Game notes: AU vs Bama

[hscoach]

First, I would like to extend congrats to the Bama coaches and players on the victory over AU.  Also, congrats to Bama for winning the West division once again.  This was a complete team effort. 
 
Offense:  The offense basically did whatever they wanted to.  They did have 6 negative plays, but most of them were overcome.  They were in the red zone 6 times and scored on 4 of those. Bama took advantage of the field position when they had it.  In this game where ever they started it was good field position. They did fumble in the red zone with the second unit and also too k a knee late in the game to keep from running up the score more.  They only have 2 three and out and that was when the backups came into the game which mean they didn’t happen until the 2nd half.   Three the seven touchdowns came from outside the red zone with 2 going to AC and the other to KN.  With the fumble in the red zone they did leave 3/7 points on the field.   They quietly put together 456 yards of offense and could have been a lot worse if the starters had not come out.

QB:  I thought AJ had a very good game.  He was 15/21 for 216 yards and should have been at least 16/21 counting the drop by one rec.   I thought one of the best throws he made was when he scrambled to his right and completed the ball on the sideline.  He did a very good job checking down and not forcing the ball.  He also threw some of his best deep balls for the year.   BS came in and did a good job running the ball.  However, his throwing leaves a lot to be desired.

RB:   All of these guys ran hard.  It looked as if they were delivering the blow to the defender instead of waiting to get hit.  After a while it looked like AU wanted no more to them.  They also pass blocked well. It helped that most of the time there was no contact until the passed the LOS.  EL averaged over 7 yards per carry, KD averaged 6.7 yards per carry and TJY averaged 4.8 yards per carry.

REC:  Five different rec’s caught the ball.  It will hurt losing KB, but others seem to step in and do the job.  I have said this before and I am going to say it again.  I really like the way these rec catch the ball with their hand and don’t let the ball get into their body.  They also blocked well or the backs would not have gotten some much yardage.

OL:  I thought this was one of their best games.   I saw many times where they combo block and got to the second level.  The opened hole and got down field to get more than one block on some plays.  I guess the only bad parts was a couple of low snaps, however they were handled by AJ.  I also thought the 2nd group came in and block effectively.  This was the type of game I would have liked to have seen Bama rotate a couple of guys in with the first group.  This would be a valuable lesson in case someone goes down.

Defense:  The defense only gave up166 yards.  I think most of those yards came in the second have.  I would bet 1/3 of them came on the 3 completions.   They did come up which 5 three and outs 3 of which were in the 2nd half.  I have them for 9 negative plays: 5 tackle for loss, 2 sacks, 2 ints, and 1 fumble.  Bama also converted 2 of the turnovers into TD’s.  I also, have them for 5 pressures on the QB, a couple of these could be disputed.  There were a couple of times they took bad angles, but someone else was close to clean up.  I was really surprised AU didn’t try any trick plays.

DL:  They played well and stopped the run AU average about 3 yards per carry.  They allowed the LB’s to make plays.  What really bothers me is there is not real dominant pass rusher and that will be needed next week.

LB:   I thought all played well, but TD stood out to me because he played pass coverage and was a run stopper. 

DB:  Most of the time they were in good position to make plays.  They didn’t give up any big plays.  I think RL also had a good game especially coming up and filling on the run plays. 
 
Penalties:  Bama had 2 penalties for 10 yards.  AU had 8 and I thought they could have been called for more especially for things after the whistle. 

Special teams:  CM punted the ball well, which he should since he rested the first half.  The kickoff cover team did a good job on all kickoffs.  The only complaint here was the first kickoff there were a couple of missed tackles.

Finally: I really have concerns going into the SEC Championship game.  AM has shown lately, he is a top QB.  If Bama can’t get pressure on him it could be a problem.  They also have some backs that can run well.  It could help their passing attack with the ability to run the ball a little. 

Please feel free to comment.

Good Luck and Roll Tide Roll 
14 and counting

[BAMAWV]

QB:  I thought AJ had a very good game.  He was 15/21 for 216 yards and should have been at least 16/21 counting the drop by one rec.   I thought one of the best throws he made was when he scrambled to his right and completed the ball on the sideline.  He did a very good job checking down and not forcing the ball.  He also threw some of his best deep balls for the year.   BS came in and did a good job running the ball.  However, his throwing leaves a lot to be desired.

I hate the fact that throwing one away if no one is open goes against AJ's stats. I want him to do that, CNS wants him to do that, and it is invariably the reason he doesn't get picked off very often. A couple of his incompletions were those throwaways. One pass I'm not sure was a throwaway was a deep pass over the top. It seems that maybe AJ watched as long as he could, then decided at the last second to simply throw it out of the reach of everyone defending.

 

Thanks for the analysis, HS.

[2Stater]

Special teams:  CM punted the ball well, which he should since he rested the first half.

Yep. 

Great analysis, Coach. Thanks.

[SUPERCOACH]

Some of those deep passes were pretty.  It is hard to measure were we are right now because of the level of competition we have faced the last couple of weeks, but it looks like we are hitting on all cylinders at just the right time.  We are going to need to play our best in Atlanta next week.  If we win that game I think the next one will not be too difficult.

[lstephen]

As always, thanks, coach!  Good read.   

[Hannibal Lecter, MD]

AJ was back on target this week.  I suspect he's back healthy and comfortable after some time and a very light week last week against WCU. 

His accuracy was off in the LSU and Texas A&M games.  He missed a couple deep balls in the A&M game that would've been the difference.  Even if the receiver caught the ball, there were underthrows that turned a TD into a long reception.  At least two cases, including the infamous 1st and goal from the 6.

[Old Tider]

What ever happened to kickoffs that fly into the opponents' end zone? I believe all of Bama's kicks were in play this game.

[bama87]

What ever happened to kickoffs that fly into the opponents' end zone? I believe all of Bama's kicks were in play this game.

I don't like the sky kick. Kick the thing out of the endzone

[hscoach]

One thing that may have been a factor on the kick was the temp.  It is harder to kick a cold football as opposed to a warm one.  The good thing is most of the time AU started inside the 25.

[Old Tider]

One thing that may have been a factor on the kick was the temp.  It is harder to kick a cold football as opposed to a warm one.  The good thing is most of the time AU started inside the 25.

A cold football is a new one on me. Sooner or later I'll get to know this game. Sounds like the SEC would kick longer balls than the cold Big Ten.

[ricky023]

It was a great win and hscoach as always you dead on. May main concern is a big time pass rusher, that which we need against Georgia. I feel like our DL will clog up the run but Murray can not have time to look around back there. RTR!

[Old Tider]

Anybody know why Saban was furious with the ref after Bama took the knee at game's end? I didn't hear any answer from Vern. Apologies if this has already been discussed.

[SUPERCOACH]

I never heard for sure, but I think it is because they didn't let the clock run out and made Auburn come out and run 1 more play.  The rules dictate that the clock stops on change of possession, and it was 4th down.  However with a few seconds left in a 49-0 game they could have dragged their feet a little.

[Old Tider]

I never heard for sure, but I think it is because they didn't let the clock run out and made Auburn come out and run 1 more play.  The rules dictate that the clock stops on change of possession, and it was 4th down.  However with a few seconds left in a 49-0 game they could have dragged their feet a little.

Auburn and the rest of the country must have been amazed at coach's intense anger over a minor point in a 49-0 runaway. Of course, that's why the Tide stays high.

[2Stater]

I thought Auburn called a time out so Mason could get his 2 yds. for 1000 on the season. 

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