Game notes: Vandy vs Bama

Vandy vs Bama

First, congrats to the Bama players and coaches on the win. After the first couple of drives, this game was heavily dominated by Bama. I will say, I really thought Bama would have had a game plan to work on the running game. However, I guess they did what teams should do, take advantage of what the defense is giving you.

OFFFENSE: The offense put together 628 yards of total offense which included 228 rushing yards and 400 passing yards. Again, most of the rushing yards came in the 2nd half. It seemed the only time Bama was stopped, they stopped themselves by missing a couple of receivers. Bama seem to take advantage of the Vandy DB’s dropping quickly and playing a lot of zone.

Negative plays: 4 tackles for losses, one which was cause by a bad snap.

3 and out: 1 three and out

10+ plays: 17 passing and 8 running plays. Concerning running plays, 1 was in the first half and the other 7 came in the 2nd half.

Red zone: Bama had 5 trips in the red zone and scored 3 touchdowns and 2 field goals while 3 touchdowns came from outside the red zone.

QB: Young had a good game. He connected on 69% of his passes. He did make one errant throw that was fortunate not to be intercepted. It looked to me that he was better on his deep ball even though one was underthrown, still completed for a touchdown. If my count is correct, he hit 8 different receivers. He still amazes me on how he keeps his eyes downfield when he is flushed from the box as well as the accuracy of the passes. Milroe did an adequate job. He did have some playing time taken away with a bad snap that put Bama behind the chains. He can scramble well and made a big run to set up a touchdown when he was pressured once. Simpson, I know he only threw one pass, but it was on time, and on target with a quick release.

RB: They did most of their damage in the 2nd half. Every back seems to be able to make big plays. I think Bama has an advantage of being able to use numerous backs in a game and if one goes down, they are still in capable hands.

Rec: Eight receivers caught passes. Brooks had more catches in this game than he did for the year. He also had 2 TD’s while Holden and Gibbs had one each. Brooks had another chance on a ball that was just a little out of reach.

OL: I thought they played pretty well. They gave up no sacks and there wasn’t a whole lot of pressure on the QB’s. I still think they don’t move their feet well at times, and when I noticed this in this game, it seems they were playing a little high. I did notice, it seemed, a missed assignment that led to a tackle for loss or no gain. The OL didn’t come off the combo block quick enough to make the block.

Def: The defense had a good game, mainly because there looked to be less missed assignments and less missed tackles. They only gave up a total of 129 yard, which included 115 passing yards and 14 rushing yards. I also think what the announcers were calling a back shoulder throw was an intentional underthrow. I guess the only real negative was there wasn’t a takeaway by the defense.

Negative plays: I have Bama for 4 tackles for losses and 5 sacks.

3 and outs: 5 three and outs and 1 4 and out as they went for it on 4th down.

10+ plays: 4 passing and 1 running play.

Red zone: They never got into the red zone.

DL: They played well. I mean when you give up 14 rushing yards, they have to play well.

LB: I can say the same thing here as I said about the DL. They also had to make plays on the quick passing game that many teams are using to negate the Bama pass rush.

DB: The longest pass play was 22 yards, and it was one of those underthrows. They were in position most of the day and I don’t remember anytime there was a busted coverage. Also, importantly, I don’t remember them losing contain.

Special teams: The kicking game on special teams was good. The return could have been good if they would have held on to the football. There were 3 fumbles and 1 was lost. I think I said this before, McKinstry does a good job on the return, but he carries the ball loosely. I think one reason for the fumble, and this is my opinion, was the success of the week before and they got a little bit overanxious to make a play.

Penalties: Bama did better here again. They were only credited with 6 as one was offset by a Vandy penalty on the same play. Three were on the defense and 3 on the offense. The holding on the very first drive may be the only penalty Bama didn’t overcome.

Finally, Bama had a good chance of getting better and correcting mistakes. They also had a chance to play numerous players for an extended period of time. They could have a tough test with Arkansas coming up next week.
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