Ok; it's now official.
What's official? Two things:
(1) Alabama's 2009 football season is now official; the opening game slug-fest with Virginia Tech and the pair of tune-up games against FIU and N. Texas are history. Now the Tide starts SEC play. Coach Saban talks about a "24 hour rule"; take 24 hours to celebrate a win or to process a loss, then get to work on next week. After dispatching North Texas, I don't think the players or coaches are going to waste 24 minutes before starting to work on Arkansas. In fact, judging from his post-game interview, I'd say that GMac was focusing on the Hogs with 24 minutes left to play in the game.
(2) I'm officially buying-in to Greg McElroy. I have not been as impressed with an Alabama quarterback in a long time. Don't get me wrong. I admire both Brodie Croyle and JPW. They are tough competitors and if they had been fortunate enough to have been surrounded by more depth, especially on the offensive line, there is no telling how much better Alabama's record might have been with them pulling the trigger. JP guided the Tide back from the wilderness to the top of the polls during the 2008 regular season, and to within 9:00 minutes of game time to playing for the BCS Championship. But GMac is special. Over the last three weeks, he has demonstrated that he possesses both the physical tools and intangible qualities make great quarterbacks. There is a quiet confidence about him; a maturity that inspires confidence on the part of his teammates. He is able to go deep into his progressions on pass plays, and ever since the halftime in Atlanta, he's making those reads much quicker. This guy is a winner. And thanks to excellent recruiting, he's got a great stable of talent to work with. All of those qualities were on display against North Texas, from the way he responded to the fumble on the opening possession, to the way he handled the post-game interview. Things are going to get much harder from this point on, as the quality of competition improves. But every Bama fan ought to be excited about what this player, this team and this season have to offer.
Here's how I grade the game:
Offense: A Readers of this space are probably asking: what about the automatic deduction for quality of opposition? Good point. North Texas is not a good football team. But there is no other grade to award to an offense that gains 523 yards total offense [260 rushing], makes 28 first downs [15 rushing], converts 10 of 14 third downs and 1 of 1 4th downs, and scores on 9 of 11 possessions. Bama had 5 drives in excess of 40 yards [95, 67, 83, 68 and 56] and four of those long drives were consecutive possessions.
GMac completed 13 of 15 pass attempts for 176 yards, 2 TDs and no interceptions. His longest pass was a 34 yard, thing of beauty to Marquis Maze for the Tide's second TD, on a picture-perfect play-action.
A staggering 11 players caught passes, including Michael Bowman and Brandon Gibson; guys who have not exactly been household names so far this season. Maze led all receivers with 4 receptions for 49 yards and a TD.
(1) Alabama's 2009 football season is now official; the opening game slug-fest with Virginia Tech and the pair of tune-up games against FIU and N. Texas are history. Now the Tide starts SEC play. Coach Saban talks about a "24 hour rule"; take 24 hours to celebrate a win or to process a loss, then get to work on next week. After dispatching North Texas, I don't think the players or coaches are going to waste 24 minutes before starting to work on Arkansas. In fact, judging from his post-game interview, I'd say that GMac was focusing on the Hogs with 24 minutes left to play in the game.
(2) I'm officially buying-in to Greg McElroy. I have not been as impressed with an Alabama quarterback in a long time. Don't get me wrong. I admire both Brodie Croyle and JPW. They are tough competitors and if they had been fortunate enough to have been surrounded by more depth, especially on the offensive line, there is no telling how much better Alabama's record might have been with them pulling the trigger. JP guided the Tide back from the wilderness to the top of the polls during the 2008 regular season, and to within 9:00 minutes of game time to playing for the BCS Championship. But GMac is special. Over the last three weeks, he has demonstrated that he possesses both the physical tools and intangible qualities make great quarterbacks. There is a quiet confidence about him; a maturity that inspires confidence on the part of his teammates. He is able to go deep into his progressions on pass plays, and ever since the halftime in Atlanta, he's making those reads much quicker. This guy is a winner. And thanks to excellent recruiting, he's got a great stable of talent to work with. All of those qualities were on display against North Texas, from the way he responded to the fumble on the opening possession, to the way he handled the post-game interview. Things are going to get much harder from this point on, as the quality of competition improves. But every Bama fan ought to be excited about what this player, this team and this season have to offer.
Here's how I grade the game:
Offense: A Readers of this space are probably asking: what about the automatic deduction for quality of opposition? Good point. North Texas is not a good football team. But there is no other grade to award to an offense that gains 523 yards total offense [260 rushing], makes 28 first downs [15 rushing], converts 10 of 14 third downs and 1 of 1 4th downs, and scores on 9 of 11 possessions. Bama had 5 drives in excess of 40 yards [95, 67, 83, 68 and 56] and four of those long drives were consecutive possessions.
GMac completed 13 of 15 pass attempts for 176 yards, 2 TDs and no interceptions. His longest pass was a 34 yard, thing of beauty to Marquis Maze for the Tide's second TD, on a picture-perfect play-action.
A staggering 11 players caught passes, including Michael Bowman and Brandon Gibson; guys who have not exactly been household names so far this season. Maze led all receivers with 4 receptions for 49 yards and a TD.
Star Jackson added 87 passing yards with 9 completions on 13 attempts.
Five of Alabama's seven TDs came on the ground. Mark Ingram was Alabama's leading rusher with 91 yards on 8 carries. Trent Richardson, playing for an injured Roy Upchurch, gained 87 yards on 11 carries and Terry Grant added 79 more on 19 runs.
Defense: A The overmatched North Texas offense was held to only 187 total yards [61 rushing], 7 first downs, and a rushing average of 2.3 yards per rush. These stats are more meaningful when you consider that garbage time started mid-way through the third quarter.
Twenty one different players recorded tackles, and sophomore Chris Jordan, from Brentwood, Tennessee led all defenders with 6 tackles [4 solo]. Terrence Cody was second on the tackle list with 5 [3 solo]. Mark Barron, Robby Green, Eryk Anders, and Nick Gentry each were credited with 5 tackles. Bama defenders recorded 4 tackles for loss but, for the first time in three games, no sacks.
Special Teams:
Punting: A+ P. J. Fitzgerald only had to punt one time for 49 yards that was not returned. Javier Arenas returned 4 punts for 90 yards, and two of his returns featured broken tackles, spin moves, incredible balance, and bursts of speed.
Kick Offs: B Leigh Tiffin averaged 68.7 yards per kickoff and the coverage team allowed an average of only 17 yards per return. This is a big improvement over the previous two games. For the first time in two games, a kick was not returned for a touchdown; indeed N. Texas' longest return was nullified by a penalty for a block in the back of a Bama player trailing the play.
Place kicking: F I'm sorry, there is no other grade allowable when
the team misses two PATs.
Coaching: A Alabama accumulated 684 all-purpose yards and was only penalized twice for 15 yards. The participation report accounts for 65 players who saw action. I particularly like the fact that Star Jackson was inserted into the game with about 2:00 to play in the first half, and that after the first possession of the second half, GMac was done.
As I write these grades, the results of the league's other games is only partially known. Tennessee has managed to stay within one score of Florida at the half, Kentucky has survived a scare at home from Louisville and none of the other SEC teams, including next week's opponent, Arkansas, have kicked off. In The City Paper I picked Georgia to beat Arkansas, but several broadcast analysts like the Hogs in this one. In the final analysis, as far as Alabama is concerned, nothing matters but getting better each week.
And when it comes to getting better each week, a team will follow its leaders. Tim Tebow proved the truth of that proposition last season when he made his now famous "promise" speech following the Gators' loss to Ole Miss. This afternoon, as the crowd made its way to the exists at Bryant-Denney Stadium, Greg McElroy was asked what Alabama would do this week to get ready for its start of SEC play. GMac didn't offer any "promises". He didn't fall for the trip-wire question about the anticipated return of Julio Jones. But what he did do, was to exude the kind of quiet confidence that comes from believing in your teammates, in your coaches, in the program and, ultimately, in yourself.
Nobody knows how this season is going to turn out. But until events prove otherwise, I'm picking GMac and the Tide to do something really special.
The Commissioner
Five of Alabama's seven TDs came on the ground. Mark Ingram was Alabama's leading rusher with 91 yards on 8 carries. Trent Richardson, playing for an injured Roy Upchurch, gained 87 yards on 11 carries and Terry Grant added 79 more on 19 runs.
Defense: A The overmatched North Texas offense was held to only 187 total yards [61 rushing], 7 first downs, and a rushing average of 2.3 yards per rush. These stats are more meaningful when you consider that garbage time started mid-way through the third quarter.
Twenty one different players recorded tackles, and sophomore Chris Jordan, from Brentwood, Tennessee led all defenders with 6 tackles [4 solo]. Terrence Cody was second on the tackle list with 5 [3 solo]. Mark Barron, Robby Green, Eryk Anders, and Nick Gentry each were credited with 5 tackles. Bama defenders recorded 4 tackles for loss but, for the first time in three games, no sacks.
Special Teams:
Punting: A+ P. J. Fitzgerald only had to punt one time for 49 yards that was not returned. Javier Arenas returned 4 punts for 90 yards, and two of his returns featured broken tackles, spin moves, incredible balance, and bursts of speed.
Kick Offs: B Leigh Tiffin averaged 68.7 yards per kickoff and the coverage team allowed an average of only 17 yards per return. This is a big improvement over the previous two games. For the first time in two games, a kick was not returned for a touchdown; indeed N. Texas' longest return was nullified by a penalty for a block in the back of a Bama player trailing the play.
Place kicking: F I'm sorry, there is no other grade allowable when
the team misses two PATs.
Coaching: A Alabama accumulated 684 all-purpose yards and was only penalized twice for 15 yards. The participation report accounts for 65 players who saw action. I particularly like the fact that Star Jackson was inserted into the game with about 2:00 to play in the first half, and that after the first possession of the second half, GMac was done.
As I write these grades, the results of the league's other games is only partially known. Tennessee has managed to stay within one score of Florida at the half, Kentucky has survived a scare at home from Louisville and none of the other SEC teams, including next week's opponent, Arkansas, have kicked off. In The City Paper I picked Georgia to beat Arkansas, but several broadcast analysts like the Hogs in this one. In the final analysis, as far as Alabama is concerned, nothing matters but getting better each week.
And when it comes to getting better each week, a team will follow its leaders. Tim Tebow proved the truth of that proposition last season when he made his now famous "promise" speech following the Gators' loss to Ole Miss. This afternoon, as the crowd made its way to the exists at Bryant-Denney Stadium, Greg McElroy was asked what Alabama would do this week to get ready for its start of SEC play. GMac didn't offer any "promises". He didn't fall for the trip-wire question about the anticipated return of Julio Jones. But what he did do, was to exude the kind of quiet confidence that comes from believing in your teammates, in your coaches, in the program and, ultimately, in yourself.
Nobody knows how this season is going to turn out. But until events prove otherwise, I'm picking GMac and the Tide to do something really special.
The Commissioner
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