Sunday, August 31, 2014

West Virginia Grades


There is an ancient Tibetan legend about a pilgrim in search of enlightenment and a hermit, who lived in a cave near the Roof Of The World. According to folk-lore, the hermit possessed all the wisdom of the Universe, but would only answer one question per visitor. The pilgrim trekked for weeks through the Himalayan ice fields. Out of food, and on the edge of starvation the pilgrim spotted the hermit's cave. Knowing his quest was about to reach its goal, the pilgrim summoned his last reserves of strength and managed to crawl to the cave and warm himself by a low fire.

The pilgrim's eyes were nearly snow-blind, but he nevertheless could make out the shape of the diminutive hermit sitting on the opposite side of the fire. Limited to only one question, the pilgrim asked: "What is the meaning of life?"

The hermit's expression was a mixture of annoyance and introspection as he replied: "It is what it is, and we are who we are."

.....OK, I just made up that "Tibetan legend" stuff....the real-life pilgrim was an ESPN on-field reporter who cornered Nick Saban on his way to the locker room following Alabama's 33-23 victory over West Virginia.  But the metaphor is an apt one. The game lasted such a ridiculously long time, the reporter probably was starving by the end of it. Saban does indeed possess more than his share of  the wisdom of the football universe, reporters certainly annoy him, and that is a verbatim quote of his analysis of the 2014 Crimson Tide after its opening game. 

The opening game edition of the The Grades will not be nearly as succinct. 

This game reminded me of the 2009 season opener against Virginia Tech. The first half was marred by missed assignments, confused execution, softness on defense, and a break-down in the kicking game. The second half was better, especially on defense, and Alabama clearly proved it was the better conditioned team. 

The positives and negatives are probably equal in number. 

On offense, two runnings backs each accounted for more than 100 net rushing yards, and with 12 receptions, Amari Cooper came one catch short of tying DJ Hall's school record for receptions in a game.  Blake Sims set school records for pass attempts [33] and completions [24] by a quarterback in his debut start.  At the same time, however, Sims had to use two timeouts to avoid delay of game penalties because players did not know the formation, he threw too late too often, most of the time, he stared down his primary receiver and his progressions appeared to be one-step affairs. 

Defensively, the Mountaineers were held to just two FGs in the second-half and Tide Tacklers recorded as many tackles for lost yardage [6] as West Virginia recorded points after intermission. On the other hand, the defense surrendered nearly 400 offensive yards [393]. Along the way, WVU's version of the Hurry Up No Huddle Offense, generated four long scoring drives [79,75, 66, 51] and Alabama did not force a three-and-out until the 4th quarter.

The kicking game was much improved over the forgettable exhibition in April's A-Day game. Adam Griffith was perfect on four FG attempts, and true-freshman punter, JK Scott, proved why he was rated in the top-tier of all kickers coming out of high school in the class of 2014. Nevertheless, the kick coverage unit surrendered a 100 yard return for a touchdown.

It is what it is and we are who we are, so here is how I grade the game:

Offense:   C    Alabama 538 yards of total offense [288 rushing], made 30 first downs, converted 9 of 16 third-downs, and held the ball for 37:47. Blake Sims completed 24 of 33 pass attempts for 250 yards. He did not throw a pass for a touchdown and was intercepted once. 

Amari Cooper was Sims' favorite target. The 6-1, 210 lb. junior from Miami caught 12 passes for 130 yards, marking his third straight game to gain more than 100 yards receiving. 

TJ Yeldon rushed for 126 yards on 23 carries, and Derrick Henry ran the ball 17 times for 113 yards. Kenyan Drake's number was called three times and he gained 7 yards..plus his ball security technique appeared to be much improved. 

The offense had 8 long drives [45, 95, 88, 50, 40, 70, 64, 60], producing 3 TDs, 4 FGs and a turnover on downs.

Defense: C- Against a team running the HUNH, the Alabama Defense started 2014  right where it left off at the end of 2013. As troubling as that fact is, it is actually more concerning when you consider the fact that West Virginia is nowhere nearly as good as Auburn, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Ole Miss. 

The Mountaineers made 22 first downs and completed 29 of 45 pass attempts for 365 yards. Although WVU only converted one of its 7 third downs in the second half, at least three possession down misfires came on passes dropped by wide-open receivers. 

Landon Collins played a terrific game, recording 8 tackles [4 solo]. Cyrus Jones made 7 tackles [5 solo] as did Reuben Foster [2 solo]. Bradley Sylve made 5 tackles [4 solo] but was picked on all game by the WVU passing attack. 

Tide defenders recorded 6 tackles for lost yardage, Jonathan Allen made 2 for 12 yards, and Xzavier Dixon forced 14 yards of lost yardage with 2 tackles for loss. 

Jarren Reed, Cy. Jones and Reggie Ragland were each credited with a pass breakup. 

Special Teams:

Punting: A+ JK Scott punted twice for an average of 50.5 net yards. His first attempt was a 60 yard boomer that nearly ricochetted off the roof of the Georgia Dome. WVU attempted only one punt return which netted a loss of a yard.

Place Kicking: A+ Adam Griffith was perfect on four FG attempts [47, 44, 27, 45] and 3 PATs.

Kick offs: F Notwithstanding an otherwise stellar effort at both kicking and returning kicks, the kick return unit gets that automatic failing grade because it was gashed for a 100 yard return that scored a TD.
Coaching: C Alabama had 636 all purpose yards and was penalized 7 times for 49 yards....granted these visiting officials were so bad that the SEC refs have been posting videos from the game on their facebook pages with mocking captions like: "Give these guys white canes next time!" and "You won't believe this shocking video..."   The participation report lists 51 players, including 9 true freshmen, who saw action in the game.  I have two principal criticisms about the coaching: First, we appear no better at defending the HUNH. Second, in my opinion Jacob Coker ought to have come into the game before garbage time. There will be lots of second-guessing about the play calling. I am not going to engage in that, primarily because the total offensive yards were very balanced, with just the right edge to the running game [288 rush; 250 pass].   

I suppose the best way to summarize all of that....and the much more besides.....is to say "It is what it is, and we are who we are." Exactly what it is, and who we are, will come into focus by the end of September. I expect that Florida Atlantic and Southern Miss will get a horse-doctor's dose of Jacob Coker, and wide receivers in addition to Amari Cooper. The Defense will have the opportunity to take out some frustration and work on assignment recognition and communication. 

If "who we are" proves to be a team that has figured out how to contain the HUNH, how to play faster and more aggressive on offense, and how to avoid costly penalties and special teams breakdowns....well, then maybe we will have a chance in the SEC West. On the other hand, if "who we are" is what showed up against West Virginia, then being on the outside looking in at the four-team playoff, will be where we are in December.....and that, is the "is" that is.

Until next Saturday.....Roll Tide, y'all!

The Commissioner