Sadly,
that is an excellent edition of The Grades, Commissioner. In all
probability we should stop there, move on, and hope our beloved Crimson Tide
will be better prepared, better coached, and have a better night in the bowl
game. We. Just. Can't.
You
just sort of knew that sometime, someday, somewhere there would be a game where
Alabama did not show up for a game. During the Saban tenure there have
been games where a unit just did not seem to be in synch, for whatever
reason. For example, the offense just wasn't there in the 2009 LSU game,
the defense was mostly AWOL against Texas A&M this year, the special teams,
more consistent this year than ever before, has a laundry list of games that
make you shake your head. But always previously, if one unit was down,
others rallied to the cause -- the offense struggled and gave the ball away
time after time against Mississippi State just last month, but the defense just
clamped down and the Tide got the victory. When Johnny Football was
having every prayer he threw in the air answered in College Station the offense
put up 40-something. Sometimes all three units did themselves proud and
the result was a beat down of legendary proportion (this past January is a good
example, as is the bowl game against Michigan State).
So
some cosmic law of football had to make you wonder just what would happen if
all three units showed up tight, uninspired, careless, disinterested,
whatever. Now we know. But if it had to happen (and the
Universe being what it is, we suppose it did), why did it have to happen
against the trailer-dwelling, toilet-paper tossing troglodytes of Lee County
Polytechnic?
As
the Commissioner so cogently points out, despite poor performances in all three
phases of the game and a team that just did not seem well-prepared or motivated
for the game, Alabama was basically in control of the game at least three times
late in the fourth quarter, once when only a couple of hundred seconds stood
between Alabama and victory, the ball in its possession, with the lead, deep in
Auburn territory, poised for victory. Despite all the goof ups, miscues, bad
decisions and general dreck, the answer is that Alabama still was in a good
position to win the game. However, a team that had made
"Finish" its watchword couldn't close the deal.
We
have said all season that the only team on the schedule that could beat Alabama
was Alabama. The Crimson Tide proved it last night. Let the
University of West Georgia say what they may, Alabama contributed to its
undoing in an endless stream.
We
see nothing to add to the excellent unit analysis you have provided.
Frankly, our leftover turkey sandwiches tend not to sit so well when we revisit
it. AJ made poor decisions with the ball and a few uncharacteristically
bad throws. Sure handed receivers played the ball like second string
defensive backs. Our defensive backs left assignments and yelled at each
other about it. The defensive line got blown off the ball.
Linebackers made weak efforts at tackles. Our punter.... We've
never seen anything like that in all our years.
The
game had a season's worth of head-scratching coaching decisions -- continuing
to try to pound the middle late in the game when the defense had abandoned
defending the edge, field goal choices, the absence of productive Kenyan Drake
(except on special teams), play-calling to end the first half as well as the
second,, not returning to tight end play that seemed to be effective, etc.
You
correctly point out that Alabama is in no position to blame the officials for
last night's outcome. Regular readers are aware, however, that the sorry
state of SEC officiating is a recurring theme down here between the hydraulic
lifts. Matt Austin's crew is generally regarded as one of the best, if not
the best "crews" in the SEC. Admittedly, that's like setting
the high jump bar at about sea level, but supposedly they are the A Team.
Schools from LSU to Georgia to Florida consistently raise questions about what
officials see and don't see at the War Eagle 40 yard line on Pat Dye Field, at
Jordan Hare Stadium in Lowder Pasture near YellaWood Forest. The call on
what was to us an imperceptible false start on the only decent place kick of
the night was a game-changer. So was calling holding on OJ Howard (who
most certainly had his man by the shoulder pads, though needlessly and without
influencing whether the run went for a first down or not). As far as we
recall that was the only time holding was called on the O line all night, and
both sides had apparently realized that rule had been suspended and were
holding with abandon play after play. Much as we saw in College Station,
the officials became mesmerized watching the game instead of doing their job,
otherwise there is no way to explain the fact that at least three offensive
linemen were ineligibly downfield on the tying touchdown throw. We
don't actually think it matters. The Defense had gone rat trap on the
drive and the penalty probably wouldn't have mattered, but this SEC has to get
a handle on this.
Alabama
will still be highly ranked. It still has its pride for which to
play. No reason Alabama cannot end up ranked in the top three at the end
of this season. The question is whether Alabama will bother to show up
and play hard in a bowl game. We already mentioned the bowl
appearance that resulted in a total dismantling of Michigan State after the
2010 season. However, we also remember the no-show Sugar Bowl against
Utah. Alabama can still hand itself another loss. Just like
Saturday night, whomever the opponent is, you can be confident that team
will be motivated and ready to play. Alabama must be as well -- nothing
more is expected, nothing less is required.
The Correspondent From The Tire Store
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