I think most of us were in great anticipation of seeing what Bama would do with the HUNH offense that West Virginia would offer yesterday and I'm not so sure any of us came away from the game in great anticipation of seeing Bama play another team using that offense.

To me it seems that the defenses that Bama are running against the HUNH teams must be so complicated that the players get totally confused with their assignments and we all see a lot of blown coverages on the plays. I was scared to death yesterday every time their QB dropped back to pass and when the game was over and I looked at the stats I could see why. If they had not dropped some of those passes, their stats would have been much better and I'm sure Bama would be 0-1 today.

At first I wanted to blame Kirby Smart for not having the team ready after Bama had just be torn apart by Auburn and Oklahoma at the end of last season. I truly felt that the team would be much improved against the HUNH teams this year because of having all spring and summer to make the right adjustments or designs to do so.

 But before I go off on the coaches I have to maybe question the mental and physical capabilities of the players. I know these players are highly rated players coming out of high school, four and five star, and Bama has been the number one school in recruiting for the past few years. But my question is, are they just highly rated athletes because of what they can do physically or is the mental part ever considered? I realize that when recruiting kids out of high school, the recruiter doesn't have much help with their mental attributes other than what the coaches at the high school level tells them.

I'm starting to think that the defensive plan that Bama is using for the hurry up offenses may be too complicated for the players that Bama has right now. When CNS gives his post game remarks about the defense it usually is about players making mental mistakes on their pass coverages and occasionally he will mention something about missed tackles. Some of the problem could also be they have no way of practicing everyday for these offenses.

Who knows what the problems really are but there are definitely some problems. Hopefully there can be some good improvements before the next team with the hurry up offense because I think those teams are licking their chops for a shot at Bama right now.

This thread is not intended to ridicule or to create any animosities toward any of the coaches or players, it's just a conversation piece for all of us armchair coaches.

Our kicking game was outstanding. Not much else was. We should have hung at least 50 on them, but kept shooting ourselves in the foot. Sylve reminded me a lot of Belue; not bad coverage, but never looked for the ball and got beat repeatedly.

Credit to the receivers for WVU. Not only did they run great routes, the other receivers beat our butts with the blocking to spring them in the open. Our blocking on the same types of plays were not nearly as good. Christion Jones probably played the worst game I've ever seen him play with the dropped passes and poor blocking.

Special teams played well except for the one glaring mistake that resulted in a WV TD. We seem to always have that one letdown that hurts us.

I was really hoping to see Coker get some playing time, but Sims did not do a bad job. One int and a few terrible throws were overshadowed by his elusiveness and his ability to find the open receiver. What surprised me was that he never once tried the read option or a screen pass the entire game. The offensive game plan was very predictable.

TJ and King Henry both played a great game. They gained chunks of yards the whole game with no fumbles. We will need more of that in the future from both of them. I was a little surprised Drake didn't get more PT.

Cooper was superb. He made catch after catch, and play after play. He is, indeed, a superstar. DeAndrew made a couple of great plays before getting injured. Looked like a shoulder injury. I hope it's not bad, we can ill afford to lose him. He came up huge on that great play for the first down on the 8 yd line. I was also surprised Sims didn't go downfield any more than he did. OJ Howard was non-existent. Bummer!

I was very disappointed in the D line the first half of the game. They played much better the second half, but that improved pass rush we've all been expecting, was not there except for a couple of plays in the 2nd half. They were huge plays, but we need to see more of that.

Reuben Foster looked completely lost in the first half, but gained some legs in the 2nd half, with a couple of good plays. He is going to be very good, but will need experience.

The offensive line was a bit anemic on several plays in the first half, but looked good, for the most part, in the second half. Leon Brown's penalties were momentum killers. He will need to do a better job of technique to eliminate the holding.

All in all, with the youth of this team, this may be all that can be expected at this point. My greatest concern is the secondary. If WVU doesn't drop the easy passes that they did, this could have been a much tighter game, or worse. Our secondary was exposed and looks very much like our weakest link. Let's hope experience improves that situation.

Having said all that, a win is a win and Bama prevailed. ROLL TIDE!!!!!!

Alabama Signees to Tennessee Coach: If you like then you shoulda put a ring on it.

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To say it was hot in the stadium today would be an understatement but as I sat there and watched the players practice in that heat, I couldn't complain to anyone. I was very impressed with their conditioning and the way the scrimmage went, there were a lot of substituting going on and that helped the players stamina a lot.

I'll start this off with what part of the team that I thought did the best today. If you guessed either the defense or the offense you would be wrong, it was the kicking game. I know this will make a lot of you happier since what we saw on A Day was a train wreck. Freshman Scott did all the punting and showed he can kick it long with very good hang time but we all need to remember, he is a freshman and hasn't played before 100,000 fans yet but I have some confidence in him. He is tall, 6'4", and I did notice him being a little slow to get some of his punts off but that can be fixed easily. Griffen, the place kicker, has a tremendously strong leg and it showed on his kickoffs, they all went inside the end zone. His field goal attempts were even better, he tried 4 or 5 and made all of them as well as the extra points too. I think one of his field goals was around 50 yards. I felt going into the season that Bama would suffer if the kicking wasn't any better than it was on A Day but trust me, it was beautiful thing to watch today.

I knew before the scrimmage today that there would be a lot of the backup players getting a lot of reps today and I blame some of this on the sloppiness that the offense showed at times. There were some dropped passes, bad passes, and fumbles as well and this I didn't like to see. Some of the fumbles though was between the QBs and the substitute centers. The dropped passes hurt the team last year in the latter part of the season and again, this can be corrected, there are too many good athletes in the receiving corp.

I was impressed with the speed of the defense, especially the d-line. They really came off the ball well and applied a lot of pressure on the QBs. Most of the rushing yardage that you see in the stats came in the latter part of the scrimmage because the top 3 runners were used sparingly today, Yeldon, Henry, and Drake. The QBs all had their chance and personally and I didn't see one that stood out head and shoulders above the rest, they all had some good and bad moments. Coker did show off his arm with a long bomb to Cooper I think, that hit him in stride down the sideline for a touchdown. Sims then got his turn and had a nice throw for a long touchdown as well and I think that was with Drake down the sideline.

The defense really impressed me at times and if those injured players can get well, I think our defense can be very good this year. I know all of you are wondering how Taylor and Humphrey looked and I was very impressed with both. Barring any injuries, these two should have a very good career at Bama. Depriest looked good today coming off his injury but he's a little out of shape but he has time to fix that before the West Virginia game. Unless something strange happens to the defense, they shouldn't disappoint anyone.

As CNS spoke to us today he continued to dwell on the character of the players on and off the field and how important that is if this team is to reach the championship game. He continues to recruit players on the team to become not just a leader but a good leader. He described a good leader as one being highly respected by the other players, sometimes that respect includes them being afraid of the leader as he has had some of them in the past. He closed out today saying that he feels good about this team and if they will continue to improve their play in a consistent way, where they make good plays on every down, this team can be pretty good. He felt good about the reps that the non-starters got today because that will help the team in a big way down the road. RTR!!

After much thought and prayer and after much consultation with Athletics Director Bill Battle and our president, Dr. Judy Bonner, I have decided to step down from the only job I have ever known since graduating from college.

Though I haven't shared my physical problems outside my family and a few close friends, they have degenerated to a point where I will have multiple surgeries over the coming year. While, not life threatening, things have progressed to the point where my physicians have mandated that I have both knees replaced and they have estimated that it will be over a year until I am fully recovered.

I will have the first surgery after we receive our 2014 SEC championship rings at the Southern Miss football game and celebrate an amazing season with that team. I will have the second surgery in the spring after recovery from the first surgery.

I would like to thank Coach Battle and President Bonner for offering me the opportunity to take a complete year of medical leave and to then return to coaching. But David and I came to the conclusion that having a staff that changes multiple times in a significant way over a two-year span is not in the best interest our gymnasts or the continued success of our program.

Coaching is a 24/7 job that requires being at our best on a daily basis. I know myself well and I need to put my health first and foremost for the quality of my life in the future and I do not feel that I can do that and give my best as a coach.

I am grateful that for 36 years, David and I were able to implement our coaching philosophy of trying to develop well-rounded young women who are ready to make a difference in the lives of others upon their graduation from this University.

I would like to share how blessed David and I have been with the unconditional love and support of our daughters Jessie and Jordan throughout our career and this decision. They - along with our son-in-law Brett - have been our biggest fans and together we have all shared our love for this University and the amazing experiences that we have had.

This is not a joyous time for David and I as we step away from jobs that we have loved every day along the way, but I know it is this right decision for us personally, as well as it being the best decision for the long-term success of the gymnastics program. I want to thank Coach Bryant for taking a chance on a 22-year-old graduate of Slippery Rock State College and hiring me for the best coaching job in the country.

I want to express my appreciation and fond remembrances of Mal Moore for his support, and the overall vision he had for this department, and for hiring the coaches that have helped turn that vision into the championship program we enjoy as a department today.

Our current Athletic Director Bill Battle is one of the best leaders I have ever worked with and his vision will continue to give our department the opportunity to compete at the highest levels.

To Dr. Judy Bonner, one of the highlights of my career, and one of the very few times I was ever late to practice, was standing in the back of the room when you were announced as our president. I felt like at that point, I could go back to our ladies and tell them that at the University of Alabama, you could truly be whatever you wanted, even president.

I also need to thank Marie Robbins, a member of our first championship team in 1988 and now an associate athletics director and our senior woman administrator. From your first moments on campus, through this latest decision – your guidance, counsel and unwavering support have meant the world to us. I can’t imagine how we would have managed without you.

I would like to give a heartfelt thank you to our staff and coaches, both past and present. Each one of you made a difference for our program, in the earliest days right through to the present moment, words can’t express how grateful we are for everything along the way.

And more than anyone, I want to thank our ladies. From our first class, who took a chance on us when we began this journey and then took us to the national championships as seniors, to the freshmen of 2014 … you are all a part of our championship legacy, all a part of the tradition of excellence that this program has highlighted for the last 36 years. You are all in our hearts and we can’t begin to express what it has meant to us to continue to be a part of your lives.

While we close this chapter on our careers, this is not the end of the story. I am very much looking forward to the future and continuing as a part of the Alabama family, the Tuscaloosa community and the sport we love so much as a member of the NCAA Gymnastics Committee.

Thanks to everyone for their support over the many years and of course, Roll Tide!

— Sarah Patterson