History provides
many examples of trash talk gone horribly awry. You know what I mean; when
someone puts their mouth in motion before their brain is in gear and has it all
blow back on them in an embarrassing way. Some of these ill-advised exercises
in trash talk are well known. Others are less so. Here is a sampling of both
kinds:
“Tell those Indians that George Custer is
coming, and he’s bringing an attitude with him.” MG G. A. Custer, 1876
“The Russian winter? I guess I’ll pack my
skis!” Emperor Napoleon, 1812
“Let me tell you, Donald, you can’t insult
your way to the White House.” Gov. Jeb Bush, 2016.
And finally: “Hey, Alabama…..you’re next!” Vanderbilt
Commodore DL Nifae Lealao, 2017.
My point is, with a big contest coming up,
you have to be careful what you say to or about your opponent.
The
Vanderbilt football team learned that lesson the hard way when Alabama
delivered a 59-0 curb-stomping to the Commodores on a hot, sunny day in
Nashville. How bad did the Tide whip Vandy? Rented mules are treated with more
consideration.
Think
about these comparisons: Alabama had 38 first downs…….Vandy had 38 total
offensive plays; The Tide scored 59 points……Vandy gained only 40 yards rushing;
Bama had 9 drives that resulted in a score [8 TD, 1 FG] …… Vandy had 9 “three
and out”. This game marked the first time since 1930 when both teams entered
with records of at least 3-0….the result was the largest margin of victory since
1979 when Alabama beat the ‘Dores 66-3.
Mr.
Lealao, he of the infamous “you’re next” boast, became frustrated in the first
quarter as Alabama was driving for what would be its third touchdown of the
day, and delivered a cheap shot to Jalen Hurts after the whistle, no doubt to
remind Jalen that it was his turn to be “next”. This prompted Bradley Bozeman [RS-Sr.;
C; 6-7, 313; Roanoke] to say, “Excuse me, sir, but I think your competitive
zeal may have gotten the better of your good judgment. That sort of thing is
just not done. So, let’s have no more of that.” Or words to that effect. I
could not hear the exchange, you understand, inasmuch as I was sitting 68 rows
above the field, but I think that was the overall gist of the exchange between
the Alabama players rallying to defend their quarterback and the Vanderbilt
scholar athletes who were trying to impose their own will. The touchdown
that shortly followed put an end to all debate on the subject.
How
much did Lealao’s hubris contribute to the Tide’s preparation for the contest?
Jalen Hurts told reporters: “At Alabama we want to be respected and we didn’t
feel like they were showing us respect. So, we came out here and tried to play
Alabama football.” A post on an SEC chat board said that Alabama was not a team
you played against, Alabama was something that happened to you.
So, here is how I grade the game:
Offense: A+ Alabama set program records
for first downs [38] and consecutive turnover free quarters [30], and tied
Coach Saban’s victory margin against a conference opponent [59-0 win over Texas
A&M in 2014]. The offense gained 677 total yards [496 rushing], converted
11 of 17 possession downs [2 of 2 on 4th down], and possessed the
football for 42:55 of the game.
Jalen completed 9 of 17 pass attempts for
78 yards. He was sacked once. Tua attempted 10 passes, completing 8 for 103
yards and 2 TDs. Tua’s second TD pass, to true freshman DeVonta Smith [WR; 6-1,
165; Amite, La.] was nothing short of astonishing. He twice avoided a sack, and
threw a perfect spiral to Smith for a 27-yard score. Tua's release is very quick, and his accuracy is excellent.
Calvin Ridley caught 5 passes for 43 yards.
Jerry Jeudy caught 3 passes for 68 yards and a TD. Ten different receivers
caught passes.
Damien Harris was the Tide’s leading
rusher with 151 yards on 12 carries, a career best for the 5-11, 221 lb. junior
from Richmond, KY. He scored 3 rushing TDs. Bo Scarbrough ran the ball 11 times for 79
yards and scored 2 TDs. Freshman, Najee Harris proved why he was the nation’s
number 1 recruit with 70 yards on 10 runs. Alabama was not trying to inflate
either its rushing total or the score; nine different players ran the ball.
Vandy was simply unable to stop the Alabama running game. The only rushing
plays that lost yardage were the three kneel-downs from the victory formation
at the Vandy two yard line to end the game.
Speaking of formations; in short yardage
situations, Alabama ran a “heavy” or “jumbo” formation with two tight ends and
a defensive lineman at full back. The formation itself drew cheers from the Alabama
crowd.
The offense had nine possessions that
gained 40 or more yards [47, 70, 75, 71, 75, 68, 58, 89, 59] resulting in 7
TDs, a FG and the end of the game. Perhaps Nifae Lealao
and the rest of the Vanderbilt defense was intimidated by playing in front of a
hostile crowd; at least 75% of the stadium was filled with Tide fans.
Defense:
A+ Vanderbilt was held to only 78 yards of total
offense [40 rushing], that earned 3 first downs. The ‘Dores converted 1 of 10
possession downs and the best field position they achieved was their own 44
yard line.
Let’s think about that for a moment.
Vanderbilt never ran a play where the line of scrimmage was on the Alabama side
of the 50. No Commodore player touched the football within the radius of the
team logo that spans mid-field between the 45 yard lines. The Vandy marching
band actually traversed more of the field in the halftime routine than the
football team accomplished in four quarters of play.
Shaun Dion Hamilton led all defenders with
5 tackles. Mack Wilson [So. LB; 6-2, 236; Montgomery] Anthony Averett, Hootie
Jones, Isaiah Buggs, and Da’Shawn Hand each were credited with 3 stops. Tide
defenders made 1 tackle for lost yards, broke up 6 passes, hurried the VU
quarterback 3 times and intercepted a pass [Ronnie Harrison].
Special Teams:
Place Kicking: A+ Andy
Pappanastos [according to Eli Gold, Coach Cochran’s nickname for the Tide place
kicker is “Pappa-Nasty”] was good from 22 on Bama’s lone FG attempt and perfect
on 8 PATs.
Kickoffs: A JK Scott averaged 64.5
yards per kick on 10 kicks. Coverage was good; Vandy’s logest return was only
22 yards, and half of Scott’s kicks were touchbacks.
Punting: A- Scott only punted twice for
an average of 32 yards. He dropped one punt inside the VU 15 and allowed no
returns. The Tide punt return unit gained 33 yards on 3 returns. The minus mark
is for a muffed punt catch, that fortunately was recovered by Alabama.
Coaching: A+ The participation report
lists 65 players who saw action in the game, including three true freshmen-Brian
Robinson, Kendrik James, Major Tennison-who took the field for the first time this season.
So far this year, Coach Saban has played 15 true freshmen. In addition to the
three previously mentioned, the list of first year players getting game time
is: Christopher Allen, Thomas Fletcher, Najee Harris, Jerry Jeudy, Alex
Leatherwood, Xavier McKinney, Dylan Moses, Henry Ruggs, III, DeVonta Smith, Tua
Tagolaivoa, Jedrick Wills, Jr., and Daniel Wright.
After last week’s disappointing
performance against Colorado State, the coaches had some work to do. They
obviously got it done.
I
would like to take a personal moment in this week’s edition of The Grades. I
had the rare opportunity to attend the Vandy game with the Correspondent From
The Tire Store, my Son and Heir, and my older brother. It was hot. Vanderbilt
Stadium is a disgrace. CBS stretched the game with commercials that consumed
more air time than the Vanderbilt offense. But I would not have had it any other way:
The
most important game of the season is Ole Miss this coming Saturday. Kickoff is
late, so prepare accordingly.
Roll Tide, Y’all
The Commissioner
No comments:
Post a Comment