Good:
-Daron Payne played well. I thought Harrison did some good things too. When Harris got the ball he made an impact too.
Bad:
-The pass rush. Absolutely non existent. Not a single guy sniffed the QB without a jail house blitz that would get there after he passed anyway.
-Late blitzing. God I had the late blitz. How many times do we need to get burned on LB's or safety's blitzing from 5 yards back before we learn our lesson?
-Offensive play calling. Kerryon Johnson ran the ball 30 times... Our 3 RB's 18. Are you kidding me? Our 3 RB's avg almost 7 YPC yet couldn't muster 20 carries between them. Why Saban refuses to get under center is beyond me... A power run game would be great if your QB struggles in the pocket.
-Jalen Hurts 17 rushing attempts. Yes I know about 10 of them were called pass plays that his pocket presence would not allow for any type of pass attempt... But at some point our OC should make the neccessary adjustments to get him out of those situations.
-Speaking of Jalen Hurts... Wow. Didn't look like he wanted any part of that game. From him inexplicably stepping out of bounds on a self sack to the delay of game deep in the red zone... He was a complete no show. Love that kid and everything he stands for but he was terrible tonight. As far as any "passing efficiency" numbers I really can't hear it anymore... He's not completing passes without a squeaky clean pocket or rolling scrambles... Just can't overcome that shortcoming vs great defenses.
-Defense not using their arms to wrap up. Why not, you got 2 of em?
-Levi Wallace... Pains me because he's done so well this year and such a great story. But tonight they used him. Avarett wasn't much better they just didn't pick on him as much. Neither could getoff blocks
-Nick Saban game management. He refuses to play aggressively in the first half and basically assured us of going in down at halftime. Does he get a bonus for the TO's he doesn't use? Second half he got bailed out by the 12 men on the field call... But to not burn a TO after the first bad snap on 3rd down was criminally bad... Offense clearly confused and late getting to the LOS. Game was clearly on the line that play and he lets them roll... WTF? Call a TO and get organized. Same deal with the Clemson pick play... Have some control on the game while you can. I don't get it.
-Tony Brown and Hootie Jones' football instincts... Enough said
-The fact that no one outside of Payne/Harrison or Fitz/Evans flashed defensively whatsoever. We may have been better off not rotating the hurt guys in... They made no impact and may kept other guys out of rhythm. Dylan Moses was a step behind (I believe he was hurt) all night which is why the Mercer performance meant little in regard to this game. Such a different stage.
Ugly:
-Penalties. Where to start... False starts, delay of game, etc. Looked like a poorly coached team
-JK Scott botched hold. Geezus that was terrible
-The fact that not only did Bama lose... They didn't resemble the look of a playoff team. Can't even argue they belong after that showing... Damn that hurt.