Game notes: Bama vs UG

[hscoach]

First:   Congrats to the Bama players and coaches on the victory.  This was a great game plan put together by both the offense and defense’s staffs and the players did an outstanding job executing.

Offense:  The Bama offensive had a very balanced attack and totaled 379 yards of offense.  The offense had 190 passing yards and 189 rushing yards.  The offense did have 7 three and outs and one of those was caused by a fumble on a short 3rd down play.  There were 5 runs for 10 plus yards and 6 passes for 10 plus yards.  In the red zone they scored a touchdown and a field goal.  I believe the field goal was a result of penalties and should have come away with a touchdown the way they were moving the ball.  Two touchdowns came from outside the red zone on the running play by Henry and the long TD pass to Ridley.  As far as negative plays, Bama had 5 tackles for losses and two fumbles lost.  To be honest this was not bad under the playing conditions with the rain.  One great thing I noticed about the offense is that they were able to run the ball effectively left or right in this game. The biggest concern for the offense was the 3rd down conversion rate where they were 1 for 12.

QB:   I thought this was Coker’s best game for a few reasons.  First, he finally threw the perfect deep ball.  I am not sure the other deep ball in the 4th quarter was not a bad adjustment by the rec instead of a bad throw.  Second, the check down and found the open rec.  Third he didn’t try to force the ball.  Now he may not have made all the best throws at times, but the right decisions were made by Coker. Fourth when on one of the few times he had to scramble he kept his eyes downfield and made the throw to an open rec.  He also showed other teams that he can run the ball just enough to keep you honest. 

RB:  Henry had a good game.  Some people are not going to like this but it looks like he is waiting for the hole instead of attacking the point of attack sometimes.  Whatever the case he is a load when he goes downhill and forces the issue.  His pass protection has been outstanding this year.  At times Drake did well, but hurt the team trying to bounce plays.  I know he is trying to make something happen, plus he is playing against UG but sometimes you have to take the short gain. 

REC:  There were not as many recs utilized this game as others.  However, Ridley had a huge day.  He averaged 24 yards per catch.  Only 4 recs had catches, but I will say Drake was used as a decoy for others to have a couple of big receptions.  As I said earlier I am not sure that was a bad deep ball in the 4th quarter as much as it was a bad ball adjustment by the rec.  I would like to see the rec do a little better job blocking at times.  Howard did not have a catch this game, but he did do a better job blocking.  The one dropped ball was a tough catch since the ball was thrown a little behind and the wet conditions.  I still think he should have had it.  Also, the rec did a very good job catching the ball with their hands under the conditions.  Many times in this situation the players try to cradle the ball and let it get into their body for the catch.

OL:   I thought this was one of their best, if not their best game of the year.  They had a push from the opening drive.  They didn’t give up a sack and the QB had time to find secondary recs if needed. For most of the night the running backs were not hit until the other side of the LOS.  On the 30 yard td run by Henry, I don’t think anyone laid a hand on him. 

Defense:  I thought the defense played a great game.  Probably the greatest part of the day was when UG started the first three drives in great field position and went 3 and out each time.  They gave up 299 yards and we all know 83 came on the long run when the defense didn’t react properly.  By this time the game was out of hand but it will be a great teaching moment when film comes around.  The defense had 2 sacks, 6 tackles for losses, 3 interceptions one for a TD, a fumble recovery, and a blocked punt for a TD. As far as the interception returned for a touchdown you could see the defensive players pivot and start looking for people to block.   So, they accounted for 14 points in the game.  Overall UG had 9 three and outs and 1 one and out.  Saban talks about affecting the QB and the defense did.  I have at least 6 times where the QB had to scramble or throw the ball away.  This is also a combination of coverage affecting the QB where he had no place to go with the ball.  They did give up one throw when the QB was affected, but it had to be a heck of a catch and put them back in field goal range.  As far as plays over 10 yards, they had 3 runs and 4 passes that went for more than 10. 

DL:  They played a great game by neutralizing the OL of UG.  They put pressure on the QB and made the running back gain every yard except on 1 play.  Again they batted down passes.  The announcers said coming in they led the NCAA with 13 batted balls.  I added three more and I may have missed one. 

LB:  I thought they played well.  It was also a time where Hamilton got more of a role on the defense.  I also noticed, and they have done this before, they put Ragland down like they use to do with Hightower and used him as a rush end. 

DB:  I thought they played a very good game. Many people don’t understand the offense has the advantage in games like these because they know where they are going with their routes.   I noticed Bama was putting Cyrus Jones on Mitchell a lot which meant they had to flip their corners at times.  There were a couple of times the DB’s were beat, but UG didn’t get the ball to them.  One the first play of the game by UG they ran a double mover against MH but didn’t connect. 

Penalties: Bama had 8 penalties and the worst of them was when Bama was in the red zone and had to come away with a field goal.  The false starts need to be addressed especially by wide recs.  I do think the personal foul on hitting the center was a questionable call. 

Special teams:  With these conditions, the special teams played well all day.  First, kicking the ball is difficult in these games.  I thought Scott did a great job fielding the ball and punting it.  Coverage teams were solid all day. Cyrus Jones did a great job fielding the ball especially on the one where it bounced and he saved yards for Bama.  AG looks like he has regained his confidence and struck the ball well all day. 

Finally:  I thought this was the best game Bama has played this year.  Also, they out played, out classed and were tougher than UG.  Hopefully they will continue to improve and continue the run for the playoffs and National Championship.

Please feel free to comment.

Good Luck and Roll Tide Roll 
15 and counting

[Catch Prothro]

Thanks for the report.   

[KoKoPuf]

Good report, coach! I think the DL had 4 batted balls and thought they did a great job, shut down the run and pressure the QB. Can't ask for much more. I thought Coker played really well in difficult weather. I have been a Coker supporter all year and thought a lot of his perceived "problems" were receivers running bad routes and generally just not getting open. This week showed that Ridley is going to be big time receiver and Mullaney can be the "3rd down" receiver Coker needs. Would still like to see OJ Howard targeted more and am still confident it will come. Henry is definitely a load but KD is just not the same this year and I think he would be more valuable as a slot receiver. Just a glimpse of Scarborough but he definitely passes the eye test!

[lstephen]

Great stuff coach!  Thanks.

[2Stater]

Another great assessment, Coach. These are the things I was most impressed about:

1. Coker - We had a confident QB yesterday that hit his stride. If that carries over to the rest of the season, the rest of the football world could be in trouble.

2. Receivers - Particularly, Calvin Ridley. Look for our next outstanding receiver in this guy. Fewer dropped passes in this game. Big improvement.

3. Defense (part A) - Our front 7 dominated the line of scrimmage except for one play, and you can't contain Chubb every play, all day. They did an outstanding job!

4. Defense (part B) - LB's and DB's resembled the 2011 team. Everybody executed their assignments, almost to perfection. You had mentioned a few deep receivers that were open. Watching the entire field from the upper deck of the stadium, there were only a few of those, and we got away with them. We've got some young DB's that are already growing up before our eyes. Ronnied Harrison and Minkah Fitzpatrick had outstanding games, along with a solid performance from Hootie Jones. I am so happy for Eddie Jackson. Great move by the staff, moving him to safety. What an outstanding game he had yesterday.

5. RB's - They were solid against a D that totally keyed on the run. I agree with you about King Henry looking for holes, instead of exploding through the line, but he got the job done. Drake needs to learn to do the same thing. It was good to see Damien Harris and Bo "Run Amok" Scarbrough get some carries in the 4th.

6. Special teams - The Bobby Williams whiners need to STHU. That was probably one of the best exhibitions of special teams I have ever seen from a Bama team, at least recently.

And boy, how great it is to see that Griffith is getting his confidence back. Just wish Scott could be as consistent as he was last year. Didn't cost us though.

7. Turnovers - Yes, we had a couple of turnovers, but under those horrendous conditions, I think that was definitely a positive.

I have to admit that I did not have the greatest of feelings about the outcome, coming into this game. Much to my surprise, Bama far exceeded my expectations, and I couldn't be happier. Let's keep it going!

[SUPERCOACH]

Great report and comments.

I have a comment about fielding the punt on the bounce.  In my opinion I would prefer that he let that ball go.  I know it might roll 20 yards but that is OK.  It is just too risky that it might take a funny bounce and end up as a fumble, especially on a wet field like we had yesterday.

[hscoach]

Great report and comments.

I have a comment about fielding the punt on the bounce.  In my opinion I would prefer that he let that ball go.  I know it might roll 20 yards but that is OK.  It is just too risky that it might take a funny bounce and end up as a fumble, especially on a wet field like we had yesterday.

I understand what you are saying, but it looked like he got a good read on the bounce and decided to field it

[2Stater]

Great report and comments.

I have a comment about fielding the punt on the bounce.  In my opinion I would prefer that he let that ball go.  I know it might roll 20 yards but that is OK.  It is just too risky that it might take a funny bounce and end up as a fumble, especially on a wet field like we had yesterday.

I understand what you are saying, but it looked like he got a good read on the bounce and decided to field it

Yeah, they looked like gravy hops, but it made me nervous too, under the bad conditions.

[Catch Prothro]

I know Georgia didn't have too may occasions to kick off, and one of their kickoffs was short, but I don't understand why Bama is still returning kicks into the end zone.  I'm not sure I've seen a return past the 25 yard line, but I've several resulting in poor field position, and Bama had fumbles on returns against Ole Miss which killed the game. 

[hscoach]

a lot of times they determine the depth and the height of the kick on whether they are going to bring it out.  Sometimes they don't calculate it that well.

[ricky023]

Great report hscoach. This game to be was only one letter from Perfection. RTR!

[ALTideUp]

Enjoyed the comments as always. I think that a simple assessment is that our defense is for real, with improved play at the corners, and the offense is improving and gaining confidence. The last thing that remains to get into championship form is to re-establish our signature "no penalties, no turnovers" mode. When we played like that in 11 it was a beautiful and frightening thing to behold.

[Jamos]

Good job coach.

[Chechem]

Excellent and thorough report, hscoach.

You stressed the most salient points: our QB and DBs grew up during the game, and the DEFENSE is for real.

We'll find out about maturity as a team this week.  Hopefully we'll play strong back-to-back games; hard to do.  Also hope we see no misbehavior among the young ones this week.

Question: Did you watch OJ Howard's routes to see if he's getting separation?  Seems he is not, except for the sidelines pass that was overthrown.  He has such speed, and is often covered by a LB or safety; should have better separation.

Thanks again.  Let's all give e-creds for these reports!

 

[carl childers]

Great analysis. It was great to see the improvement in the kicking game. It had a positive effect on the game rather than a negative.

[Guest]

Username:
Password:
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

• McBaman

Loading Tweet...