Crimson Red Sports

Vandy vs Bama

First, congrats to the Bama players and coaches on the win.  The coaches, both offensive and defensive, put together a great game plan.  More importantly they players executed the game plan.

OFFFENSE:   This was one of the most impressive offensive displays I have seen at Alabama.  They had 677 total yards and would have really been a couple of more if they hadn’t lost a few to kneel-downs.  The team rushed for 496 and threw for 181.  They did have 3 negative plays.  One was a sack which could have been avoided if Jacobs had picked up the corner blitz.  The other two were on a wide rec screen where Foster tried to make something out of a play that was well defended.  The other was a run that I felt the running back didn’t quite get back to the LOS.  There was a fumble but Bama got back on it.  Bama only had one three and out in the game.   As far as plays for over 10 yards, Bama had 20 rushing plays and 8 passing plays.  For the running plays 10 were in the first half and 10 in the second half.   They got into the red zone 8 times and scored 6 touchdowns and 1 field goal.  The other trip ended in a mercy kneel-down to end the game.  Bama also scored 3 times from outside the red zone.  In my opinion, Bama was heavy running to the left but why not when they were so successful.  I sure many of you noticed when Bama had success with a play they did repeat it at times.

QB: Hurts played well but didn’t hit a couple of throws.  The thing is he didn’t make any mistakes that hurt the team.  I would have hoped they would have worked on the passing game a little more.  It looked to me, when Ridley dropped the throw that would have been a touchdown, that he wasn’t the first choice because Hurts looked to the right first.   I also think he missed the opportunity to take a deep throw once.   Tua played extremely well.  That being said, he did come in when the defense had played 47 plays against a team that was down 38 points.  He threw the ball well and made good decisions with the ball.  He did a great job when pressured to find a couple of receivers.

RB:   They played well except for a couple of pass blocking assignments.  I would love to see what the yards after contact were.  Everyone who touched the ball ran with a purpose and gained positive yards most of the time.  The running attack averaged 7.5 yards per carry and as I said above there were 20 runs of 10+ yards. 

Rec:  Seven different receivers caught balls and the other 3 receptions were by the backs.  There were a couple of drops, or balls I thought should have been caught.  Also, on the play where the ball was overthrown to Foster, I thought, I thought if he hadn’t leaned inside and stayed outside if could have been a completion.  I did want to mention the speed and hustle of Foster on Harris’s long touchdown run trying to get down to make a block if needed.

OL:   In my opinion, this was the most improve area on offense.  It looked to me like they had more of a zone blocking scheme.  I also thought they may have widen their splits a little.  Now this is just my opinion and maybe I haven’t noticed it before.  They sustained their blocks more than they have in the past three games.  They had very good combo blocks and got to the second level a lot during the game.  The established the LOS early and controlled it the whole day.  They also did a better job in the pass protection area.

Defense:   The defense played outstanding.  The gave up a total of 78 yard which consisted of 38 passing and 40 rushing.  Too me this is a strange stat:  For negative plays, Bama only had 1 sack and 1 tackle for a loss.   They did have a fumble recovery along with an interception.  Even though they only had one sack the hit the QB 7 times.   Vandy had 7 three and outs and 1 one and out because of the fumble.  It would have been one more three and out if not for what I consider a questionable penalty.  They only had one pass play that went for 10 yards.  They didn’t get into the red zone and never crossed into Bama territory.  Vandy receivers did drop about three catchable balls that would have help them stay on the field a little longer.  I also have Bama credited with 4 PBU’ by Hamilton, Fitzpatrick, Averett, and Wallace.  One of the biggest plusses for the defense was the dominant time of possession by the Bama offense.  The defense only had to play a little over 17 minutes.  The longest drive Vandy had was 6 plays. 

DL:  They dominated the LOS.  Vandy averaged 2.5 yards per carry.  Usually when this happens there are more than 1 tackle for a loss.  I know Jennings is considered an OLB but he was dominant in his return.  They attacked the LOS like defenses of the past and set the tone early.

LB: They played well when given the opportunity.  Most of the plays were made before they got to their level.  Again, they weren’t on the field much.  I will say they seem to have a very good rotation here with Evans, Hamilton, Holcombe, and Wilson. 

DB:  They made plays when given the opportunity.  It did look like they tightened up their coverage some.  They benefitted from a good pass rush. 

Special Teams:  Kick-off coverage did a very good job.  The only time Vandy got to the 25 was when they took a touchback.  I never saw why Vandy got the ball on the 30 after a kick-off.  There had to be a penalty which would probably have been offside on the kick off team.  All PAT’s and FG’s were good and struck well.  There were only two punts and one was pinned on the 4 and the other was on the 24.  The bad part on special teams was the two-mishandled punt which Bama got back.

Penalties:   Bama had 6 penalties for 40 yards.  The one I disputed was the roughing the passer by a low hit.  Jennings was chasing from behind and when the QB went to throw the ball he jumped a little which made the hit look lower. 

Finally:  I don’t know if it was the player meeting or what but Bama looked great.  They still need to improve in the throwing game but I think it is coming along.  The good thing is you don’t have to throw the ball deep with the playmakers they have at receiver.  This was a game where Bama could get quality playing time for back-ups.  This time the back-ups performed.   You would also hope the player learn from this and move forward and not read their press clippings as they say.

Feel free to comment:

16 and Counting

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I agree Coach ... I feel so much better about the team after that display

the back ups were awesome as well ...

great time to be a BAMA fan  :worship:

By the way I do wish I knew what they were talking about on the sideline, near the end of the game, when Saban was laughing/smiling.

Probably trying to talk Saban into running the football, since by taking a knee they subtracted a few yards from their 500 rushing yard total.    :D

Yes, but Tony Brown a defensive player seem to be a big part.  I wonder if he wanted to get in and get a carry?

Good stuff coach,  Thanks!  I have to say that, based on their win over K-State, I thought Vandy might give us a game.  Is Vandy as bad as they looked yesterdy?  Or are we THAT good?

I think their defensive stats were misleading.  K-State, usually isn't a offensive powerhouse.  The other two games were against Middle Tenn and Alabama A&M.  The thing is Bama held them to 78 yard total and 3 first downs.  One of those first downs came on a penalty.  In my opinion, offensively the OL made huge strides this weekend.

This was to me a great complete game. Now, my desire is no hangover next week for OM because they always play us tough. Every year even when we use to be them so regular they gave us fits during the game. Thanks hscoach for another great review. You ought to be on the SEC NOW crew. RTR!

Thanks ricky.  I'm sure they do just fine without me.

Thanks for your thoughts, coach.  It was a heck of a game by Bama.

Thanks for another great in-depth analysis, Coach.

I was especially pleased to see Tua do as well as he did. Seemed agile in the pocket and threw some difficult but accurate passes.

The future looks bright at QB.

Excellent analysis, coach.  Don't know that I've ever seen a more complete game played by Alabama.

E-cred.   #+

Great write-up Coach.  I think some of the players were trying to talk Coach Saban into taking the team to Dave & Buster's after the game... ;)

Dave and Busters or Hooters?

 :o


Okay, I vote for the latter.

If anyone wants to discuss certain plays during the game, in the interest of stirring more football talk, let me know.  I vote Hooter's also,

I have serious doubts that Ms. Terry would allow Coach Saban to go to Hooters.  But I could be wrong though...Might be why he was so giddy...

You are probably right there.  He was probably telling them about what trouble that would bring him for a trip like that.  He is not Hugh Freeze.

coach, would you comment about the penalty we received for the low tackle on the Vandy QB.  There's a new thread about it on THE QUAD.

 :worship:

I mentioned this a little in my write-up.  Too me the QB was running away and Jennings was chasing him.  Jennings dove for the QB and as the QB was moving away  .  The QB jumped to make the throw.  This combination of these actions would cause a tackle to be a little lower.  Too me it is a hustle play where you have to take in consideration of all the players.  I hope this answers your question.

How can the rule be changed to account for such an event? 

Not that it will be changed.   :lol2:

I don't think that it will.  However, I bet there will be games where it isn't called.  Maybe they should add another official and have more eyes then they can come together to discuss it and make the proper decision.