Wisconsin Grades

The Commissioner's Patient and Long-Suffering Wife really likes a website called Trip Advisor. She's a planner, and before we go anywhere she thoroughly researches our destination. In particular she studies the reviews that other Trip Advisor fans have posted on hotels, attractions and restaurants. From time to time, she comes across negative reviews that make her laugh. People deficient in self-awareness sometimes complain about things that ought to have been perfectly obvious. 

For example: "Expecting the chef to be equal to his reputation, I placed my dinner order with two substitutions, a temperature request and a dietary restriction. Everyone else at our table was served before I was!" Or: "We booked this four star hotel in Paris a week before we arrived, and the room was small, the bed was only a queen-size, and the 'complimentary' breakfast consisted of different kinds of bread with butter and jam." Or this one: "The guide books all tout this country's history, but the castles were mostly in ruins, the big country estates all charge for tours, and I nearly bumped my head on the low ceiling in the local pub."

There is a name for these sorts of complaints: "First World Problems."

The morning after beating Wisconsin 35-17, The Commissioner might very well be guilty of complaining about First World Problems. As My Son And Heir said at the end of the night, "feeling dissatisfied about beating a ranked team on the opening game of the season by more than two touchdowns isn't such a bad thing."

Coach Saban told reporters after the game that the game provided the coaches with a clear picture of "here's where we are. Here's the things we did well. Here's the things we need to improve on to get up to a standard."  Among those who did not play up to the standard were the defensive subs who allowed the Badgers to drive 75 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. They were joined, by the starting defensive secondary whose play in the first half was a continuation of the last three games of the 2014 season. Also not playing up to standard was practically the entire kicking game. 

The list of things done well, however, is quite impressive. Foremost on that list is the play of the defensive front seven. It didn't seem to matter how deep the Tide coaches went in the defensive rotation, the defensive line and linebackers were ferocious and formidable. The Badgers are a running team. They have a big, strong offensive line and big talented running backs. With 9:00 to play in the game, they had earned a grand total of 8 yards rushing. The longest run from scrimmage by any of Wisconsin's featured backs was 5 yards. In the first half, Badgers' QB, Joel Stave, looked like he might be having one of those once-in-a-career nights; think about South Carolina's otherwise forgettable Stephen Garcia in his 2010 game against the Crimson Tide. 

After intermission, however, the Badgers had 7 possessions. Five of those resulted in 4 punts and an interception on a total of 16 plays. It was astonishing to see how much better the Tide secondary was in coverage when the front seven pressured the opposing quarterback.

Also add Jake Coker to the list of things done well. In his first career start, the fifth-year senior completed 15 of 21 pass attempts for 213 yards and a TD [Robert Foster]. He took two really bad sacks early in the game when he seemed confused by the Wisconsin blitz. He also badly missed a wide-open receiver on a deep pattern down the right sideline in the third quarter. On the whole, his performance reminded me of GMac's improvement during the course of the 2009 season opener against Virginia Tech. Cooper Bateman played well in relief, completing 7 of 8 pass attempts for 51 yards. 

You can round out the list of things done well with the run game. Derrick Henry and Kenyon Drake accounted for 4 rushing TDs. Henry was an absolute beast gaining 147 yards on 13 carries. But one of his best plays was a blitz pick-up that allowed Jake to complete a long pass for a first down. Henry stone-walled the defensive end who stunted through a gap in the O Line. The official stats don't have a category for that sort of play, but it was the kind of hit that would have made Coach Bryant say: "Bingo! That was a goodie!"

So at the risk of sounding like one of those whiners on Trip Advisor, here is how I grade the game:

Offense: B- Alabama compiled 27 first downs [12 rushing], on 502 total yards [238 rushing]. Tide QBs combined for 22 completions on 29 attempts for 264 yards. 

True freshman Damien Harris complimented Henry and Drake's efforts by gaining 23 yards on 9 carries.

Robert Foster lead all receivers with 4 receptions for 55 yards and a TD [22 yards]. Ardarius Stewart also made 4 receptions for 44 yards. OJ Howard and Calvin Ridley each accounted for 3 receptions. Drake and Henry had two catches apiece. Transfer, Richard Mullaney also made two receptions gaining 38 yards. In all, 9 different players caught passes.

The Offense put together five drives that gained 40 or more yards [90, 88, 56, 67, 53] resulting in 4 TDs and a missed FG, while suffering only one true 3 and out.  The other three-play drive covered only 27 yards and resulted in a TD. 

In the category of First World Problems: the Tide only converted 4 of 11 third down opportunities, suffered three consecutive plays with penalties [2 false starts and a hold], and surrendered 24 negative yards on 3 sacks.

Defense B+ Wisconsin's proud rushing game was limited to only 40 yards on 21 carries, and 24 of those yards came on a single play in the fourth quarter where the Badgers' starters were playing against the Tide's "Twos". 

Reggie Ragland led all defenders with 5 solo tackles and 7 assists. He also was credited with hurrying the Wisconsin QB. Eddie Jackson had 6 solo tackles and an interception, the game's only turnover. 

Soph. LB, Shaun Dion Hamilton, accounted for 4 solo stops and 2 assists. 

The head-turner of the night, may well be true freshman DB Minkah Fitzpatrick [6-1, 195]. The Old Bridge, NJ native, playing in his first-ever collegiate game, accounted for 3 solo tackles, 2 assists, 1 tackle for lost yardage [sack] and a pass breakup. 

Also accounting for 3 solo stops was new-starter, Reuben Foster. No. 10 got lost in coverage a couple of times in the first half, which allowed Wisconsin to complete some throws to backs coming open in the flats, but Foster's closing speed and hard tackling prevented any big gains. Fellow first-time starter, Marlon Humphrey also had 3 solo tackles.      

Jr. DL, Jonathan Allen [6-3, 283] made 2 solo tackles and 2 assists. Both of his solo tackles were for lost yardage. He also broke up a pass.

First World Problem: Poor coverage in the secondary in the first half, and lack of intensity in the closing minutes of the game. Also, Marlon Humphrey was penalized for interference on a play where all he had to do in order to avoid the penalty was turn his head and look at the ball. This would also have resulted in an interception since the ball would have lodged itself in Marlon's face mask.

Special Teams:

Oh,good Lord!

Punting: F We punted 4 times for a gross average of only 36.8 yards and our coverage yielded 15 yards on two returns making the net average a paltry 33 yards. This is a decrease of more than 15 net yards over last season's averages.

Place Kicking: D Griff was perfect on all 5 PATs but missed wide on both of his FG attempts [44, 39].

Kick Offs: B+ Griff did a very good job kicking off. His gross average was 65 yards and the coverage unit by and large contained the Badger return efforts achieving a net of 42.7 yards per kick.  The Tide return game gave rise to some First World Problems: The Badger kick off net average was 49 yards and on one return our ball carrier took a knee......at the seven yard line!

Coaching: B The participation report lists 59 players who saw action in the AdvoCare Classic. Among those were true freshmen: Calvin Ridley, Ronnie Harrison, Minkah Fitzpatick, Daron Payne, Shawn Burgess-Becker, Damien Harris, Lester Cotton and Dallas Warmack. Redshirt freshmen Marlon Humphrey, Christian Miller and Keith Holcombe joined the youth-movement.

The Tide was penalized 11 times for 120 yards. That is not a First World Problem, even considering that the officials were supplied by the Big 12 Conference, and at least three flags were so obviously miscalled that Coach Saban's protest by-passed the Bug Zapper and went straight for the Screaming Cruise Missile. That many penalties and that much lost yardage has to be addressed.

I don't want to dwell on First World Problems and end this edition of The Grades with a complaining tone.  The win over Wisconsin provides much to be excited about. The 2014 season ended one game too early in a loss to a very good team out of the Big Ten Conference. The 2015 season began with a resounding win over a ranked Big Ten team. Alabama's record against the current members of that league is 25-13 [.658]. With the win over Wisconsin, the Tide's record against the AP top 25 is 32-11 [.744] which includes Coach Saban's record at Alabama over the AP top 10 of 17-6!  The Tide has made 33 appearances on ESPN's College GameDay, and owns a record of 21-12. Coach Saban's share of that record is 18-6. Alabama's 24 GameDay appearances under Coach Saban is the most for any program since 2007. (Oregon, with 20 appearances is in second place.) Finally, Jake's 213 passing yards against the Badgers marks a career high, surpassing the 202 yards he achieved last season against Florida Atlantic. His 15 completions ties his career best, and his 213 passing yards is the 10th most by a Tide quarterback in a starting debut.

So there is a lot to be very excited about, while there is also work to be done. The most important game of the season, so far, is next Saturday's home opener against MTSU. My Son And Heir will be handling responsibility for The Grades, as The Commissioner will be in a location without wi-fi or TV next weekend. I am confident he will bring his A-Game.

Roll Tide, Y'all.

The Commissioner