🏈 The Good, Bad and Ugly vs. WKU (Game recaps and opinions)

[TerryP]

Bad - OL play for much of the day,

There needs to be some clarity here, in my opinion.

Watching these last two games I'm recalling five sacks (spare my memory here, folks.) The line hasn't been that bad in pass pro. If fact, I'd say they're coming along nicely in that avenue.

When it comes to running plays, as noted, there's some discontinuity between the interior and exterior on running plays. There's a need for improvement but that comes with time, and reps.

I was told last night the staff is seriously considering some more shuffling on the line by bringing Shank in to start and moving Ross back over to C. With Ross, snapping the ball has been an issue at times. But, with Bozeman, snapping the ball has been an issue at times. I wouldn't be shocked to see Ross move back to C due to his agility while they (the staff) chooses to move away from Bozeman's bulldozer style in the middle. And, FWIW, Bozeman and Ross aren't the only ones getting consideration at the C position.

 

[TUSKtimes]

The Good: Jonathan Allen is relentless and I'm starting to believe he really thinks Derrick Thomas sack total for the season is attainable. The skill and speed of this team will cure a lot of ills. Saban should have everyone's full attention this week.

The Bad: It's obvious to all but we are not explosive at the point of attack. Our backs are simply missing the holes. But if you're going to commit to the forward pass the way we did, rhythm is going to be hard to find rushing the rock.

The Ugly: Has to be all the mental errors in this one. Penalties hurt and cost us points. But OJ Howard and Gehrig Dieter dropped TD passes. That would have given the Tide 52 points again and we still would have thrown late to open receivers, failed to pick up blitzes with the backs and our OL would still look like they were on skates most of the evening.

 

[TerryP]

Just for reference sake:

Some consider the 2012 offensive line to be the best line in Saban's era. But, in the second game of the year—against WKU of all teams—this is what the stats looked like at the end of the game.




All I'm saying here is I believe it's too quick for some of the fans to be jumping off the cliff.

 

[TerryP]

Oh, and another bright spot here ...

We have to appreciate the job Ball did yesterday on the defensive line. I know he influenced their QB a few times (three or four) in pass rushing situations and he had what ... three solo tackles on the night in three consecutive plays?

 

[TUSKtimes]

Oh, and another bright spot here ...

We have to appreciate the job Ball did yesterday on the defensive line. I know he influenced their QB a few times (three or four) in pass rushing situations and he had what ... three solo tackles on the night in three consecutive plays?

We seem to always have these 2nd game swoons. I guess we keep playing the marquee matchups in game one and letdowns tend to follow. But we didn't really control the LOS last week with our rushing attack and certainly not this week. Coach Saban is foaming at the mouth because he knows we need that physical identity. Will these spread option sets give us that look? Sooner or later, elite teams, physical teams, pro style teams, will demand that answer.

As far as being disruptive, Dakota Ball has got Nick Gentry written all over him. That's high cotton.

 

[Rolltide24]

Hard to believe we ran 30 more plays against that team this year vs 2012. Wow! Kiffin effect?

And notixe the penalties from 2012 game. A whole 1. Those guys were disciplined.

 

[TerryP]

And notixe the penalties from 2012 game. A whole 1. Those guys were disciplined.

Fluker, Warmack, Jones, and Steen at RG were all returning starters as well as Williams playing the tight end.

With a returning quarterback.

 

[Sgt. Lincoln Osiris]

Fluker, Warmack, Jones, and Steen at RG were all returning starters as well as Williams playing the tight end.

With a returning quarterback.

Good point.

Can't say enough about returning experience being a factor in penalties, etc.

 

[JoshB]

I've still yet to watch that play again. Too much going on at the time to rewind.

I had a friend suggest it may have been Marlon that bit on that play ... moreso than Diggs.

Marlon wasn't even in the game... #39 (Wallace) was the corner on that side, they were in zone it looked like tho. Diggs just looked like he didn't come over until way late.

 

[JoshB]

There needs to be some clarity here, in my opinion.

Watching these last two games I'm recalling five sacks (spare my memory here, folks.) The line hasn't been that bad in pass pro. If fact, I'd say they're coming along nicely in that avenue.

When it comes to running plays, as noted, there's some discontinuity between the interior and exterior on running plays. There's a need for improvement but that comes with time, and reps.

I was told last night the staff is seriously considering some more shuffling on the line by bringing Shank in to start and moving Ross back over to C. With Ross, snapping the ball has been an issue at times. But, with Bozeman, snapping the ball has been an issue at times. I wouldn't be shocked to see Ross move back to C due to his agility while they (the staff) chooses to move away from Bozeman's bulldozer style in the middle. And, FWIW, Bozeman and Ross aren't the only ones getting consideration at the C position.

Completely disagree about pass pro. It got better as the game went on (last week and this week) but it was horrendous in the first quarter. Lester Cotton got called on a stupid hold on the 70 yard bomb to Stewart and Bozeman/Pierschbacher were routinely whipped in pass pro.

Continuing to shuffle the line is just going to make things worse IMO. Putting Shank back in is fine and probably needs to happen but I think they've made their bed with Bozeman and have to lie in it at this point.

 

[EasyTider]

I saw 2 times clearly 34 whiff on pass pro that resulted in pressure/bad play.

 

[JoshB]

I saw 2 times clearly 34 whiff on pass pro that resulted in pressure/bad play.

Bo whiffed on one too. If Emmons can show that he can pass protect he's gonna end up being the guy.

 

[Crimson&WhiteGecko]

Negative offensive plays is what all of this comes down to. They have come from the following areas:
1st. PENALTIES: in particular from the O-Line. Holding, motion, etc. This cannot be happening with a True Freshman QB. I cannot recall a O-Line under CNS ever being like this.
2nd. POOR Assignment execution: There were several missed blocks, just wiffs, in the last two games. The guy primarily responsible for this is the CENTER. Also, Bozeman has had two high snaps now. If he cannot handle the most basic responsibility of snapping the ball (of which I think he is slow; just watch how much quicker Cam gets off the snap than Bozeman), he's gotta do something else.
3rd. Thus predictable play calling to satisfy down and distance. Sometimes, I think Kiffin tendancies is to get cute. I think he makes the right call most of the time but the problem is executing them with at TF QB & a new offensive line.

As long as 1 & 2 continue, in either order, then NO playoffs. Especially as we get in the redzone.

 

[TerryP]

Lester Cotton got called on a stupid hold on the 70 yard bomb to Stewart

There's context again. The rushing tackle lost his balance when he ran into Bozeman's hip his momentum starting carrying him over ... WITH Cotton right on top of him. He probably could have disengaged ... but that's something I can't answer sitting, watching TV.

I'm not overly concerned with any of the penalties right now. It's something I believe reps will cure.

There's certainly a question mark on what we're seeing from the interior line on running plays.

 

[JoshB]

There's context again. The rushing tackle lost his balance when he ran into Bozeman's hip his momentum starting carrying him over ... WITH Cotton right on top of him. He probably could have disengaged ... but that's something I can't answer sitting, watching TV.

I'm not overly concerned with any of the penalties right now. It's something I believe reps will cure.

There's certainly a question mark on what we're seeing from the interior line on running plays.

It's not just running plays tho, that's the issue. Pierschbacher and Bozeman were shit in pass pro too (Bozeman got better later in the game) and this is a Conference USA defense... Think about that... Bozeman is even having issues snapping the damn ball... yes I understand Western Kentucky a few years ago, Kent State a few years ago, etc. We have had these games against smaller teams and had these issues, but its still not something that can just simply be dismissed.

And that's not even taking into account our running backs seem to absolutely suck in pass pro and nobody other than Emmons seems to be able to find a hole to run through, receivers are dropping wide open touchdowns and the QB is either late on throws or over/under throwing wide open receivers. These are a ton of issues for an offense heading into a game against a team that has a two game win streak against us.

 

[jdpas29]

I think the line will be ok, but they looked much better when Scarborough stayed in to block. Wku did rush an extra man or 2 regularly... maybe that clouds my opinion.

Seems like Alabama took a lot more down field passes which is not necessarily a bad thing. It's great, but it requires more time to develop. I have gotten spoiled on the efficiency and speed of the short passing game with our last 2 QBs..

 

[Sgt. Lincoln Osiris]

I think the line will be ok, but they looked much better when Scarborough stayed in to block. Wku did rush an extra man or 2 regularly... maybe that clouds my opinion.

Seems like Alabama took a lot more down field passes which is not necessarily a bad thing. It's great, but it requires more time to develop. I have gotten spoiled on the efficiency and speed of the short passing game with our last 2 QBs..

Coker threw far

 

[UAgrad93]

Good- D's overall play.
Bad- O line run blocking was non existent outside of a couple of runs. Play calling had me scratching my head most of the day. We had like 9 designed runs called in the first half!! Kiffin deserved the "ass chewing" a lot earlier than before the fumble.
Ugly- PENALTIES!!! 9 in the 1st half alone with 12 overall. Got to clean that shit up NOW!!

 

[mando]

That was an interesting comparison. The 2012 line was one of the best I have seen (and go back to the Bryant years) by the end of the year.

Penalty difference certainly stands out. The coaching staff will coach them hard this week to clean this up.

 

[TerryP]

These are a ton of issues for an offense heading into a game against a team that has a two game win streak against us.

You're seeing a ton of issues. I'm seeing one issue that has several symptoms. The lack of reps leads to things like false starts and bad timing on passing plays.

Honesty, what I'm seeing (Caveat: It's my viewpoint) is a lot like people freaking out looking ahead to the A&M game after they destroyed UofSC in the opener a few years ago. Or, fans freaking out over what they saw from Blake Sims in his first start.

There's a lot of different words I could use here; hyperbole, over-reaction, or perhaps even paranoia. It's not a big deal, or a bad thing, for people to have emotions lead them to conclusions. It's just my opinion it's far, far too early.

Seems like Alabama took a lot more down field passes which is not necessarily a bad thing. It's great, but it requires more time to develop.

Interesting thing here ... if we look at Pass to Run ratios:

VS USC : 18 to 45.
VS WKU: 42 to 39.

I agree it looked like they were going for more "explosive plays" (in terms of yards gained.) Very balanced attack when it comes to attempts.

BUT, it's the complete opposite story when you look at yards gained in both games.

VS USC
Passing - 223
Run - 242

VS WKU
Passing: 351
Run: 124.

Horrible balance in the last game in yards gained.