🏈 3 observations after ULL

[Alabama17Tide]

Henderson: The 3-2-1 after Alabama’s 42 point win over ULL

Three Observations

1. No 100-yard rushers again

Alabama has not had a 100-yard rusher since Week two against Arkansas State when Najee arris ran for 13 carries for 135-yards. While the stat stands out, Alabama still rushed for 268-yards on the ground against ULL on Saturday with Najee Harris leading the way with 75-yards off 11 carries, followed by Brian Robinson with 65-yards off 12-carries, and Josh Jacobs with 49-yards and two touchdowns. Jacobs looks very impressive with the football, might I say he looks like the best overall running back on the team through five games?

Maybe that is a stretch, but I cannot even imagine what would happen with Jacobs getting 20-touches. Where is Damien Harris? Good question, the seasoned senior ran for just five times for 20-yards, which could be a good thing as he stays fresh for the later part of the season and younger mouths get fed like freshman Jerome Ford who ran for three carries for 33-yards, his average of 11.0 was the highest per running back on the day and overall he runs very hard. By the way, Ford is not red-shirting as he’s played in every game this season.

2. Waddle baby Waddle baby Waddle baby Waddle

The thought of true freshmen don’t play at Alabama is false. Very false as Alabama has played a good amount of true freshmen this season, but none shine more on offense than Jaylen Waddle. The Houston, Texas native caught three passes for 138-yards, including a 94-yard slant that he took to the house and he also returned a punt 63-yards for a score.

In total, Waddle had 201 all-purpose yards and with three touchdowns. I hope he hat tips fellow freshman Jaylen Moody because Moody nearly flipped over a defender with a monster crack back during that punt.

Is there anyone else that can kick on this team? Is there a walk-on out there? The kicking game (field goal) is the one area that Alabama has major issues and if they are unable to correct this, they are going to have a tough time winning the National Championship plain and simple. A bad field goal kicker will cost you.

2. Is there any other area of weakness on this Alabama team?

The punt game does not look very strong, but it does not seem like a weakness. Just needs improvement and you have to think that Skyler DeLong who is a true freshmen starts playing better moving forward. Besides field goal and Alabama’s punt game, what area do you think Alabama potential has a weakness?

Maybe depth with the second team defense or maybe the fact that Alabama has not played a strong schedule and have not been tested through four-quarters, let’s face it this schedule has been soft, soft, soft, and Arkansas and Missouri don’t seem to pose any major threats.

One Prediction

1. Alabama beats the rest of their opponents on their schedule by 14+ points

Ok, maybe I am providing the rat poison here, but until I see something different from LSU and Auburn, Alabama is much, much better than both of those two teams. While I foresee Alabama and Georgia on a Collision Course, no one on Alabama’s schedule can touch these guys, especially with Tua at the helm.

Henderson: The 3-2-1 after Alabama’s 42 point win over ULL | BamaInsider.com

 

[ChemE]

Josh Jacobs is NOT the best RB on our team. DH and NH are clearly 1 and 1a.

 

[sean]

to me...as far as us not having a 100-yard rusher since game 2 is not a big deal at all. give the ball to whomever is on the field at the time for that particular play-call. spread it around as much as possible to keep everyone fresh, i say. and the same can be said about the receivers. it wouldn't bother me in the least if none of them had a 100-yard receiving game. so long as the guys stay healthy and we win the rest of the games....i'm a happy fan.

 

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

Josh Jacobs is NOT the best RB on our team. DH and NH are clearly 1 and 1a.

With all due respect I disagree with Jacobs being 3rd to Harris. Harris/Bama would be better served if he were to hit the hole instead of his Dancing with the Stars routine.

and

The punt game does not look very strong, but it does not seem like a weakness. ..."you can't be serious".......John McEnroe

 

[sean]

a not-so-good punt game can come back to bite you big time.

you can count on your offense all you want....but if shit happens, you may need to rely on your punter to get you out of some bad situations. JK was very reliable with the long, high punt to pin our opponents back. but with an average of 36 yards/punt, it's far from efficient and being able to flip the field. yes, he's had some pretty good punts (a couple over 50 yards), but until he can consistently keep his average over 40-45 yards, i'm afraid his kicking game needs a bit of work.

i can chalk most of it up to the fact that he's a true freshman and the speed of college can be a bit unsettling...but getting into the meat of our schedule, he may be called on more and more to pin our opponent deep inside their own territory on more than once occasion.

i hope gets better...i really do. a good punter is a weapon (as we all saw with JK the past few years) you can utilize that can help your defense when they have to go out on the field. but i think he'll come around and be a good punter for us. he and the coaches know his stats and will continue to work on them in every practice.

 

[TerryP]

The punt game does not look very strong, but it does not seem like a weakness. ..."you can't be serious".......John McEnroe

What's more important? Total yards from the punter or total return yards by the opponent?

Delong: 36 yard average per punt. Zero return yards.
Scott: 43 yard average per punt. 6.5 yards per return.

36 vs 36.5.

Literally, a half of a yard difference from last year.

 

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

The punt game does not look very strong, but it does not seem like a weakness. ..."you can't be serious".......John McEnroe

What's more important? Total yards from the punter or total return yards by the opponent?

Delong: 36 yard average per punt. Zero return yards.
Scott: 43 yard average per punt. 6.5 yards per return.

36 vs 36.5.

Literally, a half of a yard difference from last year.

Wait until our punter actually has to punt against the wind ...to be continued

 

[50+yeartidefan]

Wait until our punter actually has to punt against the wind ...to be continued

Or....wait til our punter actually has to punt ....again....in the first half...

 

[TerryP]

Wait until our punter actually has to punt against the wind ...to be continued

Or....wait til our punter actually has to punt ....again....in the first half...

Are we staring at a tree instead of taking a step back and looking at the forest?

What do either of these two statements have to do with punt coverage? The wind, nor time of the punts, have anything to do with how well punts are covered.

He's got some issues with his drops. It's coachable. If you ask me, Banks is on the clock.

 

[50+yeartidefan]

Wait until our punter actually has to punt against the wind ...to be continued

Or....wait til our punter actually has to punt ....again....in the first half...

Are we staring at a tree instead of taking a step back and looking at the forest?

What do either of these two statements have to do with punt coverage? The wind, nor time of the punts, have anything to do with how well punts are covered.

He's got some issues with his drops. It's coachable. If you ask me, Banks is on the clock.

Well...you have to punt to evaluate the punter...was my point...wont be much in next 3 weeks...
And dont forget i am a forester....so you know i was looking at the forest and not the tree (has nothing to do with anything, I know)...my light moment of today...lol

 

[94 Grad]

The punt game does not look very strong, but it does not seem like a weakness. ..."you can't be serious".......John McEnroe

What's more important? Total yards from the punter or total return yards by the opponent?

Delong: 36 yard average per punt. Zero return yards.
Scott: 43 yard average per punt. 6.5 yards per return.

36 vs 36.5.

Literally, a half of a yard difference from last year.

I'm fine with 35 yard punts with zero return yards... it's 13 yard punts that kinda piss me off.

 

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

Wait until our punter actually has to punt against the wind ...to be continued

Or....wait til our punter actually has to punt ....again....in the first half...

Are we staring at a tree instead of taking a step back and looking at the forest?

What do either of these two statements have to do with punt coverage? The wind, nor time of the punts, have anything to do with how well punts are covered.

He's got some issues with his drops. It's coachable. If you ask me, Banks is on the clock.

Banks can't fix the guys leg strength.........give us the results from watching the punter during warmups....

 

[TerryP]

it's 13 yard punts that kinda piss me off.

It's my early impression that's at the feet of Jeff Banks. I don't understand why he'd choose to try rugby style kicks out of the blue. But, I'm not at practice watching what's going on there so what room do I have to speculate?

 

[TerryP]

Banks can't fix the guys leg strength

It's not leg strength, it's mechanics. It was pretty easy for me to see the drops were off and I've never had the role of punting in my life. As I recall, Saban even pointed to that flaw.

 

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

Banks can't fix the guys leg strength

It's not leg strength, it's mechanics. It was pretty easy for me to see the drops were off and I've never had the role of punting in my life. As I recall, Saban even pointed to that flaw.

With all due respect that is BS. I was our punter and 35 yards is high school. Even an average punter bust one every now and then and this guy has yet to do that. Again how far was he hitting it during warmups? Anybody go to the game?

 

[EasyTider]

Banks can't fix the guys leg strength

It's not leg strength, it's mechanics. It was pretty easy for me to see the drops were off and I've never had the role of punting in my life. As I recall, Saban even pointed to that flaw.

With all due respect that is BS. I was our punter and 35 yards is high school. Even an average punter bust one every now and then and this guy has yet to do that. Again how far was he hitting it during warmups? Anybody go to the game?

Not many

 

[TerryP]

With all due respect that is BS. I was our punter and 35 yards is high school. Even an average punter bust one every now and then and this guy has yet to do that. Again how far was he hitting it during warmups? Anybody go to the game?

“He’s a freshman. He punts very well in practice. We get in the game, he gets nervous and he’s moving the wall around and drops the ball bad, inside, outside. So, that’s a matter of confidence, so we’re trying to find a style that fits him. We don’t need to rugby punt. We can kick it right, we can kick it left, we can kick it down the middle. We have coverage patterns to do whatever he can do. He’s done a pretty job of Aussie kicking when we do the (end-over-end stuff). And we’ve downed some balls inside the 10-yard line.​

If the drop is wrong, the kick won't be good. That's as far from bullshit as one can get.

 

[TerryP]

@JoseyWalesTheOutlaw, Hell JW. It's real similar to those bitching about the kicker without considering a bad snap, or a bad hold.