Arkansas Grades

Only one word can describe Alabama's 14-13 win over Arkansas: ugly.

How ugly was it? 

If it was my dog, I would make it walk backwards.

If it was a scarecrow, the birds would return the corn they stole last year.

If it was a car, you could leave the keys in the ignition and nobody would take it.

It if was sitting in a sandbox, a cat would try to bury it.

If prisoners at Gitmo were forced to watch it, they would have a legitimate gripe about inhumane treatment.

It was so ugly that I had to use a squeegee to clean my TV screen.

It was so ugly.....well, you get the idea.  IT WAS UGLY! But, it was an ugly win, not an ugly loss. That, at least is some consolation.

Maybe it was the Hogs' red jerseys, but for a while I thought I had figured out time travel and was watching the Crimson play the White in last April's A-Day Game. All the offensive and special teams ineptitude of the Spring's final scrimmage was on full display in Fayetteville. We could not run.  We could not pass. We could not return punts.  We could not kick field goals. Heck, we could not even line up properly with the correct number of players on the field and stay set until the ball was snapped! 

There were some things, however, that we did extremely well. Punting is the first that comes to mind. JK Scott's leg was Alabama's most potent weapon, as time after time he flipped field position and gave the defense something to work with.  

Stopping the Hogs' running game is another thing Bama did extremely well. Coming into the contest, Arkansas had been averaging 279 yards per game rushing. Alabama's defense limited the Piggies to only 89. 

That just about exhausts the list of Things We Did Extremely Well, which is why here is how I grade the game:

Offense: F- Alabama gained only 227 yards of total offense [66 rushing] which produced only 10 first downs [actually only 9 since one FD came by way of a penalty against the Hogs]. Blake only completed 11 of 21 pass attempts for 161 yards, but two of his passes were good for TDs and, thanks to several drops by Arkansas DBs, he did not throw an interception. 

DeAndrew White had 4 receptions for 33 yards. TJ Yeldon and Amari Cooper were each limited to only 2 catches each. White and Yeldon caught passes for TDs. 

Yeldon gained 45 yards on 16 carries. Derrick Henry ran the ball 7 times for 25 yards. 

Bama only mounted two sustained drives [67, 56] which produced one TD and a missed FG. Seven of Bama's offensive possessions were three-and-out. Another possession resulted in a turnover on downs when the offense failed to convert, needing only to advance the length of the football. Coach Saban described the play as "the worst quarterback sneak I have ever seen."

Defense: B Repeated failures to stop Arkansas from converting long third downs left me tempted to grade the Stop Troops no better than a C+. Upon more careful reflection, however, I think the D played what might be its best game of the year.

Reggie Ragland led all defenders with 12 tackles [7 solo]. Landon Collins and Xzavier Dickson were each credited with 8, and Eddie Jackson and Trey DePriest recorded 6 each. Jarran Reed, A'Shawn Robinson and Nick Perry each made 5 tackles. Collectively, the defense accounted for 9 tackles for lost yardage [4 sacks], 2 forced fumbles-both were recovered for turnovers and one prevented a sure Hog TD-an interception, 4 pass break-ups, and 2 hurries.

Thanks to an excellent second half adjustment by Kirby Smart, the Tide managed to stop the bleeding on third-and-long. Consequently, the Piggies last five offensive possessions resulted in 3 three-and-outs, a turnover on downs and an interception [Landon Collins].  

Special Teams:

Place Kicking: D Adam Griffith missed his lone FG attempt from 30 yards, but made both PAT attempts. Given the score differential, it could be argued that place kicking was the difference in the game.

Punting: JK Scott gets an A+. His 8 punts averaged 44.2 yards, he dropped 7 inside the Hog 20 and boomed 3 for more than 50 yards. 

The punt return game earned F- due to two lost fumbles and a third fumble that was recovered.

Place Kicking: A Griff averaged 61.3 gross yards per kick and netted an average of 45.3. The coverage unit played quite well. The return game was again problematic. 

Coaching: F Alabama gained only 293 all purpose yards and the participation report lists only 55 players who saw action. The Tide was penalized 4 times but half of those were pre-snap penalties including having 12 players on the field....which occurred following a time out. Rumors out of Fayetteville are that maintenance workers are painting the walls of the visitor's locker room to repair the scorch marks left by Coach Saban's half-time.....um.... comments. 

In his post-game presser, Coach Saban complimented the players for their effort in the game. He makes a good point. The offensive and special teams' ineptitude, and the defense's struggles on third downs was not due to lack of effort. Guys were playing hard. They were not playing smart. They were not paying attention to details. They were not executing their assignments with consistency. But they were trying really hard. If the SEC West were a recreational soccer league, everyone associated with the program could fell good this morning. But, it isn't and no one is feeling particularly good about where the 2014 Crimson Tide finds itself after the second weekend in October. The crazy thing is, that as badly as Alabama has played the last two weeks, it is still very much in the thick of the race for the four-team playoff. 

It will be hard for Alabama to win the SEC West. Ole Miss will have to lose twice-State and the Barn, however, could punch that particular ticket. Then, Bama would have to win out  to claim the tie breaker over State. I suppose that it is theoretically possible-depending on what happens to other teams in other leagues-for a one-loss Alabama to face a rematch with an undefeated Ole Miss in the first round of the playoffs. Stranger things have happened. 

All of those scenarios, however, require Alabama to win out. The incomparable Cecil Hurt, writing this morning in Tide Sports about the rather tentative Rammer Jammer that followed the conclusion of Saturday night's game, observed that while Alabama did not exactly beat the hell out of Arkansas, it managed to survive-for now-beating the hell out of itself. 

There are some formidable teams waiting for Alabama, but in each of the upcoming games, the first order of business has to be for Alabama not to beat itself. Over the last four weeks, the Tide has experienced an ugly loss and two ugly wins. Obviously, the later is preferable to the former, but unless the chronic problems of ball security, special teams miscues, penalties, and execution are corrected, all the great effort in the world will not salvage winning out.

If Alabama fails to correct and improve, the SEC Champion could well be either the Admiral Akbar Rebel Black Bears or the cow-bell ringing rubes from Starkville. How ugly would that be? It would be so ugly, that if you found it sitting on the beach, your first thought would be that BP was having another bad safety day.

It doesn't get any easier for Alabama. This coming Saturday, an embarrassed Texas A&M comes to Tuscaloosa. My Son And Heir and I will be there......

Roll Tide y'all.

The Commissioner