🏈 Alabama Penn State game thread

[EuroTide]

i dont see why you take a chance on getting your QB hurt in that situation if you are Penn St.

 

[doemasters]

Bama wins 27-11

Roll Tide :a:

 

[Caribou]

roll tide!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Hardkore]

Not a bad game. Still some areas of improvement but I'll take it.

Roll Tide!!! :elephant::a:

 

[BD91]

Roll Tide!!! They should work on the pass rush a little more, that being said everything else looked outstanding!

 

[Hoos4Tide]

Well, great win, big to win on the road, but I was in the stadium (just got back to the hotel) and honestly it was a pretty boring game IMO. I love the defense, I mean after that first drive of PSU, it was lights out until of course the end, but offense was solid but not a lot of explosiveness from anyone but Eddie Lacy honestly

 

[bamatommy]

A. J. McCarron looked good today. Lots of guys had a really good game.

The offense is still inconsistent, and we aren't getting much qb pressure so far. But I'm not going to complain about going to Penn State and coming away with a 16-point victory. That was a HUGE test for McCarron and some of the unproven receivers.

 

[silvermetalflake]

Well, great win, big to win on the road, but I was in the stadium (just got back to the hotel) and honestly it was a pretty boring game IMO. I love the defense, I mean after that first drive of PSU, it was lights out until of course the end, but offense was solid but not a lot of explosiveness from anyone but Eddie Lacy honestly

The game wasn't anymore exciting in HD on my flatscreen. The boys seem to lack aggression at this point. And yeah, Lacy was good... against a tired Penn D, however. AJ continues to impress, and the defense did its job, at least until the last 5 minutes when they all decided to through discipline out the window and let that half-baked Penn offense march easily down the field for 6 and a QB hop-skip-and-jump 2 pointer. Jeeeesus....

Chalk it up to growing pains, I guess. Just hope the boys find their team moxy before they have to face a real "contenda", cuz the most memorable thing about the game today was that short bit they did on Tide fan Dick Coffee, who has seen every Tide game live (756 in a row) since the 1940s. Now that's discipline.

 

[BamaCore]

I'm getting confused now. Are we playing to win the game or are we playing to make it onto ESPN highlight reals? Because if we're playing to win we're doing a pretty good job of it by beating a ranked team by 16 points in their own house.

 

[JoshB]

The game wasn't anymore exciting in HD on my flatscreen. The boys seem to lack aggression at this point. And yeah, Lacy was good... against a tired Penn D, however. AJ continues to impress, and the defense did its job, at least until the last 5 minutes when they all decided to through discipline out the window and let that half-baked Penn offense march easily down the field for 6 and a QB hop-skip-and-jump 2 pointer. Jeeeesus....

Chalk it up to growing pains, I guess. Just hope the boys find their team moxy before they have to face a real "contenda", cuz the most memorable thing about the game today was that short bit they did on Tide fan Dick Coffee, who has seen every Tide game live (756 in a row) since the 1940s. Now that's discipline.

Im fairly confident that the fact that half the defensive starters were sitting on the sideline when PSU made that score might have had a little to do with that...

 

[silvermetalflake]

Im fairly confident that the fact that half the defensive starters were sitting on the sideline when PSU made that score might have had a little to do with that...

Either way, Nick wasn't happy about the laxness of that defensive effort in the last 5.

 

[silvermetalflake]

I'm getting confused now. Are we playing to win the game or are we playing to make it onto ESPN highlight reals? Because if we're playing to win we're doing a pretty good job of it by beating a ranked team by 16 points in their own house.

It's not about highlight reels, but the element of team symmetry; mental cohesion and rhythm; the guys functioning as a single force that hammers out wins as a unit rather than individuals just playing their part to get wins, which is where the Tide is at. And yes they won in the Beaver in front of 107,000, but they have a history of nailing Penn, and Penn has a history of losing big time to Top ranked teams. The real test begins in two weeks, but I am sure that by then the TIDE will have greater depth as a unit, and will be well on their way to on-field, mental & physical team cohesion, rhythm, and symmetry. Knock on driftwood.

 

[Hoos4Tide]

Well yes, we're not just playing to make it on the highlight reel, but at the same time it continues to bug me that we just coast thru the last 20 or 25 minutes of every game-- Saban continues to preach "finishing" but he doesn't coach thru the finish... I'm perfectly fine with winning thru defense, and getting the job done but I would have loved for us to walk into Happy Valley and make a statement to rest of the county and to our future SEC foes and beat Penn St by 30 or so points like we could have done

 

['65 Cobra]

Well yes, we're not just playing to make it on the highlight reel, but at the same time it continues to bug me that we just coast thru the last 20 or 25 minutes of every game-- Saban continues to preach "finishing" but he doesn't coach thru the finish... I'm perfectly fine with winning thru defense, and getting the job done but I would have loved for us to walk into Happy Valley and make a statement to rest of the county and to our future SEC foes and beat Penn St by 30 or so points like we could have done

Agreed. The thing that bothers me is when we take the foot off the throttle once we have a lead. Did we learn nothing from Auburn last year? Momentum shifts in the college game are very dangerous. When we start playing to protect a lead or to "not lose" as opposed to playing to win at all times and finish, finish, finish, it concerns me for the tougher games in the SEC schedule. This protect the lead and don't make mistkes mentaility can bite us in the butt as it did last year. I don't remember us letting up against Michigan State and that was one of the most comprehensive beat-downs I've ever seen. That is what this team is capable of.

I also really wonder if the Vlachos-Steen combo on the right side is up to the task. They gotten taken to task by that number 71 several times yesterday.

All in all, I think CNS and crew decided that they were not going to play youngsters on the road in front of 107,000 to avoid costly mistakes early in the season especially when we get one more warm-up game next week. OK, I get it, but can we see some aggression in the offensive play-calling moving forward? And let's get our best offensive line on the field regardless of what year anyone is or what position they've played. Lastly, no more protect the lead strategies, please. Championships aren't won with caution. We were aggressive in '09 and Lord knows AU wouldn't have won a thing if they were cautious last year. Let's play to win, let's play to dominate, and finish, finish, finish.

 

[BamaCore]

It's not about highlight reels, but the element of team symmetry; mental cohesion and rhythm; the guys functioning as a single force that hammers out wins as a unit rather than individuals just playing their part to get wins, which is where the Tide is at. And yes they won in the Beaver in front of 107,000, but they have a history of nailing Penn, and Penn has a history of losing big time to Top ranked teams. The real test begins in two weeks, but I am sure that by then the TIDE will have greater depth as a unit, and will be well on their way to on-field, mental & physical team cohesion, rhythm, and symmetry. Knock on driftwood.

I never said it wasn't. Do we have issues? Of course. Everyone keeps complaining about the conservative playcalling, the same conservative playcalling that got us the win. A 16 point win no less. Also, I don't need the history lesson. Such things don't matter. The bottom line is we walked into a VERY hostile environment with a new QB and didn't put him in a position to lose it for us. Had that been McElroy under center, then by all means get upset about sitting on the lead. AJ looked good and he will get better...but let's keep some perspective here. Here's a QB that threw 2 interceptions last week against a Kent State defense.

 

[planomateo]

whats up with our kickers? can't seem to put it in the endzone during kickoff and punting has been less than stellar for the 2nd year in a row. does this 2012 recruit come in and steal the show?

 

[doemasters]

I think Saban has said before he likes for the defense to go in and try and make the play inside the 20 on kickoffs

 

[JoshB]

whats up with our kickers? can't seem to put it in the endzone during kickoff and punting has been less than stellar for the 2nd year in a row. does this 2012 recruit come in and steal the show?

no our punting isnt "less than stellar" its freaking awful. how the hell can we not recruit a damn decent punter? and im just thanking god Cade Foster didnt kick in this game, he's one of the most inconsistent kickers ive ever seen. dudes leg is strong as hell but he needs the goal post to be 100 yards across to hit them consistently.

 

[Hoos4Tide]

no our punting isnt "less than stellar" its freaking awful. how the hell can we not recruit a damn decent punter? and im just thanking god Cade Foster didnt kick in this game, he's one of the most inconsistent kickers ive ever seen. dudes leg is strong as hell but he needs the goal post to be 100 yards across to hit them consistently.

Punters. That's what I'm so confused about. I was talking to the people I was at the game with about that and they noted on the fact that Mandell does put it so high that however long he kicks it in the air is usually where the other team will start which is good-- no chance for a return-- but from a 3rd party standpoint is it absolutely perplexing how someone who kicks literally ALL PRACTICE LONG can be so inconsistent and (even when he's 'on') so bad.

 

[silvermetalflake]

Agreed. The thing that bothers me is when we take the foot off the throttle once we have a lead. Did we learn nothing from Auburn last year? Momentum shifts in the college game are very dangerous. When we start playing to protect a lead or to "not lose" as opposed to playing to win at all times and finish, finish, finish, it concerns me for the tougher games in the SEC schedule. This protect the lead and don't make mistkes mentaility can bite us in the butt as it did last year. I don't remember us letting up against Michigan State and that was one of the most comprehensive beat-downs I've ever seen. That is what this team is capable of.

And don't forget the 2009 SEC match against Florida. That game and the Michigan Spart. game last year should both be on DVD and slipped into page one of the Tide playbook. As for the Auburn game last year, I heard coach Saban played copies of it during team gym workouts.