Crimson Red Sports

First: Congrats to the Bama players and coaches on the victory.  I thought both sides of the ball had great game plans going into the game.
Offense:  Bama had 396 yards of total offense which included 138 passing yards and 258 rushing yards.  This would have been much more if not for the 14 negative plays.  I have Bama for 12 tackles for losses and 2 sacks to take away from the offensive totals.  I have Bama for 5 three and outs many of which resulted from penalties on first down or one of the negative plays that put them in a hole.  As far as plays of over 10 yards Bama had 10 runs and 5 pass plays.  They got into the red zone 4 times and scored 1 touchdown and 2 field goals.  The other was when Bama was running the clock out and was in victory formation.  They scored one touchdown from outside the red zone, not counting the 3 picks from the defensive side of the ball.  He OL looked very good early on, and struggled some when Kelly went out in the drive right before the half.  Also, understand Bama lost 4 offensive possessions with the three pick sixes and the fumble on the punt.  They also lost a lot of positive territory when the targeting call was made.  Again, 3rd down efficiency was not good as Bama goes 4 for 16. 
QB:  I thought Coker played a very good game.  He made decisive throws.  I know he missed a couple, but he didn’t really force the ball except on one throw.  He did a great job on the scramble and didn’t throw off balance with a defender in his face.  The big miss was when he underthrew the rec for what looked like would be a touchdown.
RB:  Congrats to Henry for an outstanding day.  He had monster game which was aided by the OL blocking early.  I thought he hit the hole harder this game and finished the runs.  He took many hits and still kept running.  Henry actually punished tacklers at the end of many of his runs.  Drake ran tough but was hit many times before he got a chance to get started.  He did get away with a trip on the play the announcers were commenting on he didn’t know what the play was.  They say it is a deep thigh bruise, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t a hip pointer.
REC:  Bama made catches when given the opportunity.  This was a hard hitting game in the secondary and many times the rec could have been looking for contact instead of focusing on the ball. 
OL:  They started out great.  Then they missed many assignments in crucial situations.  I did think A&M got away with and offside on one play.  On the goal line the OS player, TE I think, went for the wrong guy and left the rusher by himself against a defender.  I will also say, and this is all my opinion, there were bust on chip blocks or they are asking these OL to make some very difficult reach blocks.  On the 55 yard run for a touchdown, it was a clinic on how to combo block and get to the next level.   It wasn’t just the new center that got beat at times.  Both Robinson and Taylors missed and/or misread the defense which led to the missed blocks.
Defense:  Another outstanding job by this unit.  They gave up 316 yards of offense.  There was 248 yards passing and 32 rushing.  I have the defense with 7 sacks and 6 tackles for losses.  And 4 interceptions 3 of which were returned for TD’s.  I honestly think MH had an interception because I thought he got 1 foot down before going out of bounds.  Harrison also had one go right thru his hands which could have been a huge way to start the game.  I have 4 three and outs as well as a 3 and out because of a no play with a penalty.  I have a 1 and out because of an interception and a 2 and out because of an interception.  I have A&M with 2 runs of 10+ yards and 12 passes for 10+ yards.  I also want everyone to realize how the defensive unit had to keep coming back on the field because of the pick 6’s and also a fumbled punt.  This means the defense had to play extra series.  I have about 14 instances where the QB had to make decisions because of the pass rush or coverage.   Most of these came out in favor of Bama.   Bama did get caught with 12 men on the field but overall they did a great job getting their subs in on plays when A&M didn’t sub.  Bama also did a very good job tackling this game.
DL:  They played a very solid game.  They stopped the run and still were able to get after the QB on pass plays.  I will say it is amazing A&M throws the ball 40 times, plus the scrambles, and doesn’t get called for holding once.  I know I saw Devall get tackled at least once.  You keep hearing Allen and Reed’s names called and they can rush the passer and play the run.  They did lose contain a couple of times and it did allow the QB to scramble for a 1st down once on what would have been another 3 and out.
LB:  I don’t know how many tackles Ragland had but he played another great game.  I have said this before but he plays side line to side line and plays both the pass and the run.  In my opinion he is having an All-American season.  The LB unit as a whole did a great job.
DB:  What can you say here except they played great?  As much man coverage as they play they are going to get beat at times.  I think they may have busted coverage at least twice.  One hurt on the TD drive.  I didn’t count but between the DB’s and LB there were 6 or 7 PBU’s.  They may not have made all the plays, but they made most of them.  They did a good job making the tackle after the catch.
Penalties:  I had Bama for 9 penalties but a couple were declined.  They were declined because A&M took the play instead.  The big one was the targeting call on the punt.  This took Bama from the 43 to the 17 yard line, 26 yards of field position.  After this there were some false starts that put Bama in a deeper hole.   I am still not sure what the unsportsman like call was on the interception returned for the TD.  With the targeting call the players are just going to have to be more disciplined.  I know they have a kill shot, but the outcome is not worth the yardage to the offense.  It is also strange to me A&M had one penalty for 5 yards.
Special Teams:  This is what kept A&M in the game.  The blocked punt ended up not hurting Bama.  It was a low snap and a bad block on the edge.  The punt return for the touchdown which was aided because it was such a good kick and the fumble on the punt led to 14 points.  The other bad decision was when Harris decided to bring the ball out when he didn’t have to since the momentum carried the ball into the end zone. 
Finally:  Bama has a tough test coming up this week.  I say this because it will be their 8th straight week of playing.  Of course UT has a bye like A&M.  They have got to clean up the offensive line.  They proved early they can do the job.  This game was a game of big plays and many were made by the defense.  They made a huge stop after the blocked punt.  After this the O went on a 13 play drive that led to a FG.  In my opinion this team has the potential to win it all.
Please feel free to comment.
Good Luck and Roll Tide Roll
15 and counting

Great report hscoach. Thanks. Also, my question is will the targeting call hurt us next week? RTR!

My understanding he has to sit out the 2nd half of A&M game and back full strength at UT game.

That's good news. We need him. Another great job on the notes, Coach!

Verne and Gary's commentary agrees with your's on the targeting coach.  Graet notes as always.  Glad you got your computer/internet problems solved as my fall Sundays aren't complete until I've read your notes!

Really didn't get the connection fixed on my home computer.   I just retypedon't them on my laptop.

Great job, Coach. I also thought MH had one foot in bounds on what could have been an interception. Strange it wasn't reviewed. I also thought Bama should have pulled DH at about the 3 minute mark, he could have used the rest and the game was in hand. Great win, I think A&M may beat both LSU and Ole Miss. If you have time, would you weigh in on my thread about the illegal forward pass? Thanks.

Good stuff as always coach.

:clap:

Lots of numbers, great job. :clap:

Great info hscoach.  Since I was not able to watch the entire game I appreciate the notes you provide.  This week will definitely be different as I will be sitting in front of my tv watching...

Regarding our play against aTm, so much for Bama not being able to play against HUNH teams...

I read that Henry only made 58 yards on 17 carries in the second half after the Aggies adjusted. 

Not sure about that but, that would still tend to wear down the aTm defense pretty well so it doesn't bother me if he only had 58 yards in the 2nd half...

fify

Thanks, makes more sense. The article, by the way, was in the A&M student newspaper. 

Thee were bust in the second half by the OL.  This was also a situation knowing Bama was going to run the ball and the safeties were filling in a hurry. 

Thanks, coach.  #+ A thorough analysis, as usual.

I was impressed with Coker in this game. He's a tough runner and seems to be a lot more comfortable passing the ball.

I understand the players are calling him vanilla vick.  I thought he threw well, plus he didn't make any bad decisions that hurt Bama.