"I know one thing. I'd rather die now than to have died this morning and missed this game." Paul W. "Bear" Bryant
Apparently there is line where your hobby or non-business interests cross over from being a pleasant pass time into being an obsession. Somewhere. Back there. Or so I'm told.
But if you are going to have an obsession, it might as well be one as magnificent as Alabama football. Saturday night was one of the more exciting and hard-fought football games that we can remember. And we go back pretty far these days. It was certainly not a game that will come up when an Alabama fan is asked to consider the best performances seen from an Alabama team. When, however, you start to put together a list of the 10 most exciting games you have ever seen Alabama play, this one deserves a nomination. Perhaps, for you, it does not rank ahead of the The Goal Line Stand, The Kick or Rocky Block, but it deserves mention in that same breath. It was exciting. Maybe just a tad too exciting.
Contrast (because there is no comparison) the other conference "Championships" . The ACC sent a very marginal 6-6 Georgia Tech team to a half-empty stadium for a snorefest with overrated Florida State. UCLA and Stanford rematched in a game played less than a week ago, to the same outcome. (Let me show you my shocked face.) And in the Big-However-Many-There-Are-This-Week Conference the "Legends" division champion Nebraska was thrashed 70-31 by a Wisconsin team in a game that wasn't really as close as the final score indicated. And people are "tired" of the SEC? Please.
Alabama and Georgia slugged it out in Atlanta for the SEC Championship and for the right to play Notre Dame in Miami next month for the national championship. This was a battle of talented, determined players. There is no way to know how many future NFL players were on the field Saturday. Regular readers know the names and numbers on the Alabama side -- certainly running backs, the quarterback, the entire offensive line.... Georgia reportedly has at least 9 defensive players who received reports saying they would be drafted last year and their best player didn't bother to inquire. Certainly the quarterback, will be in the NFL some day.
Alabama played through pain, adversity, and plain old bad luck. It is fair and honest to say that this team is not as talented as either of the last two National Champion editions of the Tide. We cannot remember a team (not just Alabama, but ANY team ) that has had as many injuries as this Alabama squad. Three injured wide receivers would probably have started for Georgia. Two running backs are gone. Last night, the literal and figurative centers of Alabama's respective lines were injured. Jesse Williams left the game with a knee injury, only to return with a brace and the heart of a champion to play both offense and defense. It was only after he went down that it was revealed that his backup, Brandon Ivory, was not just hobbled by a bad ankle, but unavailable. The gallant Barrett Jones stood and watched the SEC trophy ceremony on crutches, after a first quarter leg injury that left him suffering not only with the pain, but with constant snide remarks from the clueless Gary Danielson (see more below). Carry also in mind that Alabama's talent level is a victim of its own success. Recall that Trent Richardson, Hightower, Kirkpatrick, still have collegiate eligibility.
For adversity, Alabama had a short pass intercepted in the end zone. It suffered through a succession of plays where a phantom tipped ball negated an obvious pass interference penalty which would resulted in a first down in the red zone. Instead, it was forced to line up for a field goal which was blocked. For bad luck, not only was the kick blocked, instead of spiraling crazily off in an unpredictable fashion as footballs are designed to do, it bounced straight and true, not into the taped-together fingers of a rumbling lineman, but to the steady hands of a speedy former defensive back who took it the length of the field. A 10-point swing in about 10 seconds of game time.
Alabama persevered and earned its twenty-third SEC Championship. No, this is not the most talented Alabama team we have seen lately, but for courage, heart and plain old cussed determination, it need bow to no equal.
To the Grades:
Offense: B+ Alabama clearly missed the services of Kenny Bell. A.J. McCarron was not sharp, but was of 13/21 in passing for 162 yards. He mostly checked Alabama into the right plays, and tossed a beautiful spiral to Amari Cooper for the game winner. Note that we think few players could have gotten away with the give up on the ball and recover play that Cooper managed for that score. This game, as befitted the season, was about the running game. Lacy was player of the game with 20 carries for 181 yards. That's an average of over 9 yards a carry. Yeldon added another 153 yards on 25 carries, no telling how many after contact and did not fumble. Alabama has two 1000 yard rushers in its backfield. Why in the name of Red Grange would you ever throw the ball? Good question, see below. The Go Team possessed the ball for an astonishing 15 minutes more than Georgia -- that's a full quarter, folks, and gained 512 yards of total offense. The first four drives were just plain bad, but followed by drives that included 77, 70, 42, 43, 62, 74, and 55. Alabama went through some difficult times, but remember that this is a Georgia defense that held Florida to less than 10 points and forced six turnovers. But a higher grade is not deserved for a unit that turned it over twice, failed to score in the red zone, fumbled a ball reaching for the goal line, and needing one first down to run out the clock with 2 minutes left, came up a couple of yards short forcing the defense back on the field.
Defense: A- Whew. This was a tough grade to award. Alabama allowed Georgia 265 yards passing, but only 113 yards on the ground to Georgia's two excellent freshmen running backs and held it to 21 points. Over its last four games Georgia was averaging about 40 points a contest. When it tried to pressure Aaron Murray, it was generally successful, but it did not do that enough. It almost secured the victory with an interception that was overturned after an excruciatingly long video review that we are still not sure about (and wouldn't be if it had been called the other way). Absent Williams and Ivory, it proved susceptible to the Georgia running game. It forced only one turnover. It held up well in the beginning of the game when the offense put it in bad positions. With the game on the line, Alabama went with a mostly three man rush/prevent look which put little pressure on Murray and nearly cost Alabama the victory. Of course, "nearly cost the victory" is the same thing as "secured the SEC Championship". The tipped ball on Georgia's last play was an incredible athletic effort and led to an unpredictable end of the game (a completed pass) which was as thrilling as nailing a 50-yard field goal.
Special Teams.
Punting A. Mandell did an excellent job, averaging 41 yards per punt and dropping 3 inside the 20. Coverage was excellent allowing only one 7 yard return.
Returns. A. Alabama's return game was solid, with no fumbles and some wise fair catches, but a measly 8 yards. It is always dicey to pick up a bouncing punt, but the decision to do so in the fourth quarter probably was a net gain of 30 yards or more that does not show on the stat sheet.
Kickoffs. A+. We kicked off the football into the dadgum endzone. Georgia's total yards for kick returns were 0.
Placekicking: F. There is no other grade for having a blocked kick returned for a touchdown. Period.
Coaching: B+. The team was ready to play. Injuries were covered, including to wide receiver without having to use true freshman Chris Black, who practiced with the second string all week. It is important to be honest even about coaches at the level of Nick Saban for whom clock management has occasionally been a struggle. He honestly said he made a mistake at the end of the first half. Contrast that with Georgia's head coach who could seemingly find little to compliment on the Alabama side and stopped just short of inviting a reporter to step outside in the post game press conference. The decision to go for two after the touchdown, a decision derided by the crack analysts in the booth, was brilliant. The decision not to run the ball more in the first half, especially the first four drives, was puzzling. To some extent though, we are nit picking. This coaching staff has this team on the brink of playing for its third national championship in four seasons. If you are at any point in a bad mood today, just reflect on that.
Officiating: D- Deliver me. The officials nearly let this one get out of control. There were missed calls, bad calls, long replay reviews for no very good reason, and all-in-all too much after play pushing and shoving allowed. We had a player flagged for retaliating after a Georgia player shoved his fingers inside our player's facemask. I still do not understand why the best teams, in the best conference, with the best fans in the country have to put up with officiating that shouldn't be on display in high school class A (rural).
Broadcast: F. Gary and Verne are clowns. I wonder how much it would cost to get CBS to replace these two before next year? I'm willing to pledge $20 to the fund right now. I've lost count of how many commercial-laden broadcasts CBS has done of Alabama games this year. By now you'd think they'd have the names down. You'd be wrong. At one point, they even said "Florida" when they meant Alabama. They do still pronounce Tim Tebow correctly, with that slight catch in the voice usually reserved for conversations about the high school cheerleader who almost went on a date with you. Worst of all, for the second time this year the broadcast team felt compelled to lobby the league office to suspend an Alabama player, glossing over a helmet to helmet hit by a Georgia player that must've been "ok". What wouldn't you have given to hear Keith Jackson in the booth last night?
But with a tip of the cap to the quasi-goofy Lou Holtz, to win the conference championship and go to the National Championship game in Miami, Alabama didn't have to be the best team in college football Saturday, just the best team in the stadium. Alabama may have been both. Accordingly, by the power vested in me by the Commissioner, I hereby curve all these grades to an A+. No other grade will suffice for a team that fought this hard and brought home the University's 23rd SEC Championship.
Roll Tide everyone. Beat Notre Dame.
The Correspondent From The Tire Store
