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 5th 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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