Officially it was second down and twelve.
Actually it was more like second and a grunt shy of thirteen. For all practical purposes it was the second time in consecutive games for Alabama to make a statement about the kind of football team it claims to be. The first opportunity came last week against Arkansas, and the Tide made the most of it with a 99 yard, 13 play scoring drive. This week, Alabama repeated last Saturday’s performance. The drive chart will reflect that Alabama gained 97 yards in 13 plays and consumed 6:50 off the clock. But the stats fail to convey the reality of what happened.
Actually it was more like second and a grunt shy of thirteen. For all practical purposes it was the second time in consecutive games for Alabama to make a statement about the kind of football team it claims to be. The first opportunity came last week against Arkansas, and the Tide made the most of it with a 99 yard, 13 play scoring drive. This week, Alabama repeated last Saturday’s performance. The drive chart will reflect that Alabama gained 97 yards in 13 plays and consumed 6:50 off the clock. But the stats fail to convey the reality of what happened.
On first down, Trent Richardson was tackled for a loss of two yards, two feet and six inches. Few running backs have the strength that allowed Richardson to avoid the safety. Richardson gained five yards on second down, and on 3rd and 7, GMac found Colin Peek for a perfect 21 yard pass that earned a first-down; the first of four in the drive. Over the next ten plays from scrimmage, GMac completed passes to three of his wide receivers-Julio, Darius Hanks, and Earl Alexander-while Mark Ingram rushed for 19 yards, Richardson added 4 more and Peek snagged another reception to end the drive with a touchdown. Along the way, the Tide offense converted three third downs and GMac completed 5 of 7 passing attempts. An offense that had been AWOL since scoring on its opening possession had come to life. Alabama had imposed its will on home-standing Kentucky. And momentum in the game turned completely in Alabama’s favor.
Coach Saban, in his locker room interview with Eli Gold, said the long drive was the turning point of the game. Indeed. It was the hinge around which the rest of the game turned. Without the long drive, Rolando McClain does not force the fumble that Courtney Upshaw returned 45 yards for 6 points a mere 14 seconds later.
How many times has Coach Saban talked about the need to “finish”? The 2009 Crimson Tide has proven that it knows how to do just that.
This was not a pretty game. Alabama played poorly at times in all phases of the game. But when Bama can play poorly and still beat a conference team on the road by 18 points, there’s something happening in the program that promises greatness.
Here’s how I grade the game:
Offense: B After the first quarter, the offense was working on a D+. From the 12:07 mark in the first quarter to the 8:21 mark in the second, Alabama’s offense had four consecutive possessions that went three and out. During this dismal stretch, the Tide had only 61 yards of offense and GMac completed only 4 of 9 pass attempts. For the rest of the game, Bama made the most of its seven possessions, scoring 5 TDs, and a field goal while only punting once.
GMac completed 15 of 26 attempts with 2 TDs and no interceptions. The passin game earned 148 yards and surrendered one sack. Seven players caught passes and Colin Peek led all receivers with 6 receptions for 65 yards and a TD. Darius Hanks caught GMac’s longest pass of the day, 27 yards.
The running game netted 204 yards. Mark Ingram gained 140 on 22 carries. Richardson added 28 on 13 attempts.
Defense: B You would think that four take aways [three interceptions and a forced fumble] would earn any defensive unit an A. But this is Alabama and the defense has played at such a high level that standards are higher and when the defense gives up 20 first downs, 133 yards rushing and 301 total offensive yards, a full grade deduction is deserved.
Rolando McClain was selected Player of the Game and he richly deserved that honor. Number 25 had 12 tackles [8 solo], a forced fumble, an interception a pass breakup and a QB hurry. Stop Troops were credited with 5 tackles for a loss of 20 yards including 2 sacks. Courtney Upshaw added a sack and a hurry and 4 tackles to his TD scored on the fumble return.Mark Barron and Eryk Anders each contributed interceptions to give the Tide its highest number of take aways so far this season.
Special Teams:
Punting: C+ Fitz averaged only 39.8 yards per kick on 5 punts and for the first imte in memory, Javier Arenas did not return a single punt. The coverage unit gave up 58 yards on 4 returned punts.
Kickoffs: C+ Leigh Tiffin averaged less than 38 net yards per kick off. Javier had an electrifying 60 yard return to start the game, but the coverage unit continues to be an area of concern as Derrick Locke returned one kick for 39 yards and Randall Cobb returned one for 34.
Place Kicking: A+ Tiffin was 5 for 5 on PATs and made his only attempted FG.
Coaching: B Alabama gained 520 all purpose yards, was penalized 6 times for 47 yards. The participation report lists 53 players who saw action against the Cats. I was surprised that the play calling in the first half appeared to favor passing plays against the Kentucky defense that is among the worst in the league against the run. Coach Saban’s post-game comments were all about improvement. The same is true for Roland McClain. To listen to his answers to a reporter’s questions you would never have guessed that he had turned in such a monster day. He was more focused on the fact that the defense had been vulnerable to Kentucky’s running game. It was as if he anticipated what his head coach would say 15 minutes later.
Around the league, as I write these grades, Georgia lost to LSU after the officials imposed a ridiculous celebration penalty after the Dawgs scored to take the lead with barely a minute to play in the game. That sort of absurdity has to stop. Arkansas is pounding the stuffing out of Texas A&M proving that a team in the middle of the SEC West is way better than its Big 12 counterpart. Auburn is shredding the UT defense late in the 3rd quarter. There is still time for a piece of space junk to fall from orbit and smash into big “T” at the 50, but short of that, it looks as if the Tigers are going to beat the Vols with an offense that is better than any to come out of the Village in several years.
In Nashville, Bama’s next opponent, Ole Miss, is taking care of business over on West End Avenue as it has a sufficient lead over Vanderbilt. The Rebs have talent, and have played Alabama close every year for the last several. The Tide needs to stay focused on the task of getting better every week. If it does, there isn’t a team on the schedule that Alabama can’t beat. And won’t THAT be a statement about the kind of program Alabama football has become again.
Coach Saban, in his locker room interview with Eli Gold, said the long drive was the turning point of the game. Indeed. It was the hinge around which the rest of the game turned. Without the long drive, Rolando McClain does not force the fumble that Courtney Upshaw returned 45 yards for 6 points a mere 14 seconds later.
How many times has Coach Saban talked about the need to “finish”? The 2009 Crimson Tide has proven that it knows how to do just that.
This was not a pretty game. Alabama played poorly at times in all phases of the game. But when Bama can play poorly and still beat a conference team on the road by 18 points, there’s something happening in the program that promises greatness.
Here’s how I grade the game:
Offense: B After the first quarter, the offense was working on a D+. From the 12:07 mark in the first quarter to the 8:21 mark in the second, Alabama’s offense had four consecutive possessions that went three and out. During this dismal stretch, the Tide had only 61 yards of offense and GMac completed only 4 of 9 pass attempts. For the rest of the game, Bama made the most of its seven possessions, scoring 5 TDs, and a field goal while only punting once.
GMac completed 15 of 26 attempts with 2 TDs and no interceptions. The passin game earned 148 yards and surrendered one sack. Seven players caught passes and Colin Peek led all receivers with 6 receptions for 65 yards and a TD. Darius Hanks caught GMac’s longest pass of the day, 27 yards.
The running game netted 204 yards. Mark Ingram gained 140 on 22 carries. Richardson added 28 on 13 attempts.
Defense: B You would think that four take aways [three interceptions and a forced fumble] would earn any defensive unit an A. But this is Alabama and the defense has played at such a high level that standards are higher and when the defense gives up 20 first downs, 133 yards rushing and 301 total offensive yards, a full grade deduction is deserved.
Rolando McClain was selected Player of the Game and he richly deserved that honor. Number 25 had 12 tackles [8 solo], a forced fumble, an interception a pass breakup and a QB hurry. Stop Troops were credited with 5 tackles for a loss of 20 yards including 2 sacks. Courtney Upshaw added a sack and a hurry and 4 tackles to his TD scored on the fumble return.Mark Barron and Eryk Anders each contributed interceptions to give the Tide its highest number of take aways so far this season.
Special Teams:
Punting: C+ Fitz averaged only 39.8 yards per kick on 5 punts and for the first imte in memory, Javier Arenas did not return a single punt. The coverage unit gave up 58 yards on 4 returned punts.
Kickoffs: C+ Leigh Tiffin averaged less than 38 net yards per kick off. Javier had an electrifying 60 yard return to start the game, but the coverage unit continues to be an area of concern as Derrick Locke returned one kick for 39 yards and Randall Cobb returned one for 34.
Place Kicking: A+ Tiffin was 5 for 5 on PATs and made his only attempted FG.
Coaching: B Alabama gained 520 all purpose yards, was penalized 6 times for 47 yards. The participation report lists 53 players who saw action against the Cats. I was surprised that the play calling in the first half appeared to favor passing plays against the Kentucky defense that is among the worst in the league against the run. Coach Saban’s post-game comments were all about improvement. The same is true for Roland McClain. To listen to his answers to a reporter’s questions you would never have guessed that he had turned in such a monster day. He was more focused on the fact that the defense had been vulnerable to Kentucky’s running game. It was as if he anticipated what his head coach would say 15 minutes later.
Around the league, as I write these grades, Georgia lost to LSU after the officials imposed a ridiculous celebration penalty after the Dawgs scored to take the lead with barely a minute to play in the game. That sort of absurdity has to stop. Arkansas is pounding the stuffing out of Texas A&M proving that a team in the middle of the SEC West is way better than its Big 12 counterpart. Auburn is shredding the UT defense late in the 3rd quarter. There is still time for a piece of space junk to fall from orbit and smash into big “T” at the 50, but short of that, it looks as if the Tigers are going to beat the Vols with an offense that is better than any to come out of the Village in several years.
In Nashville, Bama’s next opponent, Ole Miss, is taking care of business over on West End Avenue as it has a sufficient lead over Vanderbilt. The Rebs have talent, and have played Alabama close every year for the last several. The Tide needs to stay focused on the task of getting better every week. If it does, there isn’t a team on the schedule that Alabama can’t beat. And won’t THAT be a statement about the kind of program Alabama football has become again.
The Commissioner
No comments:
Post a Comment