Iron Bowl: The Report From The Tire Store

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Sadly, that is an excellent edition of The Grades, Commissioner.  In all probability we should stop there, move on, and hope our beloved Crimson Tide will be better prepared, better coached, and have a better night in the bowl game.  We. Just. Can't.

You just sort of knew that sometime, someday, somewhere there would be a game where Alabama did not show up for a game.  During the Saban tenure there have been games where a unit just did not seem to be in synch, for whatever reason.  For example, the offense just wasn't there in the 2009 LSU game, the defense was mostly AWOL against Texas A&M this year, the special teams, more consistent this year than ever before, has a laundry list of games that make you shake your head.  But always previously, if one unit was down, others rallied to the cause -- the offense struggled and gave the ball away time after time against Mississippi State just last month, but the defense just clamped down and the Tide got the victory.  When Johnny  Football was having every prayer he threw in the air answered in College Station the offense put up 40-something.  Sometimes all three units did themselves proud and the result was a beat down of legendary proportion (this past January is a good example, as is the bowl game against Michigan State). 

So some cosmic law of football had to make you wonder just what would happen if all three units showed up tight, uninspired, careless, disinterested, whatever.  Now we know.   But if it had to happen (and the Universe being what it is, we suppose it did), why did it have to happen against the trailer-dwelling, toilet-paper tossing troglodytes of Lee County Polytechnic?

As the Commissioner so cogently points out, despite poor performances in all three phases of the game and a team that just did not seem well-prepared or motivated for the game, Alabama was basically in control of the game at least three times late in the fourth quarter, once when only a couple of hundred seconds stood between Alabama and victory, the ball in its possession, with the lead, deep in Auburn territory, poised for victory. Despite all the goof ups, miscues, bad decisions and general dreck, the answer is that Alabama still was in a good position to win the game.  However, a team that had made "Finish" its watchword couldn't close the deal.

We have said all season that the only team on the schedule that could beat Alabama was Alabama.  The Crimson Tide proved it last night.   Let the University of West Georgia say what they may, Alabama contributed to its undoing in an endless stream.

We see nothing to add to the excellent unit analysis you have provided.  Frankly, our leftover turkey sandwiches tend not to sit so well when we revisit it.   AJ made poor decisions with the ball and a few uncharacteristically bad throws.  Sure handed receivers played the ball like second string defensive backs.  Our defensive backs left assignments and yelled at each other about it.  The defensive line got blown off the ball.  Linebackers made weak efforts at tackles.  Our punter....  We've never seen anything like that in all our years.

The game had a season's worth of head-scratching coaching decisions -- continuing to try to pound the middle late in the game when the defense had abandoned defending the edge, field goal choices, the absence of productive Kenyan Drake (except on special teams), play-calling to end the first half as well as the second,, not returning to tight end play that seemed to be effective, etc.

You correctly point out that Alabama is in no position to blame the officials for last night's outcome.  Regular readers are aware, however, that the sorry state of SEC officiating is a recurring theme down here between the hydraulic lifts.  Matt Austin's crew is generally regarded as one of the best, if not the best "crews" in the SEC.  Admittedly, that's like setting the high jump bar at about sea level, but supposedly they are the A Team.  Schools from LSU to Georgia to Florida consistently raise questions about what officials see and don't see at the War Eagle 40 yard line on Pat Dye Field, at Jordan Hare Stadium in Lowder Pasture near YellaWood Forest.  The call on what was to us an imperceptible false start on the only decent place kick of the night was a game-changer.  So was calling holding on OJ Howard (who most certainly had his man by the shoulder pads, though needlessly and without influencing whether the run went for a first down or not).  As far as we recall that was the only time holding was called on the O line all night, and both sides had apparently realized that rule had been suspended and were holding with abandon play after play.  Much as we saw in College Station, the officials became mesmerized watching the game instead of doing their job, otherwise there is no way to explain the fact that at least three offensive linemen were ineligibly downfield on the tying touchdown throw.   We don't actually think it matters.  The Defense had gone rat trap on the drive and the penalty probably wouldn't have mattered, but this SEC has to get a handle on this.

Alabama will still be highly ranked.  It still has its pride for which to play.  No reason Alabama cannot end up ranked in the top three at the end of this season.  The question is whether Alabama will bother to show up and play hard in a bowl game.   We already mentioned the bowl appearance that resulted in a total dismantling of Michigan State after the 2010 season.  However, we also remember the no-show Sugar Bowl against Utah.  Alabama can still hand itself another loss.  Just like Saturday night,  whomever the opponent is, you can be confident that team will be motivated and ready to play.  Alabama must be as well -- nothing more is expected, nothing less is required.

The Correspondent From The Tire Store

Auburn Grades

It is the little things that matter. That was the point that Benjamin Franklin was making with his poem about how a missing horseshoe nail led to the loss of a kingdom. Great enterprises can come to naught because of the neglect of seemingly small details. 

The same is true in sports. The biggest of big games can turn on players and coaches paying attention to the little things.  Little things; like finishing a catch that would be a first down, false starting on a place kick, committing personal fouls, avoiding blocked kicks, playing your assignment.....or not.

At one time or another, Alabama neglected all of these little things in the 2013 Iron Bowl. Because of little things, Alabama failed to convert a 4th and one in the Auburn red-zone, nullified what would have been a first and goal,  allowed Auburn runners to gash the defense, and left receivers open for easy touchdowns.

Coach Saban always says that results follow how well the team performs. That is why The Process focuses on performance. Playing to a standard. If each player plays to a standard, then the team as a whole plays to a standard. Results will take care of themselves. 

By this measure, the final score of Auburn 34 - Alabama 28, was the justly deserved result of how Alabama played on Saturday. Luck was not a factor. Neither was officiating. Alabama deserved to lose the game because of the way it played.

Even so, with just over 10 minutes to play in the game it looked as if Alabama had finally found itself. Throwing out of his own end zone, AJ completed the longest touchdown pass in all of Tide history to Amari Cooper. But neglect of little things took its inexorable toll.

On the ensuing possession, the Defense stuffed the Auburn rushing game and forced a turnover on downs at the Auburn 35. TJ Yeldon picked up a first down on a 13 yard run, but the following three plays earned 9 yards and on 4th and 1 from the Auburn 13, a missed block on the line of scrimmage allowed Auburn's Carl Lawson to stop Yeldon for no gain.

Again, the Defense responded. Nick Marshall was sacked for 9 yards on first down. Two incomplete passes later Auburn's outstanding punter, Stephen Clark, kicked to Christion Jones who returned the ball to Auburn's 25. But a run run by TJ Yeldon for what would have been a first and goal at the AU 5 was nullified by a holding call, and a field goal try was blocked.

A late hit gave Auburn 15 extra yards of field position and a coverage mistake by Cyrus Jones gave a wide open receiver an unchallenged catch-and-run for a game-tying touchdown with :32 seconds to play. 

The game's final play, a 100+ yard return of a missed 57 yard field goal attempt, is the sort of highlight that will be endlessly replayed.  The Auburn football "tradition" has now been expanded  to two national championships, two blocked punts, a Hail-Mary pass and a kick return. But Tide fans know deep down that when busted coverage allowed Auburn to tie the game, a Tiger victory was inevitable. Does anyone really think that Alabama could have won in overtime? I don't. 

The stack of too many neglected little things had, by game's end, become an insurmountable psychological obstacle. By that time, Alabama had made enough little mistakes to lose three games. So it is somewhat fitting that in a metaphorical way it did. Not only did we lose the Iron Bowl, we also lost the SEC and BCS Championship Games by foreclosing the chance to even play in them.  Unlike the 2011 and 2012 seasons, no amount of BCS bracket-busting can put a one loss Alabama into the title game. On Saturday night, down in the Village, the 2013 Crimson Tide was left wanting too many horseshoe nails. 

Here's how I grade the game:

Offense: F     The offense achieved 19 first downs on 495 yards of total offense; number which in most other contexts would be indicative of victory. But here again the little things plagued the Tide. Alabama converted only 4 of 13 third downs; only 1 in the first half. Although TJ Yeldon gained 141 net yards rushing, he was called upon 26 times compared to Kenyan Drake's 33 yards on 4 carries, and was the Tide's only consistent running threat. At this writing, I do not know whether Drake was injured during the game. If not, his absence from the game is baffling (see coaching grade to follow).

AJ completed 17 of 29 pass attempts for 277 yards and 3 TDs. Amari Cooper (6 catches for 178 yards) was his favorite target, and their 4th quarter throw and catch from inside the Tide 1 yard line will set a mark that might one day be equalled but never topped. Kevin Norwood caught 3 passes for 45 yards and a TD. His best catch of the game was a deflected pass that he snagged and turned up field for a key first down. 

The Offense put together only 5 drives that gained more than 40 yards [49, 67, 56, 83, 99] which netted three TDs and two missed field goals [another one of those little things].

Defense: F      Some of the defensive statistics are impressive: 7 tackles for lost yards, 2 forced fumbles, 3 sacks, 4 hurries, a recovered fumble.  Others, however, indicate a lack of consistency and failure of attention to little things: AU earned 22 first downs, rushed for 296 yards, had two backs rush for more than 100 yards each, and converted 8 of 15 third downs.

CJ Mosley was the leading tackler with 14 total stops [10 solo]. Trey DePriest recorded 11 tackles and Landon Collins was credited with 9.

Special Teams:

Punting: C      Cody Mandel dropped the snap on his first punt attempt. The ball was partially blocked. For this reason, his otherwise excellent average of 51 yards per kick is subject to a material downgrade.  Christion Jones had an excellent 19 yard punt return-only the fifth return allowed by Auburn's punting unit all season.

Kickoffs: B      Cade Foster averaged 63.6 gross yards per kick and the coverage unit contained Auburn's big-play return game achieving a net average of 40.6 per kick.

Place Kicking: F       Alabama missed 3 and had a 4th attempt blocked.  This was the worst display of place kicking by an Alabama team since the 5 missed kicks against Arkansas when Mike Shula was the head coach. It surpassed the dreadful performance in the 2011 LSU game.

Coaching: F     The players were not ready for what Auburn did, and what Auburn did was no different than what Auburn has been doing offensively all year. The number of players listed in the participation report is surprisingly small [47] and Alabama was penalized 6 times for 45 yards. Auburn was only flagged 3 times for 21. The decision to go for the first down on 4th and 1 is debatable, but certainly within the realm of reason. The decision to send Cade Foster out to attempt his third FG attempt [second from 44 yards] is less so. Although Saban's post-game remarks have been criticized in some circles, I find no fault in them. He knows the psyche of his team better than anyone and I will not second guess him here.

I wrote in last week's edition that you could close the book on the 2013 graduating class and they would have a record of achievement hard to match. The same thing is true today. There is only one more chapter for AJ, CJ, Kevin,Kenny, Cade, Cody, Anthony, Deion, Ed, Tana, John, Nick and Kellen to write. We won't know for another week the setting for that final chapter. Some observers predict that a one-loss Alabama is likely to receive an at-large bid to play in the Orange Bowl. There are far worse ways to end a championship run; just ask the Auburn seniors about that.

Right now, however, the pain of losing to Auburn, and the concurrent loss of the opportunity to make history, is too sharp. The knowledge that the team and its coaches allowed victory and history to slip through their fingers like so much beach sand, is hard to absorb. Some people, have taken to social media-that scourge or modern life-to savage individual players, especially Foster. Shame is too little to wish upon such people, but banishment is impossible and shunning is impractical.       

For the last several years, I have been getting a new hat at the beginning of every season. Most years, it has been one of those white hats with the Shirt Shop elephant logo embroidered on the front. This year, I was given a red one embroidered with the outline of the State of Alabama and the number 15 in the middle. It is still in good shape, and there will be no need to replace it come August in order to update the number.

Alabama's journey on the Road To 16 just got at least 12 months longer. I don't know about you, but I would not want to take that trip with anyone in the driver's seat other than Nick Saban. And that, my friends, is a rather big thing.

The Grades will return after the bowl game. In a week or so, look for The Commissioners MVP's for 2013.

Roll Tide y'all.

The Commissioner