“I think great teams have great players that can make great plays in critical situations in the game and I think we had a couple of defensive lineman that made some huge plays” Nick Saban.
I don’t mind saying “I told you so!”
All week I’ve been saying that the Tennessee game really had me worried. It wasn’t a “trap game”, but it was not setting up very well. Alabama was tired. This would be the eighth game in a row with no bye-week. We had played two extremely physical games back-to-back. GMac had struggled against Ole Miss and South Carolina. UT was coming off an open week. The last time the Vols played, they beat the stuffing out of Georgia in a game where Jonathan Crompton looked like Joe Montana.
Sure, Bama ought to win the game. But it was going to be a slug-fest. The 14 ½ point betting line that favored the Tide was so out of kilter that Chase Goodbread picked the Vols to cover.
But I wasn’t prepared for the way this game turned out.
With just over 3:40 to play, Alabama had the game completely under control. Sure, the offense had not put up a lot of points, but thanks to Leigh Tiffin having an outstanding day, the Tide had a 9 point lead and the ball with first and 10 at the Bama 38 and UT only had one more timeout to call. Even without a first down, Bama could drain the clock, punt Tennessee deep and win the game as time expired. But then IT happened. The one thing that Alabama could not afford to happen.
Mark Ingram, the heart and soul of our offense, a guy who personifies all the championship qualities that Coach Saban talks about, did something that he has not done before in an Alabama uniform: he lost a fumble!
The fumble was not the result of anything other than a great play by a great player – UT’s Eric Berry. Fueled by desperation, Berry forced the ball out of Ingram’s grip and recovered it to give the Vols possession at the Alabama 48. The game clock showed 3:29 to play.
For the next 3:25 seconds it seemed like everything was going Tennessee’s way. Marcel Dareus sacked Crompton for 7 yards, but on second down Montareo Hardesty gained 16 on a screen pass to set up a third down and 1 from the Bama 34. Tennessee alternated runs by Bryce Brown and passes by Crompton to score the first touchdown allowed by Alabama in 12 quarters of play. This was followed by a successfully executed on-sides kick and two complete passes, including a 23 yard completion from Crompton to tight end, Luke Stocker on second and 15 from mid field.
Then another IT happened. The one thing Tennessee could not afford to happen.
Fueled by desperation, Terrence Cody ripped apart the center of the UT offensive line and blocked his second field goal attempt …. Not of his career, not of the season. No. This was Cody’s second blocked field goal attempt in the last 10:33 of game time.
Coach Saban said after the game: “I think great teams have great players that can make great plays in critical situations.”
By that standard, Alabama is a great team.
Cody is not the only great player that made great plays in critical situations yesterday, he is just the most obvious. Javier Arenas played out of his mind, turning in a 13 tackle performance that included 3 for a loss and none greater than his 12 yard sack of Crompton on the 12th play of a sustained drive in the third quarter that put UT out of field goal range. Mark Ingram gained 99 yards rushing but his greatest play-13 yards over right tackle-came with Alabama in the critical situation of first down at its own 4 yard line.
Championship teams typically become champions because they overcome adversity. Sometimes, that adversity is a regular season loss like Florida in 2008 and 2006 and LSU in 2007 and 2003. Sometimes, that adversity is a regular season squeaker against an under-rated opponent; example, Alabama’s three point victory over Tulane in 1992.
Is Alabama a championship team? We don’t know yet. It remains to be seen how the Tide overcomes the adversity of having to block two field goal attempts in order to win by two points.
Here’s how I grade the game:
Offense: C -- Tennessee’s defense is the best that Alabama has faced this season. It might be the best that it will face from here on. And GMac turned in his best statistical performance in the last three games.
Ingram gained 99 yards rushing on 18 attempts for an average of 5.6 yards per carry. Trent Richardson averaged only 2.2 yards per carry on 8 runs that gained 18 net yards.
GMac completed 18 of 29 pass attempts (62%) for 120 yards. He did not throw a TD, but neither was he intercepted nor sacked. Julio caught 7 passes for 54 yards, Darius Hanks had 3 catches for 17 yards. Nine different players caught passes: 2 were running backs Richardson and Roy Upchurch, 3 were tight ends, including Baron Huber from Knoxville, and 4 were receivers, including the Pride of Reform, Alabama, red-shirt freshman, Michael Williams.
Bama managed only 16 first downs and 256 total yards (136 rushing), converted 5 of 14 third downs, and controlled the clock for only 27:42. Alabama mounted only three drives in excess of 40 yards [45, 49, 64]. Two resulted in FGs, the other in a turnover on downs. Mark Ingram’s fumble-his first in 322 touches-came after Bama had gained 39 penalty assisted yards.
I was considering a lower grade for the offense on account of the failure to score a TD. Upon reflection, however, I think the play call on 3rd and 2 from the UT 6 is on the coaches, and the failure to call blatant pass interference is on the refs. See more on both infra.
Defense: A+ Yes, UT gained 341 yards, but the Vols were held to only 76 rushing. Yes, UT consumed 32:18 of the clock and converted 6 of 15 third downs and 2 of 2 fourth downs. But the stop-troops sacked Crompton twice for 19 yards, added 6 more tackles for loss, 5 hurries, 8 broken-up passes and an interception.
As stated above, Arenas, who didn’t play last week due to bruised ribs, was credited with 13 tackles [7 solo; 3.5 for loss including 1 sack and a hurry]. Five linebackers accounted for 39 total tackles [Barron, Anders, Johnson and McClain each had 8, Cory Reamer had 7]. Marcel Dareus added 4 more tackles, including a sack [7 yards] and a pass break up.
Special Teams:
Place Kicking: A+ Leigh Tiffin moved into second place for career points scored with his 4 for 4 performance against the Vols. He was good from 50, 49, 38 and 22.
Punting: B+ P.J. averaged 44 yards per punt on three punts with one touchback. Arenas returned two Tennessee punts for a total of 33 yards, and UT’s Dennis Rogan returned one punt for 23 yards.
Kickoffs: B+ Tiffin averaged 66 yards per kick on his 5 kickoffs. The coverage unit allowed an average of 28.4 yards per return while the Tide’s kick return game averaged 30 yards per return. There were no penalties called on Alabama in the return game, but put an asterisk next to that stat because of the officiating.
Coaching: C+ Alabama was penalized only once for 10 yards. Fifty one Tide players participated in the game. Tennessee played 58. UT outgained Alabama by 85 yards and dominated time of possession in the third quarter. I understand why the coaching staff went back to Julio for the fade route on 3rd and 2 from the UT 6 in the second quarter; either Julio will make the catch or draw the interference foul. He was indeed interfered with, but there was no call. We were running the ball extremely well at that point and the likelihood that we would pick up the first down was pretty good. I also disagree with the decision to attempt a screen pass to Ingram on 3rd down and 4 at the Bama 23 with 3:58 to play. Tennessee had just taken its second time out. A running play, even if we don’t pick up the first down, continues to drain the clock or forces UT to burn its last TO.
Now for the Officials: The SEC Central Office saw fit to suspend the crew of zebras whose inexcusable performance determined the outcome of both the Florida/Arkansas and LSU/Georgia games. In my City Paper column last Thursday, I vented about how bad the SEC officials are as a group and called upon Commissioner Slive to clean up the problem. But was suspension the right thing? It has been argued, most cogently by Our Correspondent From Parkway Commons (also known as: The Commissioner’s Son and Heir) that suspension sent the wrong message. The suspension tells the other crews that while they risk getting booted for making a bad call, they face no consequences for failing to make the correct call. Hence, the refs are incentivized to let things slide, rather than calling correct, but game altering, penalties.
Examples abound in yesterday’s game: (i) the failure to call pass interference when Julio got body-checked in the end zone; (ii) the failure to call holding when Kareem Jackson was practically undressed as Hardesty turned in the big run on the screen pass in the fourth quarter that ultimately led to the UT touchdown; and worst of all (iii) the failure to call the illegal block on Julio Jones where UT recovered the on-sides kick. Notwithstanding what Gary Danielson said, the rule is clear: the kicking team cannot block a player on the receiving team until (a) the ball has gone 10 yards, AND (b) the ball has either touched the ground or a player of the receiving team. Yesterday, Julio was in position to field the kick, the ball had gone about 7 or 8 yards at that point, and Dennis Rogan tagged Julio, knocking him out of position and the ball down field. The correct call was for a penalty to be assessed against UT for the illegal block. By rule, the ball should have been awarded to Alabama, 1st and 10 at the spot of the foul on Julio. UT had no right to the ball on that kick and if the refs had been doing their jobs correctly Tennessee would never have been in position to attempt the second blocked field goal.
I think that the SEC ought to implement a grading system for officials that is like that used in the NFL. Crews are graded not only on what they call, but also on what they miss. Then, the SEC ought to tell its officials that at the end of the season the two lowest graded crews are fired.
And speaking of people who deserve to be fired, allow me a couple of words about Vern Lundquist and Gary Danielson.
Lundquist: Can that guy get any fatter? Dear God, the man needs a membership in a health club. I’ve got a wide-screen TV but it is barely large enough to encompass all of Lundquist’s corpulent girth. I know Sonic is a sponsor of the broadcasts, but does their contract with CBS require them to supply Lundquist with all of his meals? And one more thing: Vern, you were calling the game between Tennessee and ALABAMA. How is it possible that more than 3 hours into the broadcast you could think that the home team was AUBURN???
Danielson: You know, I really don’t mind Gary Danielson’s opinions. I disagree with most of them. But I don’t mind them. Everyone has opinions, especially when it comes to college football, and sometimes opinions are ignorant. What I can’t stand is his ignorant assertions of fact! A perfect case in point is his absolute certainty that the on-sides kick, with its illegal block on Jones, was an excellent play. Likewise, the blatant interference on Jones in the second quarter. First he says “The ball was uncatchable”. Then when he realizes that the only thing that kept Julio from being in position to make the catch was the shove from the Tennessee DB, he says “Julio Jones quit on the route.” Give me a break!
Last night, LSU continued the exposure of Auburn as a total fraud. Florida and Mississippi State put on a classless display of sportsmanship that was unworthy of the league that considers itself to be the premier conference in the college game. Thus did Alabama’s remaining conference opponents acquit themselves. Alabama finally has its much-needed bye-week. The players need to get their legs back, to get the remaining kinks ironed out, and to steel themselves for the stretch run of LSU, MSU, UTC, Auburn and Florida.
This season has gone past the tipping point where a champion can overcome a loss. For Alabama’s championship drive there is but one course to follow: win them all. It is a rugged course. To run this gauntlet undefeated and land a birth in the BCS Championship Game, everyone associated with the Alabama program, from players to coaches, from trainers to administrators, must take the adversity of yesterday’s narrow win, and learn the many lessons that it can teach. That is the way to overcome. That is the way to win the rest.
There will be many more critical situations for Alabama to confront in the remaining games. By Nick Saban’s standard, Alabama is a great team. I believe it is great enough to be a champion.
The Commissioner
I don’t mind saying “I told you so!”
All week I’ve been saying that the Tennessee game really had me worried. It wasn’t a “trap game”, but it was not setting up very well. Alabama was tired. This would be the eighth game in a row with no bye-week. We had played two extremely physical games back-to-back. GMac had struggled against Ole Miss and South Carolina. UT was coming off an open week. The last time the Vols played, they beat the stuffing out of Georgia in a game where Jonathan Crompton looked like Joe Montana.
Sure, Bama ought to win the game. But it was going to be a slug-fest. The 14 ½ point betting line that favored the Tide was so out of kilter that Chase Goodbread picked the Vols to cover.
But I wasn’t prepared for the way this game turned out.
With just over 3:40 to play, Alabama had the game completely under control. Sure, the offense had not put up a lot of points, but thanks to Leigh Tiffin having an outstanding day, the Tide had a 9 point lead and the ball with first and 10 at the Bama 38 and UT only had one more timeout to call. Even without a first down, Bama could drain the clock, punt Tennessee deep and win the game as time expired. But then IT happened. The one thing that Alabama could not afford to happen.
Mark Ingram, the heart and soul of our offense, a guy who personifies all the championship qualities that Coach Saban talks about, did something that he has not done before in an Alabama uniform: he lost a fumble!
The fumble was not the result of anything other than a great play by a great player – UT’s Eric Berry. Fueled by desperation, Berry forced the ball out of Ingram’s grip and recovered it to give the Vols possession at the Alabama 48. The game clock showed 3:29 to play.
For the next 3:25 seconds it seemed like everything was going Tennessee’s way. Marcel Dareus sacked Crompton for 7 yards, but on second down Montareo Hardesty gained 16 on a screen pass to set up a third down and 1 from the Bama 34. Tennessee alternated runs by Bryce Brown and passes by Crompton to score the first touchdown allowed by Alabama in 12 quarters of play. This was followed by a successfully executed on-sides kick and two complete passes, including a 23 yard completion from Crompton to tight end, Luke Stocker on second and 15 from mid field.
Then another IT happened. The one thing Tennessee could not afford to happen.
Fueled by desperation, Terrence Cody ripped apart the center of the UT offensive line and blocked his second field goal attempt …. Not of his career, not of the season. No. This was Cody’s second blocked field goal attempt in the last 10:33 of game time.
Coach Saban said after the game: “I think great teams have great players that can make great plays in critical situations.”
By that standard, Alabama is a great team.
Cody is not the only great player that made great plays in critical situations yesterday, he is just the most obvious. Javier Arenas played out of his mind, turning in a 13 tackle performance that included 3 for a loss and none greater than his 12 yard sack of Crompton on the 12th play of a sustained drive in the third quarter that put UT out of field goal range. Mark Ingram gained 99 yards rushing but his greatest play-13 yards over right tackle-came with Alabama in the critical situation of first down at its own 4 yard line.
Championship teams typically become champions because they overcome adversity. Sometimes, that adversity is a regular season loss like Florida in 2008 and 2006 and LSU in 2007 and 2003. Sometimes, that adversity is a regular season squeaker against an under-rated opponent; example, Alabama’s three point victory over Tulane in 1992.
Is Alabama a championship team? We don’t know yet. It remains to be seen how the Tide overcomes the adversity of having to block two field goal attempts in order to win by two points.
Here’s how I grade the game:
Offense: C -- Tennessee’s defense is the best that Alabama has faced this season. It might be the best that it will face from here on. And GMac turned in his best statistical performance in the last three games.
Ingram gained 99 yards rushing on 18 attempts for an average of 5.6 yards per carry. Trent Richardson averaged only 2.2 yards per carry on 8 runs that gained 18 net yards.
GMac completed 18 of 29 pass attempts (62%) for 120 yards. He did not throw a TD, but neither was he intercepted nor sacked. Julio caught 7 passes for 54 yards, Darius Hanks had 3 catches for 17 yards. Nine different players caught passes: 2 were running backs Richardson and Roy Upchurch, 3 were tight ends, including Baron Huber from Knoxville, and 4 were receivers, including the Pride of Reform, Alabama, red-shirt freshman, Michael Williams.
Bama managed only 16 first downs and 256 total yards (136 rushing), converted 5 of 14 third downs, and controlled the clock for only 27:42. Alabama mounted only three drives in excess of 40 yards [45, 49, 64]. Two resulted in FGs, the other in a turnover on downs. Mark Ingram’s fumble-his first in 322 touches-came after Bama had gained 39 penalty assisted yards.
I was considering a lower grade for the offense on account of the failure to score a TD. Upon reflection, however, I think the play call on 3rd and 2 from the UT 6 is on the coaches, and the failure to call blatant pass interference is on the refs. See more on both infra.
Defense: A+ Yes, UT gained 341 yards, but the Vols were held to only 76 rushing. Yes, UT consumed 32:18 of the clock and converted 6 of 15 third downs and 2 of 2 fourth downs. But the stop-troops sacked Crompton twice for 19 yards, added 6 more tackles for loss, 5 hurries, 8 broken-up passes and an interception.
As stated above, Arenas, who didn’t play last week due to bruised ribs, was credited with 13 tackles [7 solo; 3.5 for loss including 1 sack and a hurry]. Five linebackers accounted for 39 total tackles [Barron, Anders, Johnson and McClain each had 8, Cory Reamer had 7]. Marcel Dareus added 4 more tackles, including a sack [7 yards] and a pass break up.
Special Teams:
Place Kicking: A+ Leigh Tiffin moved into second place for career points scored with his 4 for 4 performance against the Vols. He was good from 50, 49, 38 and 22.
Punting: B+ P.J. averaged 44 yards per punt on three punts with one touchback. Arenas returned two Tennessee punts for a total of 33 yards, and UT’s Dennis Rogan returned one punt for 23 yards.
Kickoffs: B+ Tiffin averaged 66 yards per kick on his 5 kickoffs. The coverage unit allowed an average of 28.4 yards per return while the Tide’s kick return game averaged 30 yards per return. There were no penalties called on Alabama in the return game, but put an asterisk next to that stat because of the officiating.
Coaching: C+ Alabama was penalized only once for 10 yards. Fifty one Tide players participated in the game. Tennessee played 58. UT outgained Alabama by 85 yards and dominated time of possession in the third quarter. I understand why the coaching staff went back to Julio for the fade route on 3rd and 2 from the UT 6 in the second quarter; either Julio will make the catch or draw the interference foul. He was indeed interfered with, but there was no call. We were running the ball extremely well at that point and the likelihood that we would pick up the first down was pretty good. I also disagree with the decision to attempt a screen pass to Ingram on 3rd down and 4 at the Bama 23 with 3:58 to play. Tennessee had just taken its second time out. A running play, even if we don’t pick up the first down, continues to drain the clock or forces UT to burn its last TO.
Now for the Officials: The SEC Central Office saw fit to suspend the crew of zebras whose inexcusable performance determined the outcome of both the Florida/Arkansas and LSU/Georgia games. In my City Paper column last Thursday, I vented about how bad the SEC officials are as a group and called upon Commissioner Slive to clean up the problem. But was suspension the right thing? It has been argued, most cogently by Our Correspondent From Parkway Commons (also known as: The Commissioner’s Son and Heir) that suspension sent the wrong message. The suspension tells the other crews that while they risk getting booted for making a bad call, they face no consequences for failing to make the correct call. Hence, the refs are incentivized to let things slide, rather than calling correct, but game altering, penalties.
Examples abound in yesterday’s game: (i) the failure to call pass interference when Julio got body-checked in the end zone; (ii) the failure to call holding when Kareem Jackson was practically undressed as Hardesty turned in the big run on the screen pass in the fourth quarter that ultimately led to the UT touchdown; and worst of all (iii) the failure to call the illegal block on Julio Jones where UT recovered the on-sides kick. Notwithstanding what Gary Danielson said, the rule is clear: the kicking team cannot block a player on the receiving team until (a) the ball has gone 10 yards, AND (b) the ball has either touched the ground or a player of the receiving team. Yesterday, Julio was in position to field the kick, the ball had gone about 7 or 8 yards at that point, and Dennis Rogan tagged Julio, knocking him out of position and the ball down field. The correct call was for a penalty to be assessed against UT for the illegal block. By rule, the ball should have been awarded to Alabama, 1st and 10 at the spot of the foul on Julio. UT had no right to the ball on that kick and if the refs had been doing their jobs correctly Tennessee would never have been in position to attempt the second blocked field goal.
I think that the SEC ought to implement a grading system for officials that is like that used in the NFL. Crews are graded not only on what they call, but also on what they miss. Then, the SEC ought to tell its officials that at the end of the season the two lowest graded crews are fired.
And speaking of people who deserve to be fired, allow me a couple of words about Vern Lundquist and Gary Danielson.
Lundquist: Can that guy get any fatter? Dear God, the man needs a membership in a health club. I’ve got a wide-screen TV but it is barely large enough to encompass all of Lundquist’s corpulent girth. I know Sonic is a sponsor of the broadcasts, but does their contract with CBS require them to supply Lundquist with all of his meals? And one more thing: Vern, you were calling the game between Tennessee and ALABAMA. How is it possible that more than 3 hours into the broadcast you could think that the home team was AUBURN???
Danielson: You know, I really don’t mind Gary Danielson’s opinions. I disagree with most of them. But I don’t mind them. Everyone has opinions, especially when it comes to college football, and sometimes opinions are ignorant. What I can’t stand is his ignorant assertions of fact! A perfect case in point is his absolute certainty that the on-sides kick, with its illegal block on Jones, was an excellent play. Likewise, the blatant interference on Jones in the second quarter. First he says “The ball was uncatchable”. Then when he realizes that the only thing that kept Julio from being in position to make the catch was the shove from the Tennessee DB, he says “Julio Jones quit on the route.” Give me a break!
Last night, LSU continued the exposure of Auburn as a total fraud. Florida and Mississippi State put on a classless display of sportsmanship that was unworthy of the league that considers itself to be the premier conference in the college game. Thus did Alabama’s remaining conference opponents acquit themselves. Alabama finally has its much-needed bye-week. The players need to get their legs back, to get the remaining kinks ironed out, and to steel themselves for the stretch run of LSU, MSU, UTC, Auburn and Florida.
This season has gone past the tipping point where a champion can overcome a loss. For Alabama’s championship drive there is but one course to follow: win them all. It is a rugged course. To run this gauntlet undefeated and land a birth in the BCS Championship Game, everyone associated with the Alabama program, from players to coaches, from trainers to administrators, must take the adversity of yesterday’s narrow win, and learn the many lessons that it can teach. That is the way to overcome. That is the way to win the rest.
There will be many more critical situations for Alabama to confront in the remaining games. By Nick Saban’s standard, Alabama is a great team. I believe it is great enough to be a champion.
The Commissioner
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