Crimson Red Sports

First:   Congrats to Bama for opening up with a win.  I think there are far more positives than negatives.

Offense:   I want to first say I thought CLK called a pretty good game.  I thought he gave BS some early quick throws to get his confidence going.  The only question I would have would be the fade call in the red zone with it 2nd and 2.  Bama had been running effectively go ahead and finish it off.   Bama had a pretty balanced attack with 288 rushing and 250 passing.  They got into the red zone 4 times and scored 3 TD’s and 1 FG.   They only had 4 negative plays all night 3 tackle for losses and the interception.   I really thought the ball would have been distributed to the rec’s more evenly.  Bama was also 9 for 16 on 3rd down plays, plus they only had 2 three and outs the whole game.

QB:  BS played a pretty good game.  He had the one pick and didn’t check into a very good play near Bama’s own goal line.   He did miss a couple of passes; however the rec’s dropped a couple that should have been caught.   Fortunately, the offensive line gave him plenty of time to make decisions.   I thought he was a little slow getting the play called and getting Bama lined up.  The OL needs that time to make their calls.  I will say I was pleasantly surprised with Sims.  I thought his decision making was quicker and it looked, too me, that his release was quicker.  He looks nothing, in my opinion, like he did in the spring game.  The other negatives was there were no real balls completed over 15 yards, he needs to square his shoulders better when going to his left and he threw into coverage a couple of time.   

RB:   Both TJY and DH had over 100 yards.  They ran hard, but they also, as did KD, when he was in there blocked well.   I can’t think but maybe once where any back was brought down by 1 player.

REC:  Of course Cooper was the focus of many throws.  I was surprised that OJH was not targeted more, especially with all the talk of what a weapon he is.  CJ dropped a couple of passes that should have been completed.   One thing I noticed was how the rec’s were hunting players to block after their teammate made the catch.   

OL:   I thought this was one of the best opening game performances by the OL in an opening game in a while.   They gave up no sacks and very few tackles for a loss.  I thought they communicated well and got to the second level.  On running plays they were downfield look to players to block.  They combo blocked well and picked up what few stunts that were thrown at them. 

Defense:  The defense looked indecisive a couple of times.  They allowed WV to get to the edge by the QB and by the rec’s.  A couple of times they looked confused and probably should have been lined up a little quicker.  They gave up 393 yards most of them were passing.   I will say the rec’s for WV made some big athletic catches, but they also dropped many that would help Bama.  They only had 2 three and outs.  For negative plays, the D had 4 tackles for losses, and 3 sacks.  The bright spot here is that all but 1 happened in the second half.  One of the other biggest concerns was the missed tackles.

DL:    I thought they played ok. The WV QB got rid of the ball pretty quickly.  After a few opening good runs they seem to settle down and do a better job.  They did loose contain a couple of times.  I thought XD and JA stood out here.

LB:  In the first half they looked tentative.  I think they will have to do a better job with their pass drops.  It looked like the 2nd half they did a better job communicating with the other defensive players.  They got caught inside and didn’t take good angles and lost the pursuit angle a couple of times.  Their outside shoulder got pinned. 

DB: Bama has to improve here.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see some take BS place.  It wan’t all bad, but when they were in position, they didn’t always make plays.  WV seemed to attack the middle of the field and the outside where BS was playing.   I don’t think CJ was targeted as much.  Here is where they were a lot of missed tackles.  There were too many yards after the catch.  I also think the corners will have to do a better job jamming the rec’s coming of the LOS.

Penalties:  There were some penalties that could have been avoided.  AC could do a better job and not get the block in the back call.  Focus on false starts.   I do think the one holding call on LB was wrong.  In my opinion I thought Bama was helped by a couple of calls.  The pass interference was questionable and the late hit out of bounds.  Not sure if they guy really tried to take a shot or protect himself.

Special teams:   AG had a very good night kicking FG’s.  Most of the kickoffs were good, the coverage was the breakdown.  On the TD, again Bama lost contain.  I noticed WV liked to return the ball to their right.  Bama only punted twice and the first was a bomb.  If he can do that consistently then you have someone who can change the field position.

Finally:  Defensively, Bama will have to play better against spread teams.  Offensively, they can still improve and spread the ball around to talented rec.

Please feel free to comment.

Good Luck and Roll Tide Roll 
15 and counting

Good observations.   :clap:

Thanks Coach. Always look forward to your observations.

I thought the O Line looked good but not sure if they can handle bigger, faster guys (LSU), but take away LB's penalties and they graded out really high in my book.

AC is great but someone else has to step up. Can't live on 5-10 yd passes to AC all year.

DH and TJY ran hard. Any defense will have their hands full with those two!

I thought the defense looked lost most of the first half and WVU dropped some balls that would have given them a shot at the end of the game.

Overall, I'm worried.

My expectations were too high to notice anything except bad things.  And there were plenty.

My expectations weren't so high since we had lost 7 defensive starters, including the entire D-line, our best LB, and best DB. I expected problems on the D, like the pass rush & DB's, and unfortunately they were a problem. Very early and time for some adjustments including seeing new faces on the D. Glad to see you posting. Hang around more.


 :wave:

HS good points. I think the overall D was better in the second half after adjustments. They only gave up 6 2nd half points. The DBS have to get better. I wS relived that we may have a strong kicking game. I also believe that the entire O play book is not in. The goal was to make the QB successful. That said I don't think there were many check downs. If the main target was covered it was time to pull it down.

Hey general good to see you back. Hope all has been well. I look for one of the freshman DB's to take over for Bradley. I really thought he had the speed to cover their WR's but he seemed confused. I really hope before we hit SEC play we get a better identity. As MD pointed out we are very new at our defense but if it costs us games that is not what we want. RTR!

meh, overall I give the team a B.  The defense, I gave 1 B-, no pass rush, none of that 'hit the QB many times and wear him out'.  So much for that bad a$$ DL.  The secondary, meh, seemed to be looking too much towards "big hits" instead of covering their responsibily.  Found myself more at angst at watching them than comfort.  CNS has GOT to get a hold of the HUNH spread!  Seemed to be more concerned Kiffin and the O and not hammering his boys on the D side.  Just my observance. 

You slummin', Bill? So, the Woolly has to be down to grace us with your presence?  :lol2:

Yep, they down, Imma working, and just generally PO'd this weekend.  Told all my boys to take WV and dem points.  If they didn't, no respect for the elders.

We have time to improve. With DePriest coming back, I think you'll see more control with the defense.

WTH are you doing working a holiday Weekend, anyway? No wonder you're PO'd.

Great comments HScoach!  I particularly like what you had to say about BS.  Given what I expected (feared) he was lights out.  He's not Peyton Manning but he doesn't need to be.  If Coker wins the job, so be it, but if we have two back with 100+ yards we won't lose many.  Defense definitely needs work but maybe DePriest will help that.

Great analysis of the game coach, I agree that BS did a great over all job but he did get confused for a bit in the 2nd qtr resulting in us have to call time out a couple of times due to the play clock winding down. Going no huddle for a few plays seemed to get him going again. He played much better in the second half. He completed almost 73% of his passes with the one int on a poor decision missed a couple of throws and avoided several sacks.
The running backs did a great job with both TJ & Derrick gaining 100+ each. Kenyon did well but never got into open space to display his quickness and speed and played well on SP Teams.
Coop was the man with receptions totaling over 100yds. CJ uncharacteristically dropped two passes one for a most likely TD and the other for a first down. The fact that CLK did not call his number if I am correct kinds surprised me. Thought he would have been more involved in the game plan. DeAndrew had a fantastic night going until he hurt his shoulder ( probably out 1 - 2 weeks ) sure hope is is not any worse than that and can be back for Florida. Steward did well in his play from that point on.
The Offensive Line my guys, overall played very well and ended up wearing out the D Line of WV from the constant pounding they put on them and it showed in the fourth qtr. But in the first half there were several several times that a defender came into the backfield untouched and had it not been for BS could have cost us dearly.
Blake made several quick moves to avoid the pass rush and made plays where their could have been a loss. TJ also got hit almost the exact time he got the ball by an unblocked player. That has got to be cleaned up and I am sure that it will be. Cameron Robinson played a very good game, but Leon Brown with three penalties left the game. We will see if that affects his playing time or not.
Defense was on its heels for a lot of the first half. The fact that we had no LB on the field that had played before when the game started stuck out big time early from the changing the calls making sure everyone was in the right spot. There were several times they had a man wide open with no one on them and by the Grace of God they either made a bad throw or he did not happen to see them. But when it came to crunch time held them out of the end zone twice with first and goal from the 6 & 5 yrd lines, as the game went on I think we got better and settled down in the second half and played well. The fact that we held they to 28 yds rushing speaks volumes about the D-Line and their play. They had a good game and made the plays that would seal the game for us.
Corners and Safeties, Bradley was taken advantage of for the entire first half. The big ole #11 was just to much for him. The not only was much bigger than him but could get up and catch the ball high out of reach of Bradley. Cryus Jones made some good plays and a TD saving breakup in the end zone. Landon and Nick played well in the safety spots.
Penalties cost us to a point with the biggest one IMO being against Amari that called back about a 30 or so yard gain by TJ. The other fact as I pointed out above with Leon's did not help us at all.
Kicking game was as solid as I have seen it in a long time. Alex was spot on. Freshman PK Scott made his debut, the first words that came out of my mouth as he kicked his first punt was OH My God!!!! A towering 62 yrd punt with at least 4.5 or better hang time was something to see!!! The fact that he only punted twice for the entire game gives our offense a big kudos for the way they moved and held onto the ball. TOP was lopped side to the point we kept the ball an entire qtr longer than they did. a fifteen minute advantage was outstanding.
Kick off coverage was not where we would like it to be. On the return for a TD was it just me or did I see Derrick Henry get held that allow the guy to get to and turn the corner?? One factor about this is that Landon Collins did not play on that unit due to the HUNH and him being on the field so much. He is probably our best SP player on the team. 
Overall a good first game to see where we are and to be able to identify what we need to fix and the chance to do that before we play our first conference game.
Still alot to improve on but played very well as a whole.
Roll Tide!!!!

I thought the same thing, PeeWee, as I watched the replay last night, but after watching it frame by frame, I don't think he was. The WVU player held his block very well and Derrick was too slow to turn and make the play.

Great analysis, BTW!

I think the praise of Blake Sims is a little over-the-top. It's obvious he is struggling. Have you ever seen an Offensive Coordinator give so much attention to a QB on almost every play? Remember, this was a WVA/Big 12 defense, not SEC like LSU, Georgia, or Florida. I'm deeply concerned about his QB IQ, his lack of "zip" on the ball, & what happens when a team packs the box with 8 guys daring Sims to throw? Personally, I am very worried at this point.



 :tinfoil:

I can understand having concerns at this point; I myself have several. However, we cannot base the whole season on one game. I think saying I am worried would be an overstatement.

The praise for Sims is relative to where he was last year and in the spring.  He's not AJ, and I don't think anyone is saying that.  Bama can win most games with the rushing duo of Yeldon and Henry.  Where QB play will be most important is against teams like LSU, which will stuff the box and try to take away the short throws.  Bama probably won't be able to beat some of the SEC powerhouses with just a running game, although LSU is short a QB too.  That's why I'm hoping Coker gets some playing time and is able to develop; Bama needs to be able to attack downfield to keep Ds honest.

Sims had plenty of time to pass, but, when he did get pressure he was very elusive

Great points, and yes DH was one of the guys on the side that allowed the kick return guy to get outside.

I think worried & concerned are interchangeable. I think many more folks will be very concerned when we have to play a real defense with Sims at the helm. I'm not saying Coker is the answer, I just don't think Sims is. Also, why do you think Kiffin was talking to Sims non-stop on most plays. I have NEVER seen that in a football game. I hope I am proved wrong, but I have a bad feeling about this situation. Time will tell.


 :dunno:

hs, I always enjoy your insightful opinion from your view of the game action.

Do you know if Coker has one more year of eligibility left after this year?

I think he does.

I see Sims improving and Coker being #2 until next year.


If Sims will quit throwing at their feet and if the WRs will hold on to the ball BAMA has something going.

Defense is the weak point.  Lots of potential and lots of youth.

I think Coach Bryant said, "for every one freshman you start you will lose one game." 

WVU tested BAMA and the D got a good workout and an opportunity to learn in real game. 


1 down.

I could be wrong but from what I remember at USC (when he was OC, not HC) and UT Kiffen was always coaching folks up of the sidelines.  I think he'd be doing that if Peyton Manning was our QB.

Great analysis hscoach. I like the fact that Kiffen is on the sideline. He doesn't get too high or too low - seems to be a steadying influence on the sideline, which BS needs. Also, with the alarming number of returns over the past few years in the kicking game, do you see a coaching need/deficiency? I can't see a talent deficiency - heck some of our best players play on special teams?

Welcome back. you refereeing again this year?

The way the announcers spoke about Coker, it sounded like he has 2 years of eligibility left.  I am not sure about this. As far as Sims, he will have to prove he can throw the ball downfield.  I didn't see that in the WV game.  My point was he looked a lot better than he did in the spring game.  Can he carry the team without stretching the defense is the question.  If I am a DC I am putting my safeties at 10 yards and making him throw the ball deep with pressure.

You can look at special teams in a couple of ways this game.  One, do you need to replace people or two, with all the excitement in the game did someone just try to do too much and make a serious mistake.   Bama has given up returns in the past.  Maybe, the kick off return teams have figured out who is what, gunner, etc and have set up their returns accordingly.

Thanks, not a ref.  Sorry never have been.  I have yelled at a few.

Personally I think CNS is giving BS every chance possible to be the starting QB, if Sims doesn't get the staring job no one can say he didn't get a fair chance. I think that Coker will get his chance to show what he can do and I think that chance will be this weekend. CNS indicated some critical points in his press conference of some things that BS did not do well and I think the key one was he had trouble calling the plays from the huddle or not being a good game manager. To play QB for CNS you have to be a game manager and I think this is where Sims will fall short in getting the starting job. We haven't seen Coker play yet and he might have some of the same game management problems that Sims had and then we go back to square one.

Actually, Coach, that was directed at Carl Childers.  :lol2:

You're reading my mind, because I think this is a legitimate scenario & have thought the same thing.


 ;)

The coaching staff felt that Sims gave Bama the best shot of winning the WV game, which is why he played most of it.  But Saban made a point that there still was a QB competition.  They're waiting (hoping) for someone to have a break-through and grab the job, but unfortunately that hasn't happened yet.

Yes, still at it. Year # 18 officiating. Guess I'll keep it up until I can't do it physically.

Great job, hscoach.   :worship:

Good to see you, Carl.   :wave:

The announcers during the game kept mentioning that Blake Sims had only 1 completion over 15 yards. 
Actually, he had one dropped by Christion Jones!

BUT, WV played a 3-deep defense.  So, WTH?   :dunno:

Bang up job as usual, hscoach.  #+
I always look forward to your analysis.

Ecred for ya!

I got to thinking about blitzes during the game and a couple of other things.  Here are a couple of notes I want to add.  Bama rushed 5 only 13 times.  The outcome of these were 6 incompletes, 4 runs where one was a tackle for loss and the others less than 3 yard gains, and 4 completed passes one of which was a TD.  They brought 6 six times.   The outcome 4 incomplete passes,  hit the hot route for about 7, and the ball was snapped over the QB's head.  The rest of the night they brought 4 the stats included here was 2 sacks, a grounding call, and an incomplete.  Most of the completions were when Bama only brought 4.   I also watched the Kick off return and it looks like 23, not 27 was the one out of position.    Remember, the D only gave up 16 points, special teams gave up the other TD.  Also, points left on the field.  It is possible Bama left up to 9+ points on the field. 

Jake does have two years of eligibility left, He red shirted a year, was on roster for two years but the fact that he already graduated from school and recieved his diploma allowed him to transfer without having to sit out a year. Thus leaving him with two years left to play.