The play in question was in the 2nd quarter at the 10:56 mark.  Bama had just held UF after the Upshaw return.  It also looked like BS had leverage on the DB when AJ threw the ball to KB in the endzone on the first drive.  I will say Bama may have gotten lucky on the TD run by TR.  It did not look like the rec was set for a count before Hanks went in motion. 

Maybe he was able to get more players in throwing lanes.  I didn't put in my note, and not trying to sound like a know it all, but I thought they played more zone later in the game.  They could still bring 5 and be safe.

There have been some newcomers/first year starters who have played well.  Also, there are some who have stepped up their game this year.  Some may have even been a bit of a letdown.   Your picks?

I think Upshaw has shown what a force he can be when healthy.
Eddie Lacey has been a great backup for Trent Richardson.
J Harris seem to be coming into his potential.

Just to name a few.

I did see that.  That is one example, I think AJ has trouble seeing the field.  i can look at it again and be more specific.  I know MW caught the pass on the right side and BS was running down the other seam and looked to be wide open.

Too me has to be the better, more physical tackling by the D.

I would think they worry about the trajectory.  It is lower when he hits it out of/into the endzone.  If he doesn't make it that deep then the returner has a full head of steam and he cover team is not down there.  Just my opinion.  As I have said before, it looks to me that he is trying to kill the ball and muscle up before hitting it.  I equate it to a smooth golf swing.  Think about what happens when you try to muscle a shot in golf.

With the alignment Lester was in there is no way he could have helped. 

I really don't like them, but they were effective last night.  I worry about the block.  I think Bama did block one of those against a team last year.  I also don't like punters kicking to the near sideline on punts because if he shanks it then they lose valuable yardage.  What ever happen to kicking to the corner across the field, then if you shank it you still may get a decent kick.

I will say it gives the coverage team a better chance to get down to cover.  I really didn't notice a change when UF did have their rush on. 

I think they will keep their focus for a couple of reasons.  One they don't like being ranked behind anyone, LSU or OU.  Second the leader seem to be strong on this team at this point.  They have faced adversity in a sense they fell behind UF and came back.  I know the coaches, as  they always do, stress the importance of the next game. 

Thanks guys.  One thing I left off was the kicker had 2 tackles on kickoffs.

Congrats to players and coaches on the big win at UF.  This was again against a good offensive football team.

Offense: The offense moved the ball both with the run and pass.  They had very few negative plays which includes no turnovers.  When Bama threw the ball on first down, they only used play action 3 times and one of those was a half-a** fake.   AJ only completed one of those passes.  Since they were running the ball so effectively, I would think play action would be a more effective part of the 1st down passing game.  Bama left points on the field again with the overthrow and settling for the field goal on the 1st drive.  In the 2nd half Bama wasted good field position and went 3 and out.  This was the 2nd overthrow of a deep rec.  There was a time in the 3rd quarter on first down when UF had 6 in the box on first down.  I thought it would have been effective to check out of the pass and check to a run at this point.  Bama did put the nail in the coffin with a 92 yard drive that started in the 3rd quarter and capped off with a TD in the 4th quarter.  Late in the game, and I am not big on running up the score, but I would have like to have seen PS throw a pass when UF was loading the box and hammering the running backs.  Finally, the offense had very few negative plays.

QB:  AJ did not have a great game, but he did not make a mistake that cost Bama the game.  Most of his passes were off target even if they were completions.  I can’t remember but about one pass where the rec caught the ball on the run without having to reach back.  He was fortunate; he was not intercepted on the slant route.  Also, I don’t think he did a very good job finding a secondary rec since he threw into coverage a couple of times.  He also missed a couple of deeps throws again, one of which would have been a TD.  I also think PS could have gotten in the game earlier for some valuable experience.

RB:  TR had an outstanding game.  Unofficially, I have TR at 96 yards after initial contact.  He blocked well when need and never knocked backwards except for one play where the OL got blown up. TR also had a key block on the screen to MM that put them in position to score a TD after a penalty in the red zone.  EL came in and played well.  He also made yards after contact.  EL also protected the ball well when UF was trying to strip the ball late in the game. 

REC:  The rec’s made some good catches.  As I stated above many of the ball were thrown behind the rec’s.  MW had a good game both catching and blocking.  He almost made a one handed circus catch on a ball thrown behind him.  KB should have had a TD.  I know it would have been a difficult catch, but I bet he makes that catch 8 out of 10 times.  This was points left on the field.

OL:  I think the OL played great.  I saw players getting to the second level on the running plays off the combo blocks.  Also, the pass protection was great.  What really impresses me is seeing the OL down field on long running plays, but even more when you see them getting downfield after a completion and making blocks.  The biggest negative I have was when AS got blown up late in the 3rd quarter.  He did not even get a stalemate, he was knocked into the backfield and the play was destroyed.  The O, especially O line needs to have a killer instinct when the other team loses a QB and knows they are in trouble.  DJF had a better game and again CW did a good job pulling and getting to the 2nd level.


Defense:  The D started off shaky but played well.  I look at it like this.  They gave up 222 yard to a potent O.  If you take away the 65 yard TD and the 31 yard scramble, UF had 126 yards of offense.  Of this 126 55 yard came on 2 pass plays.  Most of this was either very early or very late when Bama was playing a little safer  One of the big plays was a result of a missed tackle by 3 Bama players.  I may be wrong but it looked like the UF QB was taking a deeper drop than normal which would give him additional time.  The D came up with 2 TO’s one which was a TD and the other led to a TD drive.  I would like to see the LB’s start taking a shot at the rec’s when they come across the field. UF’s big play maker were held to 42 yards, Rainey had 36 and Demps had 6.  The D did a great job by not allowing UF speed to get on the outside very often. 

DL:   The DL did a great job.  In my opinion they are getting better each week.  They were able to put pressure on the QB without bringing the house and still play the run.  UF ended up with 15 total rushing yards.  I didn’t keep up with it, but there were many sacks as well as tackles behind the LOS. 

LB:  The LB’s played well.  NJ did a good job playing for CJM.  As, I stated above, I wish they would start redirecting the rec’s when they decide to come across the middle.  There was a busted coverage on the 2nd drive by UF when they dumped the ball off and almost scored.  I don’t know if you remember the play, but if was in the 3rd quarter around the 5:28 mark, CU did a great job using his hands to shed the blocker and still make the play on an elusive running back.  He actually use the blocker to force the running back inside.  CU played a very good game. 

DB:  The Db’s started out shaky but came back strong.  If you play man coverage, you have to have a pass rush.  On the first TD, DK had no help from the safety by his alignment.  He was probably line up there to help on the run game which put DK on an island.  I saw two problems here.  First, there was no jam on the rec which gave him a free release.  Second, when he was beat he was looking back.  When a DB is beat in many coverage, they must have their eyes on the man to make up ground, you can’t run as fast looking backwards.   DK did recover after this and played a solid game.  I thought Menzie should have come up with the int. The more effective pass rush really help in the coverage.

Special teams:  The KO team gave up more yards than they normally do, but didn’t allow a TD.  The depth of the KO could be better, but if not deeper at least higher to give the cover team time to get down.  The punts were effective since UF really did not get any substantial returns.  As far as Bama’s punt return, MM should have fair caught one and on the other where he touched the ball, he should have gotten out of the way or caught it on the big bounce.  The good thing is Bama retained the football.  I don’t know about you, but the punter looks like he takes a long time to get the ball off. 

Penalties:  Probably the biggest penalty was the personal foul on the fair catch signal when UF roughed the punter.  Bama would have retained possession and had good field position. 

Please feel free to comment.

Good Luck and Roll Tide Roll

I think if they are not going to jam the rec, then looking inside and seeing the safety is no help he should play an off man technique. 

I don't want Bama to be #1, because I want them to stay hungry.