Game notes: ULM vs Bama

ULM vs Bama

First, congrats to the Bama players and coaches on the win. Bama very well in spurts, but you also must consider the opponent. I looked at some of the assignments of the players in games like this and see if they have progressed or digressed. As, I have said before, I really like the 2 back 3 wide set. You can max protect with the two backs and have 3 receivers out on routes. If the 2 backs don’t have to block, they are free to release. You can do the same with the TE in the wing set with one back. I don’t know if it is me or others see it, but I don’t see the routes like I have in the past. Therefore, it is hard to see what the QB is seeing, which means are the routes covered or is the QB not seeing the openings.

OFFFENSE: The offense put together 509 yards of total offense which included 273 rushing yards and 236 passing yards. Most of the rushing yards came in the 2nd half. Also, if you consider Bama actually lost 3 offensive possessions because of the blocked punt, the interception for a touchdown as well as the punt return for a touchdown, these numbers could have been higher. The offense also wasted field position on a couple of drives set up by a kickoff return and a punt return. One drive was killed by penalties.

Negative plays: 3 tackles for losses, 1 sack, 2 fumbles, and 1 interception for a touchdown.

3 and out: 1 three and out, 1 one and out(interception), and 1 four and out.

10+ plays: 11 passing and 18 running plays, mostly in the 2nd half. Also, again this game, some running plays

Red zone: 5 trips into the red zone resulting in 4 touchdowns, a kneel down to keep from running the score up more. Outside the red zone, 2 scores, both touchdowns. The 3 other scores came from the defense (1) and special teams 2.

QB: Young played well. He connected on 72% of his passes with 2 interceptions. On the first interception the ball was underthrown, but the DB also did a good job reading where Young was going with the ball and came off the underneath coverage to help on the deep ball. The 2nd interception should have been a competition. He did overthrow a touchdown pass on a wide-open receiver. On one incompletion on 4th down, the RB stopped his route because the defender was in zone and standing in the area. Basically, the RB was correct and the QB was wrong on this one, in my opinion This is the same thing that happened in the last game, but the receiver ran into coverage and the ball was thrown where he should have shut it down. Basically, the backups job was to hand the ball off and run out the clock. Milroe, did throw a couple of passes, 1 was off target, but it looked like the other could have been a competition. It also looked like the defender may have gotten there early.

RB: They did most of their damage in the 2nd half. They averaged over 8 yards per carry for the day. Also, no one had more than 8 carries. All of them look capable of being good running backs.

Rec: Five different receivers caught passes. Holden may be developing into the go to receiver. He did a great job coming back for the ball on his touchdown reception. Latu may have made the best catch of the day and it was the longest pass play for Bama this year. However, all made good catches. Law didn’t have a catch but did have 2 blocks on the touchdown by Gibbs. He also almost came up big catch on a play that looked as if he was interfered with. Again, because of TV angles, it is hard to see the routes and see how things are developing.

OL: It is very hard to judge this group. They had the ULM defensive line at a disadvantage, they were outmanned. It seems to me that the OL don’t always keep their feet moving to get the push. In the 2nd half of the game, the outmanned defense was pushed around by the bigger Bama line. It also seemed that Bama did rotate some other linemen in earlier than normal. I did notice on 1 play the offensive tackle allowed the defensive player to cross his face and make a play on a short yardage play.

Def: Overall, the defense played well. They did make some mistakes, but those are all correctable. The defense gave up 169 total yards which included 91 passing yards and 78 rushing yards. Eighty-nine of the yards came on two drives. Again, this game, as it seems in every game, the defense allowed the edge to be given up, they pushed their passing lanes too far up the field and allowed a free running lane, and finally missing tackles especially when they reach for the tackle instead of running thru it.

Negative plays: 5 tackles for losses, 4 sacks, 1 fumble (ULM recovered), and 1 interception returned for a touchdown.

3 and outs: 6 three and out, 1 in the first half and 5 in the second. One 1 and out and 1 four and out.

10+ plays: 5 passing and 3 rushing

Red zone: They got in the red zone 1 time and scored a touchdown.

DL: They played well and against an undermanned ULM offensive line. Again, Bama was able to rotate numerous players in and out of the game and no real drop off in production. Young probably stood out more than any other.

LB: They played well as most all of them were some of the leading tacklers. I keep noticing Moody making plays, but also, Lawson, a backup, when he plays seems to make plays.

DB: They were not really threatened deep. They did bust a coverage and allowed a 16-yard completion to the TE as he was left uncovered. I think a LB was supposed to pick him up.

Special teams: Special teams were solid except for one play. I think they may have relaxed on one kickoff return where I think the coverage team relaxed since the ULM returners had not attempted to return any other kickoffs. The good news is that there was a penalty that negated the return. Bama had huge punt returns all day. Mckinstry had returns of 47, 42, 20 and 29 yards, Branch had a 68-yard punt return for a touchdown, and Bond also had a punt return of 34 yards. They blocked a punt for a touchdown which was another non offensive touchdown.

Penalties: Well, they did clean this up a bit. They are credited with 6 penalties for 80 yards but had 7 as one holding call was declined because of a sack. Five of the penalties were on the offense and 1 on the defense. The first play of the game was an illegal formation with changes a 2nd and 5 to a 1st and 15. The next penalty was a horse collar tackle which made a 3rd and 9 a first down. A holding call negated a first down. The next 2 penalties were on Sanders a facemask a holding call, both which were questionable. Next was as holding call by the OL.

Finally, Bama did play better, but the competition was a lot less than Texas. They need to continue to improve in all phases of the game.
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