Florida Grades

In Downtown Franklin, Tennessee, you bump into history just about everywhere you turn. Historic preservation is such a priority in Franklin, that no fewer than four different charitable organizations exist to promote it. 

We are only two months shy of the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Franklin, fought during the War Between The States. At last night's Heritage Ball-an annual gala that raises money for the largest of the four preservation groups-volunteers were dressed in period themed costumes, and banners depicting people made famous by The Battle decorated the enormous venue erected in the vicinity of historic Carnton Plantation on Eastern Flank Battlefield Park.  

The most common topic of conversation last night was history. Not the bloody slaughter to preserve the Union, but the history-making contest between the premier universities of the states of Florida and Alabama.  

How about these historic achievements: 

Alabama gained 645 yards of total offense.....more yards than any Gator defense has ever yielded to an opponent in the history of Florida football.

Alabama has won 23 straight SEC openers dating back to the Tide's 25-8 victory over Vanderbilt on September 25, 1992. This is the longest active opening game win streak in the conference and is the longest in Tide history.

Blake Sims set a career high mark for passing yards with 445 [335 in the first half alone] to put him in second place in school history behind Scott Hunter [484] for most passing yards in a game.

Amari Cooper set a school record with his 6th straight game of more than 100 receiving yards and set career records for both yards in a game [201] and TD receptions [3]. 

Cooper is the 4th player in Crimson Tide history to have 3 TD receptions in a single game.

Cooper also holds the school record for TD receptions in a career [20] surpassing Dennis Homan who set the historic mark of 18 during his career between 1965-1967.

Alabama's offense achieved the historically rare trifecta of a QB who threw for more than 400 yards [Sims], a receiver who gained more than 200 yards receiving [Cooper], and a running back who gained more than 100 yards rushing [Henry].

Over the last four games, the Tide has gained 2370 yards of total offense, eclipsing the historic record of 2243 set by the 1973 team in the four games played between October 20 and November 17.

So what does all this history-making tell us about the 2014 edition of the Crimson Tide? I am not really sure. The 42-21 whipping of Florida was only as close as it was because of Tide turnovers. As well as the offense played, too many drives ended with something other than a kick. The defense may have played its best game of the year, but Florida might not be all that much better than it showed two weeks ago when Kentucky took the Gators to three overtime periods. So it is way too early to make a judgment about this team's place in Tide history.

All I can tell you is: here is how I grade the game:

Offense:       B+       I can hear the critics now: this grade is unreasonably low given the history-making numbers compiled by the offense.  Rubbish.  You do not earn a grade in the A's when you lose three fumbles and throw an interception......you also do not beat very many good teams when you do that.

The Tide earned 28 first downs, compiled 645 yards of total offense [196 rushing] and controlled the ball for 39:16 including a spirit-killing, will-imposing, 22:16 in the second half. Alabama converted 12 of 16 third downs including 7 of 8 in the second half, with the single conversion failure coming as an act of coaching mercy at the end of the game.

Blake and Jake combined for 28 completions on 35 attempts for 449 yards, 4 TDs, and a pick.

Cooper was the leading receiver with 10 catches for 201 yards and 3 TDs including a brilliant grab of a jump-ball from Jake to seal Florida's fate in the 3rd quarter. DeAndrew White added 48 yards on 6 catches, OJ Howard and Jalston Fowler had 2 receptions apiece and 8 different players caught passes, including Kenyan Drake's 89-yard TD reception on Alabama's opening possession.

Derrick Henry gained 111 yards on 20 carries and was a battering ram in the second half. By the fourth quarter, Florida defenders wanted nothing more to do with number 27. TJ added 59 yards on 18 tough runs, Drake gained 15 on 4 carries and Blake gained 12 on 8 runs from scrimmage.

Alabama had 8 sustained drives [87, 52, 79, 56, 66, 80, 60, 42] that produced 6 TDs, a missed FG and a turnover on downs at game's end.

Defense:         A+        Florida's offense only scored twice, both on short fields. The Gators gained only 200 yards total offense [107 rushing], completed only 9 of 28 passes, and suffered two interceptions and a lost fumble. The Tide defense was especially good on third downs, allowing the Gators to convert only 2 of 13 possession downs. By getting off the field when they had the opportunity, the Tide defense allowed Florida only 20:44 of possession time for the game, which is less time than Alabama's offense held the ball in the second half alone.

Reggie Ragland led all defenders with 8 tackles [5 solo]. Trey DePriest recorded 7 stops, while true freshman DL Jarran Reed and the stellar Landon Collins both were credited with 5 tackles. 

The Tide defense recorded 4 tackles for lost yardage, 1 fumble recovery, 2 interceptions, 4 pass break-ups and 3 hurries. 

The pass rush was the best it has been in four games, and the play in the secondary was likewise the best of the season. On that point, it is worth noting that true freshman, Tony Brown [6-0, 198, Beaumont, Tx.] started the game at corner.

Special Teams:

Punting: B JK Scott punted twice for a net average of 33.5 yards. He kicked one punt in excess of 50 yards that went for a touchback. The return game netted 17 yards on two returns of 4 Florida punts.

Kickoffs: B Adam Griffith netted an average of 47.1 yards on 7 kicks one of which was a touchback. The coverage unit played well; the Gators net return average was only 17 yards. The Tide return game averaged 23.3 yards.

Place Kicking:    B      Griffith missed his only FG attempt [47 yards] but was perfect on PATs.

Coaching:       A          The Tide gained 744 all-purpose yards. Cooper's 201 receiving yards was good enough for first place in AP yards as well. Penalties are still an issue with this team. Against the Gators, the Tide was flagged 11 times for 80 penalty yards. The participation report lists 62 players who saw action, including Nick Perry who returned from his red-card suspension to play safety in the second half. The rotation of players was excellent with many young players including several true freshmen and walk-on TE Michael Nysewander from Hoover seeing the field. No doubt, ball security will be an item of emphasis by the coaching staff during the upcoming by-week.

In my opinion, Lane Kiffin called a really great game. My only issue with the play calling was the decision to throw on first and goal from the 6. The pass was incomplete and a penalty put the Tide completely behind the down and distance formula. Amari Cooper's athletic catch of Jake's jump-ball pass in the front corner of the end zone saved the possession, and slammed the door on the Gators.

Alabama was not the only team making history around the league. Vanderbilt, got ahead of the Fighting Chickens by double digits only to revert to historic form and cough away the game. LSU set a historic mark of sorts, losing to Mississippi State in Baton Rouge for the first time since before the turn of the 21st Century. And Mizzou failed to hold up the SEC's historic dominance of the Big 10, falling to Indiana 31-27.

The Tide has a bye this coming Saturday, followed by a pair of road games. This should provide some much needed relief to the grass on the Quad.  When Bama plays Ole Miss at Oxford in two weeks, your Commissioner will be celebrating the wedding of his oldest daughter.  For that reason, Our Correspondent From The Tire Store will take over The Grades.  Regular readers will know that the quality of the analysis will only improve with Andy at the keyboard.

Whether the 2014 Crimson Tide will add yet another national championship to the program's legacy still remains to be seen. The picture,however, is coming into focus. Some key elements are falling into place. And one of the most important is Blake's play at quarterback. Add to that, improvement on defense, continued stellar performance at the skill positions, and an increasingly potent and imposing offensive line.......it is from these elements, dear friends, that history might be made.

Roll Tide, Y'all.....

The Commissioner

 

 

USM Grades: Report from the Tire Store

Commissioner, that was an excellent edition of The Grades.  I am sure I speak for all of us when I say we are glad you were able to do your part to bring about another Alabama victory.  I myself poured out my Mello Yello and switched to the traditional Coca Cola….  Did it help?  Didn’t hurt.

Although they all are in one way or another, it was a beautiful day to be on campus for a ball game.  Drizzling rain on Friday evening and cloudy skies on Saturday morning vanished so that by game time the long-suffering student section was once again broiling away in brilliant late afternoon sunshine.

You are never to take an opponent for granted.  Coach Stallings’ pithy phrase about if you don’t think it’s a big game, try losing it (or words to that effect) is as freighted with meaning as a 100-car CSX express.  But consistent with the Commissioner’s experience, things were just slightly off kilter yesterday.  The Quad (and frankly, now at least the two blocks or so surrounding the Quad) were full of tailgaters, the vendors of officially licensed merchandise packed the sidewalks, and the Million Dollar band was on the library steps doing its best to make the hair on your arms stand up.  Still, there just wasn’t quite that something -- anticipation, excitement -- whatever.  It was dangerously close to the feel of a final NFL preseason game.  Let’s be frank, the USM teams of the 80s and 90s would have beaten this season’s edition by three touchdowns.  Their quarterback, an Alabama product, is a respectable talent.  Alabama should have beaten this team pretty handily.  Alabama did.  As The Commissioner correctly points out, three weeks in there are a bunch of teams whose home record contains a blemish that by all rights shouldn’t be there (Ohio State and Virginia Tech both come to mind, in a circular sort of pattern).

The Tire Store Comptroller was feeling ill, so she did not attend the game.  Just after the National Anthem I got a text message asking me to explain precisely what is “ESPN 3”.  Let’s just say that I despaired of explaining in time.  And we do get the off brand NFL package, which was showing Mississippi.  The in-game thread also made its way onto my phone, which was beeping and buzzing and I don’t know what all.  Everyone knows that the Tire Store is still not all that electronically socially connected -- no instagram, no pintrests, no face book, no twitting.  At one point my companion asked, “what’s going on, did you get elected homecoming queen or something?” 

The point was well-taken.  The problem was that the relative level of excitement on the field was such that electronic distractions did get in the way.  We understand that during the crucial plays of the USCe/UGA game there were more than 100 people crowded around the television in the Zone watching that game instead of Alabama taking it to the Golden Eagles.  In his post-game radio show, Coach Saban asked Eli for extra time to urge the fans to come out next Saturday and give their best in support of the team, right from the start.  One is tempted to say, “Well, you guys, too, Coach.”  I’d be less likely to head for the concession stand with two minutes to go before half time if we were going to run the two minute drill and try to score rather than handing off to the running back three times.

We expect that having the Florida Gators in town will tend to ratchet things up a few notches on either side of the wrought iron fencing around the field.  Shoot, it’s even money that one of these days lucky fans are going to get to see the top of Coach Will Muschamp’s head blow skyward like Krakatoa.

Offense:  We agree with the grade for the offense.  It would be interesting to see what would happen if we just stayed with our starting 11 (plus one or two) for a full game.  Did you notice that T.J. Yeldon didn’t make an appearance after the first half?  The rushing stats don’t really miss a beat.  We don’t know a fourth string running back in America that is as exciting as Tyren Jones.  It is almost as if the coaches are checking boxes on a to do list.  By yesterday, a pass to a tight end must have looked like a trick play to anyone who has seen our prior game films.  Also, did you see the formation where we split out wide the unlikely trio of Vogler (6-7, 263), Drake (6-1, 202) and Fowler (6-1, 248).  What scheme to run for that on defense?  Also, we haven’t seen the film of the game, but don’t remember a single one of the bubble screens that we seemed to run every other play last week.  And speaking of film, we presume that it is a good thing that the game isn’t on film anymore, because Coach Saban’s language probably would have melted it reviewing the Cooper double-reverse-end-around-dipsy-doodle-fake-statue-of-liberty play.  And speaking of that play, you probably noticed a crushing block on the corner as Cooper reversed field, did you notice the other very effective block?  It was from Blake Sims.  Put his throwing shoulder right into a guy.  Blake, people are divided on whether you are the man to carry us to the Final Four Battle for the Beer Lever, but we all really do respect you for all you have done when asked for our team and we love your pluck and grit.  So don’t do that anymore, ok?

Defense:  We are starting to wonder if the old, dead and unlamented bend-don’t-break strategy is a part of the answer to the various styles of hurry up offense.  It seems a bit counterintuitive, but perhaps effective.  Once teams reach our 20-yard line and have less room to work, things suddenly seem to be very complicated for them.  We only had one sack, but got credit for 10 hurries and one ball batted back at the quarterback like a volley ball kill shot.  I liked the days when we didn’t let teams on our side of the 50.  I won’t give up hope for seeing that again, but I may give up hope for this year.

Special Teams:  We are just so much happier than we thought we’d be with Special Teams.  The kicking is solid.  From the end zone, it seemed to us that the players were staying in their lanes better.  We’d not give out an F for a player engaged in a block that got hit by a sideways bouncing punt (though he should have been trotting to the sidelines at that point).  If we had to do that to learn the lesson, this was a good game to do it.

Officiating:  Sadly, last night is what we have become accustomed to.  It seemed like about every third play two or three officials had to get together and talk about something.  At one point a flag flew for “illegal participation” and players and coaches on both sides had their palms up like “what now?”  They still don’t have the so-called “targeting rule” figured out.  Once the players got the message that holding by an offensive lineman was highly unlikely to be penalized it was very nearly no-holds barred (and that’s by both sides).  We saw one offensive lineman grab his man by the jersey and pull him to the ground like it was the state high school wrestling finals.  No call. 

On a personal note, we spent some time on the Quad meeting in person for the first time the Correspondent from the Land of Wine and Cheese, whom we have “known” for years, but only through the channel of this, well, whatever this is.  I do not think he’ll mind my telling you that this week, bookended by two Alabama games, was his first trip back to Tuscaloosa in 37 years.  Although some of us may take for granted Tuscaloosa on a game day, he was a refreshing reminder that there are things in this life you shouldn’t take for granted.  One of them is a chance to be on the Quadrangle listening to Denny Chimes play the alma mater on the afternoon of an Alabama game -- and in some very fundamental respects, it doesn’t really matter the opponent or maybe even the outcome.  Merci, mon ami.

Roll Tide, everyone.   Beat Florida.

The Correspondent from the Tire Store

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Southern Miss Grades

There was something just not right during the first half of the Alabama-Southern Miss game. I'm not sure exactly what it was, but things just weren't working they way they were supposed to. For starters.....there was the start of the game! Or to be more accurate....the end of the race, which had not arrived by kickoff, and I was desperately scrambling around, looking for the broadcast of the game.

The SEC Network has three.....count 'em THREE....channels set aside on the cable system here in Franklin. At 5:00 pm Saturday evening, one of them was showing LSU and Louisiana Lafayette [it was either that or one of those cooking shows....I didn't linger long enough to figure it out] while the other two channels were showing.....wait for it......THE SEC NETWORK LOGO!

According to the crawl at the bottom of the NASCAR broadcast, something called the "NFL Goal Line" channel had the game.....but I don't have the NFL Goal Line.....So, I fired up the Watch ESPN app on my phone.

At least I got to see the opening kickoff and watch in horror as USM's passing attack cut through the Tide defense like it was standing still. Because my phone was now my TV set, I didn't get the In Game Discussion Thread going with The Professor, my Son And Heir, and the Correspondent From The Real Thing [The Correspondent From The Tire Store was at BDS and blissfully unaware of the civilizational meltdown taking place on the electro-magnetic grid!

When the TV broadcast finally switched to Tuscaloosa, the Golden Eagles were lining up to kick off after having scored a field goal on their opening drive.  On my phone, they were still at the Tide 35 yard line.

Things continued to be out of sorts. The Discussion Thread wasn't working right, a solid Tide scoring drive was followed by a three-and-out, USM had over 100 yards total offense in the first quarter, and the whole Game Day Experience was teetering on the edge of disaster.

Somehow-thankfully-we managed to get to the half. Finally, an opportunity to re-group. On his way off the field, Coach Saban told the reporter: "It's all about execution."  From the look in his eyes, I was not ruling out the possibility that Coach Saban was planning to shoot somebody in the locker room. Nevertheless, I decided to make some much-needed half-time adjustments.

The Commissioners Long Suffering Wife put the finishing touches on some Mexican food, I switched seats, changed my beverage glass, put on my Game Day hat, and reconfigured the Discussion Thread. .... Readers of The Commissioners Blog know what I have to say about sports and superstitions: When it comes to sports, it is bad luck not to be superstitious. 

The second half proves my point. Alabama played with much more intensity-especially on defense-and the offense seemed to get better with each possession. When the clock ran to all zeros, the score stood at Alabama 52 - USM 12. The Tide extended its series record against Southern Miss to 34-6-2, and increased its overall record to 63-1 when rushing for 140 or more yards. Defensively, Alabama once again held an opponent to less than 300 yards total offense, as it has done 64% of the time under Nick Saban's coaching, and did not allow a touchdown.

Scoff if you will. Say that what happens on the field has nothing to do with extraneous things like where fans sit, what we wear, or how we watch the game. All I know is, after a shaky first half, changes were made, Alabama played better, and here's how I grade the game:

Offense:       A-        Alabama gained 547 [333 rushing] yards of total offense, earned 31 first downs, scored 6 TDs, and only punted once. Blake and Jake combined for 17 completions on 24 pass attempts for 214 yards and 2 TDs [Blake to Amari Cooper and Brian Vogler]. Along the way, Alabama converted 7 of 11 possession downs and possessed the ball for 34:40 of the game.

Derrick Henry ran the ball 11 times for 73 yards. Kenyan Drake gained 59 yards on 9 carries and scored 3 rushing TDs, setting a career record. Tyren Jones scored a rushing TD while gaining 58 yards on 7 plays. TJ Yeldon added 57 yards on 9 runs and Altee Tenpenny gained 39 yards on 5  plays. Amari Cooper rushed the ball once on a sweep. Between the initial route, and an across the field cutback, Cooper ran for over 50 yards, but gained a net of 9. It was a highlight reel play, but one that against better competition may well have resulted in a big loss of yardage. 

Blake threw for 168 yards on 12 completions out of 17 attempts. Jake completed 5 of 7 for 46 yards.

Amari Cooper once again led all receivers with 8 catches for 135 yards and a TD. Christian Jones caught 4 passes for 50 yards. Seven different receivers caught passes, including-for the first time this year-TE Brian Vogler-and walk-on TE Michael Nysewander. The 6-1 238 lb senior from Hoover gained 9 yards on his debut catch.

Alabama had 7 sustained offensive drives [70, 80, 75, 68, 99, 46, 69] that produced 6 TDs and a FG].  

Defense:       B         Take away the first quarter, where the Golden Eagles gained nearly half of their total offensive yards, and the Stop Troops played a stellar game. However, the necessary intensity, focus and execution was nowhere in evidence for most of the first half. For the game, USM gained 263 yards of total offense [56 rushing] and there were times when the play in the secondary was baffling. The Golden Eagles had 10 meaningful offensive possessions, only 3 ended after 3 plays and USM put together scoring drives of 59, 59 and 62 yards.

Landon Collins was the leading tackler with 12 [6 solo]. Trey DePriest recorded 6 stops while Gino Smith was credited with 4. Maurice Smith and Xzavier Dixon each had 3 tackles. Dixon also had a tackle for lost yardage, broke up 2 passes and hurried the USM QB 3 times.

For the game, the Tide D recorded 4 tackles for loss, 3 breakups and 10 hurries.

Special Teams:

Punting: F JK Scott only punted once; a 34 yard effort that was not returned. The failing grade comes from the muffed return of a USM punt in the first half that resulted in a points producing turnover.

Kick Offs: A Adam Griffith and JK Scott shared kickoff duties and combined for a gross average of 62.7 yards per kick. The coverage unit missed some excellent opportunities to put USM in untenable field position, but nevertheless, still achieved an respectable net average of 42.1 yards. Christian Jones returned 4 kicks for 111 yards.

Place Kicking:    A+      Adam Griffith was good from 30 yards out on his lone FG attempt and perfect in each of 6 PATs.

Coaching:      A-        Although the team started slow, the necessary adjustments were made. The participation report lists 70 players who saw action in the game and Alabama gained 672 all purpose yards [Ch. Jones was the leader in AP yards with 175].  Penalties have been a problem so far this season and yesterday was no exception. Although the total number decreased dramatically to only 3 for 25 yards, one of them-targeting-resulted in safety NIck Perry being red-carded. With Vinnie Sunseri playing for the New Orleans Saints instead of the Tide, losing an experienced contributor at safety is something Alabama can ill-afford.

Around the league, there are several other teams that ought not feel well this morning. The Commodores escaped OT only because the U Mass kicker missed a chip-shot FG attempt as time expired. In The Swamp, Florida managed to put away Kentucky only after 3 OT periods. Georgia fans are Dawg cussing Mark Richt, Steve Spurrier and the officials in equal measure this morning after losing to the Fighting Chickens 38-35 [a first and goal at the So. Carolina 4 at game's end resulted in no points after a penalty and a missed field goal attempt]. And up on Rocky Top-where they are perpetually rebuilding [exactly what they are rebuilding remains a mystery]-the Volunteers got reacquainted with realty at the hands of the Sooners 34-10.

An embarrassed Florida comes to Tuscaloosa this weekend. The days for slow starts and poor execution are over. Our Tire Store Correspondent may well have some thoughts about games that are supposed to be "tune ups" and whether the 2014 Crimson Tide is now hitting on all cylinders.....I will leave that up to Andy.....here in Franklin there will be no more experimenting with how we watch the game, where we sit, and what we wear.  The SEC opener is here....it's the Gators....and I can't wait for Game Day!

RTR

The Commissioner      

FAU Grades: The Report From The Tire Store

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Good edition of the Grades, Commissioner.  We probably would have graded it pretty much the same.  Because we were feeling just a little like the brake pads were half worn down after last Saturday, watching this week made us feel a little better.  The pads are still better than half there and no need to turn the rotors. 

Good things we saw this week.

OK, Amari Cooper is a good football player.  A really good football player.  How good?  Well, we heard from at least three people trying to sort out if he was better than Julio Jones.  There is a long way to go, but after Saturday Cooper is nearly half way to his production from all of last year, both in yards and receptions.  I presume defensive backs at other schools are drawing straws and hoping they aren’t one of the two guys assigned to cover him.

Blake and Jacob both played better than we expected.  Admittedly, after A-Day our expectations were not that great, but Sims seemed much more comfortable this week.  We think he made the wrong play on the goal line, but in this game it was not a disaster -- got that out of his system.  Sims’ nice little cutback move is something that will draw cheers in film review.  He is proving very efficient at getting the ball to the playmakers and with the talent at running back and wide receiver, that will be enough to win a lot of football games. Lots of folks seemed to be wrapped around the axle of whether he can throw it far downfield.  At this point, it sort of invites the question, when have we needed to?  We will in a couple of weeks, to be sure, but for now we have over 1100 offensive yards in less than two full games.  That’s good enough.  We liked that Coker wasn’t afraid to run and stick his nose in there for an extra yard or two.  He stood up and made a good pass with defenders bearing down on him as the pocket collapsed.  For a player who hasn’t taken a snap in the second quarter since, what, probably his senior year in high school, we thought he did fine.  We don’t understand everyone staking out positions on who should be “starter”.  If the fans would just take the attitude that the young men seem to be taking towards each other, Coach wouldn’t be getting snippy. 

The competition was a notch lower, but having both Jackson and Depriest back on defense made a noticeable difference.  Lots of defensive players got valuable repetitions in this game.  We hope for more of the same next week.  We expect tackling drills this week will focus on wrapping up and taking the ball carrier to the ground, not as Coach Saban said, trying to butt people to the ground.  Still some kinks to work out and they need to be gone by this time next week.  Still, it is hard to shut out any team in the current age of college football.  The defense deserves credit.

We like Adam Griffith.  We like him a lot.  It was only this week that we learned he was actually living in a Polish orphanage until he was adopted and moved to Calhoun, Georgia when he was 13, not speaking English.  Let that sentence sink in for a minute.  Add this one, in addition to our offer, he also had a scholarship offer to Vanderbilt.  Kickers can be a little, um, free spirited, but for now we are comfortable.  How comfortable?  At one point Saturday Alabama lined up for a PAT and we were so confident in it that we didn’t even watch it, much less hold our collective breath.  Of course, that is how it should be, but still.  Placekicking is becoming a weapon.

Like the Commissioner, we certainly hope the television crews will slowly tire of having a camera dedicated to our offensive coordinator.  We suppose they are waiting for Saban to explode like a volcano over some call or another.  We are tired of the silly constant cut-aways and even replays (if you can believe it) of our assistant coach.  While we are on the subject, we have been quite pleased with the play calling thus far.  Problems experienced by our offense seem to be more of the execution than scheme variety (e.g. on the fumble play, if Blake only fakes the inside handoff and bootlegs to the left side of our line, we think he would have had choices of how to score the touchdown.)

What appears to have gone missing in action are plays involving the tight end carrying the football.  We have seen passes to several very good receivers (and one terrific one); the running backs are very, very deep and not a group you particularly want to try to tackle; we’ll be interested to see how many different ways Drake gets used this year if he can stay healthy and out of the dog house….  But unless we missed something, we have more throws to the full back for touchdowns than we do completed passes to tight ends.  Maybe that was on tap for the missing 7 minutes of Saturday’s game.  Or maybe there just aren’t enough footballs to go around to the talent we have on offense.  There are worse problems to have.

Roll Tide.  Beat Southern Miss.

FAU Grades

WLAC-Nashville: 

Host 1:   We are back from our break, and welcome once again to Vol Calls. After a bit of a slow start, the Volunteers are victorious today over Arkansas State in  Neyland Stadium.

Host 2:    Yeah, it was good to see so many fans turn out to watch the Vols play very well against an opponent that was really overmatched. There were even fans seated in portions of the upper deck

Host 1:    Let's go to the phones....Travis from Crossville, welcome to Vol Calls.

Travis:      Hey guys, how are you?

Host 1&2:  Great thanks...

Travis:     So I was watching the game on the SEC Network today... andI just want to know what you think about this....it's been bothering me since spring football....now that [bleep] Lane [bleep] Kiffin is the offensive coordinator at Alabama, does that make him an even bigger [bleep] [bleep] [bleep] than he was before? 

Host 2:   I thought you had a question about Tennessee...

Travis:   THAT IS A TENNESSEE QUESTION you [bleep]....don't you remember Lane [bleep] Kiffin? He used to be the Vol's head [bleep] coach [bleep]!  Or have you had your head [bleep] [bleep] [bleep] for so long that you can't remember that far back?

Host 1:  No...it's just that Butch Jones is our coach now, and we are on our second head coach after Lane Kiffin and...

Travis:  IT'S LANE [BLEEP] KIFFIN! Or are you some kind of [bleep] [bleep] or something?

Host 1:  My point is just that: why get all sped up about a guy that is on his second job after leaving Knoxville? And, they didn't mention his name a single time during the broadcast of today's game.

Travis:  What do you mean 'they didn't mention his [bleep] name' They kept showing him and that [bleep] Nick [[bleep] Saban on the sidelines between every play.

Host 2:  What game were you watching?

Travis:   That [bleep] Alabama and Florida [bleep] Atlantic game...what else?

Host 1:  Maybe the Tennessee-Arkansas State game?

Travis:    What the [bleep]?

Host 2:  Yeah...this is Vols calls....you know that, Travis,  You're one of our most regular callers. Didn't we give you the award for most calls in a season when the Big Orange Caravan came through the Upper Cumberland?

Travis:    [bleep] the Big [bleeb] Orange [bleep]-a-van! Nick Saban comes to Bradley County, Tennessee and the hall is so full the fire marshall doesn't let any more people inside and the National Guard has to control the crowd outside....Butch Jones goes there and they hold the meeting in a phone booth.  The Alabama road show comes to Nashville and they fill up the Omni Hotel with an overflow crowd, ESPN anchors and NFL players. What kind of [bleep] is that? 

Host 2:  Uh....Doug....I just checked the ratings info for the games today and it says here that more sets in Tennessee were tuned to the Alabama-FAU game than were watching the Vols.....   

I really don't know whether more people in the Volunteer State watched the Tide roll over FAU than watched the UT-Arkansas State match, although the official attendance at BDS was north of 100,000 while barely 99,000 went through the turnstiles at the Home Of The World's Largest Vols Sign. But I do know that the SEC Network's broadcast crew was obsessed with the fact that Lane Kiffin and Nick Saban stalked the same sideline. 

I guess this is what passes as "news" in Sports TV Land: from time to time, Saban had things to tell his Offensive Coordinator!  Imgine that! It must not happen in other programs. They even showed instant replay of Saban talking to Kiffin......and I do mean "talking."  It's not like Saban was hitting Kiffin with The Bug Zapper, or expressing frustration as he occasionally has good cause to do with the Zebras.

He was just saying things to him. I don't know what he said.....there is still some zone of privacy within which coaches work during games....but here are some possibilities:

"Wow! Number 9 is a really good football player."

"OK, now I understand why we practiced the screen pass so much this week."

"Is there anybody else that would like to carry the ball in a running play? How about we give it to Kouandjio once just to see the other team's reaction."

"Thanks for the Little Debbie snack cakes......ever since my daughter moved to Nashville, I've missed getting them." 

Seriously though: what is it with the media's obsession with Kiffin? Last week's broadcast was just as bad.  Come on people!  The guy is an assistant coach. By all appearances, he's doing a good job...see more on this topic below.....His boss, a notoriously hard grader, says that he is very pleased with his performance.  Enough already!

So, let's get on with the game.....

It was a way shorter affair than last week's West Virginia Marathon....in part because the clock was not stopped as often, and also because the respective ADs decided to cancel the last 8:00 of the 4th quarter rather than sit out an indeterminate lightning delay. 

As short as it was, however, there was more than enough material from which to draw some conclusions. Here are mine:

1.  Blake Sims made a vast improvement in the week since the season opener.

2.  Jake Coker has not earned the starting job.

3.  Eddie Jackson and Trey DePriest are difference makers on defense.

4.  Number 9 is indeed a really good football player.

   

With those conclusions in mind, here's how I grade the game:

Offense:  B      Readers will recalll my rule that the level of competition is taken into account by an automatic one-grade reduction for Offense and Defense.  A lost fumble at the goal line and a failure to manage the clock at the end of the first half are enough to keep the offense from earinging the +.

Alabama gainied 620 total offensive yards [204 rushing], earned 27 first downs, converted 6 of 12 possession downs [plust 1 of 1 on 4th down] and mounted 8 drives that gained 40 or more yards [74, 74, 78, 87, 69, 63, 71, 41] producing 4 TDs, 2 FGs, a lost fumble and the end of the first half. 

Blake was obviously more comfortable in the QB role than he was a week ago as he completed 11 of 13 pass attempts for 214 yards and 2 TDs. Jake added 202 yards and a TD on 15 completions out of 24 pass attempts. 

Amari Cooper tied DJ Halls' single game record for receptions [13] on his way to gaining 189 yards and scoring a TD on a pass reception. He also gained 20 yards rushing on the opening play of the game-a brilliant reverse that was THIS CLOSE to gaining 26 more yards-to be the leader in all purpose yards [209]. 

Red-shirt Freshman, ArDarius Stewart, the Pride Of Fultondale, made his debut performance count for 63 yards on 3 receptions while Soph. Chris Black made 3 catches for 45 yards. Kenyan Drake had a single reception that gained 30 yards and scored one of his two TDs for the day. Jalston Fowler also scored a TD catching a swing pass out of the backfield from 5 yards out in a play from the Jumbo [3 tight ends] Formation.

Last week, two running backs each gained more than 100 yards. This week, 8 different players ran with the football. Drake was the leading rusher with 45 yards and a TD on 7 carries, TJ Yeldon added 43 yards on 7 carries but lost the ball on a fumble at the goal line in the Tide's first drive of the thrid quarter. There was clealry miscommunication on the play. Blake thought it was a running play, TJ thought it was a play-action pass. I have no idea who was right, but the official stat sheet credits the fumble to Sims and neither Blake nor TJ touched the ball after that.

Tyren Jones made his playing debut. The RS Freshman from Marietta, Georgia, carried the ball 4 times for 33 yards and looked really good doing it.

Defense:     B-       The return of Eddie Jackson and Trey DePriest made a big impact on the Tide defense.  FAU was held to only 145 total yards [57 rushing] and managed to convert only 2 of 10 third downs.  The Owls had 9 offensive possessions; 5 of them ended in three plays or less. FAU's day at the office produced 7 punts, a lost fumble, a turnover on downs......and a check for $1 million.

Reggie Ragland made 5 tackles [3 solo], 1.5 for lost yardage and a fumble recovery. Eddie Jackson, Landon Collins, A'Shawn Robinson, and Trey DePriest were each credited with 4 tackles. Tide defenders made 6 tackles for lost yardage [3 sacks], forced 2 fumbles, recovered a fumble and broke up one pass. 

Special Teams:

Punting:      A        JK Scott never saw action, but the return game earned 77 yards on 3 return.

FGs:           A        Adam Griffith was perfect on two FG attempts [22, 28] and 4 PATs.

Kickoffs:     A        Griffith averaged 64.5 gross yards and 43.5 net yards on 8 kickoffs and included 2 touchbacks. Christion Jones returned FAU's only kickoff 26 yards.

Coaching:    B+     The Tide showed vast improvement from last week.  Gone were timeouts called to avoid delay of game penalties, as the players on offense seemed to have a much better understanding of what play had been called and their part in it.  The outcome of the contest was never in doubt, and the decision to call the game was clearly in the best interest of the players. It would have been coaching malpractice to wait out the lightning and put cold players back on the field for 8 meaningless mintues. Alabama gained 723 all purpose yards, and the participation report lists 65 players who saw action. Certainly those numbers would have been higher had the game not been interrupted. A down grade is neverthless justified by the 6 penalties that cost the Tide 60 yards of field position. 

While the Blake vs. Jake competition continues, there is no question that, for this week at least, Sims has put a bit of daylight between himself and Coker.  Expect to see a similar rotation at QB next Saturday against Southern Miss.  How long the rotation will contniue is anybody's guess.  The Head Coach told reporters it will be his decision based on which player gives the team the best chance to win the football game.  In 1981 Coach Bryant said exactly the same thing, in just about those identical words, when a caller asked him: "Why are you playing Joe Jones at running back when you have a better player, Kenny Simon, sitting on the bench?"

"I'm playing Joe Jones because I'm trying to win a football game," Bryant said.  Then he added: "What 'bidness' are you in?  Maybe I can help you with your 'bidness'?"  When the caller admitted to being a lawyer, Bryant declared "Well, in that case, I can't help you with your 'bidness'."

Handling such questions the same way is not the only similarity between Coach Saban and his celebrated predecessor. My opinion of the comparison between Bryant and Saban is pretty much in line with what Paul Finebaum recently wrote in the Waller Street Journal:

http://online.wsj.com/articles/the-joyless-triumph-of-nick-sabanpaul-finebaum-my-conference-can-beat-your-conference-why-the-sec-still-rules-college-football-1407190195  

If he keeps at it long enough, Saban has what it takes to surpass Bryant's record of 6 national championships.  Whether he will add another one this year remains to be seen.....there are some encouraging signs in the way the Tide has progressed in two games.  But the season is long. The playoff format is new. And the competition is hard at work.....and, unlike the media pundits, they don't care about Lane Kiffin's track record....they are studying what happens on the field, not on the sidelines......Then again, so is Saban and the Alabama staff.

Our Correspondent From The Tire Store reminds us before the start of every season, what Lewis Grizzard wrote about college football being about our way of life versus theirs....about Us v. Them. For now, Lane Kiffin is one of "us".....so, Roll Tide, Y'all!   

The Commissioner  

West Virginia Grades: The Report From The Tire Store

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Good job, Commissioner. That was a tough game to grade. We happened to hear the Coach’s interview on the Alabama Radio Network at halftime. He made an interesting comment, focused on the defense. He said, “we aren’t doing the things we practiced.” Given that this was the first game after nothing but months and months of practice, that seemed sort of odd. 

For whatever reason, and I expect some of it had to do with less than gentle reminders in the halftime locker room, the team as a whole and the defense in particular, seemed to have returned to some of the lessons taught in last two quarters.

Down here at the Tire Store we had an odd sensation of things being upside down. Some things we expected to be strengths turned out to be not quite so strong; some things that had been keeping us up at night turned out to be solid as a tire iron.

Let’s start with the pleasant surprises. We admit that when time finally came for Alabama’s first punt, we held our breath just a little bit. Therefore, we didn’t have quite enough air to cheer as loudly as we should have for the absolute howitzer of a punt that brought a collective “oooohhhh” from the crowd in the Dome. Ditto with field goal attempts. We didn’t hold our breath on covering kickoff returns, a mistake we promise to remedy on Saturday. But the point is that the time we spent worrying about kicking was wasted. 

The same is generally true of the offensive line. This was a new group that had been playing together only through Fall Camp. Due to an odd combination of injuries, suspensions, incoming talent, etc. this was a starting line you would have been hard pressed to predict back in January. Starting a true freshman on the left side should have caused more breath-holding, but we didn’t really notice him at all, except on those occasions where he was throwing road grader blocks at the second level. Hurray. The o-line issues were caused by three penalties on the same upper classman… See what we mean? Upside down.

Unfortunately, some of the things that we sort of counted on to come through left, um, some work to do in practice this week (and the next). With the talent we have on defensive line and at linebacker, we expected stopping runs between the tackles to be as easy as fixing a flat, but WVU had surprisingly good success doing just that for the whole first half. Things clamped down, and thanks to some second half improvement at the point of attack, a shotgun snap over the qb’s head, and sacks, WVU managed to average rushing for only 1.5 yards per attempt. To be fair, even if you take out the bad snap, the rush per attempt was still under 2 yards). That’s a stat we’d find reassuring, if we hadn’t seen the game.

Alabama has two very talented freshman defensive backs. One was rated by recruiting services as one of the best players in the whole senior class -- not the best defensive back, one of the best players available. The other is a world-class track athlete with an impeccable pedigree. We were confident that because the upperclassmen had managed to keep these two prodigies off the field for the first game, DB play would be solid, maybe even outstanding. Well, not so much. We need to show some serious improvement at the boundary DB position, in particular.

Way too much ink (and whatever the online equivalent is) was spent on who would quarterback the Crimson Tide. Blake Sims got the nod. We won the game. His stat line was more than respectable. In fact, it exceeded debut stats put up by players named A.J., John Parker, Brodie, and Greg. There were some clear misreads in the first half, a couple of off-target throws, and an interception probably attributable to staring down his receiver. For us, the key was that in the first half there was a little bit of a crisis, Coach told the back up to get loose -- the game was far from secure. To Blake Sims’ credit, he got things under control, remained in the game, and led the team to a victory.

Generally, the defense is likely to improve when we get back an experienced db from his post-surgical rehab and our defensive signal caller back from ncaa suspension. Holding any of the various arena football offenses that fly under the HUNH banner to just 16 points is an achievement. That said, we have little confidence a performance like that one will hold some of the conference HUNH teams on the schedule to just 16 points.

The old saying is that the team will see its most improvement from the first game to the second. That’s hopeful, but like the first game itself, just a bit disappointing that we have a number of areas that could improve so very much.

So we are now off to a more traditional pre-conference schedule. Saturday’s game will begin at 11:00 a.m. on the brand spanking new SEC Network. Tailgating may lend itself more to bagels and bacon than burgers and barbecue. Enjoy the game.