Aaron Suttles and I (DC Reeves) break down the action (or lack thereof) from Alabama's win over Florida Atlantic. Some things we noticed:
-The offense was humming against a sorry Florida Atlantic defense early. Sims was 5 for 5 to start and finished his three drives 8 of 9 passing for 155 yards and 2 TDs. Critiquing ball placement on two throws - a bubble to Amari and a pass downfield to Jones - would be nitpicking. You can't work under the assumption that a quarterback at the college level is going to put every single throw in a perfect spot. No one would do that. He finished 11 of 13 for 214 yards and two touchdowns.
The only criticism around Sims was that he didn't test anything downfield. But he's not calling the plays, he's executing the plays called for him. Gathering that Kiffin doesn't trust Sims to throw deep is up to you - but in my opinion probably shortsighted. If FAU's defense dictates allowing a million yards in front of their CB's to catch passes, that's what you do. DR
-Coker struggled with accuracy on a few throws, namely a screen that flew over Cam Sims' head. The biggest mistake he made in the first half was to not make a quick decision with seven seconds in the half, burning the clock out and taking at least a field goal off the board.
If Sims wins this job, I'd be willing to bet an error like that is what will cost Coker more than where throws are going.
Obviously Coker wasn't void of bright spots. He took several shots down the field, showed some toughness on a couple of runs in the redzone and seemed to get his feet under him a bit more as the game wore on. He made a nice 41-yard touch throw to A. Stewart with pressure on his back on third down, leading to a Drake TD run. DR
-Amari Cooper is on pace to break Alabama's season catch record of 78 from Julio Jones in 2010. Cooper had 22 catches through SIX quarters this season, putting him about 30 percent of the way there.
His work was rather easy against this FAU secondary and he certainly makes it look easy. Afraid he would beat them deep (he would have), he was given all sorts of room on the perimeter to catch cleanly and run right by defenders. I'll add up all of his yards after the catch when I watch the film on Sunday but it's going to be waaaay up there. No way Cooper gets that kind of buffer in SEC play, so he won't keep this pace up obviously. But a fantastic start for Coop and it only makes us feel better about voting him as the No. 1 most important player for Alabama in 2014. Who knows what the offense would look like without him in there. DR
-Eddie Jackson's presence was felt immediately. It wasn't so much in coverage but in his physicality at the line with wide receivers and his ability to deliver a big hit. Alabama has lacked physical corner play since it lost Dee Milliner and Jackson's return is showing it return a bit. Tony Brown can play that style too. A starting cornerback duo of Jackson/Brown, which I think we'll see at some point, is back to Saban's style. AS
--We have a Kenyan Drake sighting. Drake was a bigger part of the offense by design. The wide receiver screen for a touchdown proved how big a nightmare Drake is to cover in space. That's the whole idea. Get Drake in space and let him work. His speed is a game changer and probably. AS
--If y'all spot O.J. Howard out roaming the streets could you get him safely back to the Alabama football complex? His absence from the offense is as confusing as it is senseless. Howard is a flat-out mismatch for any defense yet he continues to not be targeted. HIs blocking isn't up to part. I get that. But why are you asking him to block? Put him in the slot and watch him be a handful for defense. I don't get it. AS
-- Trey DePriest looking better than expected in his first game action of the year. Figured it may take him a while to look like his normal self but he was aggressive, made some nice plays and looked to be in better shape than I thought. -DR
-Hey, a nice look from Tyren Jones in late action. First two carries: 20 and 7. Plenty of first year guys saw some time on defense too… Tony Brown, Da'Shawn Hand, and Tim Williams all got some work.
-With this FAU defense, J.K. Scott had plenty of time to enjoy some Gatorade and carry his helmet around today. He did really good at that.
https://alabama.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=427&tid=203920890&mid=203920890&sid=885&style=2
-The offense was humming against a sorry Florida Atlantic defense early. Sims was 5 for 5 to start and finished his three drives 8 of 9 passing for 155 yards and 2 TDs. Critiquing ball placement on two throws - a bubble to Amari and a pass downfield to Jones - would be nitpicking. You can't work under the assumption that a quarterback at the college level is going to put every single throw in a perfect spot. No one would do that. He finished 11 of 13 for 214 yards and two touchdowns.
The only criticism around Sims was that he didn't test anything downfield. But he's not calling the plays, he's executing the plays called for him. Gathering that Kiffin doesn't trust Sims to throw deep is up to you - but in my opinion probably shortsighted. If FAU's defense dictates allowing a million yards in front of their CB's to catch passes, that's what you do. DR
-Coker struggled with accuracy on a few throws, namely a screen that flew over Cam Sims' head. The biggest mistake he made in the first half was to not make a quick decision with seven seconds in the half, burning the clock out and taking at least a field goal off the board.
If Sims wins this job, I'd be willing to bet an error like that is what will cost Coker more than where throws are going.
Obviously Coker wasn't void of bright spots. He took several shots down the field, showed some toughness on a couple of runs in the redzone and seemed to get his feet under him a bit more as the game wore on. He made a nice 41-yard touch throw to A. Stewart with pressure on his back on third down, leading to a Drake TD run. DR
-Amari Cooper is on pace to break Alabama's season catch record of 78 from Julio Jones in 2010. Cooper had 22 catches through SIX quarters this season, putting him about 30 percent of the way there.
His work was rather easy against this FAU secondary and he certainly makes it look easy. Afraid he would beat them deep (he would have), he was given all sorts of room on the perimeter to catch cleanly and run right by defenders. I'll add up all of his yards after the catch when I watch the film on Sunday but it's going to be waaaay up there. No way Cooper gets that kind of buffer in SEC play, so he won't keep this pace up obviously. But a fantastic start for Coop and it only makes us feel better about voting him as the No. 1 most important player for Alabama in 2014. Who knows what the offense would look like without him in there. DR
-Eddie Jackson's presence was felt immediately. It wasn't so much in coverage but in his physicality at the line with wide receivers and his ability to deliver a big hit. Alabama has lacked physical corner play since it lost Dee Milliner and Jackson's return is showing it return a bit. Tony Brown can play that style too. A starting cornerback duo of Jackson/Brown, which I think we'll see at some point, is back to Saban's style. AS
--We have a Kenyan Drake sighting. Drake was a bigger part of the offense by design. The wide receiver screen for a touchdown proved how big a nightmare Drake is to cover in space. That's the whole idea. Get Drake in space and let him work. His speed is a game changer and probably. AS
--If y'all spot O.J. Howard out roaming the streets could you get him safely back to the Alabama football complex? His absence from the offense is as confusing as it is senseless. Howard is a flat-out mismatch for any defense yet he continues to not be targeted. HIs blocking isn't up to part. I get that. But why are you asking him to block? Put him in the slot and watch him be a handful for defense. I don't get it. AS
-- Trey DePriest looking better than expected in his first game action of the year. Figured it may take him a while to look like his normal self but he was aggressive, made some nice plays and looked to be in better shape than I thought. -DR
-Hey, a nice look from Tyren Jones in late action. First two carries: 20 and 7. Plenty of first year guys saw some time on defense too… Tony Brown, Da'Shawn Hand, and Tim Williams all got some work.
-With this FAU defense, J.K. Scott had plenty of time to enjoy some Gatorade and carry his helmet around today. He did really good at that.
https://alabama.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=427&tid=203920890&mid=203920890&sid=885&style=2
