BAMANEWSBOT
Staff
Blake Sims pulled ahead in Alabama's quarterback race after Saturday's scrimmage, but coach Nick Saban wants the competition to continue at least through next week.
The Crimson Tide's season opener is Aug. 30 vs. West Virginia in Atlanta.
Saban did not release quarterback stats from the closed scrimmage in Bryant-Denny Stadium, but he spoke highly of Sims, the senior, while noting junior transfer Jake Coker is still figuring out the offense.
Both quarterbacks played an equal number of snaps with the first string, Saban said. Both had moments of success but were inconsistent.
"Blake is probably playing a little faster right now," Saban said. "He's been in the system longer, has a better understanding, has a little more rhythm. I think sometimes Jake is still trying to feel his way. He made some real significant strides in practice this week. That's still going to be a competitive situation. Until someone clearly wins the job, we are not going to make a decision."
Other needs
However, there's more for Saban to be concerned with than just quarterbacks, between injuries and sloppy play across the field.
"We covered a lot of good situations today," Saban said. "We had a lot of players who made a significant amount of improvement from last week to this week. I also think there were other players we hoped would have made more progress."
Limited stats were released beyond just quarterback, most notably with the receivers. Amari Cooper and Chris Black led the way with five catches each. Cooper gained 63 yards and scored.
Reserve running backs Tyren Jones and Altee Tenpenny carried the ball the most with nothing reported from T.J. Yeldon, Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake.
Jones gained 44 yards and a touchdown on 12 attempts. Tenpenny gained 12 yards on 10 carries.
"Offensively, we never really got a lot of rhythm," Saban said. "It was a dropped ball, a misfired pass, a penalty. There was a lot of shooting ourselves in the foot type of stuff. It's definitely stuff we can get cleared up. We did make some explosive plays, and with the offensive guys we have that's very important."
The first-string defense performed well, thanks to the return of inside linebacker Trey DePriest. He has been limited all of preseason practice due to a knee injury.
DePriest led the team with seven tackles. Outside linebacker Dillon Lee had six tackles and a sack.
Tackling better
Defensive lineman Jonathan Allen had four tackles and two sacks, while safety Landon Collins had four tackles, a sack and two pass breakups.
"Defensively, there was much better tackling, better hitting (than last scrimmage)," Saban said. "The second defense made too many mental errors. The first group played pretty good today, except for down in the goal line."
The special teams played well, especially the kickers. Adam Griffith was 5-for-5 on field goals, and punter JK Scott showed a strong leg again.
"The specialists were really good today," Saban said. "We punted the ball effectively. I was encouraged with the specialists and the progress we made on special teams."
Part of the inconsistencies of the scrimmage came from the large number of players held out due to injury.
Tight end Brian Vogler (ankle), offensive guard Leon Brown (foot), offensive lineman Dominick Jackson (knee), safety Geno Smith (knee), defensive lineman A'Shawn Robinson (knee) and cornerback Eddie Jackson (knee) did not participate.
All of them except for Dominick Jackson and Robinson will be back to practice Tuesday after the team takes two days off. Robinson should return by Wednesday and Jackson by the end of the week.
"We have to handle any kind of adversity better," receiver Christion Jones said of what he wanted to see in this scrimmage.
There were some minor nicks, but everyone is expected back Tuesday. The key players hurt were receiver Amari Cooper (knee), linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton (knee) and defensive lineman Jarran Reed (knee).
"We were a tired team out there today," Saban said. "It's important to give the players two days off and get them back physically a little bit. It's important to come back with a renewed energy and enthusiasm to demonstrate what we need to improve on for the first game."
Decatur Daily—Continue reading...
The Crimson Tide's season opener is Aug. 30 vs. West Virginia in Atlanta.
Saban did not release quarterback stats from the closed scrimmage in Bryant-Denny Stadium, but he spoke highly of Sims, the senior, while noting junior transfer Jake Coker is still figuring out the offense.
Both quarterbacks played an equal number of snaps with the first string, Saban said. Both had moments of success but were inconsistent.
"Blake is probably playing a little faster right now," Saban said. "He's been in the system longer, has a better understanding, has a little more rhythm. I think sometimes Jake is still trying to feel his way. He made some real significant strides in practice this week. That's still going to be a competitive situation. Until someone clearly wins the job, we are not going to make a decision."
Other needs
However, there's more for Saban to be concerned with than just quarterbacks, between injuries and sloppy play across the field.
"We covered a lot of good situations today," Saban said. "We had a lot of players who made a significant amount of improvement from last week to this week. I also think there were other players we hoped would have made more progress."
Limited stats were released beyond just quarterback, most notably with the receivers. Amari Cooper and Chris Black led the way with five catches each. Cooper gained 63 yards and scored.
Reserve running backs Tyren Jones and Altee Tenpenny carried the ball the most with nothing reported from T.J. Yeldon, Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake.
Jones gained 44 yards and a touchdown on 12 attempts. Tenpenny gained 12 yards on 10 carries.
"Offensively, we never really got a lot of rhythm," Saban said. "It was a dropped ball, a misfired pass, a penalty. There was a lot of shooting ourselves in the foot type of stuff. It's definitely stuff we can get cleared up. We did make some explosive plays, and with the offensive guys we have that's very important."
The first-string defense performed well, thanks to the return of inside linebacker Trey DePriest. He has been limited all of preseason practice due to a knee injury.
DePriest led the team with seven tackles. Outside linebacker Dillon Lee had six tackles and a sack.
Tackling better
Defensive lineman Jonathan Allen had four tackles and two sacks, while safety Landon Collins had four tackles, a sack and two pass breakups.
"Defensively, there was much better tackling, better hitting (than last scrimmage)," Saban said. "The second defense made too many mental errors. The first group played pretty good today, except for down in the goal line."
The special teams played well, especially the kickers. Adam Griffith was 5-for-5 on field goals, and punter JK Scott showed a strong leg again.
"The specialists were really good today," Saban said. "We punted the ball effectively. I was encouraged with the specialists and the progress we made on special teams."
Part of the inconsistencies of the scrimmage came from the large number of players held out due to injury.
Tight end Brian Vogler (ankle), offensive guard Leon Brown (foot), offensive lineman Dominick Jackson (knee), safety Geno Smith (knee), defensive lineman A'Shawn Robinson (knee) and cornerback Eddie Jackson (knee) did not participate.
All of them except for Dominick Jackson and Robinson will be back to practice Tuesday after the team takes two days off. Robinson should return by Wednesday and Jackson by the end of the week.
"We have to handle any kind of adversity better," receiver Christion Jones said of what he wanted to see in this scrimmage.
There were some minor nicks, but everyone is expected back Tuesday. The key players hurt were receiver Amari Cooper (knee), linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton (knee) and defensive lineman Jarran Reed (knee).
"We were a tired team out there today," Saban said. "It's important to give the players two days off and get them back physically a little bit. It's important to come back with a renewed energy and enthusiasm to demonstrate what we need to improve on for the first game."
Decatur Daily—Continue reading...
