Alabama vs Virginia Tech: Reaction & Analysis

Reaction  : A 35-10 win over the Hokies in week one is about what I expected this score to be and really wasn’t far off from my 42-17 game prediction. The way that Alabama got there however was much different than anyone anticipated. The Tide defense looked better than I originally thought they would (for game one) and this group can literally go 2 deep at every position and not lose any production, which is unheard of. Offensively the Tide was far from the well oiled machine that a lot of fans expected to see but after watching the game a couple more times it became clear any rush to cast blame solely on the O-line is premature and inaccurate. The offensive line has some growing to do and they have to get in sync but they weren’t as helpless as you would think by reading headlines. Special Teams was on point all night in the return game, coverage units and the kickers were very consistent. Christion Jones made up for some questionable decisions from last season in impressive fashion with a 72 yd punt return for a touchdown and a 94 yd kickoff return for a second special teams touchdown.

An impressive defensive and special teams performance by the Tide kept them well out in front of a Hokies team unable to generate any production on offense. The Tide offense is now drawing a lot of criticism, some of it warranted but most of it is misdirected and upon further review of the offense on a play by play basis, it wasn’t just the offensive line that was less than impressive. I frequent the Bama message boards around the web to get a sense of what our fans think about all things Tide football. SEC fans pride themselves, especially Bama fans, on knowing their football but the messages that were flying around following an easy win in game 1 were downright disappointing. One post read “No title this year, maybe next year because this O-line is garbage” and I found it especially annoying due to the short (or perhaps selective) memories that some of our fans are displaying given that just a couple of years ago Alabama faced much of the same problem with smaller defensive linemen shooting the gaps on them and disrupting the run game (by the way, that was a championship year). Going back and watching the game again, with DVR to look at plays in slow motion certainly doesn’t reveal an O-Line deserving of being called garbage and this group will improve greatly over the course of this season. When the communication is on point within the line and then with the QB, the difference in results is night and day as is evidenced in quite a few perfectly executed stretch plays and a play action TD.

The majority of onlookers may tell themselves that the poor line play caused the rest of the Tide offense to sputter but the players and staff members know there is plenty of responsibility to go around the offense and they will be hearing about it soon enough.

*On more than 4 plays, Yeldon either made a cut where there was no defender or he cut back into the line (for no gain) when the edge was sealed off and did not have a player within 15 yards. He dropped passes he usually catches and he found out that life as the #1 running back is a different animal than being the #2 and it’ll take some getting used to.

* Buying time, extending plays and eluding defenders is something all great QB’s learn to do and AJ will be learning on the job this year.  McCarron hasn’t historically played well without a nice comfortable pocket to throw from and he has not done his best work under duress. This season he will be faced with not only buying a few extra seconds in the pocket and maintaining accuracy while on the move, but with being a teacher for the young linemen. This game really can’t be deemed a success or failure for AJ until we see what he does in the next one but he has a lot more work to do than the average fan might think.

* The Tide offense missed Kenyan Drake and this squad needs him on the field, not in the doghouse, so lets hope he learns from this suspension and leaves his mistakes in the past where they belong. Any doubts about whether or not Drake is the “real” #2 back should be demolished following the showing of the other backs in his absence. Most fans still haven’t learned that Saban hates depth charts and when he releases the first one it is useless, as the order is never accurate (This is evidenced by Henry being listed as the #2 but actually played the #4 spot). Drake has an explosiveness that the other backs just don’t have right now and it was much needed against a stingy Hokie defensive front.

* All of the Tide RB’s had issues in their blocking and blitz recognition against VaTech and each one of them had more than the average number of miscues in this area. From experienced players such as TJ and Fowler down to true freshman back Henry, they didn’t offer much at all in the way of help to QB McCarron and will spend the next week pounding those sleds and going through countless blocking assignment drills.

* Last but certainly not least, it is extremely disappointing to me to see a team of this caliber with a number 2 quarterback who is not trusted by the staff to throw a forward pass.

Defensively, the Tide were impressive from top to bottom but as we know from being subjected to Saban’s process, certainly weren’t without fault.

*Linebacker Trey Depriest allowed the opposing O-guard to get out in front of him in space and lock him up too many times to dismiss it as fluke. The offensive linemen coming off the line into the second level should never be allowed to get their hands on the smaller backer before he begins to shed the blocker and attack the ball. You can see this happen on the long touchdown run by the VaTech running back as Depriest stood between the runner and the touchdown yet he couldn’t shake the lineman in time to make the tackle. Click here to see an example  VT touchdown run

*On several plays, 4 to be exact, Tide cornerback Fulton was in coverage and was beaten pretty handily by the receiver. Lucky for Fulton, the QB either overthrew the receiver or they dropped the ball resulting in an incompletion. Against better QB/receiver play, those plays are touchdown’s and seeing how Saban coaches the defensive backs, he will be reminded of those miscues for the next couple weeks.

Quite a few players began their careers in Atlanta Saturday night and did very well while a number of  experienced players kicked off their seasons impressively as well.

*True freshman TE OJ Howard was extremely impressive in his blocking, which was the biggest question surrounding the blue chipper coming into his first season.

*True Freshman D-lineman A’Shawn Robinson looked very comfortable in substitution and this young star didn’t let anyone take advantage of his inexperience.

*Soph safety Landon Collins played well as expected but he continues to shine brighter than the rest on kick coverage where it almost looks as though he makes every tackle.

* True freshman RB Altee Tenpenny stretched a couple nice runs to the outside (where I suggested earlier Yeldon should have gone) for nice gains and showed some vision, burst and patience which likely vaulted him to the front of the pack of freshmen backs on the Tide offense.

* Jack linebacker and true sophomore Denzel Devall continues to ply faster and faster indicting he is learning the system quickly and he is on pace to becoming the next “Upshaw” on this defense.

* McCarron showed brilliant touch on long post patterns and deep balls (when he has time to set his feet) and continues to improve his touch in that area. Now he has to become more accurate while on the run but he is in no stalemate with his development.

*CJ Mosely is becoming a more conscientious, intelligent player…………………GEEZ ! !

* Christion Jones…………..GEEZ ! !

 Stick with the tooth for all your Tide football updates and discussions minus the B/S that comes with some other message boards. 

I will be back here mid-week for an ‘upon further review” piece giving an inside view from those involved with the team on how they see the first game, player performances and much more …………ROLL TIDE ! !