Game notes: LSU vs Bama

[hscoach]

Before I start the game notes I just want to thank Jamos and Mrs. J, 2Stater, Chechem, and Gil for the great southern hospitality they showed me and my LSU buddy this weekend.  We were blind going in since I haven’t had the opportunity to go to Tuscaloosa for a game in years.  They took care of us from the time we got there until we left.  Thanks again and let’s do it again.

First:   Congrats to the Bama players and coaches for the victory.  They had an outstanding game plan going in on both sides of the ball and executed it almost to perfection. 

Offense:  The offense had an outstanding game.  The offense put together 434 yards of total offense.  This included 184 yards passing and 250 yards rushing.  Bama had just as many first downs in the first half of the game than LSU did the complete game.  I have Bama for only 1 three and out the complete game.  They also cut down on the negative plays.  I have 3 sacks, 5 tackles for losses, and 2 fumbles.  Only one of the fumbles was lost.  For plays over 10 yards, Bama had 11 runs and 10 pass plays for the game.   I have them getting in the red zone and scoring 3 touchdowns and 2 field goals.  As we know one of the field goals was outside the red zone which measured 55 yards.  One other reason I think this was an outstanding game by Bama was they held the ball almost 19 more minutes than LSU.  It also seems that Bama ran the ball to the right more than they did to the left, but I didn’t actually count.  I looks like there is a new guy for the heavy package. 

QB:  Coker completed 75 percent of his passes.  He made good decision and threw to the open rec.  He was hurt by one pass which was dropped that I thought should have been caught.  There were a couple of instances where I thought he could have stepped up into the pocket instead of trying to spin out and may have gotten the ball off.  One would have given Drake and opportunity to pick up the rusher and maybe get the ball off instead of taking the sack.  One of his best plays was where he did step up and get the ball away right before he was going to get hit and completed the pass for a big first down.   Now something I didn’t notice while at the game but saw on the replay.  It seems Cocker was more in control of the game directing the players and being more conscious of the clock.  He just looked more in control and confident.  There was another play I wanted to mention.  In the crucial 4th quarter drive Coker threw the short pass for the first down and he had a guy down field which may have gone for a TD, but if he had thrown it and it was incomplete the ball would have had to been punted. 

RB:    What can I say here except they both ran extremely well.  Henry was a beast and carried the ball 38 times against what was supposed to be a tough defense.  Drake looked like the Drake of old.  The only flaw was Henry’s the fumble, which he made up for when carried the load on the last drive to ice the game.  I do wish they hadn’t run a couple of those plays and went to victory formation earlier.  I will also add here that Nvsewamder had some key blocks during the night.

REC:  It is getting to where there are reliable recs all over the field, especially, Stewart and Ridley.  Five different players caught passes and there were some key blocks made especially by Mullaney.  Others also blocked well which led to the success of the wide rec screens. 

OL:   I thought they played a very good game.  In my opinion they dominated the D line from LSU.  They got movement and got to the second level several times.  They held their block longer than they have in the past and were down field looking for blocks when they play was run away.  I thought this might be Jackson’s best game.  In the beginning Kelly held the ball and didn’t snap it as soon as he lifted his head and it led to an offsides call. 

Defense:  They played an outstanding game.  They held LSU to 182 total yards, 125 passing and 54 rushing.  LSU is used to running for that amount of yards alone in a game.  I have the defense for 10 negative plays. There were 2 sacks, 6 tackles for losses, an interception, and a blocked kick.  They had 4 three and outs and one 1 and out because of the interception which Bama later put in the end zone.  I have LSU only getting 9 plays of 10 + yards and only three of them were in the second half.  The tackling by the Bama defense was outstanding.  There was also more than one around the ball.  One of the key elements was the backside not allowing LF to reverse his field and cut back.

DL:  They were beating the O line to the point of attack.  They set the edge and force wide runs wider and allowed the run support to show up.  Robinson had a hell of a game. I really don’t know how many tackles he had, but he seemed to be in the middle of the play a lot of the night.  It was a team effort as all players were in on plays at different times. 

LB:  It looked like they were playing a little tighter to the LOS.  They did a great job filling and running to the football.  Lee got a lot of playing time because of the scheme and made the most of it.  Many times he was the one setting the edge allowing others to come up and make the play.

DB:  They tackled well and were not intimidated by the big back from LSU.  They came up and made plays when they were called upon.  The mistake was when the corner blitz came and the safety allowed the rec to get too close before he came out of his back pedal which allowed the rec to get by for the touchdown.

Penalties:  Bama had some penalties.  The penalties were pretty spread out.  There were 3 defensive, 4 offensive, and one special team penalties.  The block in the back on the punt return lost valuable field positon for Bama.  In the long run they didn’t cost Bama the game. 

Special teams:   Pretty good most of the night.  The good news is Griffith hit the 55 yarder which hopefully has his mind back where it needs to be as a field goal kicker.  The bad, another block in the back which cost Bama great field position on a punt return by Jones. 

Finally:  Bama has to forget this game and move on and prepare themselves for the MSU game.  Hopefully, that desire to win it all will now be fueled by the outcomes from this weekend which propelled Bama even further up the polls.

Please feel free to comment.

Good Luck and Roll Tide Roll 
15 and counting

[2Stater]

Great assessment, Coach. It was indeed a complete game by all phases. The confidence of this team is tremendous right now. As you said, it is time to focus on Miss St and keep this momentum going. BTW, the 55 yd FG was right in front of us. The north end zone went crazy!

[Chechem]

Thanks, coach.  Really enjoyed meeting you guys and spending the weekend with y'all.  Yes, let's do this on a regular basis.

Couple of questions about the defense.  We played essentially a 5-2 defense much of the game.  That included Dillon Lee and other outside guys 'setting the edge'.  Ever recall Alabama playing so "tight to the LOS" (as you said)?

Ragland had only 3 tackles, but ran the defense and was named one of the 'Players of the Week'.  It didn't look like LSU ran away from him.  So why so few tackles?  He seemed to play a different scheme in that 'tight LOS' defense.

[bamaphil]

RB:    What can I say here except they both ran extremely well.  Henry was a beast and carried the ball 38 times against what was supposed to be a tough defense.  Drake looked like the Drake of old.  The only flaw was Henry’s the fumble, which he made up for when carried the load on the last drive to ice the game.  I do wish they hadn’t run a couple of those plays and went to victory formation earlier.  I will also add here that Nvsewamder had some key blocks during the night.

Thanks for the notes, coach.  Great stuff, as usual.

I think one of the most overlooked positives from this game was that Drake looked better than he has all year.  I was thinking about starting a new thread, but I'll just mention it here. 

I'm not sure what's been going on with Drake, but he hasn't really been a major factor in the offense this year.  Saturday though, he was great as the change-up back.  If he continues to play at the same level it could be the spark Bama's offense has been missing. 

[Chechem]

RB:    What can I say here except they both ran extremely well.  Henry was a beast and carried the ball 38 times against what was supposed to be a tough defense.  Drake looked like the Drake of old.  The only flaw was Henry’s the fumble, which he made up for when carried the load on the last drive to ice the game.  I do wish they hadn’t run a couple of those plays and went to victory formation earlier.  I will also add here that Nvsewamder had some key blocks during the night.

Thanks for the notes, coach.  Great stuff, as usual.

I think one of the most overlooked positives from this game was that Drake looked better than he has all year.  I was thinking about starting a new thread, but I'll just mention it here. 

I'm not sure what's been going on with Drake, but he hasn't really been a major factor in the offense this year.  Saturday though, he was great as the change-up back.  If he continues to play at the same level it could be the spark Bama's offense has been missing. 

True, phil.  And he blocked well.  I noticed at least twice that King Henry missed blocks; once on a pass rusher and once on a Drake run.  Drake was solid.

I wonder if Henry has good hands for receiving.  Drake almost always replaces Henry for screen passes.  I'm sure Henry has caught screens, but don't recall any recently.

[N.AL-Tider]

Great game assessment Coach.  I agree too that everyone did their jobs as well as they could have, Oline, Dline, qb, Rbs, dbs, lbs, coaches and even the fans.  There was at least one play, maybe more, where the crowd noise effected LSU in a negative way.  Great all around performance by all...

[hscoach]

Thanks, coach.  Really enjoyed meeting you guys and spending the weekend with y'all.  Yes, let's do this on a regular basis.

Couple of questions about the defense.  We played essentially a 5-2 defense much of the game.  That included Dillon Lee and other outside guys 'setting the edge'.  Ever recall Alabama playing so "tight to the LOS" (as you said)?

Ragland had only 3 tackles, but ran the defense and was named one of the 'Players of the Week'.  It didn't look like LSU ran away from him.  So why so few tackles?  He seemed to play a different scheme in that 'tight LOS' defense.

I can't remember the last time they played this tight to the LOS.  One reason Ragland had so few tackles is the other players, especially D linemen made the plays before he got there.  He is in the picture a lot, but others just made the plays.

[lstephen]

Thanks, coach!  Great stuff.  Glad you and your friend got to T-town for the game!

[SUPERCOACH]

Good stuff coach.

There were 2 different plays where C. Jones got called for pass interference on an under thrown ball.  Both of the passes actually hit him if I remember correctly.  He could have intercepted both of them if he had turned around and looked for the ball, but instead he kept his eyes on the receiver.  At this point I can only assume that this is the technique the DBs are being taught now.  I suppose this technique is an attempt to stop the back shoulder throw that has become so popular in the last few years.

They need to add to this strategy though.  Once the ball is thrown, everybody on the defense that can see the QB needs to yell "BALL! BALL! BALL!" so the DBs will know the ball is in flight.  At that point forget the receiver and turn and play the ball because it doesn't matter where the receiver goes, you need to go where the ball goes.  This would stop the back shoulder pass as well as give us more opportunities for interceptions and pass break ups.  Not to mention limit pass interference penalties since they will always call it on any contact if you don't even bother to look for the ball.

Thoughts?

[hscoach]

Good stuff coach.

There were 2 different plays where C. Jones got called for pass interference on an under thrown ball.  Both of the passes actually hit him if I remember correctly.  He could have intercepted both of them if he had turned around and looked for the ball, but instead he kept his eyes on the receiver.  At this point I can only assume that this is the technique the DBs are being taught now.  I suppose this technique is an attempt to stop the back shoulder throw that has become so popular in the last few years.

They need to add to this strategy though.  Once the ball is thrown, everybody on the defense that can see the QB needs to yell "BALL! BALL! BALL!" so the DBs will know the ball is in flight.  At that point forget the receiver and turn and play the ball because it doesn't matter where the receiver goes, you need to go where the ball goes.  This would stop the back shoulder pass as well as give us more opportunities for interceptions and pass break ups.  Not to mention limit pass interference penalties since they will always call it on any contact if you don't even bother to look for the ball.

Thoughts?

I hate to say this but the "Ball" call is taught from early on in football.  Now many times Bama is in man and the other DBs don't see the ball.  Also as noisy as that stadium was I doubt you are going to hear the call.  We also use to teach to watch the rec eyes.  They seem to get big when the ball is on the way.  The back shoulder throw something that will be difficult to defend.

[SUPERCOACH]

They never taught us the ball call, but we never played man.  Ever.  We only had a "bingo" call if we intercepted it.

[hscoach]

Hopefully you have a  safety free that can make the ball call.  we as coaches even make it on the sideline.

[SUPERCOACH]

Hopefully you have a  safety free that can make the ball call.  we as coaches even make it on the sideline.

I know I make it in my living room but I don't think they can hear me. 

[Chechem]

Hopefully you have a  safety free that can make the ball call.  we as coaches even make it on the sideline.

As a WR, I usually yelled "BALL" when I passed the cheerleaders!

 

[SUPERCOACH]

Hopefully you have a  safety free that can make the ball call.  we as coaches even make it on the sideline.

As a WR, I usually yelled "BALL" when I passed the cheerleaders!

 

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