting AJ to run and probably wasn’t expecting the ball.

REC:  I have said this before and will say it every game if notice it.  The rec’s do a good job catching the ball with their hands and not letting the ball get into their body.  There were three great examples in the game.  The examples are, first, the catch by Norwood, and 2 by Cooper, one on the slant and the other on the sideline. 

OL:   They did a good job.  They were very few times contact was made in the backfield.  Most of the day AJ had time to throw, but coverage caused him to scramble.  There were only a couple of occasions I thought the left guard came off his block and took the wrong man, and they didn’t sustain their blocks long enough which allowed only a short gain. 

Defense:  The defense played pretty well.  They only had 2 three and outs along with 5 negative plays.  Three of these were tackles for losses and 2 were ints.  One of the ints was taken back for a TD by Collins. I have the D giving up 6 pass plays for 10+yards and 2 running plays for 10+ yards.  They gave up a total of 322 yards total offense.  Of these yards 148 came on 4 plays as they gave up a run for 43, and passes of 43, 38, and 24 yards.  It looked like there was a busted coverage on one of the plays.  Two of the plays were the same crossing routed thrown to the back side.   I do wonder what is considered the Rabbit package they use to use when they would put Hightower down in a three point stance at the D end position.

DL:   They played well again keeping the OL off the LBs.  One thing I want people to notice is the way Pagan was running on the int and made the last block to get Collins in the end zone.  Remember he was a rec in the beginning of his high school career. 

LB:  I thought Depriest played well.  He did a good job on the reverse as well as the zone read.  They probably didn’t do a lot of practicing on that without knowing the backup QB was that type of player.  CJ did well, but was not as noticeable in this game.  One thing I did pick up on was him getting on a DB for what I assume was not getting off the block fast enough.

DB:   They played pretty well.  Both Collins and HaHa came up and tackled well.  Colllins had a pick and HaHa was close.  They were a few pass break ups.  The long pass right before the half was good coverage the ball was just underthrown and the rec made a play on it.  It actually looked like the DB’s may have lost the ball in the sun. 

Penalties: The penalties hurt on the first dive in the 2nd half.  All others were overcome.  I thought that 2 were bad calls.  First, the pass interference on Cooper was bad because the DB had his hand on Cooper also.  The second was the roughing the passes.  I never really saw any contact from the Bama player. 

Special teams: It took UT 3 ½ quarter, but they finally figured out not to kick the ball to Jones.  I honestly think I could figure that out watching film.  Jones gave Bama great field position on two kickoff returns and they only capitalized on one.  I guess I jinxed the kick off cover team with my thread on is this the best specials teams Bama has ever had. 

Finally:  There were a few missed tackles on special teams and the defense.  The offense wasted field position.   Overall a pretty good game and game plan by Bama.   
Please feel free to comment.

Good Luck and Roll Tide Roll 
15 and counting