Game notes: WKU vs Bama

[hscoach]

WKU VS Bama
OFFFENSE:  Bama put together 475 yard of offense and could have been higher if not for mistakes and penalties.  They had 351 yards passing and 124 rushing.  As far as negative play for Bama, I have them at 3 sacks, I tackle for a lost (there were many that were considered no gain), and a fumble which led to a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.  I also have Bama for 3 three and outs and 1 two and out because of the fumble.   As far as plays for 10+ yards, I have Bama with 4 runs and 9 passes.  For scoring, Bama had to get into the red zone to score.  I have them getting into the red zone 5 times where they scored 4 touchdowns and had to settle for a field goal on the other.  They had no touchdowns from outside the red zone.  They had opportunities but did not execute.   They also left points on the field because of this lack of execution.  I will discuss this later, but the running game was not pretty.  I know the announcers said they had the box loaded to stop the run, which at times they did.  However, the box wasn’t always loaded when WKU beat the OL and stopped the run.  By the way it basically Bama didn’t score a touchdown in the first quarter this year until the very end of the first quarter Saturday.  The clock showed no time left.
QB:  In my opinion Hurt played an okay game.  He underthrew several balls I don’t know if he was waiting for more separation or what, the TV just doesn’t show that angle well enough.  He completed 64 percent of his passes and was hurt by a couple of drops.  He was inconsistent on checking down.  At times he did a good job then others he didn’t. Probably his best throw of the day was to Howard that put them on about the three yard line.   As far as a dynamic runner, I haven’t really seen that.  Barnett really didn’t get much of a chance to do much.  What I noticed, and I could be wrong, is that he wasn’t happy on the sideline.  I am going by his body language and standing alone on the sideline.
RB:  There just wasn’t a lot of room for them to run.  They did well not to get caught behind the LOS many times.  As far has pass blocking the block of the day came from Scarbrough.  I thought Emmons looked good, but he also got in there when the defense was the most tired.
REC:  It looked as though they were getting open, but they balls weren’t delivered properly.  I know Howard and Dieter had drops.  Also, they had to make a couple of acrobatic catches for the plays to be successful.  I will l say they have numerous receivers and they are all capable.
OL:  To me here was a major problem.  One, they didn’t sustain their blocks. At times it looked like one shot and done.  Two, if you heard the announcer he stated the DL was stemming before the ball was snapped which may change the path of the OL.  This is easily done when you can time the snap of the center.  Last week I mentioned the ball being snapped as soon as the center raised his head.  I’m not sure if this is a problem but it seems like it could be.  Three, penalties there were just too many here and they cost the team a lot.  One holding call negated a 63 yard gain so you add the 10 yard penalty it is a loss of 73 yards.  Four, at times they were just beat one on one.  They weren’t moving their feet and lunged at the defender. 
Defense: The defense played well.  They gave up a total of 239 yards, 163 in the first half and only 76 in the second half.  They had 216 yards passing and 23 rushing.  As far as negative plays, I have 5 sacks, 3 tackles for losses, 2 interceptions (one returned for a TD), a fumble not recovered, and a block FG.  For plays of 10+ yards, I have 1 run and 8 passes.  WKU had 5 three and out and one 2 and out because of the interception for the touchdown.  I only have WKU getting into the red zone once and they settled for a field goal, their touchdown came from right outside the red zone.  One of the negatives I saw from the defense was that desire to hit a guy so hard to tackle him they didn’t wrap up at times.  This was seen in the secondary more than once.
DL:   The D line played well.  The WKU offense got rid of the ball quick and really didn’t give the D line a chance to get there.  They played the running game well.  I thought Allen again played well. 
LB:  They played well.  I have a feeling they are going to have to play a similar type of game coverage wise with Ole Miss.  The problem is they have better athletes and a better running game. 
DB:  They were in good position most of the time.  Most of the completions were for short gains.  WKU only averaged 5.7 yards per completion.  Humphreys did a great job to run down and cause a fumble on the trick play.  Jackson would have done better to fall on the ball rather than pick it up.  However, I know he was just trying to make a play.  The touchdown was given up by the backups but they busted.  I think when the QB began to scramble the corner came off his man and the safety didn’t overlap over the top.  If he had it probably would have been another pick.   Understand when the backup come in, at time, they want to make a play so bad they forget technique and it leads to big plays.
Special Teams:   The special team were pretty solid.  The missed field goal was techniques.  He didn’t finish which caused him to kick across his body.   If you watched his second kick you could see the difference.   Punting was outstanding all day.  Bama should have recovered the fumble on the first kickoff return.

Penalties:   Here is where there was a huge problem and against a better team could cost Bama the game.  I have Bama for 12 penalties.  Eleven of the penalties were on the offense.  The one defensive penalty was roughing the passer and It was a bit of a fluke since the QB threw the ball with his left hand and the defender probably didn’t see the throw because of his positioning.  Now, the problems, lack of focus and poor technique.  There were 5 false starts on 5 different people.  There were 2 holding calls one of which cost Bama 73 yards of offense and a chance to score.   You had a block in the back by a rec.  There was an illegal formation as well as an illegal substitution.  And finally a delay of game that took Bama out of field goal positon. 

Finally:  I know all victories are good victories, but this was ugly on the offensive side of the ball, especially with concerns to the offensive line.  This is a game that could have been loss if you were playing say, and Ole Miss.  They have got to clean up the offense.  Now about the play where Saban got animated at the end.  Don’t you want your backups being able to run the same plays as the starters.  I understand that the play had a little more risk, and it cost Bama, but this is a play they run all the time.  It was the execution not the play call.

Feel free to comment:

16 and Counting

[Catch Prothro]

Finally:  I know all victories are good victories, but this was ugly on the offensive side of the ball, especially with concerns to the offensive line.  This is a game that could have been loss if you were playing say, and Ole Miss.  They have got to clean up the offense. 

^THIS^ pretty much sums it up for me.  The defense has been outstanding this year, the offense is making too many mistakes.  Hopefully those mistakes won't lead to turnovers and field position challenges against future opponents.

[Chechem]

In my opinion Hurt played an okay game.  He underthrew several balls I don’t know if he was waiting for more separation or what, the TV just doesn’t show that angle well enough.  He completed 64 percent of his passes and was hurt by a couple of drops.  He was inconsistent on checking down.  At times he did a good job then others he didn’t. Probably his best throw of the day was to Howard that put them on about the three yard line.   ...

Great job, coach.  Good points.

WKU played 8 men on the D line for much of the game.  Thus, no running.  BUT WHY COULDN'T WE CONNECT ON MORE PASSES?? 

I appreciate your work, and enjoy the comments and suggestions.

 

E-cred!

[2Stater]

In my opinion Hurt played an okay game.  He underthrew several balls

Thanks Coach. Bang up job as usual! 

Yeah, Hurts was off on a lot of throws, mostly underthrown. He did overthrow a few, as well. I heard from a reliable source that the game plan was to give Hurts as many passing reps as possible to prepare him for Ole Miss. That is why the running game was slack. He obviously needed those reps, lol!

Saban is a very calculating coach and the "ass-chewing" was probably for a very specific purpose. The players like Kiffin, and watching him take Saban's wrath should only make them more focused this week. Let's hope so anyway. I'm guessing the OL ran a few stadium steps today.

[hscoach]

In my opinion Hurt played an okay game.  He underthrew several balls I don’t know if he was waiting for more separation or what, the TV just doesn’t show that angle well enough.  He completed 64 percent of his passes and was hurt by a couple of drops.  He was inconsistent on checking down.  At times he did a good job then others he didn’t. Probably his best throw of the day was to Howard that put them on about the three yard line.   ...

Great job, coach.  Good points.

WKU played 8 men on the D line for much of the game.  Thus, no running.  BUT WHY COULDN'T WE CONNECT ON MORE PASSES?? 

I appreciate your work, and enjoy the comments and suggestions.

 

E-cred!

You know it is hard to tell on TV but it looked like they were looking deep a lot and I didn't see a lot of intermediate routes.  It looked short or deep most of the time.

[XBAMA]

In my opinion Hurt played an okay game.  He underthrew several balls

Thanks Coach. Bang up job as usual! 

Yeah, Hurts was off on a lot of throws, mostly underthrown.

I was calling him "Two Step" by the end of the game , as in two steps behind his target

[ricky023]

Thanks coach well done sir. If I had one wish it would be, that the offense had as much concentration in them as you have in you. Then we would be unstoppable. Got Ole Miss coming and the last 2 years flukes have killed us and there is a big chance we could have it happen again if the Offense don't wake up. RTR!

[McBaman]

Coach...thanks for your great insight.

I also noticed Blake B's body language and facial expression.  No, he did not look happy.  In fact, to me he looked quite UNhappy.  He probably expected to play more and may have felt that he could do a better job than Hurts was doing.

Of course, none of us know what goes on in practice.

If Hurts is going to be "the guy" for OM at least, then I hope he can get us through this game with a W.  Then I hope the coaches give BB a good dose of playing time vs. K State.  I have a feeling that we are going to need BB to come in and save a game before this season is over.

[hscoach]

I actually found this out about last week and forgot to post it and many of you may have already know it.  Bama played 12 true freshmen last week against USC.

[2Stater]

I actually found this out about last week and forgot to post it and many of you may have already know it.  Bama played 12 true freshmen last week against USC.

Wow! That is a lot of freshman! Good experience for them all.

[hscoach]

Thanks coach well done sir. If I had one wish it would be, that the offense had as much concentration in them as you have in you. Then we would be unstoppable. Got Ole Miss coming and the last 2 years flukes have killed us and there is a big chance we could have it happen again if the Offense don't wake up. RTR!

You are way to kind sir.

[Chechem]

In my opinion Hurt played an okay game.  He underthrew several balls I don’t know if he was waiting for more separation or what, the TV just doesn’t show that angle well enough.  He completed 64 percent of his passes and was hurt by a couple of drops.  He was inconsistent on checking down.  At times he did a good job then others he didn’t. Probably his best throw of the day was to Howard that put them on about the three yard line.   ...

Great job, coach.  Good points.

WKU played 8 men on the D line for much of the game.  Thus, no running.  BUT WHY COULDN'T WE CONNECT ON MORE PASSES?? 

I appreciate your work, and enjoy the comments and suggestions.

 

E-cred!

You know it is hard to tell on TV but it looked like they were looking deep a lot and I didn't see a lot of intermediate routes.  It looked short or deep most of the time.

That's a good point.  We have chewed up defenses by throwing intermediate passes, and letting the receivers make plays.
 

[hscoach]

In my opinion Hurt played an okay game.  He underthrew several balls I don’t know if he was waiting for more separation or what, the TV just doesn’t show that angle well enough.  He completed 64 percent of his passes and was hurt by a couple of drops.  He was inconsistent on checking down.  At times he did a good job then others he didn’t. Probably his best throw of the day was to Howard that put them on about the three yard line.   ...

Great job, coach.  Good points.

WKU played 8 men on the D line for much of the game.  Thus, no running.  BUT WHY COULDN'T WE CONNECT ON MORE PASSES?? 

I appreciate your work, and enjoy the comments and suggestions.

 

E-cred!

You know it is hard to tell on TV but it looked like they were looking deep a lot and I didn't see a lot of intermediate routes.  It looked short or deep most of the time.

That's a good point.  We have chewed up defenses by throwing intermediate passes, and letting the receivers make plays.
 

As I said I can't see everything on TV so they may have been there and they just not take advantage of them.

[lstephen]

Another great job Coach.  Thanks!

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