Crimson Red Sports

Louisville vs Bama

First, congrats to the Bama coaches and players on a great victory.  However, as you see there are many mistakes that must be corrected.

OFFFENSE:   The offense put together 519 yards of total offense.  They had 297 passing yards and 222 rushing yards.   These totals could have been more, but Bama lost 2 offensive possessions with the interception return for the touch down and the kickoff return for a touchdown.  As far as negative plays, I have Bama down for 3, 1 tackle for a loss, one sack, and a fumble.  On the tackle for loss, I thought he got back to the original LOS.  I have Bama for on 1 three and out, there was another, but it was a touchdown.  For plays that covered 10+ yards, I have Bama for 12 pass plays and 4 running plays.  Bama got into the red zone 7 times and scored 5 touchdowns, missed a field goal and fumbles after a catch.  They scored 1 touchdown and kicked one field goal from outside the red zone, while 2 touchdowns were scored from special teams and the defense. 

QB:   Tua had a pretty good game.  He connected on 75 per cent of his passes.  He found secondary receivers and put the ball where the receiver had a chance to make the play.  Jalen connected on 56 percent of his passes.  I do consider one a drop, however he missed a couple of receivers that were open and underthrew a big ball. 

RB:   They ran hard and had a couple of big runs.  They changed backs so often I’m not sure anyone could really get in a rhythm.  They did ok on pass blocking, but D Harris was probably the best. 

Rec:   Five different receivers had catches.  Here Bama is extremely talented. I think they blocked ok, there were not a lot of long runs to see how well they blocked.
 
OL:  I know there were mistakes here.  I saw Leatherwood miss blocks on the sack and maybe a tackle for loss.  Williams also had a mistake.   I say this not knowing the blocking scheme, but it seems they were the ones where the point of attack was broken.  I expected them to get a better push on running game.  I think there needs to be some improvement in this area.

Defense:  The defense played well at times, there are other issues I will address later.  They gave up a total of 268 yards, 16 rushing and 252 passing. 157 came in the second half.  They also got 2 extra possessions with the touchdowns scored by the defense and special teams.  As far as negative plays, I have the defense with 10 tackles for losses, 4 sacks, and 2 interceptions.  For 3 and outs, I have the defense getting 3 with one 4 and out and 1 one and out.  For plays that covered over 10+ yards, Louisville had 11 pass plays and 2 running plays.  Both of the running plays came on scrambles where the defense lost contain and the other was where the pushed too far up the field opening a gap for the QB to escape.  Louisville got into the red zone 3 times, twice the scored a touchdown and once they were stopped on downs.  Here like, the offense there are things that need to be corrected.

DL:   Overall, they played well.  They pretty much shut down the run with 5 or 6 in the box.  I think they need to clean up their stunts.  I know Buggs lost contain, but I don’t know if someone was supposed to come outside since he went inside.  This was 3rd and 8 and allowed them to get a first down.  There were also a couple of occasions where they didn’t bring their feet/run thru the tackle and allowed the player to escape.

LB: They played well, especially with all the coverage and run game responsibilities.  I do think they missed some assignments,  and probably didn’t get the necessary depth to take away some middle throws. 

DB:  I thought, as a young group, they played well.  There were some completions, but most of them were in the void in the middle of a 2-safety look.  Most of the completions for gain were thrown short where coverage had been lost or busted.

Special Teams:  This was ok for a first game.  They missed a field goal and an extra point but those seem to be a push and a plant foot problem.  Returns and coverages were good, except for the one late in the game. 

Penalties:  Bama had 10 for 111 yards.  Here there were some concerns.  On touchdown drive was made because Bama had 35 yards of penalties on the drive and most came on plays that should have gotten them off the field.  One penalty cost them a touchdown with a block in the back on a return.  Nine of the 11 penalties were on the defense or special team.  I am counting the one of players coming off the sidelines as a special-teams since that is when it happened.  These type penalties loose games when they are close.

Finally, this is a good opening victory.  If you can make this many mistakes and still score this many point and win, it is a plus. 

Feel free to comment.

17 and counting

Very good job hscoach. It is great to see you back for another great year of football. RTR!

Thank you sir.  Good to be back.  RTR!

Thanks Coach. Great assessment. I too, am impressed with such a lopsided victory with the sloppy play at times. That is a testament to the talent we have on offense. I see the defense pulling up ranks as the season progresses. I think it's going to be a great season.

Great write-up HS. I do have one question for you though.  Even though this was the first game of the season for both teams, do you think Bama was THAT much better than Louisville or is Louisville just not that good to begin with?  Lopsided wins concerns me as they really don't usually show how good or bad either team is...

Thanks for taking my call.  I'll hang up and listen...

That is so hard to answer.  I mean Bama could have scored 60+ if not for some mistakes.  Also they could have kept UL out of the end zone on that one drive with the penalties.  Listening to the people in the booth they think UL could win 7 or 8 games.  If you think about it Bama left at least 4 to 11 points on the field.  Missed field goal, missed extra point, fumble in the red zone, as well as calling back the TD for the block.

Great analysis, as usual, Coach.

First games are always a little rough. Lots to work on for sure.  But, I see a lot of positives going forward, too. Going to be a great season.

Thanks coach.  Very thorough review.

Just hope the OL jells soon.

Thanks, Coach.  Great analysis as always!  Good to see you back.  Now I know football season has started!