First:   Congrats to Bama on a good year.  I know this isn’t how we all wanted it to end, but it did.  These notes will be short since I can’t watch the game again at this point.

Offense:  The offense was a Jekyll and Hyde offense.  At times they looked great, but then in crucial times they could not get a 3rd and 2.  They failed to convert on third down most of the night when they had less than 4 yards to go most of the time.  I have Bama for only 9 negative plays, but they were huge.  There were 3 tackles for losses, 3 sacks, and 3 interceptions, one which was returned for a TD and the other to end the game.  The one that was returned for the TD was great film work by OSU.  I don’t know if it was an automatic on that formation or called but they knew exactly where Bama was going with the ball on 3rd and 5.  They had four 3 and outs and most were in the first half.   There was a 1 and out when Bama got the turnover and then threw the int in the red zone.  Bama had 5 running plays for over 10 yards and 6 pass plays for over 10 yards.  The main problem was they could not sustain a drive early in the game.  They had 4 trips in the red zone and scored 4 touchdowns and 1 touchdown was scored from outside the red zone.  I will say I thought Bama could have had better clock management in the end.  By clocking the ball a couple of times I thought they could have run at least 2 more plays. 

QB:  Again a tale of two QB’s.  He played well at times and didn’t at others.  At times I thought he was looking at the pass rush instead of downfield.  With this being said, I want to congratulate Blake on a great season.  Many of us didn’t think he would be the starting QB this year and if he was didn’t think they would have a chance to get to the NC playoffs.

RB:    They ran hard when given the chance.  The problem was they were hit quickly on the short 3rd down runs.

REC:  The biggest problem with the rec’s was a drop ball by DW that would have kept the drive alive.  If he makes this catch, then the ball does not go over to OSU allowing them to go down and score and make it a 21-20 game right before half.    They also were not allowed to get deep very often.

OL:   Again, blocked well on some plays missed blocks on crucial plays.  One the first TD run the blocking was outstanding, but then they couldn’t come back and get a 3rd and 2.    I know BV whiffed on one block take cause a tackle for loss which led to a punt. 

Defense:  This was a game of big plays given up by the defense.  Here is the oddest part of the game.  Bama had 7 tackles for losses, 4 sacks, a fumble recovery, and an interception for negative plays.  They had 4 three and outs and 1 one and out.  Most of these stops came in the last of the 3rd and 4th quarter which gave Bama an opportunity to come back and put the game away.  They had at least 9 runs for 10+ yards and 9 pass plays for 10+ yards.  OSU was 10 for 18 on 3rd down conversions most of which were 8+ yards.   This inability to get off the field was a killer for Bama.  There were also many missed tackles.  I will say OSU backs ran hard and there were very few times when they didn’t fall forward to complete a run.  One positive was Bama’s red zone D kept them in the game early.

DL:  At times good at times it looked like they played too high and didn’t get off blocks.  Also, on their pass rush they went too far up the field allowing a wide escape route for the QB to scramble with success. 

LB:  Many times they would have to fight off linemen getting to the second level on them.

DB:  Cyrus Jones played a pretty good game.  Eddie Jackson gave up another big ball; however he did make some plays.  It did look like Washington took a bad angle on one deep ball.  OSU had great success passing the ball deep in the middle of the field when Bama had a 2 safety look. 

Penalties: The worse penalty of the night for Bama was when they had a big hit on a short kickoff return and taunted the player which gave them a lot better field position.  I am not sure on the EJ pass interference because it looked as if the ball was tipped.

Special teams:   All kicks were good. Scott is a stud.   AG looked a lot better with form and the height of his kicks.

Finally:   Bama had a good year and deserve a lot of credit.  The bad part, and some of you are not going to like to hear this, is maybe the SEC was not as good as we thought it was.  The top 4 SEC west teams lost their bowl games.  What was supposed  to be the strength, defense, left a lot to be desired. 

Please feel free to comment.

Good Luck and Roll Tide Roll 
15 and counting

It was a fun night in Coleman tonight and the basketball game was a good dose of medicine to help me get over the Sugar Bowl hangover from last night. The name North Florida doesn't ring a bell with most basketball fans around here but any more you can't go by the team's name because some of these no name schools have pretty good basketball teams. North Florida isn't a Kentucky by no means but they do have a decent team with a win over Purdue at Purdue last month. They slowed the game down the first half and gave Bama all they wanted but the second half was a totally different story.

Bama gets another win and it served some good purposes as Bama prepped for their conference season opener against Texas A&M January 6th. After the sluggish first half, Bama picked up the tempo of the game and that was all that they needed. It's a fact that Bama is a much better team when the tempo is fast paced and the stats and score reflected this. Kessens is getting better with each game as he had another star of the game performance tonight with his second double-double of the season, 18 points and 12 rebounds. Bama had 3 other players to hit double figures in scoring, Randolph had 13, Cooper 11, and Norris had 10. If there is one thing that Kessens needs to work on, it is his getting too many silly unnecessary fouls. This is costing him some valuable minutes of playing time.

I can see Bama doing more and more toward becoming a pretty good team since the season started and it's important that they carry this momentum into the conference season and win some games early. They are not a good team yet but they are working and playing hard to get there and that is all you can ask of them. When the season started, Levi Randolph was was clearly the leader of this team but now there seems to be more of the players trying to step into that leadership role which shows me that the team is maturing and that can only make CAG smile.

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I said before the game that I felt this was a must win game for Bama and I felt it wouldn't come easy for them and it didn't. From the opening tip off, the play was very physical and UCLA looked to be the bigger, stronger team so I was hoping our shooting would be on tonight. Thank goodness UCLA was colder than Bama the first half and Bama was able to build a lead going into halftime. The second half was two different games, it was all UCLA the first ten minutes and then Bama found some life the second ten minutes and was able to hang on for the win. As I have stated numerous times of late, Bama's lack of good free throw shooting made this game closer than it should have been at the end even though it was Randolph's free throws that sealed the win. As far as Bama's field goal shooting, UCLA had a lot to do with their poor shooting. I though UCLA played an excellent defensive game as they made Bama earn every shot from the field and UCLA rebounded well also.

If there is one part of Bama's game that I can see big improvement in, it's the hustle and hard play of the players and this was the part of the game that won it for them tonight. They were flying all over the floor after loose balls and crashing bodies underneath the goal for rebounds and this is something that this team hasn't had all season. When you can't make the outside shots or the free throws you have to find a way to affect the other team and give yourself a chance for a win and that is to play hard and hope for some offense off of it. This is a sign of the team growing up a little and learning how to win the hard way, something Bama hasn't been able to do in two years. There will be games down the road where Bama will have the hot hand shooting and it's easier to win those but there are more games down the road also where playing hard and ugly will be the only way to win. I like the attitude of this team, it's something CAG hasn't seen in three years.

Bama plays North Florida this Friday to end their non-conference play and I have to think that the team is going into conference play in much better shape than we have seen in past years. I would like to think they could win them all but we all know better than that, this team isn't Kentucky. I'm still not sold on the team when they are playing on the road but who knows, with the mental toughness they are and have been playing with of late, they might have a good conference road season and that could mean going to the Big Dance after all.

Tonight's game was no more than a good scrimmage for the team and I think it was what the team needed to get the Wichita State game out of their minds. It was fast paced which usually means there is a lot of sloppy play but it was entertaining. Tarrant and Cooper did not play, for whatever reason, but I think everyone else that could play did so. I thought Jimmie Taylor started to exert himself, as he did in the Wichita State game, in the second half of the game. I wish he could start the game being a big part of the offense because when he does that, he seems to rebound on both ends of the court much better which is something the team is struggling with. There were no super stars tonight but just some good tough playing on both ends of the court that can look very sloppy at times.

Bama will play Appalachian State this Sunday and they should provide Bama with a bigger challenge than Stillman College did and I think it is a good tune up for UCLA who comes to town the next Sunday. UCLA will be a must win game for Bama.

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Watching the first half of the game last night was like watching a street fight. Bama came out mentally dead and Tenn Tech came out full of energy and the half time stats indicated that. I was proud of the team in the second half as they chiseled away at Tech and finally wore them down the last ten minutes of the game. This team is so different from last years team in that CAG has a bench to go to this year and that was the difference in the game last night. Bama won the game with sheer determination and not by finess as missed free throws, something that Bama had done well this year, kept Tech in the game until the very end of the game.

Bama had one injury last night that they didn't need. Ricky Tarrant left the game hobbling on his left leg and at first I thought it was a knee but CAG said it was some leg cramps and hopefully he is right. When Bama come out for their pregame warm ups, I saw Tarrant running awkwardly onto the court with a limp and immediately thought he must have suffered an injury in the last game or in practice this week. He seemed to loosen up in the warm ups and I never thought anymore about it until he started grabbing his left leg on the offensive end of the court in the second half and then was replaced at the first whistle. He immediately went to the team doc and never returned.

Bama will need to get their A game ready for their game against Wichita State, at Wichita State, this Tuesday night. They can't come out against them as they did Tenn Tech last night or it will be a very ugly game for them. I blame most of their problems last night as mental mistakes as they never really seemed to get in any type of a rhythm. Levi Randolph had his worst game of the season on both ends of the court last night but that doesn't mean he wasn't trying because he was and the same for the other players. It was just one of those nights that they had to reach back and find a different way to win and that I think will help the team in other games down the road. As they say in sports, it's not always about how you win but that you do win.

First:   Congrats to Bama player and coaches on winning the SEC Championship.  This is their next step to winning a National Championship.

Offense:  The offense was consistent all day.  There were a couple of drives, the 2nd and 3rd, that had some problems, but they overcame and finished off the game.  Bama had 7 negative plays in the game.  Three of these were tackles for losses, 1 was a sack, and they had 3 fumbles which they didn’t lose.  The offense only had 1 three and out all game.  I had Bama for 7 runs of 10+ yards and 8 passes for 10+ yards.   This is not the only balance they had.  They had 504 yards of total offense, 262 passing and 242 rushing.   If I heard the announcers correct, I thought they said Missouri had not given up over 400 total yards in a game all year.  In the red zone Bama was 3 for 3 scoring touchdowns.  They also scored 3 from outside the red zone.  They did leave 3 points on the field with the missed field goal.  This was also, in my opinion, the best game utilizing all weapons.  Bama had 5 different rec making catches in the game and they used AC as a decoy to score on the deep ball.

QB:  Sims had a great game.   He ended up 23/27 for 262 yards and he was pretty accurate on most of his throws.  But what was best was his decision making the whole game.  The first example was when he came off Cooper to hit Jones on a route where the LB jumped in the throwing lane.  He was a drop and an overthrow away from being 25/27.  There were a couple of plays where there was some miscommunication and it caused a fumble and a tackle for loss.  He did a good job keeping his eyes downfield knowing the strength of Missouri’s defense was their pass rush.  Also, his leadership came out when, and I don’t know what was happening, he was getting on Leon Brown just after Bama scored their 3rd TD.  I guess his biggest mistake was running with the ball out on the 17 yard scramble.

RB:  They ran hard.  They had more success running to the edge than they did up the middle.  Henry ended up with 141 yards rushing.  At one point he had 13 rushed for 52 yards which means he had 89 yards on his next 7 carries.  TJY had some good runs.  There was one where I thought his leg gave away on a cut, but he hit the heel of the blocker which put him off balance.  On another play it did look like his ankle gave away when he went to make a cut.  JF had another good game blocking, but did miss a couple on DB on the wide rec screen. 

REC:  This is what I expected all year.  There were big catches made by White, Howard, and Jones which went along with the numerous catches Cooper had.  At times they blocked outstanding, but there were a couple that if they were made would have turned into huge gains. 

OL:   I thought they played pretty well against a tough front.  They did have a couple of mistakes.  There were a couple of times when CR didn’t move his feet well enough to get the block on the quick defensive end.  Also, AK didn’t take a good enough step to stop the defensive lineman when the center was pulling which resulted in a tackle for loss.  I don’t know how many sacks this team was averaging per game, but they got 1.

Defense:  The defense played a pretty good game.  They had 6 tackles for loss and what I called 1 sack.  They also forced a fumble and recovered it.  They forced Missouri into 4 three and outs two of which started off the game.  They only gave up 1 run for 10+ yards.  The defense did give up 9 pass plays for 10+ yards, but most of them were in the 10-12 yard range.  Missouri had 313 total yards of offense.  They had 41 yards rushing and 272 passing.  Most of their yards came on scramble plays where they got 168 yards.  Bama allowed the QB to break contain and get the pass of several time and 4 of them hurt.  This was the only thing that kept their scoring drives alive.  Again the red zone d was outstanding.  They did give up a touchdown on a pick play, however Missouri ran it properly.

DL:  I probably don’t spend enough time on these guys.  They have played, and played, extremely well all year.  The good thing is it is not just one of them it is different people on each play.  These guys are making tackles on the sidelines and downfield if anyone gets that far.  They are why Missouri ran the ball 23 times for only 41 yards, a 1.8 yard per gain average. The biggest problem was allowing the Missouri QB to use that spin move and break contain leading to the big plays. 

LB:  They played extremely well.  Again, too me, this was DePriest game to shine.  He was all over the place.  If he wasn’t making the play he was doing the job to force the ball to someone else where they could make the play.
 
DB:  Honestly, I thought they played pretty well.  They did give up the 4 big passes, but you can’t expect them to cover for that extended amount of time.  I also, thought on a couple of those plays the Missouri rec got away with a push off. 

Penalties: Bama had two penalties that only 1 hurt.  Bama had good field position and ran the play where they flip the ball to Cooper and DW was not set long enough for the play.  This help lead to one of Bama’s 3 and outs.  They also wasted good field position here.  The second was a false start and Bama went on to score the TD.

Special teams:   There were 2 special team problems.  One was a missed field goal which took 3 points off the board.  The second was a bad snap which JK Scott made a play and go the punt off.  I was wondering did anyone else think that the Missouri punter had his knee down when he got a bad snap?  It was hard to tell from the angle they showed.

Finally:   It is down to win and keep on playing and it looks like Bama gets Urban.  Hopefully, Saban will send him into retirement again.

Please feel free to comment.

Good Luck and Roll Tide Roll 
15 and counting

Good analysis pmull.

This team is their best team since Green and Mitchell were on the team. What I like most about the team is the unselfishness between the players. I don't see any player wanting to be the hero of sort or do I see any of the players relinquishing open shots to get the ball to another player being afraid of their own shot. This to me has made it a lot tougher on their opponents defense. Last year they would just double team Releford and no one else wanted to take the shot.

I also like the determination and the desire to win that I have seen in the games so far. They don't seem to be intimidated by the play of their opponents and want to actually instill some intimidation of their own on their opponents with their reckless offense and defense. We don't see the team passing the ball around the perimeter hoping for an open shot as we saw in the past years, these young men are taking the open shot and now seem to understand more about rebounding their own shots as well as rebounding much better on the defensive end of the court.

The other big improvement that I have seen is the their free throw shooting. They deserve a big kudos for this improvement. Up to this point in the season I now wish for the opponent to put us at the free throw line for Bama has been making them pay.

The big question is how can this team show such an improvement over the past three years because there were some highly rated players on those teams as well. It could be the changes that CAG made on the coaching staff in the off season or it could be he has recruited some players that understand what team play is, I want to think most of it is the players that he has recruited, for they they seem to love to play basketball, very unselfish, and aren't too worried about reading their names in the paper.

Saturday night is a big game and again they will be tested away from home which seems to be their biggest problem over the last three years. If they can win Saturday night, I think some people might start giving the team more notice and I think a win on the road at their opponents gym is what this team needs most, nothing like a character builder. RTR!!  

Alabama took care of business last night and beat a team we should beat when playing at home. USF is a quality team. They beat us in Tampa last year. Their RPI is currently 108.

We are a fun team to watch. We are playing well, scoring a lot of points and the players appear to be having fun. This years team seems to have a chemistry that has been missing in our program. We also are getting better each game. CAG has this team playing as a team. 

We had another good offensive game scoring 82 points. Four players were in double figures and eight different players scored. Cooper had 20 to lead the team. Kessens is getting better each game. He had 89 points and 8 rebounds. He gets his points where we need them the most... right under the basket. We are passing the ball, driving the lane, hitting outside shots and making the defense cover every player all over the court. That opens things up for easy baskets. Teams can not play a tight collapsing zone like they have done in the past.

My concern coming into the year was rebounding. So far we are exceeding my expectations. We had 38 rebs (15 off) to their 34 (9 off). That does not tell the entire story. We shot 88 shots to their 68 which gives them 20 more rebounding opportunities.

We were 20-25 (80%) from the free throw line. We are shooting over 80% from the line on the year. That is the best % in the NCAA.

We are not as good on the defensive end as we have been in the past. I hope that improves but I am willing to give up some defense to gain some offense.

We play Xavier Saturday on the road. That will be our first road game playing on the opponent's home floor. They are 5-2 on the year but 4-0 at home. Their current RPI is 112. This is a game we need to win.

First:   First congrats to the Bama team for the victory.  As you saw this was a game of two different halves.  The Bama coaches did a good job at half to make adjustments.  I thought CLK called a very good game and put Bama in great position to be successful.

Offense:  The offense put up 539 yards of offense and it seemed as if they could do whatever they wanted.  They had 8 negative plays, 4 tackles for losses, 1 sack, and the 3 interceptions.  Every time Bama got into the red zone they put a TD on the board.  They also had 3 touchdowns from outside the red zone.  Bama had 7 possessions in the 2nd half.  The first was an interception, but then they went on to score 5 straight touchdowns.  The last was the greatest play in football, the victory kneel down, so really Bama scored on 5 out of 6 possessions.  Bama only had 1 three and out as well as 2 one and outs and a 2 and out because of interceptions.   All three of the turnovers led to points, 17 total.   Bama had 6 runs of 10+ yards and 11 passes of 10+ yards.  They also converted on both 4th down plays they attempted.   In the second half Bama put up 345 yards of offense. 

QB:  If you could take away the 3 int’s then Blake played a heck of a game.  I will say, according to my stats,   he was 10 out of 12 and 3 touchdowns after the 3rd int.  One of those plays he had a wide open rec who slipped as the ball was getting there.  As far as the interceptions, 2 were bad decisions and 1 was an overthrow.  One the one where he threw late to Jones, I thought Jones quit on his route and could have done more to break up the pass.  I think he thought the ball was going to AC and didn’t expect the ball.   

RB:  I thought they played well and ran hard.  TJY looked like he was moving like his old self.  In my opinion, DH ran pissed off after he got into the game late and wanted to play a little more.  I also know he was fresh and the AU defense was tired by this time.   DH also made a big block on a roll out pass that help convert a third down play.  JF had a very good game, he did miss a block, that caused one tackle for loss, but that was about his only flaw. 

REC:  They caught the ball well and they were blocking downfield when the running back broke the line of scrimmage.  I noticed that Bama put 80 in the game when they wanted to crack the end man or LB on outside running plays. 

OL:   I thought they played very well.  They were getting to the second level and had some very good combo blocks.  I know AS missed his block on one of the tackles for loss, it was the option play that could have been big if that block had been made. It forced the 3 and out instead of a first down.  I really thought AS played well when he moved to the left tackle position.  Also, I thought AK had a big game and played extremely well. 

Defense:  As much yardage as they gave up they still won the game with their red zone play.  Also, I have to mention what a great job the coaches did matching the offensive packages AU was running on and off the field.   AU got into the red zone 8 times.  They got 2 touchdowns, one of which was late when the game was over.  Five times they had to kick field goals and once they came away with no points.   They gave up 7 running plays for 10+ yards and 13 pass plays for 10+ yards, 6 of which were for over 30.  Personally, I thought one as an interception, but the officials didn’t see it that way.  They only had 1 three and out.  The big difference was the 2nd half yardage.  Bama gave up 628 total yards and 383 of that were in the 1st half.  In the second half, Bama gave up only 201 yards passing and 44 rushing.  Now you take away that last 65 yard diver because they didn’t want to give anything up in a hurry and they played a good game.  Bama had 7 tackles for losses, 3 sacks, 1 int, and 1 fumble recovery. 

DL:  I thought they played well most of the night.  There were at least 3 times when they allowed the running back/QB to break contain.  One of these led to a 3 and 10 conversion.   They did a good job adjusting to the unbalanced formations AU threw at them, especially in the red zone. 

LB:  In my opinion, TD had a very good game.  He as playing sideline to sideline, especially with all the processing he had to do with the motion and fakes that AU uses.  RR also played well, but I thought that TD was everywhere.
 
DB:  They attacked EJ.   This game also showed how much harder it is to cover when they don’t pressure the QB.  In my opinion, EJ allowed the rec to get on him too much before he turned his hips to run with him.  If you wait too long you are burned.  He also was looking back at the ball too long and you could see how that caused separation.  I thought BS came in and did a pretty good job.  In my opinion he had the ball more than the rec when they gave AU the catch.  It seemed like they stayed away from CJ side most of the night.  I really thought the safeties did a very good job on run support.  Honestly Bama was in position a couple of times, but just didn’t make the play.  I have to say AU’s rec DW is a very good player. 

Penalties: Bama had 5, but two were declined.  The good news is the offensive penalties they overcame and scored anyway.

Special teams:   I don’t know what happened on the first kickoff.  AG hit that just like it was an onside kick.  However, I don’t know if anyone else was on the same page.  Most of the special teams were good.  There was a blocked PAT that came right up the middle.  There was also some miscommunication on a short kick off.  CJ had a good punt return and a good kickoff return giving Bama good field position. 

Finally:    It may not have been as pretty as we wanted it to be but it was a decisive win for Bama.    I do have a question.  Does it seem to others that the Bama players slip more than other teams?

Please feel free to comment.

Good Luck and Roll Tide Roll 
15 and counting

After a night of pacing the floor, changing positions in the recliner, yelling at the televison with the correct advice for the players and coaches and then trying to get my heart rate down, I awoke this morning with a good feeling and wondering just how the heck they won the game last night.

If the first half of the game was going to be the indicator for the outcome of the game last night, Bama didn't have a chance of winning. Auburn was making big plays after big plays and Bama seemed to be just hanging on for that last gasp of air. Naturally sitting in front of the television it was easy to use the "hind sight rule" when I yelled at the players and coaches. Unlike in years past, Mrs. J and I chose to let our kids use our tickets anymore as we have seen so many games over the years and now enjoy watching the kids have all the fun that we had but I sure had second thoughts about this decision at kickoff.

My question now is just where does this team rank in comparison with all of the championship teams of years past? Alabama gave up 44 points last night, an unheard number when you look at all the teams of past championships and how they won them, it was with the defense. I'm guessing that Bear Bryant was turning over and over in his casket last night as the team gave up big play after big play. This is something that Bama couldn't do and win those games in years past but yet we watched them actually do it last night. Does this mean that old dogs can learn new tricks and my answer to that is yes they can.

All of us Alabama fans need now to accept the fact that these new offenses have changed college football to a big degree in what role the defenses play anymore. I'm not saying that the defenses won't have a major role anymore but them holding team scores down to the single digits won't be happening as much as they did in past years as we witnessed last night.

With all of that being said, how do we rank this team against the past Alabama championship teams. They gave up 44 points to Auburn but yet they won by scoring 55 points. I still have to give the defense a lot of credit in the second half as they gave up more big plays and tons of yardage but they made the big stops when they had to, this is what championship caliber teams do. These new offenses are so complicated to read and defend against that teams now must find a way to minimize the opponents scoring in some way but have an offense that can put up lots of points. This is what Alabama did last night and it's the new era of football, professional and college. I think this team is a good team with a different look but as good as those championship teams in years past, they find a way win. They made the big plays when they had to on both sides of the ball and beat a very good team last night, nuff said.It's something we all need to get used to watching and enjoy because the times have changed. Roll Tide!!!