Game notes: Ark vs Bama

[hscoach]

First: I want to congratulate the Bama coaches and players on the win.  The players were well prepared for the game.   I also like the excitement the players showed this game. I really didn’t see it last game. 

Offense:   The offense put together 532 yards of offense and again did whatever they wanted.  They scored TD’s on drives of 68, 38, 84, 72, 30, 72, and 85 yards.  That had a short drive and kicked a 36 yard field goal.  Bama started subbing early in the 3rd quarter.  That had 15 total plays of over 10 yards and several for 9 yards.   In the red zone they scored TD’s every time (3).  Four of the TD’s came from outside the red zone.  One of the good drives was when Bama was pinned down on their own 1 and drove about 65 yards to flip the field.  Here they turned it over on downs.  They only had 2 negative plays and the first one didn’t come until 7:50 left in the game.  They had no fumbles or turnovers during the game.

QB:   AJ completed 71% of his passes.  He did overthrow KB for a TD, but Bama drove down and scored anyway.  He threw off his back foot many times or didn’t move his feet causing the recs to have to reach back or slow down for the ball.  In other words they weren’t hit in stride.  The only incompletions were basically balls he threw away.    There was what I would consider a drop when one ball looked like it went thru AC’s hands.  BS didn’t look great throwing the ball with the few opportunities he had. 

RB:   They all ran hard and use the cutback on the zone play to gain 352 yards.   They averaged 9.5 yards per carry.  TJY did miss the blitz pickup once which caused a quick throw.  They were also involved with the passing game and TJ almost made one heck of a catch on the ball right before he ran the draw for the TD.  The question was where was Tenpenny?

REC:  They caught the ball well.  As I stated above there was only 1 pass that I consider a drop.  AC seems to be coming back into playing form.  This should help Bama greatly in the coming games.  The weapons are beginning to unfold.

OL:   They played well again.  This trend, too me, seems to have happened when Lindsay took over at center.  I am pretty sure no running back was hit in the backfield when the starting OL was in the game.  There was a chance when Shepherd missed a block on the inside.  To be fair, on that play it looked like the D got a good jump off the ball.  Understand many of these long runs/passes don’t happen without the OL doing their job along with the downfield blocking by the wide outs.    This also shows what happens when the OL gets to the 2nd level.  They completely controlled the LOS.  One of the funniest moments in the game was when TJY ran the draw for the TD and AK is basically chasing down the LB where he can block him. 

Defense:  The defense played very well.  They gave up a total of 256 yards.  This may seem a little high, but Bama scored quickly on few drives, some of which were short, and gave Arky a little more time with the ball.  They actually had Bama on time of possession.  As far as negative plays, the D had 3 tackles for losses, 1 sack, 2 ints, a fumble recovery and a blocked FG.  They had3 three and outs, but one was negated by the fake punt.  After this they only ran 3 plays and punted.They only gave up 5 plays for 10+ yards.  There were 2 pass plays and 3 run plays.  Both of the pass plays were for 20+ yards.  However, they never got into the end zone so it really doesn’t hurt.   The D may have had only one sack, but they were able to pressure because of the tight coverage which made the QB throw the ball away numerous times.  A point I also want to make is how all of the players get coached.  When the put the backups in, you didn’t see just a plain vanilla defense.  They were adjusting and moving just like the starters.

DL:   I just want to say what a good job they did occupying more than one blocker which allowed the LB’s to make plays.  This is especially evident on teams trying to get to the edge.  There was one instance where 30 went inside and allowed the QB to get the edge on the scramble for a first down. 

LB:  They made plays in coverage as well as on running plays.  Again, CJM has a good game, but he did drop and int.  The guy that does a good job but doesn’t get the recognition is TD. 

DB:   They only gave up 91 yard passing and the QB only completed 7 passes.  They came up with 2 ints on plays that Ark had been successful with earlier.  It looks like the competition is wide open at the corner position.  Number 4 didn’t start again but did play in the mop up role.  There was a play again this week where the corner, I think it was Fulton, allowed an outside release.  If he wants help from the cover 2 safety, then he better force him inside.  Also, I am looking at the HaHa suspension this way.  It helped Bama.  Since he wasn’t playing it allowed Bama to get other players ready.  Now VS gets hurt and the players are ready to step in and play.  Also, this is a tribute to HaHa, he had to be tuned in during game planning and practice, thinking he wasn’t going to play much, but had to when VS went down. 

Penalties: This is simple, there were none.

Special teams: The biggest problem was the fake punt where the outside rushes went inside and allowed the punter to get outside for the first down.  The good thing is it didn’t hurt.  People, like Collins and Hart continue to shine on special teams along with Lee and Henry.  Also, why do people keep kicking to Jones?

Finally:  Bama has improved, but less be honest the competition has not been the best.  I do like the way Bama played with more excitement last night.  I really hate that people left when the backups got into the game and didn’t stay to cheer for them.  They work hard and deserve to hear the cheers the starters are getting.  This game and the last were very good for the backups to get in and get good quality game time. 

Please feel free to comment.

Good Luck and Roll Tide Roll 
15 and counting

[KoKoPuf]

Good work, Coach!

[SUPERCOACH]

Good notes coach.  I thought AJ hit Cooper in stride on the TD.  That was a beautiful pass in my opinion.

[Sqwig]

As usual, good commentary. I believe Tenpenny hurt an ankle early and was held out the rest of the game. Someone mentioned during the game thread he was in street clothes on the sideline for the second half. Hopefully nothing serious.

[hscoach]

Good notes coach.  I thought AJ hit Cooper in stride on the TD.  That was a beautiful pass in my opinion.

Yes he did.  Also, a couple of items I had on the other note page and left off.  In the last 5 games, Bama's O has averaged 40.2 pts per game while giving up  2.6.  For the season Bama is averaging 40.7 and giving up 9.7.  Again, you have to consider the competition, but Bama has been improving since the CSU game.

[2Stater]

Once again, great observations, Coach. This team has improved leaps and bounds, both offensively and defensively. The loss of Vinnie is a real blow to the "D". But as you said, so many players have had the chance to come in and gain experience, that blow may not be too bad. The loss of his leadership will certainly be felt, however.

The lack of turnovers and penalties shows what a great week they must have had in practice.
They are honing their skills and appear to be on pace to take #16. Bring on LSU, Auburn, Missouri? and one of the O teams (Oregon or tOSU). Bama now looks ready to take on all comers.

Roll Tide!!!

[Marshal Dillon]

First: I want to congratulate the Bama coaches and players on the win.  The players were well prepared for the game.   I also like the excitement the players showed this game. I really didn’t see it last game. 

Offense:   The offense put together 532 yards of offense and again did whatever they wanted.  They scored TD’s on drives of 68, 38, 84, 72, 30, 72, and 85 yards.  That had a short drive and kicked a 36 yard field goal.  Bama started subbing early in the 3rd quarter.  That had 15 total plays of over 10 yards and several for 9 yards.   In the red zone they scored TD’s every time (3).  Four of the TD’s came from outside the red zone.  One of the good drives was when Bama was pinned down on their own 1 and drove about 65 yards to flip the field.  Here they turned it over on downs.  They only had 2 negative plays and the first one didn’t come until 7:50 left in the game.  They had no fumbles or turnovers during the game.

QB:   AJ completed 71% of his passes.  He did overthrow KB for a TD, but Bama drove down and scored anyway.  He threw off his back foot many times or didn’t move his feet causing the recs to have to reach back or slow down for the ball.  In other words they weren’t hit in stride.  The only incompletions were basically balls he threw away.    There was what I would consider a drop when one ball looked like it went thru AC’s hands.  BS didn’t look great throwing the ball with the few opportunities he had. 

RB:   They all ran hard and use the cutback on the zone play to gain 352 yards.   They averaged 9.5 yards per carry.  TJY did miss the blitz pickup once which caused a quick throw.  They were also involved with the passing game and TJ almost made one heck of a catch on the ball right before he ran the draw for the TD.  The question was where was Tenpenny?

REC:  They caught the ball well.  As I stated above there was only 1 pass that I consider a drop.  AC seems to be coming back into playing form.  This should help Bama greatly in the coming games.  The weapons are beginning to unfold.

OL:   They played well again.  This trend, too me, seems to have happened when Lindsay took over at center.  I am pretty sure no running back was hit in the backfield when the starting OL was in the game.  There was a chance when Shepherd missed a block on the inside.  To be fair, on that play it looked like the D got a good jump off the ball.  Understand many of these long runs/passes don’t happen without the OL doing their job along with the downfield blocking by the wide outs.    This also shows what happens when the OL gets to the 2nd level.  They completely controlled the LOS.  One of the funniest moments in the game was when TJY ran the draw for the TD and AK is basically chasing down the LB where he can block him. 

Defense:  The defense played very well.  They gave up a total of 256 yards.  This may seem a little high, but Bama scored quickly on few drives, some of which were short, and gave Arky a little more time with the ball.  They actually had Bama on time of possession.  As far as negative plays, the D had 3 tackles for losses, 1 sack, 2 ints, a fumble recovery and a blocked FG.  They had3 three and outs, but one was negated by the fake punt.  After this they only ran 3 plays and punted.They only gave up 5 plays for 10+ yards.  There were 2 pass plays and 3 run plays.  Both of the pass plays were for 20+ yards.  However, they never got into the end zone so it really doesn’t hurt.   The D may have had only one sack, but they were able to pressure because of the tight coverage which made the QB throw the ball away numerous times.  A point I also want to make is how all of the players get coached.  When the put the backups in, you didn’t see just a plain vanilla defense.  They were adjusting and moving just like the starters.

DL:   I just want to say what a good job they did occupying more than one blocker which allowed the LB’s to make plays.  This is especially evident on teams trying to get to the edge.  There was one instance where 30 went inside and allowed the QB to get the edge on the scramble for a first down. 

LB:  They made plays in coverage as well as on running plays.  Again, CJM has a good game, but he did drop and int.  The guy that does a good job but doesn’t get the recognition is TD. 

DB:   They only gave up 91 yard passing and the QB only completed 7 passes.  They came up with 2 ints on plays that Ark had been successful with earlier.  It looks like the competition is wide open at the corner position.  Number 4 didn’t start again but did play in the mop up role.  There was a play again this week where the corner, I think it was Fulton, allowed an outside release.  If he wants help from the cover 2 safety, then he better force him inside.  Also, I am looking at the HaHa suspension this way.  It helped Bama.  Since he wasn’t playing it allowed Bama to get other players ready.  Now VS gets hurt and the players are ready to step in and play.  Also, this is a tribute to HaHa, he had to be tuned in during game planning and practice, thinking he wasn’t going to play much, but had to when VS went down. 

Penalties: This is simple, there were none.

Special teams: The biggest problem was the fake punt where the outside rushes went inside and allowed the punter to get outside for the first down.  The good thing is it didn’t hurt.  People, like Collins and Hart continue to shine on special teams along with Lee and Henry.  Also, why do people keep kicking to Jones?

Finally:  Bama has improved, but less be honest the competition has not been the best.  I do like the way Bama played with more excitement last night.  I really hate that people left when the backups got into the game and didn’t stay to cheer for them.  They work hard and deserve to hear the cheers the starters are getting.  This game and the last were very good for the backups to get in and get good quality game time. 

Please feel free to comment.

Good Luck and Roll Tide Roll 
15 and counting

I think you nailed it about the O-Line. The announcers made a great observation about the Tide's game:
No penalties, no turnovers, & no points allowed.

 

[lstephen]

Good notes, hsc!  Much appreciated!   

[Chechem]

Excellent review, coach.

I watched the game again yesterday.  The O-line is improved, but still doesn't seem able to get much push on critical downs.  The first team managed only a little push when needed during the first-second quarters on 3rd and short, and on the goalline.  A few times the RBs managed to squirm for the yardage, but not always.  We have much work yet for improvement.

We've been relatively fortunate with the injuries so far.  Losing Vinnie is big.  But we can't afford injuries to the O-line, CJ, or QB.  Otherwise, we're cruising!

Thanks, coach.  E-cred   

[Jamos]

I have to agree with Chech on the OL, they have improved and I think we will know more about them after the game with Tenn. I think Tenn will be more of a challenge for them than what some folks are thinking.

[ALTideUp]

Once again, great observations, Coach. This team has improved leaps and bounds, both offensively and defensively. The loss of Vinnie is a real blow to the "D". But as you said, so many players have had the chance to come in and gain experience, that blow may not be too bad. The loss of his leadership will certainly be felt, however.

The lack of turnovers and penalties shows what a great week they must have had in practice.
They are honing their skills and appear to be on pace to take #16. Bring on LSU, Auburn, Missouri? and one of the O teams (Oregon or tOSU). Bama now looks ready to take on all comers.

Roll Tide!!!

Thanks, as always, Coach, for the great analysis.

I think 2stater hits the nail on the head about our formula for success. If anybody scoffs at our recent competition they are missing the point about how CNS runs this team. What has happened over the past weeks has nothing to do with preparing for this or that opponent and everything to do with becoming a better, more technically correct, smarter, more consistent, and more physically tough football team. I don't think that there is a team in the country that so thoroughly carries over the fall camp  mentality of learning and improvement into the regular season and post-season.

[hscoach]

Excellent review, coach.

I watched the game again yesterday.  The O-line is improved, but still doesn't seem able to get much push on critical downs.  The first team managed only a little push when needed during the first-second quarters on 3rd and short, and on the goalline.  A few times the RBs managed to squirm for the yardage, but not always.  We have much work yet for improvement.

We've been relatively fortunate with the injuries so far.  Losing Vinnie is big.  But we can't afford injuries to the O-line, CJ, or QB.  Otherwise, we're cruising!

Thanks, coach.  E-cred   

A lot of times when it is third and short or near the goal line, the D is crowding the LOS.  I do agree at times the OL don't sustain their blocks like they should.

[SeniorTSM]

hscoach, Do you think the O has been kind of plain jane? I know a lot has to do with were scoring at will almost, but i havent seen any real good WR routes that cause mis matches. I mean no rubs or deep crossing routes. I think most hven been post routes. your thoughts?

[hscoach]

hscoach, Do you think the O has been kind of plain jane? I know a lot has to do with were scoring at will almost, but i havent seen any real good WR routes that cause mis matches. I mean no rubs or deep crossing routes. I think most hven been post routes. your thoughts?

They did hit the crossing route earlier this year and I forgot who it was against.  It is so hard to see with the tight angle the TV give you.  I haven't seen as many corner routes as last year, and I love the corner route.  Also, they haven't run as many RB screens as last year, I don't think.  It seems the runs this year are the zone, with the ability to cut back, the draw and the counter.

[ricky023]

Well could CNS be holding back and not using some of the good stuff till we have some of our bigger games like last year? Just thinking we have a game this week but somewhere we will need to really open it all up. RTR!

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