OK, everyone who thought last week that you’d be reading the
following sentence, please raise your hand:
“Alabama, led by superlative performances on special teams, a
breath-taking gamble by the head coach, and clutch efforts by pass-catching
wonder O.J. Howard, secured the University’s 16th national
championship on Monday night.” Liars.
Frankly, right up until about a third of the way through the
third quarter, the game was playing out the way many predicted, at least on the
scoreboard. Down here at the Tire Store,
we kind of expected both teams to come out a little tight, that the score would
be close at half time, and in the second half we’d begin to pull away,
eventually enjoying a comfortable victory.
And it was going that way. The
score was knotted at half time. The
first half performance for both teams was uneven. Clemson got the ball to start the second
half, promptly went three-and-out, and Alabama scored a touchdown. Kicking off the football we felt like what we
expected from reading about a jillion pregame predictions and staring intently
into the crystal ball (ok, it was actually the plastic cover on the balance
machine, but that was the idea) was about to happen.
If you were able to stay up past most people’s usual bed
time, you know that’s not quite how it worked out. In fact, even halfway through the fourth
quarter, with a lead and Clemson kicking off, we thought ok, Anaconda
time. Hand the ball off to Derrick Henry
11 of the next 12 plays, gain 4-5 yards a down, take seven minutes off the
clock, and shoot the confetti cannons.
That didn’t happen either.
So, the game invites the question: What in the name of Xen
Scott was going on out in the middle of the Great American Desert?
The obvious thing is that Alabama did not play its best game
of the year. It probably peaked one game
too early. You expect some nerves and
jitters in a game like this. Clemson had
a very very good football team and played very well. The difference is that last year in the
playoffs Alabama’s less-than-best effort resulted in a defeat. This year, it resulted in a National
Championship. We are inclined to say the
difference was this team’s focus on “finishing”.
Most of the bad things seemed to us to be a lack of
execution on the field rather than a lack of planning and strategy. For whatever reason, and certainly some of it
is a credit to Clemson, but the right side of the offensive line was
occasionally less effective at stopping people than the turn stiles at Disney
World. Credit Clemson for taking
advantage, though we are not sure how much credit they get when we choose not
to block one of their all-conference players.
Either on purpose or not, we occasionally did not employ a spy on their
quarterback, or our spy was out of position.
That’s not good. We flat out
missed some tackles, maybe more than about the last four games put together. We were frustrated about some of their pass
completions. After further review,
though, sometimes guys just make a perfect pass and catch and you tip your cap
to them. We missed a field goal. Our most sure-handed receiver dropped a third
down pass. Even the great Reggie Ragland
and A’Shawn Robinson were out of position a few times.
Towards the end of the game, to be honest, our defense
looked tired like it hadn’t since Mississippi -- maybe not ever. Maybe it was an illusion. Clearly on the last drive by Clemson the idea
was to trade territory for time and we just mis-timed it by 12 seconds. Saban loves that stuff. If there was next week to worry over, all of
that would make us queasy. With there
not being a next week -- who cares? We
won the national championship.
However it all occurred, it was an exciting game. Even people who aren’t Alabama fans, or even
particularly college football fans, have reached out to tell us congratulations
and what an entertaining game it was. (Uh,
apparently it is not a secret that we root for Alabama. Go figure.) There were more heart-warming
story lines than could be told in 100 pages.
Perhaps Cecil or someone like him will write a book. We’d do it, but that sort of thing doesn’t
pay the rent or replenish the stock of all-seasons in the back. We still can’t resist pointing out a few of
our favorites.
·
Richard Mullaney who moved from Oregon State and
made his decision so suddenly and completely that he slept on Jake Coker’s
couch till he found a place to live, garnered a big catch in the game. He went from 2-10 Oregon State to earning a
National Championship ring in 12 months.
Did you know that once he visited Alabama, he talked to his parents and
cancelled visits to the other schools on his list?
·
Did you notice?
We’re not big on all sorts of helmet decals for this and that, but we
were fans of the small white mortar board added to the helmets of Alabama
players who already had earned their degrees by kick off. There were 29 of them. If you think that is not a recruiting tool,
you don’t think like a high school players’ parents.
·
Star-crossed Kenyan Drake was playing hard in
the back field where he was overshadowed by Derrick Henry this season. His magical return of a kickoff for a
touchdown swung the momentum right back to Alabama while Clemson was still
celebrating their score. Did you see the
ball in the same arm he broke in Starkville, only this time it was reaching for
the pylon to earn six points?
·
Daring.
Riverboat Gambler. Shoot for the
Moon. Go for Broke. All phrases that immediately come to mind
when you think about Nick Lou Saban, right?
Us, either. The on-side kick call
was a daring move. All of those people
who were deriding Alabama’s brand of football as “boring” and “old school” and “ready
for a museum” were singing a different tune after Monday night. The thing is, we don’t think anything
changed. That play was set up by endless
hours of film study and careful practice.
(Even though Humphrey apparently told a reporter after the game that he “always
missed” the catch in practice). Kiffin
even went to the offensive line and told them they were about to get the ball
back, but not to stand up or even smile so as not to risk giving it away. So the idea that this was some sort of
draw-it-in-the-dirt, last-minute, hope-for-the-best maneuver is at least half
wrong. It did take guts. If we miss the kick or drop the ball or it
sails out of bounds, we were putting a lot of pressure on a tired defense. However, it worked. And it was daring. We cannot actually recall its equal.
·
Speaking of, hats off to Adam Griffith. The young man has lived too long with an
albatross around his neck that he didn’t deserve. It started to come loose just before halftime
of the LSU game with a brilliant long kick in iffy conditions. Hitting about 30 field goals to help beat the
East Alabama Male College this year loosened it a little more. It fell off and he stomped on it with the best
on-side kick I’ve ever seen. And number
2 may be the one he kicked in the Mississippi game. Huzzah, Adam.
·
There were some overlooked players on this team. D.J. Pettway, having chosen really poor
companions and making poor decisions a few years ago was not just off the team,
but expelled from the University. His
field goal block and generally solid play, maybe the best of any defensive lineman,
was redemption. O.J. Howard went from nearly
invisible to the MVP of the National Championship game. Most of all, there was Jake Coker who toiled in
the shadows of the talented but morally-bankrupt Jameis Winston returning home
to play for his favorite team, only to toil in the shadows of the talented and
popular Blake Sims. He finally gets to
start, wins two in a row, and is then benched in the shadow of Cooper Bateman. You know what? In similar circumstances we might have been
tempted to pout, sulk, complain about the coaches, etc. Apparently, Jake did none of the above. Instead, he continued to compete. Is he the most talented quarterback of the Saban
era? No.
He does have a heart bigger than a Wilson football, plenty of class and
a stadium full of courage. And now, in
his last season, he is the undefeated starting quarterback of the favorite team
of his childhood, with SEC and National Championship rings to show for it. Frankly, when the cameras focused on him
collapsed on the football after taking the last snap, we must’ve gotten a
little leftover brake dust in our eyes.
And so another season, another CHAMPIONSHIP season, comes to
a close. Thanks, Commissioner, for
keeping us on the list, promptly providing your invaluable analysis, and
sharing your audience with us. Thanks to
everyone who reads. And thanks to Coach
Saban, his staff, and mostly the players on the 2015 edition of the Crimson
Tide for an exciting season and a championship game for the ages. They were so much fun to watch that we are a
bit sad that we don’t get to see them in action again. We may have doubted the boys a few times, but
they didn’t doubt themselves and finished this game and this season in
thrilling fashion. As Coach Bryant used
to say on Sunday afternoon: “We are tremendously proud of the boys for winning
the football game.”
Keep warm this winter and have a safe summer. See you in the fall. It’s only about 32 weeks till time to face
the Trojans in Dallas (and yes, we’ll be counting down). Roll Tide, everyone.
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