Ark vs Bama

First, congrats to the Bama players and coaches on the win. This game has all the symptoms of being a route early on, but things changed drastically.  Mistakes were made on all phases of the game.  In my opinion, Bama could have been up, at least 38-7 by halftime.  The 3rd quarter was a disaster, but Bama was able to overcome.  Missed tackles and penalties again were a factor.  Bama probably let 6 to 10 points on the field.

OFFFENSE:  The offense put together 555 yards of total offense which included 317 rushing yards and 238 passing.  This total could have been better had there not been some dropped passes.  This was the best job, as far as a rushing attack that Bama has had in a while.  Especially when Young went out and many times it looked like Ark loaded the box.  They also wasted good starting field position when they started at the Ark 49-yard line.    

Negative plays:  3 tackles for losses, 2 sacks, 2 fumbles (one on special teams) and an interception.

3 and out: 2 three and out

10+ plays:  7 passing (all in the first and early 2nd quarter) and 4 running plays.  All running plays were in the 2nd half.

Red zone:  Bama had 5 trips in the red zone and scored 4 touchdowns and threw an interception.  Three touchdowns came from outside the red zone and 2 were running plays, each 70+ yards, and 1 was a passing play.

QB:  Before his injury, Young played better than his stats. He was 13 for 17 which equates to a 76% competition rate.  However, I saw at least 3 to 5 ball that were catchable that were dropped.  Also, one drop was on a hospital ball that was hard to hold on to.  On his interception, I have seen holding called on plays like that before which would have negated the interception.  Milroe came in and did what he had to do.  If he is going to be successful, he will have to improve in the passing game. He completed about 44% of his passes, and he had what I consider a drop.  Also, he underthrew a pass that if on target probably would have been a touchdown.  The next game, with the opponent not knowing if Young can play, they will have to account for the running ability of Milroe.  

RB: This was Gibbs coming out party. He looked great and the plays he made were huge in a critical moment.  The other running backs ran well, but Gibbs did show some speed and power.

Rec:  Prentice, seemed to be on pace for a huge game as he had 3 catches for 92 yards.  Five other receivers had catches and it was good to see Earle back for the year, his first catch was a touchdown.  What I like about this group is that you can say we have to stop one because the others are capable of making plays.

OL:  This may have been their best game.  They got a push many times and allowed the RB to make yards.  Also, early on Young was on pace for completions for a big day.  It seemed to me they kept their feet moving better than they have in the earlier games this season.

Def: The defense had to play 85 plays and at one point they were almost on the field for 3 straight drives as Ark scored a touchdown, got an onside kick and then Bama went 4 and out with the bad snap on the punt.  Now part of the many plays they had to play was because of their missed tackles as well as the stupid penalties.  That being said they made the big stops when they had to. There seemed to be some missed plays on the QB read which allowed positive plays for Ark.  In the first half, Ark doubled their yards for the half with the TD drive.

Negative plays:  I have Bama for 8 tackles for losses, 4 sacks and a fumble recovery.  

3 and outs:  4 three and outs

10+ plays:  9 passing and 7 running plays.  After one play went for 10+ yards Bama forced and recovered a fumble.  

Red zone:  Ark got into the red zone 6 times and scored 3 touchdowns and kicked 2 field goals.  Bama did stop a 2-point conversion and stopped a late drive on downs.

DL:  For as many plays that they played they played fairly well.  However, there were times they were pushed back.  They also got out of their passing lane and ran pass the QB to open up running lanes.  They did miss some tackles like the rest of the defense.  I don’t know if you noticed, but on one play, the coach is telling the defensive player he was supposed to go outside on the play where they lost contain.

LB:  Again, they played well, but missed some plays that could have been made.  On one touchdown, To’oto’o was just outside of the passing lane that may have prevented a touchdown.  Someone missed the assignment on the back out which ended up going for a first down and this happened on a 3rd and 10.

DB: Overall they didn’t do a bad job, except when coming up to make some tackles.  On the long plays, most of the yards were made after the catch. I thought they were in position to make an interception or 2 but didn’t come up with the ball.

Special teams: This was the good, the bad, and the ugly.  The good, was the punt returns by McKinstry, the deep kickoffs, and all the extra points.  The bad was the missed field goal which left points on the field.  The ugly was allowing the onside kick and the horrible snap on the punt that basically gave Ark a touchdown.  They said the snap hit a player, but it was so far off target it would not have mattered.  Mckinstry leads the nation in punt return yardage and added to his total since he added 77 more yards.

Penalties: Bama back to being bad on penalties.  Officially there were 10 for 101 yards, but really there were more as some were declined.  As far as penalties, I have the offense with 4, special teams with 2, and the defense with 5.  Bama should have been off the field on the last field goal drive, but a stupid penalty by To’oto’o gave them a free first down.  There was also a PI on the same drive.

Finally, Bama actually looked like they progressed in some areas, running the ball because of blocking and digressed because of the penalties as well as missed assignments and missed tackles.   They need to correct this before A&M comes to town because emotions will be high and sometimes emotions causes mistakes.
Feel free to comment:

18 and Counting

Agree with the TV coverage.  Also, noticed a couple more things.  Bama defense really seem to be getting numbers to the football.  Also, on the 4th and 12 play, there was a receiver that as Young was scrambling to this right, the rec ran away from him to his left.  If the receiver had put his foot in the ground and gone back to the right, he would have been wide open and in the face of Young and a possible completion which would have converted the fourth down attempt.  I have not been happy with the scramble drill for a while now.

                                             Vandy vs Bama

First, congrats to the Bama players and coaches on the win.  After the first couple of drives, this game was heavily dominated by Bama.  I will say, I really thought Bama would have had a game plan to work on the running game.  However, I guess they did what teams should do, take advantage of what the defense is giving you. 

OFFFENSE:  The offense put together 628 yards of total offense which included 228 rushing yards and 400 passing yards.  Again, most of the rushing yards came in the 2nd half.  It seemed the only time Bama was stopped, they stopped themselves by missing a couple of receivers.  Bama seem to take advantage of the Vandy DB’s dropping quickly and playing a lot of zone.

Negative plays:  4 tackles for losses, one which was cause by a bad snap.

3 and out: 1 three and out

10+ plays:  17 passing and 8 running plays.  Concerning running plays, 1 was in the first half and the other 7 came in the 2nd half.

Red zone:  Bama had 5 trips in the red zone and scored 3 touchdowns and 2 field goals while 3 touchdowns came from outside the red zone.

QB:  Young had a good game. He connected on 69% of his passes.  He did make one errant throw that was fortunate not to be intercepted.  It looked to me that he was better on his deep ball even though one was underthrown, still completed for a touchdown.  If my count is correct, he hit 8 different receivers.  He still amazes me on how he keeps his eyes downfield when he is flushed from the box as well as the accuracy of the passes.  Milroe did an adequate job.  He did have some playing time taken away with a bad snap that put Bama behind the chains.  He can scramble well and made a big run to set up a touchdown when he was pressured once.  Simpson, I know he only threw one pass, but it was on time, and on target with a quick release.

RB: They did most of their damage in the 2nd half. Every back seems to be able to make big plays.  I think Bama has an advantage of being able to use numerous backs in a game and if one goes down, they are still in capable hands.

Rec:  Eight receivers caught passes.  Brooks had more catches in this game than he did for the year.  He also had 2 TD’s while Holden and Gibbs had one each.  Brooks had another chance on a ball that was just a little out of reach. 

OL:  I thought they played pretty well.  They gave up no sacks and there wasn’t a whole lot of pressure on the QB’s.  I still think they don’t move their feet well at times, and when I noticed this in this game, it seems they were playing a little high.  I did notice, it seemed, a missed assignment that led to a tackle for loss or no gain.  The OL didn’t come off the combo block quick enough to make the block.

Def: The defense had a good game, mainly because there looked to be less missed assignments and less missed tackles.  They only gave up a total of 129 yard, which included 115 passing yards and 14 rushing yards.  I also think what the announcers were calling a back shoulder throw was an intentional underthrow.  I guess the only real negative was there wasn’t a takeaway by the defense.

Negative plays:  I have Bama for 4 tackles for losses and 5 sacks.   

3 and outs:  5 three and outs and 1 4 and out as they went for it on 4th down.

10+ plays:  4 passing and 1 running play.

Red zone:  They never got into the red zone.

DL:  They played well.  I mean when you give up 14 rushing yards, they have to play well.

LB:  I can say the same thing here as I said about the DL.  They also had to make plays on the quick passing game that many teams are using to negate the Bama pass rush.

DB: The longest pass play was 22 yards, and it was one of those underthrows.  They were in position most of the day and I don’t remember anytime there was a busted coverage.  Also, importantly, I don’t remember them losing contain.

Special teams: The kicking game on special teams was good.  The return could have been good if they would have held on to the football.  There were 3 fumbles and 1 was lost.  I think I said this before, McKinstry does a good job on the return, but he carries the ball loosely.  I think one reason for the fumble, and this is my opinion, was the success of the week before and they got a little bit overanxious to make a play.

Penalties: Bama did better here again.  They were only credited with 6 as one was offset by a Vandy penalty on the same play.  Three were on the defense and 3 on the offense.  The holding on the very first drive may be the only penalty Bama didn’t overcome.

Finally, Bama had a good chance of getting better and correcting mistakes.  They also had a chance to play numerous players for an extended period of time.  They could have a tough test with Arkansas coming up next week.
Feel free to comment:

18 and Counting

Is it just me, or did we get a better view of routes last year?

                                             ULM vs Bama

First, congrats to the Bama players and coaches on the win. Bama very well in spurts, but you also must consider the opponent.  I looked at some of the assignments of the players in games like this and see if they have progressed or digressed.  As, I have said before, I really like the 2 back 3 wide set.  You can max protect with the two backs and have 3 receivers out on routes.  If the 2 backs don’t have to block, they are free to release.  You can do the same with the TE in the wing set with one back.  I don’t know if it is me or others see it, but I don’t see the routes like I have in the past.  Therefore, it is hard to see what the QB is seeing, which means are the routes covered or is the QB not seeing the openings.

OFFFENSE:  The offense put together 509 yards of total offense which included 273 rushing yards and 236 passing yards.  Most of the rushing yards came in the 2nd half.  Also, if you consider Bama actually lost 3 offensive possessions because of the blocked punt, the interception for a touchdown as well as the punt return for a touchdown, these numbers could have been higher.  The offense also wasted field position on a couple of drives set up by a kickoff return and a punt return.  One drive was killed by penalties.

Negative plays:  3 tackles for losses, 1 sack, 2 fumbles, and 1 interception for a touchdown.

3 and out: 1 three and out, 1 one and out(interception), and 1 four and out.

10+ plays:  11 passing and 18 running plays, mostly in the 2nd half.  Also, again this game, some running plays

Red zone:  5 trips into the red zone resulting in 4 touchdowns, a kneel down to keep from running the score up more. Outside the red zone, 2 scores, both touchdowns.  The 3 other scores came from the defense (1) and special teams 2.

QB:  Young played well.  He connected on 72% of his passes with 2 interceptions.  On the first interception the ball was underthrown, but the DB also did a good job reading where Young was going with the ball and came off the underneath coverage to help on the deep ball.  The 2nd interception should have been a competition.  He did overthrow a touchdown pass on a wide-open receiver.  On one incompletion on 4th down, the RB stopped his route because the defender was in zone and standing in the area. Basically, the RB was correct and the QB was wrong on this one, in my opinion This is the same thing that happened in the last game, but the receiver ran into coverage and the ball was thrown where he should have shut it down.  Basically, the backups job was to hand the ball off and run out the clock.  Milroe, did throw a couple of passes, 1 was off target, but it looked like the other could have been a competition.  It also looked like the defender may have gotten there early.

RB: They did most of their damage in the 2nd half. They averaged over 8 yards per carry for the day.  Also, no one had more than 8 carries.  All of them look capable of being good running backs.

Rec:  Five different receivers caught passes. Holden may be developing into the go to receiver.  He did a great job coming back for the ball on his touchdown reception. Latu may have made the best catch of the day and it was the longest pass play for Bama this year.  However, all made good catches.  Law didn’t have a catch but did have 2 blocks on the touchdown by Gibbs.  He also almost came up big catch on a play that looked as if he was interfered with.  Again, because of TV angles, it is hard to see the routes and see how things are developing. 

OL:  It is very hard to judge this group.  They had the ULM defensive line at a disadvantage, they were outmanned.  It seems to me that the OL don’t always keep their feet moving to get the push.  In the 2nd half of the game, the outmanned defense was pushed around by the bigger Bama line.  It also seemed that Bama did rotate some other linemen in earlier than normal.  I did notice on 1 play the offensive tackle allowed the defensive player to cross his face and make a play on a short yardage play.

Def: Overall, the defense played well.  They did make some mistakes, but those are all correctable.   The defense gave up 169 total yards which included 91 passing yards and 78 rushing yards.  Eighty-nine of the yards came on two drives.  Again, this game, as it seems in every game, the defense allowed the edge to be given up, they pushed their passing lanes too far up the field and allowed a free running lane, and finally missing tackles especially when they reach for the tackle instead of running thru it.

Negative plays:  5 tackles for losses, 4 sacks, 1 fumble (ULM recovered), and 1 interception returned for a touchdown.

3 and outs:  6 three and out, 1 in the first half and 5 in the second. One 1 and out and 1 four and out.

10+ plays:  5 passing and 3 rushing

Red zone:  They got in the red zone 1 time and scored a touchdown.

DL:  They played well and against an undermanned ULM offensive line.  Again, Bama was able to rotate numerous players in and out of the game and no real drop off in production. Young probably stood out more than any other.

LB: They played well as most all of them were some of the leading tacklers.  I keep noticing Moody making plays, but also, Lawson, a backup, when he plays seems to make plays.

DB: They were not really threatened deep.  They did bust a coverage and allowed a 16-yard completion to the TE as he was left uncovered.  I think a LB was supposed to pick him up.

Special teams: Special teams were solid except for one play.  I think they may have relaxed on one kickoff return where I think the coverage team relaxed since the ULM returners had not attempted to return any other kickoffs. The good news is that there was a penalty that negated the return. Bama had huge punt returns all day. Mckinstry had returns of 47, 42, 20 and 29 yards, Branch had a 68-yard punt return for a touchdown, and Bond also had a punt return of 34 yards.  They blocked a punt for a touchdown which was another non offensive touchdown.

Penalties:  Well, they did clean this up a bit.  They are credited with 6 penalties for 80 yards but had 7 as one holding call was declined because of a sack.  Five of the penalties were on the offense and 1 on the defense.  The first play of the game was an illegal formation with changes a 2nd and 5 to a 1st and 15.  The next penalty was a horse collar tackle which made a 3rd and 9 a first down.  A holding call negated a first down.  The next 2 penalties were on Sanders a facemask a holding call, both which were questionable.  Next was as holding call by the OL.

Finally, Bama did play better, but the competition was a lot less than Texas.  They need to continue to improve in all phases of the game. 
Feel free to comment:

18 and Counting

Not real pleased with the play calling either.   That being said it would have looked better without the drops, better route running,  and without penalties to help stop drives.

Another point I want to make on the "safety" call. The play before Bama throws the ball deep and the receiver was held on the route according to the announcers.  He said UT got away with one there.  If he wasn't held, it may have been a touchdown as the receiver got behind the defense.  If the penalty was called the "safety" play would have never taken place as Bama would have had a 1st down after the penalty.

One I left off from above.  Before the 4th down attempt.  Should there have been a hands to the face call on the defense as the OL helmet was somehow removed and went about 3 to 5 yards up the field.  I don't see how that happens without hands to the face/head area.

Chechem, I never heard where the officials were from.  Also, the blueprint they were talking about was the quick passing game, is how I understood it along with taking your shots at the appropriate time.  They should have said hope Bama hurts themselves like they did this game.

I wasn’t going to get this detailed, but here you go:
On the first scoring drive by UT:
Field goal:
First and 10, offside Bama
Third and 2, offside Bama 1st down
Touchdown:
Personal foul, 1st and 3
Roughing the passer:  1st down at the 1
Field goal:
2nd and 4, play was for a 5-yard loss, personal foul ball goes to the Bama 23
Field goal:
1st and 10, Bama 37 offsides, now 1st and 5 at the 32
2nd and 5 at Bama 24, personal foul, ball now on the 12
Missed field goal:
2nd and 5, offside, automatic 1st down
2nd and 9 at the 19, Pass interference 1st down ball now on 15
1st and 10 Pass interference, ball moves to the 2, I really didn’t think this was a PI call because there was hand fighting and McKinstry had established positioning.
Overall, the defense did a pretty good job holding them to field goals
Now, some calls that should have been made against UT:
1.    Looked like a block in the back on a punt, but it knocked the Bama player into the return man and he made the tackle.
2.   It looked like 65 tackled our 42 on a run to the offensive left side.
3.   A possible targeting call on the first hit on Young as it looked as if the defender lead with the crown of the helmet.
4.   Also, a low hit on the QB, that I thought was now a roughing call.
5.   I didn’t see this, but the announcers said, on a ball overthrown by Young, that UT got away with a hold. If not held, that play may have been a touchdown.  I think it was #3 that got held.  I remember thinking when I first watched, why did he stop running.
6.   I didn’t notice during the game, but someone posted a picture  on one of my Facebook groups I follow, a facemask on the crucial 4th and 1 or either the 3rd and 2 play late in the game.
7.   The was an obvious pick play run down near the Bama goal line when UT was trying to score and McKinstry came up and made a big stop.

                                             UT vs Bama

First, congrats to the Bama players and coaches on the win. Bama did everything they could to lose this game.  It was poorly played mentally and physically.  They are fortunate to come out with a win.  These notes will be brief as the mistakes are what actually kept UT in the game, in my opinion.  I really hated the television angles because I hardly ever saw the routes or downfield to see why the pass plays weren’t working.  The announces credited the coverage.   

OFFFENSE:  The offense put together 374yards of total offense which included 213 rushing yards and 161 passing yards.  Many of the offensive drives were stopped by penalties or dropped passes.  Especially, when Bama had good field position.

Negative plays:  5 tackles for losses and 2 sack

3 and out: 4

10+ plays:  10 passing and 3 running, penalties again negated running plays that went for first downs.

Red zone:  2 trips in and 1 touchdown and 1 field goal. Outside the red zone, 2 scores, one a touchdown and 1 a field goal

QB:  Young played well and wasn’t helped in some instances.  There were at least 2 drops that would have been first downs and kept drives alive.  Also, he was hurt by a receiver not sitting down in the hole and continued his route into coverage, Young expected him to sit and the ball was thrown a little behind.  Young did his best work when Bama went down 16-10.  After this, if my stats are correct, he was 15 for 18 for 153 yards and a touchdown.  He also ran for 41 yards on 3 carries.   

RB: They ran hard when given the opportunity.  They also caught the ball for big plays.  A couple of things stood out and not both were good, the long run by McClellan and the missed block by I think Gibbs on a sack.  I really don’t know their blocking schemes.

Rec:  These were hard to judge because of the tv angle.  I do know there were key drops and most of them were on 3rd down where they would have kept a drive alive.  I know they are young, and they will have to get better.  I guess a couple of bright spots, 5 different receivers made catches and Latu was back.

OL:  The OL they got a good push many times, but their mistakes/penalties help put Bama behind the sticks several times.

Def: The defense had a strange day.  They make a big stop and then a penalty to extend the drive.   Every scoring drive, except the last by UT, was aided by penalties.   They also missed more tackles this game than they did last week.  I do know the competition was better.  They held their running backs to 79 yards on 33 carries. 

Negative plays:  4 tackles for losses and 3 sacks

3 and outs:  3 three and out. This was also affected by the penalties.

10+ plays:  11 passing and 2 rushing

Red zone:  They got in the red zone 5 times and scored 1 touchdown, kicked 3 field goals, missed a field goal.  They also kick one field goal from outside the red zone.  As you see, holding them to field goals was huge.

DL:  Overall they did a good job on the running game. However, again, they got out of their rushing lane and allowed big runs for first downs.  On one play it was 2nd and 19 and the QB gets 20 yards on a scramble. They also lost contain when the defender went inside and missed the tackle.

LB: I know, many times, Anderson was either chipped or double teamed.  He did make a big play on a late sack.

DB: They were beat deep more than once and were called for several penalties.  Fortunately, they didn’t always connect on the deep balls.  Again, the tv angle didn’t allow for a great assessment of what happened and coverages.
Special teams: Special teams were good.  No major mistakes that led to points.  Also, it looks like Reichard leg is stronger this year.

Penalties:  This was the worst part of the game as, in my opinion, kept UT in the game. Like I said earlier, Bama had penalties which allowed UT to keep drives alive and all but one of those drives they scored on.  Penalties helped stop Bama drives.  I have Bama for 16 penalties, but one was declined.  Eleven penalties were in the first half alone and 5 in the second half.  Two were on special teams, 4 were on offense where one was declined, and 9 were on the defense. 

Finally, if they are a number 1 team, they need to play like it.  They didn’t yesterday. They were fortunate to come out with a win.
Feel free to comment:

18 and Counting

After watching the punt block again, #40 whiffed on his block putting two people on To'oTo'o.  I still think he should have taken the inside threat, but the other guy seem to catch his eye first.

I would love to see the 4 wide package, since the TE didn't block well at times.  The defense has to take another guy out of the box and could possibly match up one of those quick inside receivers on a linebacker or strong safety.

Somethings I left off.
1.  It looked to be a very vanilla game plan both offensively and defensively.  I didn't see a lot of motion on offense and not many stunts on defense.
2.  There were a couple times on 3rd and long the defensive players got too far up the field and allowed a running lane which enabled them to convert on 3rd and long.
3.  I don't know if I mentioned this or not.  The 2nd pass by Young was outstanding as he was pressured and stepped up in the pocket, basically pressured again and he still made a great throw for a completion.