Thursday, January 19, 2012

BCS Championship Grades: The Report From The Tire Store

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My, that was something. 
Thank you for another excellent edition of the Grades, Commissioner, befitting an excellent effort by the Tide.  For those of us who could not be in New Orleans to personally witness number 14, it was interesting to hear what it was like first hand.
The word I have heard the most, indeed the one that my son sent me by text message from the game itself, was “redemption”.  Because my fourth grade teacher Mrs. Baugh, a wise woman, said you should always look up a word you hear a lot in the dictionary, I looked up redemption.  The meanings run from the sublime (redemption, of course, forms part of the bedrock of Christian theology) to the odd (paying ransom to get back a kidnap victim is technically called redemption) to the sort of silly (getting credit for lottery tickets, coupons, and buying back your stuff from a pawnbroker are all examples  of redemption).
The overall sense of that word was appropriate for what happened in the BCS Championship game.  This edition of the Crimson Tide’s fall from grace on November 5 was as unexpected as it was disappointing.  It was not the loss itself that was necessarily so disappointing, as was the sense it was at least partially self-inflicted.  Ill-timed penalties, failures in execution, unforced errors, head-scratching coaching decisions, yes, even lack of discipline, cost the team, coaches and fans.  They lost their ranking.  They lost an undefeated season and a chance to win another conference championship.  They lost respect in the eyes of the college football world.  What the team did not lose, however, was their own honor, self-respect, and determination.
It took a lot of effort, mental and physical, from the players to continue to perform at a high level when it seemed that all of their goals were out of reach to earn that redemption -- it also took a certain amount of luck.  When the season was complete, there was no serious question about who were the two best teams in college football.  When the BCS Championship game was complete, there was no question who was the very best team.  Alabama not only redeemed itself, it did so in resounding fashion.
Cecil Hurt insightfully remarked in his editorial column after the game that the difference between November 5 and January 9 was that after the former Alabama could not wait for a chance to play LSU again while after the latter you had the sense the LSU wanted nothing to do with Alabama.   (Uh, Cecil said it a little more elegantly than that).  This is becoming a mark of how Saban-led teams finish the season.  I am not sure that any team in college football would have wanted to play Alabama last year on the day they played Michigan State.
I would mostly agree with the grades.
Officiating.  That was kind of refreshing.  I thought Mr. Novak and his group from the Big 12 were outstanding.  Sure, they might have called a couple of late hits out of bounds and there was some uncalled holding along both offensive lines, but mostly they let the players play.  This was not a single crew like we have in the SEC, they sent allstars.  We didn’t have endless officiating conferences such as are commonplace in our conference games.  There was no ugly controversy or constant video review.  In fact, unless I’m forgetting one, I believe every review that occurred confirmed the ruling on the field.  Wish I could say the same for SEC crews at other bowl games.  Our apologies go out particularly to Ohio and Utah State.  You deserved better.
Coaching.  A+ indeed.  Not only was the game plan pitch perfect, keeping this team together and believing in itself and its coaches since the November 5 disaster, was masterful.  Saban and his staff may have done a better job at some point in their shared history, but I can’t say what it would be.  I expect Coach McIlwain did not get to enjoy it even for the duration of the flight to Fort Collins, but I hope the rest of the staff got a break from the 24-hour rule to enjoy the beat down they scripted.  It was a masterpiece from the opening kickoff.
Offense.  A.J. Mccarron corrected a number of shortcomings from the November outing.  I believe, however, that the bigger adjustment was in coaching and playcalling.  This team still had some slight failures in execution – McCarron and Smelley just missed connecting on a wide open wheel route, Gibson did not catch a ball with his hands and therefore missed a catchable ball on the goal line, Fluker failed to react quickly to speed rushes once or twice.  But on the BCS stage, this is quibbling.  Scoring over 20 points (especially against a defense with as many talented players as LSU brought to the Superdome -- not to mention a team that you managed on 6 points on at home about 8 weeks before) deserves the highest grade available.  How nice is it to say that you won the National Championship game and that you could have made it worse?
Special teams.  Oy vey.  I will freely admit that when our drive stalled and we sent the long-suffering Cade Foster out for a field goal attempt my heart stopped for a few seconds.  It did not really return to normal rhythm until the first down measurement was complete.  I’m sure I turned a fair shade of Kentucky blue.  No one in the room with me even noticed.  I am in the front rank of those who say that our place-kicking game did NOT cost us the win on November 5.  But it surely provided the victory Monday night.  That said, I’d mark it down to a B+.  A block is a full letter grade reduction.  Didn’t we doink an extra point in the last championship game?  Perhaps it is some odd kicking tradition that I am unaware of.  With that said, our kickoff coverage was more than adequate and we even kicked off the football into the dadgum endzone at least twice.  Our punting game was better than LSU’s and that’s saying something .  A+ for everyone involved in punting and kickoffs.  The gallant and now absent Maze set the tone with his punt return.
Defense.  I purposely saved this for last.  I only agree with an A+ as the grade for this group because I don’t know of a higher grade.  I do not much believe in spending time discussing whether this or that team is the greatest “in history” because I don’t think you can accurately compare across eras in football.  What players achieved when they all played practically every down of the game just doesn’t measure against the era of nickel and dime defensive specialties.  And how do you compare a team that never had to face a forward pass to a modern team?  Do you seriously challenge the record of the 1925 Tide defense that gave up exactly one touchdown in the whole regular season?  What of the fact that they played many fewer games against less comparable competition?  The 1930 team gave up two touchdowns all year.  (For the record, this defense gave up 9 touchdowns all season, only 3 rushing).  Equipment changes, physical changes in the athletes….  I just don’t think it makes sense.
Having said all that, there is no question that if you do try to make a listing of the greatest defenses in Alabama history, this group belongs on it. They led the nation in all four major statistical defensive categories.   It was an incredible group of athletes with an amazing level of God-given talent.  That talent was employed and developed by players with an incredible work ethic and will to win.  On most teams, players like Kirkpatrick, Upshaw, Hightower, would be single stars that you built an entire defensive scheme around.  Not this year, not at Alabama.  Perhaps the highest tribute to them is that with all that talent, all that experience, you did not have squabbling and ego clashes that festered in the public eye, at least.  That’s a tribute to them, their maturity, and their coaching.  Perhaps the best measure of this team is that even when put in awkward situations, they held LSU (suggested by some to be the best college football team in two decades and which averaged over 40 points a game outside its meetings with Alabama) to 9 points in two full games and an overtime period.  Incredible.  I’m going to enjoy rewatching some of this year’s games and remembering this season, because I’m not sure I’ll get to see a better defense again.
There was a sense from comments made by LSU’s players and a lot of pregame punditry that LSU had really just arrived in New Orleans to eat a couple of banquet meals, visit with some sick kids, pick up the Crystal football, and then have arguments about whether theirs was the greatest team in college football history.  Make no mistake, LSU was a quality football team.  On last Monday night, though, it was ill-prepared, confused, and exploited not only in its weaknesses,  but also in its strengths.  Coach Miles said he “never saw this coming”.  He probably wasn’t the only one.  I think the Alabama football team did.  I believe they had seen it coming ever since the gray dawn of November 6.  They redeemed themselves in historic fashion.
LSU was a great team.  Alabama, right now, is a great program.  This group, Saban’s first full recruiting class, was 48-6 in four years.  They led in four of the six losses.  That is not the best four year winning percentage in Alabama history, but it is close, and it is the most total wins in four years, because teams get more opportunities now. 
It is interesting how long college football season seems to last when you when the championship.  The stadium celebration is not until January 21.  Thinking all the way back to fall practice in August seems like years ago.  Lewis Grizzard once wrote:  “college football season is the best time I live”.  Nice when it extends this long.  See you at A-Day.   Oh yeah, Roll Tide.

The Correspondent From The Tire Store

Friday, January 13, 2012

BCS Championship Grades

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The omens were very favorable.

As we crossed into Louisiana on I-59 Saturday afternoon, the classic oldies satellite radio station started playing "Sweet Caroline." We were at the corner of Royal and Conti when an Alabama-themed second line brass band came down the street with crimson clad revelers trailing behind. We arrived at Champions Square just at the Million Dollar Band started its pre-game pep rally. On the St. Charles street car headed to the game, we heard the first of what would ultimately be dozens of Tiger fans taunt people wearing crimson with: "you can't spell Roll Tide without two Ls." And, much like their team, they never had an answer when you pointed out to them that you can't spell "LSU" without one. Yes, the omens were favorable; but in the end, they didn't come close to forecasting just how decisive Alabama's victory was going to be.

In the history of the BCS, no team had ever been held scoreless, until last Monday night when Alabama's defense smothered, pummeled, and crushed the Tiger offense that averaged scoring 40 points per game against the best competition college football had to offer.

LSU tried everything: option, power running, motion, draws, play action, throwing deep, screens. Nothing worked.

When Alabama had the ball, the roles were reversed. LSU had no answers for what Alabama did on offense. Yes, only one drive ended with a touchdown, but as the game progressed, and Tide field goals were met with Tiger punts, the outcome of the game began to take on an air of inevitability.

How did this happen? LSU is loaded with superior athletes. So is Alabama. LSU is well coached. So is the Tide. LSU had everything to play for. So did Bama. Both teams are accustomed to playing on the largest of stages. Both enjoy the support of a passionate fan base and the resources of the flagship institutions of their states. So what was the difference?

A superior game plan? No doubt. Better preparation? Certainly. Greater effort? To be sure. But there was something else. A fierceness. A passion. An absolute refusal to accept anything less than each player's best. An undiluted commitment to excellence. In short: it is the ultimate manifestation of The Process.

His first full recruiting class-the players signed in February 2008-have won two National Championships, two SEC West titles, one SEC Championship and compiled a record of 48-6 with half of those losses coming in a single season. Every player on the 2011 team is a Saban recruit. And each one has been shaped by Saban's approach to the game. Each has bought in to what Saban has required.

The results of The Process were on full display last Monday night in the Superdome. Last Monday night, the Crimson Tide would have beaten any college football team in America. For LSU, it's just unfortunate that they had to be the one on the opposite sideline.

Here's how I grade the game:

Offense: A+ AJ McCarron has matured as a player and leader throughout the entire 2011 season, but most of that progress has been made since November 5. He was poised, confident and totally in control. He completed 23 of 34 pass attempts for 234 yards. Brad Smelley was the leading receiver with 7 catches for 39 yards. Darious Hanks gained 58 yards on 5 receptions and Kevin Norwood-remember that name-caught 4 passes for 78 yards. Seven different players caught passes and Marquis Maze was not among them.

Norwood's play was especially noteworthy as time and again he made plays against the insufferable Tyran Mathieu.

Trent Richardson, in his last game in a Tide uniform gained 96 net yards rushing and scored the only touchdown of the game. Eddie Lacy added 43 yards and AJ rushed for a net of 11.

Alabama had five drives that gained 40 or more yards [64, 58, 52, 50, 50] resulting in one missed field goal, three FGs and a TD. Four of those long drives were consecutive, beginning at the 2:38 mark in the 1st quarter and ending with 12:39 to play in the 3rd. The 52 yard drive with 1:59 to play in the first half resulting in a FG pushing the score to 9-0 was a dagger in LSU's heart, and the 50 yard drive to open the third quarter making the score 12-0 sent the unmistakeable message that LSU was going to lose the game.

Whatever film study the LSU coaching staff did in preparation for the game proved to be a waste of time as Bama ran plays out of formations never before seen. For example, we had a formation where Barrett Jones started at fullback, then shifted to right tackle to be replaced at FB by Hanks. We threw the ball out of "heavy" formations and ran out of "light" ones. LSU's defense committed to stop the run and make AJ beat them with his arm; AJ obliged them with a horse doctor's dose of precision passes. And if the LSU coaches thought that the injury to Maze would eliminate the passing attack, they were sorely mistaken.

Not only did AJ find multiple targets, he found them time and again being covered by Mathieu. The LSU Heisman finalist was embarrassed by Hanks, Williams and Norwood.

Defense: A+ Alabama has a long and proud tradition of excellent defenses. Fans can argue about which defense was the greatest of the modern ear. 1992? '78? '63 But this game will be studied by football coaches for years to come as an example of just how good a defense can be.

LSU did not snap the ball in Alabama territory until there remained only 7:30 to play in the 4th quarter. Each of the ensuing snaps was a negative play and the possession ended with a forced fumble at mid-field.

Courtney Upshaw and Jerrell Harris each recorded 7 tackles. Dont'a Hightower, Nico Johnson, Dequan Menzie and Dre Kirkpatrick each recorded 4 and both Nick Gentry and Robert Lester had 3. Eleven times, LSU ball carriers were stopped for lost yardage including 4 sacks of Jordan Jefferson.

Dont'a forced a fumble that Gentry recovered. A word here about Nick Gentry. His career at Alabama had its ups and downs, but he played the best game of his career in the biggest game of his senior season. Congratulations to Nick Gentry for going out a champion.

Jordan Jefferson has a habit of being careless with the football under pressure; he got away with it against Arkansas and Georgia. Last Monday, CJ Mosley made him pay for it with an interception.

The Tigers did not convert a third down until the 4th quarter and only converted 2 of 12 in the entire game. LSU had 11 offensive possessions. Seven of them lasted 3 or fewer plays and the Tigers' longest drive was only 24 yards. This prompted one wag to observe that it would take LSU fans three days to travel from New Orleans back to Baton Rouge because they couldn't sustain a drive.

Special Teams: The conventional wisdom was that LSU had a clear advantage over Alabama in special teams. The conventional wisdom was wrong.

Punting: A+ Alabama only punted three times for an average of 44.3 yards and LSU only returned a single punt for a measly 1 yard; this by the over-hyped previously mentioned Mathieu. [His poor play on defense and lack of production on special teams prompted the Fairhope Animal Hospital to put a sign out front of its establishment saying: Free To A Good Home One Badly Beaten Honey Badger.]

Brad Wing, LSU's very fine punter, was called upon 9 times and managed to average only 45.7 yards per punt. The more he kicked the less he produced. Marquis Maze and Christion Jones returned 3 of Wing's punts for 67 yards and only a hamstring injury prevented Maze from scoring a TD on his return of Wing's second punt of the night.

Kickoffs: A+ Cade Foster averaged 66.7 gross yards per kick. Coverage was excellent. LSU only kicked off once and Christion Jones returned the kick from the middle of the end zone to the 32 yard line. Kick returning will be in good hands in the next few seasons with Jones.

Place Kicking: A- There simply is no way to award the + when an attempted field goal is blocked and the PAT is missed. Otherwise, Jeremy Shelley did an excellent job setting a BCS record with successful kicks from 23, 34, 41, 35, and 44 yards.

Coaching: A+ The preparation and game plans were simply outstanding. The participation report lists 53 players who saw action and Alabama was only penalized a single time for 5 yards. The result of the play following the penalty actually yielded better field position.

Trent Richardson, Dont'a Hightower and Dre Kirkpatrick have all declared themselves available for the NFL draft. These early departures, combined with graduations will leave some large holes to fill on the defense. At the same time, the decisions by Barrett Jones, Chance Warmack and DJ Fluker to return for their senior seasons will guarantee that Alabama's offense in 2012 will be extremely good. A player from the 2009 national championship team once told me that if AJ and Julio Jones had overlapped as starters on offense, Jones would have won the Heisman. Maybe so. AJ has two more years ahead of him in charge of the Tide offense and he is going to be blessed with some dangerous weapons at receiver and a backfield that will once again be loaded and deep.

Back in June, at the "Bama Rising" concert, Kirk Herbstreet told a sold-out crowd at the Jefferson County Civic Center that Alabama would play for and win the 2011 BCS Championship. Every Tide fan wanted to believe his prediction. As the season progressed it became obvious that this team was on a championship mission and that the shock of April's tornadoes provided some of the emotional fuel for that quest. The mission is accomplished. The quest of 2011 has reached its goal. The road to 14 has been successfully traveled.

The Process, however, continues.

And the road to 15 lies ahead.

The Commissioner

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Happy New Year Grades

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The old guy with the long beard and walking stick wearing a sash across his toga that says "2011" has limped out the door replaced by the 2012 toddler with the top hat and bottle of bubbly.

So Happy New Year to all y'all!

Appropriate to the occasion, it's a fitting time to pause and take stock of the past twelve months and award some grades for the good and not so good happenings around the world of Alabama football; or as Our Corespondent From The Capstone might say: It's Alabama's World, everybody else is just living in it. So here's how I grade the year:

Southeastern Conference Expansion: A- Expansion of the conference was inevitable, and Texas A&M and Missouri were certainly the best two programs on the market from the effective demise of the Big 12. A&M haas historic ties to the Alabama program: we got Coach Bryant and Coach Stallings, the Aggies got Dennis Fran-phony. The long-standing rivalry between Arkansas and A&M also helps to integrate the Aggies into the league.

Mizzou on the other hand is a bit of a stretch. There's nothing particularly southeastern about Missouri, and do we really need another team of Tigers in the conference? Some pundits were predicting that FSU, Clemson, Georgia Tech, VPI or, God forbid, West Virginia would be the 14th team. Apart from Clemson, I prefer Mizzou over any of those inhabitants of the Island of Misplaced Toys.

The downgrade comes from the way the league central office chose to slot the newcomers into the existing divisions. Texas A&M in the West is a no-brainer, but rather than sticking Missouri in the East, I would have preferred either slotting Missouri in the West and moving Auburn to the East, or realigning the Conference along a North-South axis.

Other Conference Expansion/Contraction: C The Big 10, Pac 12 and SEC were beneficiaries of the demise of the Big 12. The Big East needs a new name. With member schools on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, they might be big, but they certainly aren't East. Maybe they could hold a contest soliciting suggestions for new names. Mine is The Continental Conference.

The BCS: B The haters went to tiresome lengths complaining about the Alabama-LSU rematch and how Oklahoma State "deserved" a chance to play for the Big Crystal Football. That chorus actually persuaded more poll voters than I expected, but by now everyone outside of Stillwater has acknowledged that the two best teams will be playing for the championship on January 9. A full grade reduction, however, is imposed for the persistent failure of the conference commissioners to reform the BCS structure. Had they not rejected out of hand the "Plus One" structure proposed by Mike Slive several years ago, the PAC 10 and Big 12 would have a chance to play into the final. As it is, the SEC is guaranteed to win its 6th title in as many years.

The Public Image Of The Game: F No matter where you look, 2011 was a disaster for the reputation of college football. Miami and Ohio State picked up where Southern Cal left off in the category of non-existent institutional control. The NCAA proved to be a paper tiger in the way it capitulated to the risible position advanced by Mike Slive in defense of Cam and Cecil Newton. The highest award for individual performance was bestowed upon an insufferable self-promoter.

But all of that pales in comaprison to the injury done by the crimes of Jerry Sandusky and the incomprehensible cover-up by Penn State. No community is immune to the kind of depravity practiced by Sandusky, but what makes the PSU situation so jarring is that it is antithetical to the virtues that are supposed to lie at the heart of the sport. The shameful behavior of coaches and administrators at State College stains the entire game.

The Auburn Program: D If Auburn football were a publicly traded stock, financial advisors would be recommending that investors head for the exists while there is still a market. Don't be fooled by the Tigers' domination of Virginia in the final game of 2011. Auburn is, at best a 7-5 program. The coaching staff is in disarray, recruiting is a shambles and at the end of the day, Auburn is still .... well, it's still Auburn.

During last night's Chik-fil-A Bowl, we had a family activity: identify ways in which Auburn and Virginia are different. Here's the Top 10:

10. At UVA "double wide" is a formation, not a dormitory.

9. UVA admission criteria for student athletes: 3.5 GPA. Auburn requirement: Can fog a mirror.

8. At UVA $180,000 buys a world-class education. At Auburn it rents a mule.

7. The average UVA player has attended more classes at Auburn than Cam Newton.

6. Average UVA player pulls a 3.3 GPA. Average Auburn player blows a .09 BAT.

5. At UVA they are all about the Cavs. At Auburn it's all about the calves.

4. Nobody is willing to take a $500,000 pay cut to leave Charlottesville.

3. Iconic building on UVA campus: The Rotunda. At Auburn, the Ag. Expo. Center.

2. At UVA it's an honor to live on The Lawn. At Auburn it's a necessity.

And the number 1 difference between UVA and Auburn:

1. If Thomas Jefferson had founded Auburn, he wouldn't want that carved on his tombstone.

Happy New Year.

The Commissioner