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Wade, that was an excellent edition of The Grades, as befits the latest win in an excellent string of 8 in a row over the Volunteers.  Admittedly, the victory was not quite as flawless and complete as the win over Texas A&M last week, but let’s be realistic -- fielding one of the youngest and least experienced teams in the SEC and expecting that level of perfection every Saturday, especially on the road, is a bit much to ask. 

Alabama vs. Tennessee has always been an oddly streaky sort of thing with the teams trading dominance back and forth through the almost 100-year history of the series.  I, for one, am determined to enjoy the good years as they pile up.  Beating Tennessee in Knoxville by double digits in a game where everyone can look back and say, “it easily could have been worse” is a nice place to be.  Knowing that this year’s freshmen were in about 4^th grade the last time Alabama lost to Tennessee is a satisfying feeling. 

In fact, Wade has done such an excellent job with The Grades, down here at the Tire Store we do not have a whole lot to add.

Forgive us, then, if we add a slight note of melancholy to the off week.  Regular readers have occasionally seen reference here to the Correspondent from the Land of Wine and Cheese.  His name was Mark Williams.  He graduated from the Business School at Alabama, married, and moved to France where he had a successful career.  He followed Alabama football as closely as he could from that distance.  The internet made a huge difference, even if he did occasionally have to stare at a computer screen into the wee hours of the morning to see a game. For the past several years, occasionally something in The Grades or the Tire Store Report would catch his eye and he would send us a short email.  I certainly considered him a friend, though we'd never met.

Last month he came back to America for a vacation.  Through clever planning, he was able to attend the FAU game at the beginning of his trip and the Southern Miss game near the end.  It was his first trip back to Tuscaloosa in 37 years.

I was fortunate enough to finally get to meet him at the Southern Miss game.  He told me, “Yes, Tuscaloosa has changed a lot.  But standing here on the Quad, in some ways it is like I never left.”  We mentioned in the Tire Store Report that week how it was valuable to have someone there to remind us that what we all share in a love of the Crimson Tide extends beyond football, wins and losses, and athletics generally.  We hear he was already looking at the new 2015 schedule to set up a return visit.

It is my sad duty, then, to report that last week Mark suffered a fatal stroke.

Reflecting on Mark’s untimely passing, I wanted to take a minute to say thanks to all of you who make it through my long-winded two cents’ worth on Alabama football.  I am appreciative of Woody for getting this started, especially back in the day when I know for a fact he quite literally had more profitable ways to spend his time.

We find that the distribution and re-distribution of The Grades has expanded to the point where we don’t even really know how many people glance at them each week.  To say the group is widely-varied is an understatement -- we know it includes business leaders, stay at home moms and dads, former players, lawyers, accountants, carpenters, sales reps, bankers, school teachers, broadcasters, retirees, insurance agents, students, journalists, administrative assistants, investment bankers -- people literally from Orlando to Seattle and New York to southern California.  It is obvious that I will never meet all of you in person.  But my life has been enriched by our meeting through this forum.

And so on a beautiful warm late October Monday morning, I wanted to make sure I took the time to say “thank you for reading and your friendship”.  Roll Tide, everyone.  Rest in Peace, Mark.

 

 

Tennessee Grades

This week’s grades will be a little different.  That’s partly due to the fact that the Commissioner didn’t write them.  I don’t share the Commissioner’s exacting nature when it comes to breaking down stats, and I’m going to use this opportunity to get on a bit of a soapbox.  But we’ll get to that in a bit.

The primary reason these grades will be a little different is that I’m going to emulate the Alabama team from last night: they didn’t focus and play a complete game, so I’m not going to follow the Commissioner’s lead and write a detailed recap.

The Crimson Tide came into last night’s game off of one of the most complete performances an Alabama team has ever produced.  The 59-0 dismantling of Texas A&M was as thorough as one could possibly desire.  Every phase of the game was spot on, the playcalling on both sides of the ball was inspired, and every player who saw the field (and there were a bunch) did his job, and did it well.  For the first twenty minutes of last night’s contest, that focus and intensity carried over.

Neyland Stadium was rocking last night.  Despite a large contingent wearing crimson, the Big Orange faithful made their presence known.  Their excitement was surely due to the return of Bama Offensive Coordinator, and former Tennessee Head Coach, Lane Kiffin.  It surely could not have been due to the recent performances by their Volunteers, who limped into the game at 3-4.  And all-in-all, Kiffin did his job well.  But the offense seemed to become disjointed, and despite quieting the crowd with several early scoring drives, communication became an issue.  The same held true for the defense, who forced punts on UT’s first four possessions, but then seemed to become confused pre-snap, and couldn’t contain the runs of UT sophomore quarterback Josh Dobbs.

Here’s how I grade the film:

Offense – B-    As I mentioned before, the start was fantastic.  The Tide scored touchdowns on four of their first five possessions of the game and enjoyed a 27-0 lead only 18 minutes into the game.  The Vols did their best to shift coverage help to Amari Cooper, but Kiffin was able to utilize shifts and misdirection to get Cooper open.  And boy, did it work early.  Cooper had 189 yards receiving and two touchdowns in the first quarter alone.  By the end of the night, he’d be the owner of the Alabama single game record for receiving yards at 224.  Blake Sims played admirably, making plays with his arm and his legs.  Sims finished 14 of 24 for 286 yards and two TDs, and rushed 6 times for 42 yards and another score, a 28 yard scamper that was only slightly less impressive than his Houdini-like run against A&M.  Many of his best runs came in the third quarter after Tennessee had closed the gap to 10 points.  Sims was primarily responsible for converting four third downs on the drive, which ended in a Derrick Henry run from 28 yards out.

But the good news ends there.  The Tide was beaten at the point of attack for much of the night.  One might attribute this to losing stud Freshman Cameron Robinson to a high ankle sprain, but his replacement, Tony Brown, played fine in relief.  The problem seemed to be an overall lack of energy after getting up by four scores so early.  Derrick Henry was our leading rusher with 78 yards on the ground and the aforementioned score, but he averaged less than five yards per carry.  TJ Yeldon contributed 52 yards of his own, but he left the game early after sustaining an injury.  At the moment, I’m not sure of his status going forward.  In the fourth quarter, with a chance to put together a drive that would have put the game on ice, Sims and Henry couldn’t execute a simple direct handoff, resulting in the Vols taking possession at the Alabama 23.  Jalston Fowler also fumbled what otherwise would have been a guaranteed touchdown on a 22 yard run.  Sims only completed passes to three different receivers: Cooper, Yeldon, and DeAndrew White.  Dropped passes were plentiful.

The playcalling also took a step back beginning in the second quarter.  Perhaps it was being back in Neyland, but Kiffin seemed to go back and forth between being too predictable and being too cute.  Alabama lined Yeldon up in the wildcat for the first time this season, but he telegraphed the WR sweep to cooper, which resulted in a loss of nine yards.  A lack of effective communication throughout the game lead to a substitution infraction and a delay of game.

Defense – C+    The defense started out strong.  Tennessee’s first four possessions netted only 78 yards and no points.  But, as Coach Saban noted in his halftime interview, the stop troops relaxed a bit.  Missed tackles became plentiful, particularly in the backfield, and the defense never could contain Josh Dobbs on the run.  Dobbs rushed for 75 after sack totals are removed.  As a team, the Vols rushed for 181 yards.  This is after having run for exactly 0 yards against Ole Miss the week before.

Cyrus Jones pulled in a nifty interception late in the game, but the team as a whole dropped several sure picks, a few of which actually made it into the hands of UT receivers, resulting in big gains.  Reggie Ragland forced a fumble on a beautiful tackle, and the recovery by Eddie Jackson set the Tide up at the Tennessee 19.

But the grade cannot be higher because of Tennessee’s rushing numbers, their 11 of 19 third down conversion rate, and the fact that Bama couldn’t get consistent pressure against a mediocre and beat up offensive line.  Focus was a major issue, and it must improve before the trip to Baton Rouge.

Special Teams:  C+   I’m not going to separate all of the kicking elements out, because on the whole, it was a spectacularly average performance.  Adam Griffith never attempted a field goal, and he was four of five on PATs after shanking his first attempt following a false start that moved the ball back five yard (it would not have been good from the original spot).  I’m worried about Griffith; he seems to have lost all the confidence he had early in the season.  There were no big plays in the return game, and only one big play in coverage when Jarrick Williams struck the UT return man (who should have called a fair catch) and forced a fumble.  JK Scott punted four times for an average of 42.8 yards per kick.  He had a long of 60.  This may be nitpicking, but it seems like Scott struggled to pin UT deep when he had the chance.  Twice Scott was punting with a short field, and he should have been able to pin UT inside the 10, if not the 5.  Instead, in both instances, Scott allowed a fair catch outside the fifteen.  But that really is nitpicking, and Scott is still a weapon.

Coaching:  B-   The playcalling was mostly solid, but the coaches failed to keep the team focused and motivated.  Yes, the team relaxed.  But this team is “relaxing” way too much when they are away from the friendly confines of Bryant-Denny Stadium.  I cannot tell you how pleased I am to know that we only have one more road game this season.  But it is a doozie.  The Bayou Bengals of Louisiana State are not as good as they usually are.  They are young, and they make mistakes.  But they just beat previously unbeaten Ole Miss last night.  Poor focus and poor execution will doom the Tide in two weeks.  That is the task for Saban and Company over the next 13 days.

Now for my soapbox:

The Alabama-Tennessee rivalry is, historically, the most important series in the long and storied history of the SEC.  No series has determined as many SEC championships (Bama with 23, Tennessee with 13).  Nor are there any schools with more national titles between them (Bama with 15, UT with 4).  Bama and UT are also the two winningest programs in SEC history, and the only two teams in the conference with more than 800 wins apiece.  Last night was the 97th meeting in the rivalry affectionately known as The Third Saturday in October (The Saturday After the Third Full Week in October doesn’t have the same ring to it).  Alabama officially leads the series with a record of 51-38-7.

But all titles and wins don’t tell the entire history, at least not the recent history.  When Alabama was experiencing its numerous run-ins with the NCAA, former Tennessee Head Coach Phillip Fulmer acted as a secret witness against Alabama regarding their recruitment of epic failure Albert Means.  There are many opinions out there over whether the NCAA’s actions against Alabama were warranted or fair, and I will not get into that here.  I bring this up only to point out that, beginning with the 2002 season, the sanctions against Alabama left the Tide at its lowest ebb since the mid-1950s.

But karma, as they say, is a female dog.  Beginning with the 2002 season, when the sanctions began, Alabama has won 2 SEC titles, 3 national championships, had 2 undefeated regular seasons, had 8 seasons of 10 wins or more, went to 5 BCS bowls and won 3, and the Tide has amassed a record of 10-3 against the Vols.

Meanwhile, over that same span, UT has not won a championship of any kind, have suffered 6 losing seasons, have not been to a bowl game since 2010 and haven’t won one since 2007, and are 3-10 against Alabama.  Further, the coach that led them to their only winning season in the past six now coaches in Tuscaloosa.

If I were to present those same facts to you with no names attached and asked you to pick which one suffered crippling sanctions 13 years ago, which one would you choose?  If it is true that we reap what we sow, Phil has been watching every minute of it.

-The Commissioner’s Son and Heir.

Tire Store Report Texas A&M

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We agree with this very excellent set of grades.  We were lucky enough to be able to attend the game this Saturday (the Tire Store comptroller delivered an unexpected set of tickets earlier this year as a birthday present.  Safe to say, she has set the bar pretty high for next year.)   For those of you who could not attend the game, this was the sort of day the good Lord intended for the play of football.  The morning was a little chilly, but the sunshine was bright and temperatures were in the mid to upper 70s by kickoff.  The breezes were enough to cool it off a little, without affecting play.  The occasional passing high clouds gave some relief to those in the east stands who forgot their sunblock.  On the Quad after the game the temperatures remained comfortable even after sundown to allow friends to stand together (some shaking their heads in near disbelief) until the dew started to form and people loaded up to leave the Quad.

Watching the Alabama Crimson Tide dismantle the Texas A&M Aggies on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon in Tuscaloosa sort of invited the question:  “Who are you guys, and what have you done with the Alabama Crimson Tide?”

This group seemed so different from (and so much better than) the team that played in Oxford two weeks ago and in Fayetteville last Saturday that it seems strange to compare the performances and realize that you were talking about the same individual players and coaches.  We think this statistic sums up almost the entire game.  Texas A&M managed 8 first downs; Alabama scored 8 touchdowns. 

Because the Commissioner has done such a great job in grading the on-field performance, we thought we’d point out some things we saw only because we were there.  It may be that CBS covered some of these – we expect by the middle of the third quarter, Verne and Gary had  run out of things to talk about (it may have been good practice, as CBS decided to feature the Mississippi State vs. Kentucky game as their Game of the Week, instead of, say, Mississippi at LSU).

1.  One big change that we noted was that the team just seemed, well, happy and that was before the game even started.  During warm-ups, players were smiling, encouraging one another, giving high fives.  Early in the game the offense was cheering on the defense.  Big special teams plays, even kickoffs out of the end zone, garnered sideline celebrations after the play was over.  The better the game went, the higher the enthusiasm.  Whether you can “coach” that or effectively utilize it in future games, we don’t really know.  It was refreshing to see, though.  The team just looked like a bunch of guys having fun.

2.  It tended to tug at your emotions to see an athlete of K. Drake’s caliber walking around with one foot braced on that little pushcart.  Having a box of Little Debbies in there made for some comic relief.  When the team sprinted for the locker room (apparently anxious to get in there so they could get back out on the field to play some more) to a thunderous ovation at half time, Drake was staying out of the way, but also trying to keep up.  It was gratifying to see T. J. Yeldon slow down and walk along with Drake into the tunnel.  Later in the game, we noticed Drake sitting on top of one of those black equipment storage container on the sideline (not exactly sure how he got up there) so he could see the field over the heads of his teammates.  In a few minutes, we noticed he had been joined by A. Cooper – just a couple of friends watching a football game.

3.  Alabama still has occasional problems with the play clock.  We are not sure if this is because Kiffin in on the sidelines, if we have trouble making decisions on what plays to run, or if the offensive nomenclature is just too wordy (“OK, guys, listen up, we are going with supercalifragalisticexpialadociuos, right, on two).  Not really an issue on Saturday, but in the first two drives in the red zone in particular, we were just not getting to the line of scrimmage with enough time to get set, analyze the coverage, check if we needed to, and snap the ball.  On the other hand, when that is the biggest criticism you can manage in a game against an SEC West opponent, you are in tall cotton.

4.  The most improved element of the team was the offensive line.  After each series they were quick to the sideline for analysis and coaching up on what was going on.  Grant Hill, who has been out for several weeks with an unspecified illness, was pressed into service after an injury and did not seem to miss a beat.  Kelly was on the sideline and seemed to be walking relatively normally.  We wonder if he could have played in an emergency.  It did seem odd to burn a freshman center’s redshirt in the second half, but we’ll leave that sort of strategic decision to the coaches.

5.  There were lots and lots of recruits at this game.  We heard that the recent quarterback commit from California, B. Barnett, played in his team’s game Friday night, accounting for over 500 yards of offense, then flew to Tuscaloosa overnight so he could attend the game on Saturday.

6.   When most of the first string offense left the field early in the third quarter Alabama had 10 times more yardage than Texas A&M.  Remember that despite its losses and playing good defenses like Mississippi’s, Texas A&M was a top five offense nationally coming into Saturday, and had gained over 400 yards of offense in both of its losses.

7.  From time-to-time during the Saban era at Alabama there are games where the team just seems to come together and beat a quality opponent like a redheaded rented yard dog.  I don’t know what causes it, can’t say that I can feel it coming, and I’m not sure even the coaching staff could say why it happens.  For examples, I’ll mention the 2008 Auburn game, the Capitol One Bowl against Michigan State, and the Championship game against Notre Dame.  I wasn’t at all of those games, but Saturday had that same feeling to it – in fact, it may be the best example of what I am trying to describe.  It’s the sort of game where even during the contest you think, “boy, this is a pretty special performance, I’d best enjoy every second of it.”

8.  If you haven’t seen J.K. Scott punt in person, it’s almost worth the ticket price.  Even in warm up he can make you say “wow”.  Television doesn’t do justice to how fast he gets the ball up and how it seems to just hang up in the air.

9.   If R. Foster can learn to keep his head in proper position when he tackles, he is going to be one of the most devastating hitters in recent Alabama history.  When he made his special teams tackle that got practically the entire defense to run out on the field you could hear it all over the stadium.  It was like a small car had run into the poor kick returner.  If he doesn’t practice the proper from, I fear they are going to take him off on the cart one of these days. 

10.  We still have defensive players get lost.  But it is not as many and not as often as it was against WVU.  T. DePriest, in particular, gets players in the right places.  It’s a cliché, but it really is like the lights are coming on for a few of them.  They are not only playing the way they should, it’s like they are understanding why they are doing certain things and not having to concentrate so hard on what to do next.  Continued improvement is both desired and necessary, but this is an improving defense. 

This has been an odd scheduling season.  One hopes that the Tuscaloosa County Convention and Visitors Bureau made an appointment with the SEC Commissioner’s  office to try to find out what they had done to offend and humbly beg forgiveness.  Although it has its usual allotment of home games, including getting critical games against Mississippi State and Alabama Polytechnic Institute at home, this Saturday was Alabama’s only game in Bryant Denny Stadium between September 20 and November 15 – nearly 60 days.  That’s not much longer than the stretch between the end of bowl season and the start of Spring Practice….  And it’s not like the merchants, restaurateurs, and hoteliers in Tuscaloosa make their living on visitors to historic Moundville or the strength of the Tuscaloosa Opera season.  So between now and November 15, Alabama must travel to Knoxville and Baton Rouge.  We hope that the same strategies employed by the coaching staff and the same players that performed so brilliantly this past Saturday make those two trips. 

Roll Tide, everyone.  Beat Tennessee.

A&M Grades

I have it on very good authority....from Coach Gene Stallings, no less....Texas A&M was warned to be really sure that it wanted to join the SEC. "They have grown men playing football in the SEC" Coach Stallings told the Athletics Committee of the A&M Board of Trustees.  It was a fair warning, but nothing could have prepared the Aggies for what awaited them in Tuscaloosa on a perfect October day in 2014. 

It wasn't just Alabama's 59 points, 35 of which were scored in the second quarter alone. It wasn't just a Kevin Sumlin-coached team being held scoreless for the first time in Sumlin's coaching career. It wasn't even the statistical disparities like Alabama having more minutes in time of possession [36] than A&M had in yards gained rushing [31]. 

It was the complete domination of one team by another. It was Alabama coming as close to playing a perfect game as I think I have ever seen. It was a joyous, gleeful romp by a football team that needed to rid itself of the lingering effects of self-inflicted underachievement and make a statement about its character and identity.  

It the 2014 Crimson Tide ultimately proves to be a championship team, we will point to the 59-0 demolition of Texas A&M as the season's turning point. 

At the risk of making a gargantuan understatement, A&M is having a tough year. The promise of success that seemed to be offered by a season opening victory over South Carolina on the Thursday before Labor Day, has turned to ashes as late summer has turned to autumn.

But, the A&M fans, are a resilient lot. Not as many of them made the trek to Tuscaloosa this year, compared to 2012, when Johnny Manziel won the Heisman Trophy on the strength of his first quarter improvisations. Nevertheless, the Aggie faithful in T'town were good-natured fans who love their team and endured a frightful beating with stoic patience.

Aggie fans on internet chat boards displayed a good deal of gallows humor as they commented on the demolition of their team. Here is a sample of some of the less profane:

"If this continues, Eric Holder is going to prosecute Nick Saban for committing a hate crime."

"Hey, South Carolina fans: this confirms that your defense really sucks."

"The 'over-and-under' on us stoping the Alabama starting offense is 1.....I'm taking the under."

And my personal favorite:

"I think we just ran out of time."

This win was like a dose of tonic for what has been ailing the Tide. The offense was unstoppable. The defense was unmovable. Special teams were unerring. Alabama did not commit a single penalty, scored 35 points in the second quarter and did not punt a single time until the third quarter was half over; by which time, the game had been over for a while. If this game had been a prize-fight, not only would the ring-side physician have stopped it in the second round, the sports commission would revoke A&M's boxing license. 

The Aggies could not even win the coin toss and they got to call "heads-or-tails." At the risk of being accused of being an easy grader, here is how I grade the game:

Offense: A+ Alabama gained 602 yards of total offense [298 rushing], earned 30 first downs, and scored more points in the second quarter than it has ever scored in any single quarter in its 120 year history of playing college football.

TJ Yeldon gained 114 yards rushing on 13 carries, all before intermission. Derrick Henry added 70 yards on 10 rushing attempts while Blake contributed 54 yards on 4 rushes and showed elusive moves sufficient to de-cleat Aggie tacklers which moves are now being referred to as the "Shake And Blake."

Blake completed 16 of 27 pass attempts for 268 yards and 3 TDs. Jake completed 5 of 8 pass attempts for 36 yards and a score. 

Amari Cooper led all receivers with 140 yards and 2 TDs on 8 receptions. TJ, DeAndrew White and Cam Sims each caught 3 passes.  Eight different players made receptions, including  Alabama's hyphenated receiver, Flournoy-Smith.

Alabama mounted eight sustained drives [71, 72, 84, 64, 80, 80, 57, 57] that resulted in one FG and 7 TDs. The Tide faced 15 third-downs and converted 9.

Defense:  A+   The Aggies were only able to generate 172 yards of total offense [31 rushing] which produced only 8 first downs. The A&M offense was so completely throttled by the Alabama defense that the Aggies actually had more yards returning kicks [198] than they did in total offense. The defense was particularly dominant on 3rd downs. The Aggies faced 13 possession downs and converted only 2.

Ryan Anderson recorded 6 tackles [4 solo]. Gino Smith, Nick Perry, Reuben Foster, Trey DePriest, Reggie Ragland and Dillon Lee each were credited with 5 tackles. Tide defenders made 9 tackles for lost yardage [6 sacks], a forced fumble, one interception and 5 pass breakups. 

Special Teams:

Punting:   A+ JK Scott only punted 4 times....each in the second half...and averaged 50 yards per punt. 

Kickoffs:   A     Adam Griffith and Scott shared kickoff duties, and for good reason considering the fact that the Tide executed 10 kickoffs. Only a 75 yard return late in the game deprives the kicking unit of the +

Place Kicking:  A+  Griffith was good on his solo FG attempt and he and Scott were perfect on PATs.

Coaching:   A+    Alabama had no penalties.....Let me write that one more time: ALABAMA HAD NO PENALTIES!  The participation report lists 60 players who saw action against A&M and the bench contributed three-deep at quarterback, center, and most positions along the lines of scrimmage. Special recognition is due to Grant Hill who came into the game in relief of Austin Sheppard in the second quarter. On his first play in the game, Hill blew open a hole that sprang Derrick Henry for a 13 yards TD. The offensive play calling was quite good, especially the immediate decision to run a play on 4th and goal from the A&M 2 yard line in the Tide's prolific 2d quarter scoring orgy. To say the coaches had the players ready for the game is a massive understatement.  I have not seen Alabama players having so much fun during a game since the 2012 BCS Championship Game. Saban obviously took to heart the advice he received from Bama's men's golf coach, Jay Seawell, who told Saban to "let the horses run." The horses ran, and threw, and caught, blocked and tackled and scored...oh my, how they scored.

This game was a must-win situation for both teams. Alabama has no room for error if the Tide is going to make a championship run. Every game from here to December might as well be a playoff game.  For A&M, a win would not just stop the bleeding from back-to-back losses to the Mississippi schools; a victory in consecutive trips to Tuscaloosa would enhance the Aggies' street cred in the SEC West and add a lot of spice to the stew of a burgeoning rivalry between these two programs. This loss, however, calls into question the post-Manziel legitimacy of the Aggies as an SEC contender.

Whatever questions are being asked this morning in College Station, are nothing like the ones being asked in Gainesville. Aggie message board posters are questioning the wisdom of A&M paying Kevin Sumlin $5 million a year. Gator Nation is questioning whether Will Muschamp should be fired today or allowed to coach out the remainder of the season.

Last week, Coach Saban expressed his frustration with Alabama fans who were not satisfied with a one-point win over Arkansas. Set aside for a moment, Saban's famous lack of satisfaction with winning national championships. He was sending a message more to his players than to the fan base: play the game the way we have coached you to play it.

This coming Saturday, Alabama will face another road trip as the Tide heads to Knoxville. Granted that the Vols are not playing well, but Alabama has not played well on the road so far. It is time to set that right and to do it in one of the program's oldest and most storied rivalries will make it all the better.

Roll Tide, Y'all.

The Commissioner    

  

      

Tire Store Report -- Arkansas

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Thanks for that set of Grades, Commissioner.  Your catalog of ugly things is quite the entertaining list, though the Arkansas game may set a new standard.  A few years from now, we might take a look at cheerleader from, say, a school in Lee County and say, “Man, she’s uglier than the 2014 Arkansas win”.

We mostly agree with the grades.  Something about the game reminded us of the Stallings’ era.

Special Teams:

We suppose it would be charitable to say that our special teams play is “inconsistent”.  Our punter continues to have one of the most solid and successful first seasons of anyone we can remember.  He has been the single constant over this season.  Kickoffs, which were a disaster last week (it may not be too much to say that with average play there last Saturday Alabama might be undefeated this morning) were much improved Saturday.  We had at least one touchback and the kicks that weren’t touchbacks were well-covered by disciplined players who stayed in their lanes.  Do not forget that Arkansas had a highly-rated kick off return game going into Saturday. We are blocking PATs, almost a lost art outside of Frank Beamer teams. 

On the other hand, we now seem unable to catch punts (or hold onto the ball after we do catch them).  Blockers for punt returners can’t seem to avoid contact with the ball. Our celebrated place kicker has suddenly become unable to find the target (though folks more knowledgeable than we are have mentioned that some of the missed kicks may be at least a shared responsibility between the kicker and the holder, which makes some sense).  By all reports this facet of the game is as solid as an elephant in practice.  At any rate, putting it charitably, strong special teams play has just not been a consistent feature of the Saban tenure, now at 100 games.  Every single football team in America from 9^th grade up, kicks off, covers kicks, kicks field goals, and punts and field punts -- many of them without resorting to putting their very best players on kick coverage.  There is no excuse for a team with the talent and support available at the University of Alabama to have anything less than adequate, if not outstanding, play in this phase of the game.

Defense:

The defense did finally come around.  They got better over the course of the game and show signs of getting better over the season.  Arkansas went against type, throwing the ball around the field in the first half.  Following what Coach Kiffin likes to do, they concentrated on getting mismatches where they had tall strong players, like tight ends, covered by our smaller faster  players and/or had smaller faster receivers matched up with our linebackers/strong safety.  That was quite a twist for an Arkansas team that barely reached double digits in pass attempts in a couple of previous games. 

Their quarterback also showed good decision making skills. Certainly the Move People team gave up enough 3^rd and longs on Saturday, particularly in the first half, that my dogs were hiding under the coffee table and my wife had to remind me that the sofa I was sitting on was new this summer.  Their excellent rushing attack behind a huge offensive line never really got going.  When Alabama started to get pressure with just a four-man rush, the Arkansas offense was in trouble.  Finally, by the fourth quarter, you started to get that sense that it didn’t really matter what the Hog offense tried to do, it wasn’t going to be all that successful.  Good thing, because….

Offense:

The offense seems to be on life support.  Perhaps losing Drake and Kelly really did hamstring (no pun intended) this team worse than anyone forecast.  Perhaps opposing defensive coordinators have figured out a combination of containment rushes and downfield coverages that are neutralizing Blake Sims.  Perhaps running backs are tentative waiting for holes that the current incarnation of the offensive line isn’t opening or perhaps the running backs aren’t quick enough to openings that are created.  Perhaps there are keys other teams see in our plays so that quick screens and reverses end up with two or three more defenders than blockers at the point of attack.  Our attempted quarterback sneak looked Sims was trying to jump and see over the big kid’s heads at a parade instead of bulling ahead for the needed 12 inches.  We sure aren’t smart enough to figure out what is wrong.  But somebody needs to and pretty darn quick.  Alabama managed six plays and no first downs in the first quarter -- that would often be a statistic you would point back to after a loss.   Alabama did not have a first down after the 12:36 mark of the fourth quarter.  Ten points last week and 14 this week are not trends that this team can continue and have a successful season, at least by Alabama standards.  If it is not lack of effort and we wholeheartedly agree that does not appear to be the issue, what is it?  Which leads to….

Coaching:

No two ways about it, Alabama’s coaching effort before this game earned that F- and we note that covers the entire grading scale between 53 and 0 (Miss Worley reminded us of this immutable mathematical fact in her Latin I class). 

This week may set up as one of the more challenging coaching weeks since 2007.  Texas A&M should be coming to town with something to prove  after a pretty embarrassing showing at home against Mississippi.  Their offense is built around: 1. tempo and 2. many of the things that Arkansas was successful with in the first half -- especially mismatches in the throwing game and a quarterback capable of converting third and long with his legs.  Their defense has not proven to be particularly stout, but neither was Arkansas’ till this past weekend.  We expect that if forcefully teaching lessons and high-decibel vocal admonishment was going to work, it already would have.  So if screaming, yelling, and cussing a blue streak isn’t working, the coaches will probably need to try something else.  We, uh, are open to suggestions.

The bottom line is, we were glad to get out of Fayetteville with a win, even if it was uglier than a three-color bowling shoe.

Arkansas Grades

Only one word can describe Alabama's 14-13 win over Arkansas: ugly.

How ugly was it? 

If it was my dog, I would make it walk backwards.

If it was a scarecrow, the birds would return the corn they stole last year.

If it was a car, you could leave the keys in the ignition and nobody would take it.

It if was sitting in a sandbox, a cat would try to bury it.

If prisoners at Gitmo were forced to watch it, they would have a legitimate gripe about inhumane treatment.

It was so ugly that I had to use a squeegee to clean my TV screen.

It was so ugly.....well, you get the idea.  IT WAS UGLY! But, it was an ugly win, not an ugly loss. That, at least is some consolation.

Maybe it was the Hogs' red jerseys, but for a while I thought I had figured out time travel and was watching the Crimson play the White in last April's A-Day Game. All the offensive and special teams ineptitude of the Spring's final scrimmage was on full display in Fayetteville. We could not run.  We could not pass. We could not return punts.  We could not kick field goals. Heck, we could not even line up properly with the correct number of players on the field and stay set until the ball was snapped! 

There were some things, however, that we did extremely well. Punting is the first that comes to mind. JK Scott's leg was Alabama's most potent weapon, as time after time he flipped field position and gave the defense something to work with.  

Stopping the Hogs' running game is another thing Bama did extremely well. Coming into the contest, Arkansas had been averaging 279 yards per game rushing. Alabama's defense limited the Piggies to only 89. 

That just about exhausts the list of Things We Did Extremely Well, which is why here is how I grade the game:

Offense: F- Alabama gained only 227 yards of total offense [66 rushing] which produced only 10 first downs [actually only 9 since one FD came by way of a penalty against the Hogs]. Blake only completed 11 of 21 pass attempts for 161 yards, but two of his passes were good for TDs and, thanks to several drops by Arkansas DBs, he did not throw an interception. 

DeAndrew White had 4 receptions for 33 yards. TJ Yeldon and Amari Cooper were each limited to only 2 catches each. White and Yeldon caught passes for TDs. 

Yeldon gained 45 yards on 16 carries. Derrick Henry ran the ball 7 times for 25 yards. 

Bama only mounted two sustained drives [67, 56] which produced one TD and a missed FG. Seven of Bama's offensive possessions were three-and-out. Another possession resulted in a turnover on downs when the offense failed to convert, needing only to advance the length of the football. Coach Saban described the play as "the worst quarterback sneak I have ever seen."

Defense: B Repeated failures to stop Arkansas from converting long third downs left me tempted to grade the Stop Troops no better than a C+. Upon more careful reflection, however, I think the D played what might be its best game of the year.

Reggie Ragland led all defenders with 12 tackles [7 solo]. Landon Collins and Xzavier Dickson were each credited with 8, and Eddie Jackson and Trey DePriest recorded 6 each. Jarran Reed, A'Shawn Robinson and Nick Perry each made 5 tackles. Collectively, the defense accounted for 9 tackles for lost yardage [4 sacks], 2 forced fumbles-both were recovered for turnovers and one prevented a sure Hog TD-an interception, 4 pass break-ups, and 2 hurries.

Thanks to an excellent second half adjustment by Kirby Smart, the Tide managed to stop the bleeding on third-and-long. Consequently, the Piggies last five offensive possessions resulted in 3 three-and-outs, a turnover on downs and an interception [Landon Collins].  

Special Teams:

Place Kicking: D Adam Griffith missed his lone FG attempt from 30 yards, but made both PAT attempts. Given the score differential, it could be argued that place kicking was the difference in the game.

Punting: JK Scott gets an A+. His 8 punts averaged 44.2 yards, he dropped 7 inside the Hog 20 and boomed 3 for more than 50 yards. 

The punt return game earned F- due to two lost fumbles and a third fumble that was recovered.

Place Kicking: A Griff averaged 61.3 gross yards per kick and netted an average of 45.3. The coverage unit played quite well. The return game was again problematic. 

Coaching: F Alabama gained only 293 all purpose yards and the participation report lists only 55 players who saw action. The Tide was penalized 4 times but half of those were pre-snap penalties including having 12 players on the field....which occurred following a time out. Rumors out of Fayetteville are that maintenance workers are painting the walls of the visitor's locker room to repair the scorch marks left by Coach Saban's half-time.....um.... comments. 

In his post-game presser, Coach Saban complimented the players for their effort in the game. He makes a good point. The offensive and special teams' ineptitude, and the defense's struggles on third downs was not due to lack of effort. Guys were playing hard. They were not playing smart. They were not paying attention to details. They were not executing their assignments with consistency. But they were trying really hard. If the SEC West were a recreational soccer league, everyone associated with the program could fell good this morning. But, it isn't and no one is feeling particularly good about where the 2014 Crimson Tide finds itself after the second weekend in October. The crazy thing is, that as badly as Alabama has played the last two weeks, it is still very much in the thick of the race for the four-team playoff. 

It will be hard for Alabama to win the SEC West. Ole Miss will have to lose twice-State and the Barn, however, could punch that particular ticket. Then, Bama would have to win out  to claim the tie breaker over State. I suppose that it is theoretically possible-depending on what happens to other teams in other leagues-for a one-loss Alabama to face a rematch with an undefeated Ole Miss in the first round of the playoffs. Stranger things have happened. 

All of those scenarios, however, require Alabama to win out. The incomparable Cecil Hurt, writing this morning in Tide Sports about the rather tentative Rammer Jammer that followed the conclusion of Saturday night's game, observed that while Alabama did not exactly beat the hell out of Arkansas, it managed to survive-for now-beating the hell out of itself. 

There are some formidable teams waiting for Alabama, but in each of the upcoming games, the first order of business has to be for Alabama not to beat itself. Over the last four weeks, the Tide has experienced an ugly loss and two ugly wins. Obviously, the later is preferable to the former, but unless the chronic problems of ball security, special teams miscues, penalties, and execution are corrected, all the great effort in the world will not salvage winning out.

If Alabama fails to correct and improve, the SEC Champion could well be either the Admiral Akbar Rebel Black Bears or the cow-bell ringing rubes from Starkville. How ugly would that be? It would be so ugly, that if you found it sitting on the beach, your first thought would be that BP was having another bad safety day.

It doesn't get any easier for Alabama. This coming Saturday, an embarrassed Texas A&M comes to Tuscaloosa. My Son And Heir and I will be there......

Roll Tide y'all.

The Commissioner

      

Mississippi Grades

One reason that football is such a fascinating game is the curious interplay and correlation between individual and team performance.  On a given play, every single player on the team, save one, can perform at the very highest level and the play can be a complete disaster.  Similarly, most of the players can perform at a high level for most of a game, but one or two poor plays can result in a loss.  Most of the time, where teams are relatively evenly matched, even though close to 200 plays will be run, the outcome will hinge on just a few plays.  One mistake can spell the difference between victory and defeat.  One poor game can ruin a season.

 

Which brings us this morning to the still smoldering ruins of the University of Alabama football team’s effort against Mississippi on Saturday afternoon.  The first half of the game seemed to be a bit of a struggle.  Alabama was forced to deal with some serious adversity, but as the teams headed to the locker room with Alabama leading 14-3, running the ball with some authority, and getting the opening kickoff of the second half, there was reason to feel optimism.  A combination of individual miscues, a few bad plays, lack of discipline, and mental mistakes turned what could have been a winning effort into an abject failure.

 

Many football watchers say that in a close game the first two possessions of the second half are critical.  Alabama’s started well, but then bogged down, based on questionable communication, iffy coaching, and some poor individual performances/decision.  So despite moving the ball well, Alabama came away with zero points.  Mississippi by contrast, scored a touchdown on four plays, one of which was for negative yardage.  It proved to be telling for Alabama’s performance for the second half.  The final sequence, which should have been a first down inside the Mississippi 20 with 45 seconds and a time out remaining, changed with a needless holding call to second and forever and a poor play call by the coaches, a poor decision from the quarterback, a questionable effort from the receiver to end Alabama’s hopes.  It should, of course, never have come to that.

 

Looking only at the offensive and defensive statistics, you would think Alabama won.  Alabama racked up nearly 400 yards of total offense (against a good defense) to only 323 for Mississippi.  Sims was a respectable 19-31 for 228 yards passing.  Alabama rushed for 168 yards to their opponent’s 72.  In fact, the longest rush for Mississippi went for a total of 12 yards on its first play from scrimmage -- a quarterback draw.  T.J. Yeldon once again surpassed the 100-yard mark in rushing.  Amari Cooper was double teamed or more all day and still had 91 yards in catches.  Alabama was -1 in turnover margin -- not usually a fatal deficit, especially given that the Mississippi turnover led to 7 points just before halftime.  Alabama ran more plays and possessed the ball for 33:21 to Mississippi’s 26:39, and it felt like more than that.

 

As usual, the statistics do not tell the whole story.  One of Alabama’s turnovers was late in the game with the chance to perhaps run out the clock and seal the win.  The other ended the game.  Alabama was flagged 8 times bringing its last two game total to 19.  Alabama missed two field goals, though on a blustery day we are not likely to give the placekicker too many demerits on a 51-yard attempt.    Mississippi gained 112 yards on kick returns, one of which led very directly to its only first half points.

 

It has to be said that injuries played key role in this game.  Kenyan Drake was a valuable component of the Alabama offense.  Coach Kiffin has had somewhat similar backs at other schools and used them in a variety of creative ways.  Simply put, Alabama does not have a true “back up” for what he brought to the offensive scheme.  His injury appeared horrific and we join all Alabama fans in hoping he is able to make a full recovery.  Denzel Devall left the game early in the first half, and his loss was felt for the rest of the game.  He will have a MRI today to further diagnose a lower leg injury, rumored to be the dreaded high ankle sprain.  But the biggest loss of all may have been center Ryan Kelly.  His knee injury in the third quarter led to a redshirt freshman, who played acceptably well all things considered, but cost at least one time out and disrupted rhythm with low shotgun snaps.

 

Overall, Alabama committed enough penalties and turnovers to lose a couple of games.  Combined with significant injuries, the inability to make adjustments, and a failure of players to play with discipline and carry out assignments what ought to have happened, did.  Mississippi played better than Alabama did and won the game.  The General Ackbar Rebel Black Bears probably played about as well as they could have and deserve much credit.  But make no mistake, Alabama contributed mightily to its own defeat.

 

All the analysis, navel-gazing, and joining hands in a circle to sing the Alma Mater is not going to improve any of this -- not a whit.  Or, as one fan I know put it:  “how to you spell ‘pfffttt’?”

 

On to the Grades.

 

Offense:  D-.  Yes, the injury to Drake was devastating, in more ways than one.  However, the offensive line left much to be desired.  Regular readers know it is not our habit to call out particular players by name, but nearly every position across the offensive line contributed a critical error on Saturday.  In particular, 5-star sensation O.J. Howard was the second leading receiver with 3 catches for 87 yards.  But he whiffed on a couple of key blocks, dropped a third down conversion catch that hit him in the hands, had a critical penalty, and at 6’6” did not outleap a 5’9” Mississippi defensive back on Alabama’s last offensive play.  Sims managed once to hard count our offensive line into an illegal procedure penalty.  It was that kind of day.  Yeldon ran with authority but on a couple of occasions juked instead of just bulling forward for more yardage -- at least once it cost a first down.  Henry could not find running lanes inside and is not at his best trying to bounce outside and turn the corner.  It is worth noting at this stage that Henry’s back up would be Alabama’s 5^th string running back, probably Altee Tenpenny. (T. Jones had finger surgery last week and is out for a few weeks).  Bozeman will be better after more reps with the first team defense.  Sims probably needs to run a bit more when receivers are covered, but we understand after the Florida game why he did not.  However, in one critical series he cost 10 yards in three plays by not just chucking the ball into the stands.  Mississippi’s defense is clearly better than Florida’s, but not enough to explain why a team with this many offensive weapons was held to just 10 points.  Alabama contributed plenty to its own loss.

 

Defense:  D+.  Statistically the defense played well enough to win.  However, it gave up far too many third and long conversions.  Holding Mississippi to just 23 points was no small feat given that on at least two occasions the Tide gave Mississippi a short field to work on.  Holding any SEC West team to 72 yards rushing is very, very good.  All that said, when the game was on the line in the fourth quarter, the Stop Troops gave up 13 critical points.  It seemingly had no answer to the trips and diamond wide receiver formations and Mississippi just continued to run them with success.

 

Special Teams:

 

            Place kicking:  F.  We missed two critical field goals.  We disagree with the decision to try a 51-yarder on a windy day, but that kick wouldn’t have been good from 5.  Kickoffs were short and low.  Coverage was hit and miss.  We fumbled on a critical return and made a poor decision running a kick off back out of the end zone.  Alabama had a running into the kicker on a clanged extra point.  They did block the follow up extra point, which could have been determinative.  We fielded a kickoff that was probably headed out of bounds.  The more we think about it, the more we wish there was a grade worse than F.  

 

            Punting:  A+.  The only bright spot for special teams was punting.   J.K. Scott punted 6 times, with a long of 64 yards, and dropped three inside the 20, still managing a 51.8 yard average.  He (ahem) single-footedly flipped the field on one occasion.  Of course, it explains how the day went when the brightest position was “punter”.

 

Coaching:  F-.  Coming off a bye week, Alabama was ill-prepared for the game.  Despite having its own artificial turf to practice on, players slipped and slid all day.  We did not envy the coaches dealing with the loss of Drake, with an injury so horrific that Mississippi players took one look and ran in the other direction. We seemed to run with success to the left throughout the second quarter, but seemed to forget that the rest of the game.  We could not adjust to the three/four receiver bunch.  If we can’t figure that out there are at least two and maybe three remaining opponents that will pass us silly.  One stupid penalty is on a player, 19 in two games is on the coaches.  OK, I will stop.  There is just no way around it.  Alabama has lost its last three games against ranked opponents.  That trend must be reversed.

 

Officiating:  We know everyone clicked the link dreading to read what we at the Tire Store had to say about the officiating.  We aim to please.  The officiating, both ways, was putrid.  Both coaches had room and reason to complain.  In addition to the usual inconsistent work this crew was reversed by replay.  A lot.  Some plays that should have been reviewed were not (e.g. Yeldon’s dive into the end zone near the end of the first half).  Both teams complained mightily that something odd was going on with the play clocks (we couldn’t always see them on TV, but it just didn’t “feel” right.)  And when was the last time you can remember that the HOME team complained about clock operation?

 

On to next week.  No time to wallow in self-pity and what-might-have-beens.  Alabama travels to Arkansas to play the Hogs on Saturday.  A running, smash-mouth machine.  Here is hoping for better preparation, fewer injuries, and a positive outcome. 

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