Crimson Red Sports

Mercer vs Bama

First, congrats to the Bama players and coaches on the win.   Not do down-play the game, but this was a glorified scrimmage.  It was a game where Bama could work on techniques and execution.  Also, it was a game where Bama wanted and needed to stay healthy.

OFFFENSE:   The offense put together 530 yards of total offense.  This is as balanced as you can get as they had 265 passing and 265 rushing.  All of it was spread around with the use of numerous players throughout the game.   As far as negative plays, Bama had 1 tackle for a loss and 2 fumbles.  They also had only 2 three and outs.  There were a couple others, but they scored touchdowns so I don’t count those.  For the positives, Bama had 9 pass plays that covered 10 plus yards and 7 runs that covered that distance.  Bama got into the red zone 7 times and scored 7 touchdowns.  The also scored 1 touchdown from outside the red zone.  One thing I noticed was Bama seemed to use more two back sets, maybe to give AU a little more to prepare for.  They have also been using the jet sweep more along with the fake jet sweep. 

QB:   Hurts played well, I mean he was 7 for 7 for 180 yards. He averaged 25.7 yards per completion.  Not all balls were perfectly thrown but they were thrown well enough for the rec to make the catch.  Tua played well, but he did miss some open receivers on underneath routes when he had time to look deeper downfield.  Probably his best throw was the slant to Sims in the red zone or to get in the red zone.  Tua also didn’t see the LB drop into the throwing lane which could have been an interception.

RB:  The running backs averaged 6.5 yards per carry with is what you would expect with an outmanned DL.  As you saw there was only 1 tackle for a loss which went to Tua.  I am not counting the kneel-down by Johnson. 

Rec:  Ten different players had catches, one being Jacobs the running back.  They averaged 18.3 yards per catch.  The only negative was the fumble after the reception by Ruggs.  Six different receptions went for touchdowns. 

OL:  The OL played well and should have against and undermanned DL.  They were able to work on combination blocks as well as pass protection.  However, Mercer didn’t bring the stunts the other teams have thrown against Bama.  I really wanted to concentrate on Hassenauer to see how he filled in at LG.  I thought he played pretty well and Bama didn’t lose a step.  Again, they were playing a lesser team.  I had just put a note down about this would be a good game to put a back-up in with the starters to get some good quality reps when they did.  I thought it was very interesting to put the starting left tackle, Willams, at guard and putting Leatherwood in at left tackle. 

Defense:  They played well, again against and undermanned team.  The defense gave up 161 yards of total offense which included 54 yards passing and 107 rushing.  I have Bama credited with 9 tackles for losses and three interceptions.  Officially, I have no sacks for Bama.  Bama had 1 one and out because of an interception and 4 three and outs.  As far as plays that covered 10 plus yards, Mercer had 3 passes and 2 runs.  They did get into the red zone once and threw an interception.  Again, this tea was outmanned.  The defense did miss a few tackles that should have been made. 

DL:   They played ok for except for a couple of plays.  Jennings went for the inside zone and allowed the QB to keep the ball and get to the outside. 

LB:  This was a game to get Moses experience and they did.  I thought he played well most of the game.  There was a time on the long run where he got pancaked.  I say this, but it looked like the DL was slanting to the left and it left the left tackle with a straight kill shot to the LB.  I also saw Evans take a bad angle, basically over pursued the play and he didn’t keep his outside should free and got pinned when the running back cut back.  Those two plays went for 21 yards and 12 yards.  With all that being said, Moses was involved in 4 of the 9 tackles for losses. 

DB:  There were only 7 receptions by Mercer which means they weren’t challenged that often.  Mercer did hit a back shoulder throw early and actually missed an open receiver in the game.

Special Teams:  Two times the kickoff return team missed tackles and allowed big returns.  Scotts kickoffs were deep sometimes and short others.  I am not sure what the wind, if any, was doing.  On his punts he pinned one around the 10 and then boomed the other into the end zone.  One thing that impressed me about one of Scott’s punts was he hit it so high the cover guys were there if the ball hadn’t been kicked in the end zone.  There were a couple of good punt returns by Marks which shows if he has a chance he can make people miss.  I don’t know why Pappanastos wasn’t kicking the extra points. 

Penalties:  Bama had one penalty for 5 yards and was an offsides call on Brown when he attempted to time the snap on a blitz.

Finally, this was a good game to work on correcting mistakes.  I wish Mercer had thrown more blitzes at the OL.  It was a game, as I said, to get the defense techniques down.  This is a huge preparation week to make sure all is good for the AU game.

Feel free to comment:

16 and Counting

Thanks, coach.  Good analysis as always.  Time to get down to business.  BEAT AUBURN!!!  ROLL TIDE!!!

Thanks again, Coach. Spot on analysis.

I was VERY impressed with Moses yesterday. Leaps and bounds better than his game at Miss St. I know we played a cupcake, but it was still good to see him excel.

Yeah, I was very surprised Pappy wasn't kicking the extra points. Haven't looked around yet to see what the deal was there.

I hope we get a very positive analysis from you, this time next week.  :worship:

I also wondered about Scott kicking the extra points yesterday.  My only thought on that is perhaps CNS decided to give him that job since he is a senior and this was his last home game... If not,  :dunno:

According to AL.com Pappy has a slight strained muscle. He could have played but CNS did not want to push it.

Great job everybody. Thanks as always for a good report. RTR!