Texas A&M Grades: The Report From The Tire Store

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“…the only thing that changes are the excuses when we lose.”

Down here at the Tire Store we like to watch football, but we really aren’t all that smart at the X’s and O’s part.  So we just rely on what we have heard various coaches (good and bad) say over the years.  To win a game you need to run the ball, stop the run and not turn the football over.  Saturday, Alabama could not stop Texas A&M from running well, particularly at the quarterback position, did not run the ball as much as it passed, and turned it over three times (and got zero).  Added to that 30 yards in personal foul penalties and giving up three straight touchdowns in the first quarter before scoring a single point, and it’s enough to lose two games.

We agree with the grades.  Outside of special teams, everyone “earned” an F.  If you take a gander at the statistics, and we only read them quickly so that the breakfast orange juice wouldn’t sour in our stomachs, it is relatively amazing that Alabama was still in the game, much less in position to win it at the end, much less in a position so that we can say we should have won it in the end. 

The excuses are legion and, with the massive level of respect due Coach Bryant’s reminder above, some of our excuses are starting to border on reasons.  Facing a bitter truth, Alabama was a tired and beat up football team.  The schedule juggling that occurred for this year did Alabama no favors.  We know a tired crew when we see one and if this had been our bunch they wouldn’t have been able to rotate the tires on a golf cart. 

Winning a championship requires a certain amount of luck on injuries.  All of our luck in that regard has been bad.  Reciting the list of players either lost for the season or limping around is a bit horrifying, frankly.  For example, Chris Black is a freshman wide receiver.  Early camp reports were that Amari Cooper would likely redshirt this year, because Black was looking to be the superior choice at wide out.  Black suffered a shoulder injury in Fall Camp.  He just started working with the team last week.  Cooper took himself out of the game twice that we saw Saturday night.  Hart is gone.  Fowler is gone. White is gone. Lester has enough tape on his ankle to circle the Quad.  Norwood left the game injured Saturday.  Damion Square (the program cover athlete this week) left with an injury.  Lacy is now wearing so much tape on each ankle I can’t remember which one he hurt first. Belue is nursing a shoulder.  Bell did not play much at all against LSU and reports at the end of the week said he had injured his heel.  We think AJ is nursing at least one and possible more nagging things that are limiting his effectiveness and willingness (or maybe he doesn’t have permission) to scramble….  We have a weakness at the defensive back position that A&M attacked relentlessly and we are not sure what the option would be at this point.  We could go on, but why?

All of that said, though, Alabama was in a position to win the game.  The play calls on our last four offensive downs will haunt our dreams for a long time.  Actually, a number of the offensive play calls in the game, as well as the decision to go for a field goal deep in A&M territory, raise questions on which reasonable minds can differ.  Coach Saban took responsibility for those issues, as he should have.  Duties, such as play calling, can be delegated; responsibility cannot.

It’s a cloudy, rainy day with temperatures falling throughout the day, ending in the 40s.  The kind of day that no one wants to buy tires.  The 24-hour rule requires that we turn attention to the fact that we have two remaining games on the schedule.  One of the team’s goals, an undefeated season, is now out of reach.  A chance to play for the national championship probably is. 

But on a day like this, it is also a good thing to reflect on just how lucky we really are.  You can call us Pollyana all you want, but we are ranked #4 in the country.  It is very likely that in two weeks we will be talking about going to the SEC Championship game, probably even as the favorite.  In the last two seasons we have lost 2 games by a total of 8 points.  A shot at Miami is unlikely, but not impossible.  The future “playoff” system would probably include an Alabama team that no one really wanted to play.  On the middle day of November, two of our chief rivals are winless in the conference.  At least three SEC teams will be hiring coaches this winter, more likely four. We are headed for another top 10 recruiting class.  The waiting list for season tickets continues to grow.  If you look at the roster, we are one of the youngest teams in the conference, especially at the so-called skill positions.  Yes, Saturday night was hugely disappointing and less than six feet separated Alabama from being #1 today.  But we have lived through bad Alabama Football times and good Alabama Football times.  Trust us when we say that these are very good times, indeed.

Roll Tide.  Beat Western Carolina.

The Correspondent From The Tire Store

Texas A&M Grades

Six yards.

That's eighteen feet. Less than half the distance between one side of University Boulevard and the other. Roughly the length of the elevator lobby of Tuscaloosa's Hilton Garden Inn-I know this because I stepped it off just for a frame of reference.

With three minutes to play in the game, six yards was also the distance that separated Alabama from staying undefeated at 10-0, winning the SEC West Division Championship, and keeping its BCS Championship prospects alive. Trailing by five points and two time outs still in hand, Alabama had the ball first-and-goal just six yards from the Texas A&M goal line.

The 2012 Crimson Tide is supposed to have the best starting offensive line in college football. Even with injuries to Jalston Fowler and Dee Hart, Alabama still has a stable of dynamic running backs. In short yardage situations, nose tackle Jesse Williams has heard his number called to line up at fullback, thereby presenting opposing linebackers with the Hobson's choice of being blocked by Williams or one of three players on this year's Outland Trophy watch list. So what play do you think the Alabama offensive staff called needing to travel no further than half way across University Boulevard? A straight-ahead power play with Eddie Lacy running behind Chance Warmack, Barrett jones and Jesse Williams out of the Jumbo Package? Or maybe a trap play with Lacy running behind a pulling Anthony Steen? A quarterback draw like the one AJ scored on against LSU last week?

Not yesterday. No sir. With everything on the line, and four plays to complete a second memorable comeback in as many weeks, AJ was told to pass on first down. Nobody was open and AJ was fortunate enough to get back to the line of scrimmage. On second down, Eddie Lacy ran left for two yards. Third down was another pass call where no receivers were open and AJ scramble away from pressure to the two. On fourth down, Alabama ran yet another pass play, a roll out pick route, that was intercepted at the goal line and returned to the four.

After the game, Coach Saban told reporters that he accepted full responsibility for these offensive decisions. I suppose that is all well and good. The head coach is the head guy, and when the time comes to explain the incomprehensible, the head guy has to take it all on himself.

But I can't sugar-coat this. The best O-Line in the country should be able get Eddie Lacy, TJ Yeldon, Kenyon Drake or Ben Howell into the end zone in four tries from six yards out. The decision to try throwing the ball instead was nothing short of coaching malpractice.

Here's how I grade the game:

Offense: F In the first quarter, Alabama only managed to gain 34 yards of total offense and in the critical third quarter, while the defense stopped the Aggies on successive possessions of three-and-out, the offense generated only 46 total yards. The second and fourth quarters accounted for 361 of Alabama's 431 total yards, but Alabama committed two turnovers in the final stanza. Alabama managed only 17 first downs and was pitiful on third down, converting only 7 of 15.

The Tide had six drives that gained at least 40 yards [75, 67, 41, 46, 94, 58] but while those long marches produced three TDs and a FG, they also yielded a lost fumble and an interception.

AJ had a career high night in passing yards, and with his fourth quarter 54 yard pass to Amari Cooper he matched GMac's school record of 20 TD passes in a season. But his streak of pass attempts without an interception ended in the first quarter when his 293d consecutive attempt was initially caught by Kenny Bell across the middle of the field, but was jarred loose by an outstanding hit by an Aggie DB. The ball practically landed in the hands of the A&M safety who was trailing the play. AJ was also intercepted on Alabama's final offensive play of the game. On the night, AJ completed 21 of 34 pass attempts for 309 yards and a TD.

Amari Cooper was a bright spot on offense. The true freshman caught 6 passes for 136 yards and a TD. Eddie Lacy caught 4 passes for 35 yards. Kenny Bell added 73 yards on 3 receptions While Christion Jones gained 21 yards also on three catches. Eight different players caught passes.

Eddie Lacy ran for 92 yards on 16 carries and scored a rushing TD. TJ Yeldon added 29 yards on 10 runs and also found the end zone, but lost a crucial fumble in the fourth quarter. AJ scrambled on a couple of plays, but no other running back carried the ball.

Defense F TAMU earned 23 first downs [5 rushing], converted a staggering 11 of 18 third downs, and gained 418 yards of total offense. By the end of the first period, the Aggies had scored more touchdowns [3] as the Tide defense had allowed in average first quarter points over nine previous games. Not surprisingly, the first quarter defensive stats look like the federal budget deficit: 172 total yards allowed [96 rushing], 10 of 11 pass completions, 10:29 TOP, and 20 points surrendered. It is certainly true that the offense did nothing to give the defense any relief, but for the first period of the game, Alabama had no answer for Johnny Manziel and the A&M attack.

A&M had seven sustained drives against the Alabama defense [73, 41, 73, 62, 63, 51, 66] which produced 4 TDs and a FG. The Aggies were held on downs by about a foot in the second quarter and missed a field goal in the fourth. Otherwise, the defense did not force a punt until the second half and A&M punted only 3 times the entire game.

Perhaps because A&M ran so many plays and gained so many yards, the game created opportunities for some significant personal defensive statistics. CJ Mosley recorded 14 tackles [9 solo], Dee Milliner had 10 stops, Damion Square recorded 8 and Vinnie Sunseri and Jesse Williams each were credited with 7. The defense recorded 7 tackles for lost yardage including 4 sacks.

Special Teams:

Place Kicking: A Jeremy Shelley was good from 28 yards and perfect on PATs.

Kickoffs: A Cade Foster averaged 64.2 yards per kick and Cyrus Jones returned 2 A&M kicks for 35 yards.

Punting: A- Cody Mandel averaged a career high 56.5 yards per punt but the coverage unit allowed a total of 30 yards in returns.

Coaching: F Alabama was not ready to play on either side of the football. Poor play in the first quarter dug a hole from which better play in the rest of the game was inadequate to overcome. Ball security was the worst of the season, and the Tide was penalized 6 times for 56 yards; the last 5 penalty yards gave A&M a first down that allowed the Aggies to run out the clock rather than punt the ball back to Alabama from the goal line with 0:40 to play. Whether the Tide would have been able to make something happen in the passing game with excellent field position is unknowable, but the offsides miscue made the issue moot. The participation report lists 51 players who saw action in the game.

Coach Saban naturally took responsibility for the loss. He told the media, "Everybody on our team had something to contribute to us not having success today, starting with me."

The atmosphere in Tuscaloosa could not have been better. The weather was perfect, the crowd was excited and the stadium was full to the end. The A&M fans are really great. They love their team, they appreciate the historic ties between our two programs and they are excited and appreciative to be in the SEC. And one more thing: that Aggie marching band is a sight to behold!

The 2012 Crimson Tide is an excellent football team and it controls its own destiny in the quest for another SEC Championship. Only Auburn-which was crushed by Georgia 38-0, stands between the Tide and a rendezvous with the Daws in Atlanta three weeks from now. Whether Alabama can catch a break from upsets of higher ranked teams and still play for the Big Crystal Football remains to be seen, but looks like a long shot at the moment. A return trip to New Orleans to play a Sugar Bowl game against Notre Dame is certainly not a shabby way to end the season.

Where Alabama sits today might have been best summed up by a fellow last night on the hotel elevator. The car was packed with Alabama people. The doors slid shut and for two heartbeats no one said a word. Then this guy in the back corner broke the silence: "Losing sucks, but at least we aren't used to it."

Roll Tide, y'all.

The Commissioner