Arkansas Grades

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I am, perhaps, a glass half-empty kind of person.  It's not that I'm overly negative or pessimistic, it's just that I'm too eager to see the minor failures amidst the major successes.  Maybe "glass half-empty" is too harsh; perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I focus too much on the cloud despite the brilliant, glowing silver lining.

It's from that perspective that I approach this week's grades.  By any objective measure, Alabama played very well against an inferior opponent, that being the fighting Pigs from Arkansas.  Bama won by more than 4 touchdowns, and the score wasn't really reflective of how thoroughly Bama owned the game.  The contest was, for all intents and purposes, over when Bama took a 17 - 0 lead midway through the first quarter.  But, I find it hard to get overly excited about beating up on an undeniably bad team.

However, if this weekend proves anything, it's to never take any win for granted.  If it's difficult to get excited about beating an inferior opponent, then I would be wise to recall how it feels to lose such a game.  Ask Clemson (lost at Syracuse), or Washington (lost at Arizona State), Washington St (blown out at Cal).  All three were undefeated Top 10 teams, and all took it on the chin from far weaker competition.  We can throw Auburn into that mix, as well, as they came in to Baton Rouge with 1-loss and a Top 10 ranking.  After building a 20 - 0 first half lead, the barners were outscored the rest of the way by an astounding 27 - 3.

So, yes, it is important to appreciate the fact that Alabama did exactly what they were supposed to do in easily dispatching an SEC also-ran.

But, Bama played far from a perfect game, and as such they will receive far from perfect grades.  Here's how I saw it:


OFFENSE - B+

Bama gained 496 yards of offense with 308 of those coming on the ground.  The Tide ran it 43 times for an average of 7.2 yards per carry.  Damien Harris continues to be the offense's bell cow, rushing 9 times for 125 yards and 2 TDs.  4 other backs carried the ball, with Bo Scarbrough getting 7 touches for 65 yards.  Jalen Hurts had 10 carries for 41 yards and a TD, though his numbers are affected by sacks (college football desperately needs to adjust how sack totals are assessed).  Hurts moved to second all-time, behind the great Harry Gilmer, in the Alabama record books for rushing yards by a quarterback.

Hurts was 12-of-19 passing for 155, including a beautiful 20 yard TD strike to Henry Ruggs III.  Ruggs has 4 catches on the year, all of them for touchdowns.  If he's only going to catch touchdowns, maybe we should throw the ball to Ruggs more often.  Hurts also notched his first interception of the year on a pass where his receiver was open, but the ball was thrown behind him.  The Tide's leading receiver, as always, was Calvin Ridley, who had 4 catches for 51 yards.  7 different receivers caught at least one pass.

The offense had 4 drives of over 60 yards, all of which resulted in touchdowns.  They went 5-for-11 on third downs.  However, I could not award an A after the offense went 3-and-out three times in the first half.


DEFENSE - A

The stop troops had a very solid outing.  They held Arkansas to only 227 total yards, which included a paltry 27 yards rushing on 29 attempts (yes, the Pigs netted less than a yard per carry).  Bama had 9 tackles for loss, with Rashaan Evans leading the way with 3.5

Injury forced Arkansas to give Cole Kelley his first start at quarterback, and while the young man didn't have an amazing game, one cannot fault his toughness.  He got hit a lot, and kept standing into to deliver the ball.  He was also very difficult to bring down, which makes the Tide's 5 sacks all the more impressive.  Evans once again led the way with 2 sacks, while Shaun Dion Hamilton and Raekwon Davis each had 1.5.  Mack Wilson also snagged a late interception on a tip by Hootie Jones.

Arkansas went 5 for 18 on third down, which is good, but they managed 2 for 3 on fourth down, which is not.

I didn't feel that an A+ was deserved after the second unit gave up a garbage time touchdown drive that was aided by more than 40 yards of penalties.


Placekicking - A+

JK Scott was solid on kickoffs, with several touchbacks.  The kicks that were returned were met with solid coverage, all but once limiting the Hogs to worse starting field position than they would have had on a touchback.  Ruggs returned two kicks for a total of 40 yards.

Andy Pappanastos was 2/2 on field goals and 5/5 on extra points.


Punting - D-

The only reason the punt units received a passing grade is that Scott averaged 43.7 yards on three punts and did not allow a return.

Our punt returners have become the single biggest concern on this team.  After dropping multiple punts thru the first 6 weeks of the season, the bottom dropped out last night.  Ruggs muffed two kicks, losing one.  Trevon Diggs muffed another.  To put it kindly, this is unacceptable.  The single most important job of a punt returner is to catch the ball.  If there is no one on the roster who is capable of doing so, then the coaches should simply put 11 guys on the line and try to block every punt.  It may cost the Tide field position, but it won't come with the risk of giving the ball right back to the opponent.


Coaching - D+

Jeremy Pruitt and the defensive staff earned the same letter grade as their players.  The defense was well prepared, and played solid football until the second stringers came in at the end.

Special teams coach Bobby Williams also earned the same letter grade as his unit.  The Tide absolutely must get better in this area.

The most concerning aspect of the Tide's coaching efforts in on the offensive side of the ball.  Brian Daboll's playcalling is, at times, absolutely baffling.  There was a joke around North Carolina basketball in the 80s that posited that the only person capable of stopping Michael Jordan was UNC head coach Dean Smith.  The same seems to be equally true of Daboll and the Bama running game.  For example: Damien Harris has gained 625 yards on the season on only 68 carries.  That's an average on over 9 yards per carry.  He has 9 touchdowns.  Harris has yet to touch the ball 15 times in any game this season.  With all due respect to the other backs on the roster, Harris should be touching the ball more often.  If this is simply an effort to save Harris' legs, then I can accept that.  But I would need to see it over the last half of the year.

But it goes beyond that.  Daboll has a Kiffin-esque tendency to call passes and misdirections even when running right up the gut has worked to perfection.  Take the first two series of the game.  On the first play of the game, Harris took a counter play and ran thru a massive hole created by the offensive line.  75 yards later, Bama was on the board.  After going 3-and-out, Arkansas gifted Alabama the ball at their own 25 after a botched snap on the punt.  Rather than going right up the middle again, Bama went pass, outside run, pass, field goal.  That is inexcusable.  Daboll also has an infuriating habit of calling for long, slow-developing pass plays rather than running screens, slants, or intermediate routes.  Opponents have been bull-rushing these plays and disrupting them behind the line because Hurts has to keep the ball too long.

Look, I am not a football coach.  No one in his right mind would ever pay me to call plays.  But I understand the simple logic "Do what works until it doesn't."  There is no sense in doing what works until you feel like doing something that doesn't.  Bama's offensive playcalling and execution is not, at the moment, good enough to beat the top teams in the country.  This must improve and it must improve in a hurry.

[takes a deep breath]

Okay.  It's out of my system.  I can truly appreciate another solid effort from Alabama in a year that's been full of them.  This win may go a long way in costing Arkansas head coach Curly Howard his job.  Howard is in his fifth season in Fayetteville, and the Hogs are 27-30 under his watch (10-25 in the SEC).  Howard has learned the hard way that the SEC is not the Big 10.

Bama's next opponent, the Volunteers from Tennessee, also employ a coach squarely on the hot seat.  Lyle Jones' squad is 3-3 (0-3 in the SEC) and has not scored a touchdown in over ten quarters of play.  Tennessee is terrible against the run.  Bama must pound them, pound them again, and pound them some more.  There is no such thing as running up the score on Tennessee.

I am responsible for the grades for one more week, and I truly believe that next week will bring a silver lining that keeps even me from seeing the cloud.

Roll Tide,
The Commissioner's Son and Heir