A friendship is something that I cherish most in life and college athletics is right beside it. I sometimes hear folks say that they don't have many friends and that bothers me some because being alone has to be a terrible feeling in life.

After arriving home from the game last night Mrs. J and I talked about how good it was to see our old friends at the game but most of all, making new friends as well.Our tailgate party at Bama's games aren't the biggest or the most extravagant as some are but we do have a nice crowd at the premier games and attract some different people from different places each game. This is what intrigues me most and as in most cases I get a chance to see all of my old friends and get to meet all of the new ones there and create a new friendship. Yesterday was no exception. We had folks from as far away as Hawaii and Connecticut and we had one in particular from Mississippi that I have chated with many times on our CRS forum and had been hoping that someday I would get a chance to meet him in person. I wasn't dissappointed at all, I had envisioned what he might be like from the things that he posts on the forum and I was pretty much right as to what he may be like in real life. There was another there from our forum but he is one of my old friends that I always look forward to seeing again, it's always a good time. This the same for all of you that are members of CRS, someday I hope to meet more of you and make some more friends, maybe in the near future that will be possible.

The ballgame was a good one with very nice weather and two good teams, plus the game turned out to be as most folks predicted, very competitive. If you are a Bama fan you can boast about the win as Bama is in the hunt for another National Championship but I came away with a better feeling that just winning the game, Mrs. J and I made some new friends all because of the football game.

Someday maybe we will get to meet some of you that read this at out tailgate party or at a ballgame, that would be my wish.  Roll Tide!!

There are a few things I want to get off my chest and direct them to the Alabama Football team.  First, you have the chance to be part of one of the greatest dynasties in college sports.   Do you know how many teams/players would love to have the opportunity to do what you have a chance of accomplishing?   You get to play for one of the greatest college football programs of all time.  It is not a right it is a privilege.  There are players who give up the opportunity to attend other schools on scholarship, but turn them down and walk on at Alabama.  The coaches who recruited you saw something special in you and it is time for you to show them they were not wrong.  I will be honest.  If I was one of the voting members of any poll, I would not vote for Alabama to be the number 1 team.  I would put Oregon and LSU ahead of you and probably someone else if I didn’t what Bama so much.   You don’t win a championship because you are Alabama, Alabama wins championships because they get the best recruits and they have the best coaches.  You are not entitled to be number 1 because you wear crimson and white, you earn it.   I really can’t understand how some players can look their teammates in the eye after some of the subpar performances I have seen.  If I was a running back I would kick some of you linemen in the butt and tell you to pick it up or get off the field.  There is no question there is talent on this team, but when are you going to go out and prove you are one of the top teams in the country?  There used to be a time when Ole Miss dreaded coming to Tuscaloosa because they knew they would be beat done physically and there was a snowballs chance in hell of beating you.  Not only are they coming to town they are talking about how they are going to beat you on your home field.  They are not scared of you because you are Alabama; they are not scared of you because they have seen the inconsistency of your prior games.  You see some teams have been improving each week, can you say the same?  There is no doubt many players have played their butts off all three games, the problem is all players have not.  People have even been questioning your heart.  When you have heart you can be a champion.  Without it, you are just another team.  Maybe we fans are too critical, but maybe it is time for you to be a little critical of yourself and step up and play the way you are capable. 

My question is Do You Have Heart?
H- Hard work on the practice field and in the game in all situations.
E-Effort are you willing to give the effort necessary to win, you have to do it in practice also.   
A-Assignments, you have to take care of your assignment and know that the player next to you will do the same
R-Relentless, are you relentless in your pursuit to be the best player for your team and be part of the greatest dynasty in college football?
T-Tenacious, are you tenacious in you play, your desire to get better, your desire to not let your teammates down?

There is no doubt in my mind that you have the capabilities to win a National Championship this year.  The question is when are you going to wake up and prove this?  Ole Miss is coming to town and planning on leaving with a victory.  Are you going to let this happen?  Or are you going out and prove they haven’t gotten quite as far as they think they have.  They still cannot play with one of the most storied programs in college football. 

Only you can answer this question.  It is time to prove to the rest of the college football world you are number 1 and NOONE will take if from you without a fight.

How interesting

Well, after 3 games the best descriptions for the football team is disappointing, under performing, and a mystery. All 3 games have been disturbing and left more questions than answers. The 2 biggest problem ares are the defense and the O-line. Our once mighty power running game is hot & cold and no one is really shining on the D. I think all the losses to the NFL Draft may be finally catching up to us. I have some questions for my fellow posters:

1)  Do you think the Tide goes undefeated this year? Why or why not?

2)  What is your explanation for the Tide's problems? Be specific.

3)  Ole Miss comes to T-Town. What is your main concern and what do you think Coach Saban is going to do? Be specific.


I'm not looking for a rah rah answer or that you trust Saban to take care of things or every thing will work out. Those were the answers after the VT and A&M games and they have not come to fruition. Please give me some real ideas or observations. Thanks guys.


 

First: I want to congratulate the Bama coaches and players on the win.  People aren’t going to like this, but Bema does not look like a #1 team.  I am not saying they can’t get there, but they remind me of the 2010 team that did not put it all together until the bowl game against MSU.

Offense:  The offense only got into the red zone 2 times, but they did score TD’s both of those times.  They left points on the field with the missed field goal and the int when they were in FG territory.   They didn’t seem to play the numbers game, people in the box, like they did against A&M.  The very first play of the game CSU had 8 in the box and Bema did not check out of the play.   Bama’s offense had at least 7 negative plays and one of those was an int by AJ.  It wasn’t until 3:30 in the 4th quarter that Bama converted a 3rd down.

QB:  The stats looks, good 20/26 for 258 with 1 TD and 1 big INT. On first down throws, AJ was 9 out of 12 with one TD.  One of the misses was a int that should not have been thrown.  Two plays were negated by penalties one a hold that was a completion and one was a interference call that could have gone either way.   AJ seems to get lazy when he checks down at times and does not move his feet when his check down is on the other side of the play call.  AJ also missed a wide open Howard on a seam throw that would have put Bema inside the red zone. This has caused him to miss wide open recs in each of the three games.   They say that KD went the wrong way on the first TD, but I think AJ went the wrong way on another play later.  Neither AJ, nor the rec recognized the corner blitz which led to a sack. He also missed the opportunity to throw a TD pass when he threw it short and the rec had to out jump the defender when he had him beat on the double move.   

RB:  They only ran the ball 21 times in the game.  They had 73 yards on 21 attempts.  Thirty eight of that came on one run by TJ. 

REC:  Christian Jones had 9 receptions in the game.   Hopefully if anything comes out of this game, it will take pressure off of Cooper when he comes back.  One rec didn’t recognize the corner blitz and did not adjust his route, AJ didn’t see it either.  This led to a sack of 9 yards and went from a 2nd and 1 to a 3rd and 10.  Also, on some of the 3rd down plays the recs aren’t getting deep enough to get the first down.  The recs still don’t do well on the scramble drill and get open for the QB.  I will say White made a good crack block on the LB on TJ’s long run.  Other good news here, is Howard seems to be someone who can push the middle of the field making it harder to double the outside.

OL:   This was a problem.  There were times when Bama OL didn’t get the push they needed and runs were stopped for little gain.  Bama supposedly had a bigger/stronger OL but they made too many mistakes.  I saw the TE more than once miss blocks where the guy was lined up inside.  I saw the center get pushed back into the backfield upsetting the play from the beginning.  I saw OLmen diving at feet instead of stepping to the player.  There were missed blocks because of staying on the combo too long or not even needing to have a combo block.  I saw CK not get enough dept in his drop to take care of a rusher who lined up further outside.   He stepped to flat in my opinion and it led to a sack.  If Bama is to win, even a SEC championship, this has to improve and be more consistent.  Overall the pass blocking was decent, not great. 

Defense: The defense only gave up 283 yards.  CSU didn’t cross midfield until the 2nd half.  They did have 3 three and outs and have 8 negative plays with one being a fumble recovery.  The fumble recovery led to points.  They only allowed 2.1 yards per rush and pretty much stopped the running game both inside and out.  I know there were times the defense was not lined up and others not lined up correctly.  If you watch again watch Mosley jumping up and down yelling at people. There were bad angles on tackling and getting off of blocks has to improve.  I don’t think they communicated well at times.  This game showed how Bama can be hurt by crossing routes as well as clear out routes.  CSU had a huge chance on a rail route that they missed.  I will say they made mistakes, but did pursue the ball well. 

DL:  They played pretty well, but Bama, as I say every year, needs to find a dominant pass rusher.  The bad part I saw from the DL was when they did pass rush they got too far up the field and allowed the QB to step up or scramble out of danger.  This seemed to get corrected the 2nd half.  I thought Hubbard played a pretty good game especially keeping CSU form getting to the edge.

LB:  Again, I thought Mosley played a good game.  This guy has to play sideline to sideline, along with getting the calls to others.  One problem I noticed was the LB’s didn’t communicate the underneath crossing routes well.  I say this because CSU completed one almost right in front on a backer who should have had his head on a swivel, but also should have been yelled that there was a guy coming in his zone. 

DB: If my count is correct, Bama played 6 different corners.  This was not counting Blue because he was injured.  I really didn’t see one play better than the other.  They seem to give too much cushion at time, but I also don’t know what they are taught.  I do know they don’t give up the outside, which they did on the wide rec screen numerous times.  Fortunately, they didn’t have the athletes to take advantage of it.  You have to play that outside in to where your help is coming from.   Also, why are the DB’s falling down so much?  This happened last week too.  One person that stood out to me was Collins.  He was lined up as a LB many times in as a spy/cover guy.  He will come up and hit you.

Penalties:  Bama did cut down on the penalties.  They had 2 for 15 yards. The worse one was the 10 yard holding that took away a 1 down completion, so this was a 20 swing in field position.

Special teams:  Again they come up big here.  Drake blocks the punt and Lee runs it in.    Also, Collins made his presence felt here again.




Finally:  Again, Congrats to the Bama team and coaches.  However and again people aren’t going to like this, I wish they would drop Bama from #1.  I think at this point in the season Oregon and LSU are playing better than Bama.  Can they get there?  Yes.  They need to wake up and do what they are coached to do. 

Please feel free to comment.

Good Luck and Roll Tide Roll 
15 and counting

Offense:  I am going to tell you the game plan I saw was not what I expected.  I thought Bama would come out and run the ball.  However, watching the game with A&M having some many men close to the line of scrimmage, I can see why they did what they did.   Some the best news to me was that Bama, if I counted correctly, had 1 negative play all day.  It was a big one when TJ fumbled near the goal line.  Bama had 11 runs of 10+ yards.  They also had only 2 three and outs and those were related to penalties on the series.  The only screens were wide rec screens.  I guess they thought A&M could get enough push for them to run RB screens.  I also questioned the up tempo used by Bama.  I thought it would be to the advantage of the defense if the offense stayed on the field as long as possible.  I will say their up tempo was not a real hurry up play fast tempo.  Bama ended up with a pretty balanced attack with 36 rushes and 29 passes. 

QB:   I thought AJ had a good, not great game.  He was 20 for 29.  On first down throws he was 9 for 15 with 2 TD’s and a couple of drops.   He also threw to 10 different people.  The reason I say he didn’t have a great game was he missed on some throws that he should have hit.  On a big third down throw he check down to a wide open crossing route but missed the throw.  I will say he did a good job checking down to his 2nd and 3rd receivers. 

RB:  The running backs ran hard and blocked hard.  They put together 236 yards rushing and averaged 6.6 yards per carry.  I thought JF looked like the player of old.  I have mentioned KD before about how I like the way he hits the hole and yesterday he did nothing to change my mind.  They also blocked well on passing plays.  TJ had a big pick up on one play in particular.

REC:  They played pretty well.  KN made a very good catch for his TD.  CJ made a good block on KB TD.  The ball was spread around and I was especially pleased with the play of the TE’s.  I think OJH will be a special player.  When I watched the game again the announcer compared him to a young Ozzie Newsome.  The big negative was a couple of drops where plays should have been made.

OL:   The OL played very well.  I don’t think AJ was really flushed but once or twice, but that was caused by the coverage from the secondary.  I am not really sure if he was even hit more than twice all day.   They established the LOS and there was not a running back ever hit until he reached or passed the LOS.   I notice one play that should the athleticism of the center when he pulled and got a good block.  They seem to do a better job communicating in a very hostile environment than when they played in the Ga. Dome.  The only negative and question I have are these.   About 1/3 of the Bama penalties were on the LG and LT. The other is A&M defensed that weak that Bama could dominate so well or has Bama improved that much? 

Defense: Even though the defense gave up many yards they played pretty well.  They had 4 tackles for losses, 2 sacks, and 2 ints.  On the int in the end zone the ensuing drive was a TD.  The 2nd int was a TD.  Next time Bama has a game I want you to pay close attention of how well Bama’s defense sets up the wall when they have a chance for a return.  I didn’t really see many alignment problems or communication problems, just busted assignment.  A&M attacked the Bama defense on the outside with the deep ball/fade and in the middle of the field.  It is obvious Bama is going to have to do a better job on the deep route especially playing tall rec’s.  I was on the end where A&M scored the first TD and before it happened I told the guy I was sitting by Bama was in trouble because of their defensive alignment.  A&M’s number 13 is a beast and I didn’t see it on TV when I watched the game, but at the game I thought he pushed off to get separation to move the ball close for their last TD.  Too show what a hard team A&M is to defend.  I have JM extending 14 plays with his feet.  I think all but 2 of these were some type of success for A&M.

DL:  The DL played pretty well.  There were a few times they got out of their pass rush lanes.  I am not sure how many different players played, but I know there was a lot of shuffling during the game.  They did allow the blocker to get to their legs a few times.  Also, on the QB counter, and this is tough to read, they went inside and allowed the run to get to the outside.  This may be how they were taught, or it may have been something they had not seen.

LB:  They had a tough job in the game.  If you aren’t rushing you have to drop in pass coverage, but also be sure you are ready to come up and try to tackle JM in open space.  The name that kept coming over the loud speaker was CJM.  I don’t know how many plays he was in, but it seems he played a very good game. 

DB: This is where there is some more work needed.  One of the major mistakes I was when Bama was in man coverage they were beat and looking back at the QB and getting even more separation.  Second, when you are playing a taller rec it is hard to get to the ball to knock it away.  I don’t know what these guys are taught and I am sure not questioning Coach Saban’s teachings, but we always taught to go for the arm, grasp it and pull one arm away so they could secure the ball.  The D may not face another duo like JM and ME.  Let’s hope not.

Penalties:   Bama had 12 penalties to A&M’s 6.  As I stated earlier 1/3 of these came from the left side of the O line.  The targeting penalty was a joke that has to change.  I also don’t think A&M should have been penalized, I know it is the way the rule is written, but continuing to play without your helmet,  even if they change the distance of the penalty. 

Special teams:  A couple of mistakes. One was trying to run out of the end zone on the kickoff when the ball was that high and deep.  The second was not following the blocking on the return. 



I want to add here about my experience of this weekend.  It started on the way down listening to sports radio and they did an interview with John David Crow, A&M’s first Heisman trophy winner.  He had some great stories about Coach Bryant and his playing days.  I, may have known this from last year but forgot, the A&M and Bama players who played for the Bear get together before each game for a social gathering.  Can you imagine the stories that are told that night?   The next day at the game they were recognized.  The next day we load up to go tailgating and set up where the buses come into the stadium and where the Corp Band marches into the stadium.  I walked over to see the players come in and I notice AJ walking over to where the people are.  He comes over to speak to his mother and father.  I got to speak to her and told her what a fine young man I thought her son is.  One the way over I overhead a A&M guy  say he had never seen anything like this with all the fans coming over to greet the players coming in.   Finally, I got to see and learn about a lot of the A&M traditions inside the stadium.  I have been to LSU at night and I think this stadium compare to the volume of noise you find there.  I have never been treated so nicely at another stadium.  It was glad you are here and congratulations after the game.  They are a class group of people.  I would also say Bama didn’t have a whole lot of tickets but the people there did their part to make some noise.  I actually think A&M has become my 2nd favorite SEC team.  Finally, I will have to say JM plays his butt off.  He played with class in my opinion today.  I hope this side of him continues. 


Finally:  Again, Congrats to the Bama team and coaches. 

Please feel free to comment.

Good Luck and Roll Tide Roll 
15 and counting

This morning as I sat and watched all of the highlights from yesterday's games and the usual Heisman talk among the sports analysts, only one of them said what I thought everyone should be saying about A J.

There were many players with exciting plays and stats that usually crank up the talk of who should be considered for the Heisman this year and arguably, they make some good points. Some of them passed or ran for large amounts of yardage and some passed and ran for large amounts of yardage. This is the usual formula for those that are considered for the award each year.

Alabama is a football program with a style of play that that doesn't help a player toward winning that trophy by only havong one player to ever win it. Most of the voters are looking for the razzle dazzle style of player that makes all of the Sunday morning highlight reels. Alabama's style of play usually doesn't have a lot of that because of the "team" concept that they endorse and playing time is shared by many, except for one.

A J McCarron is the one player on the team that sees the most action and yes, he does make the hight light reels but his name just doesn't excite the Heisman voters for whatever reason. Why?

What has McCarron done that should or should not qualify him for the Heisman? He hasn't passed for 400 yards and rushed for 100 more in any game like so many of the other quarterbacks. He has had a couple of scrambles after being flushed out of the pocket for good gainers and completed some big passes on the run, but  not many. This isn't what makes McCarron what he is today, the best quarterback in college football.

Winning is what makes McCarron  the best quarterback in college football. Isn't that the bottom line in this game? What is the goal of every team each year, to win the BCS National Championship. How many times has he led his team away from the jaws of defeat with his leadership? How many National Championships has he led his team to? He is not just a quarterback on this team, he is the leader on and off the field and isn't that part of the criteria for being selected for the Heisman? How much more can be asked of him? The difference between McCarron and the rest of the field is that he is both, a leader and a winner and I'm talking national championships.

The one person that endorsed McCarron this morning for the Heisman was Lou Holtz and as he described him as "nothing but a winner" . It seems like I've heard that description before and the man that said it is labeled as the greatest college football ever, Bear Bryant.

Does Bama have to win another championship in order for McCarron to win the Heisman, probably so, but it shouldn't be that way. McCarron has more than earned the right to hold that trophy, because he is the best football player in college football, just check his record. I rest my case.

I am a middle school principal. Yesterday, I called a student up to my office, not because he was in trouble but to brag on him. You see, he is repeating a grade and has been in trouble with me many times during his school career. However, this year he is a changed person. Doing a great job, good grades, respectful. I called the person he is currently living with to brag on him and they were so thankful for a positive call. After the call, it was like a floodgate opened with him. He talked to me at least 30 straight minutes about what caused him to change, the hardships he had experienced over the past several years (which were shocking to me), and what he is trying to do for his little brothers. I now know why he has acted up in the past - doesn't excuse it, but I understand it. I promised him I would do everything I could to help him in his new quest for success in life.

Lord God, please help me to remember the position I am in and help me to be a conduit for change in students who need it. Help me to remember that "troubled" kids are like that for a reason most of the time, and give me the patience and understanding to be a father-type figure for those who need me. I feel so undeserving of the position I am placed in - please give me the strength to do the best I can...