What I learned watching Alabama Football take on TAMU

Oct 17, 2015; College Station, TX, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive lineman Jarran Reed (90) celebrates after a play during the third quarter against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. The Crimson Tide defeated the Aggies 41-23. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

With each passing week we’ll learn more about the 2015 Crimson Tide squad.  We’ll spot trends as they emerge and puzzle at both the positive and negative outliers.

In this weekly feature I’ll highlight a handful of the lessons this team is teaching me. This week we look at Alabama football and TAMU.

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Basics are Not Bad – Getting back to Alabama basics was such a good idea last Saturday that A&M thought they’d get in on the action. Let’s just say it didn’t go so well for the Aggies.

Getting back to Bama basics for the Tide consisted of a strong running game. Ironically, the maneuver as orchestrated by TAMU consisted of running a nickel defense with plans of stopping the opponent run game with a lighter box – a move I would have not have expected from the salty seasoned John Chavis.

The confluence of these efforts resulted in 159 rushing yards and 2 touch downs by Alabama running back Derrick Henry only seconds into the second quarter.

On the day the Tide ground out 295 rushing yards while possessing the ball over 36 minutes. Similar to last week, these are game winning metrics and continue to demonstrate that the Alabama offense is a tune up away from being an explosive force in its own right.

Coker finished the day 19 of 25 for 138 yards. While these numbers do not inspire awe, the Tide signal caller committed no turnovers while collecting 30 hard fought and inspiring yards on the ground.

Defensive Points Made – The Alabama defense was the clear winner on the day. With the points resulting from the Tide’s four interceptions, the defense outscored both A&M and the Crimson offense. I can’t speak for the record books, but in my experience that’s a mighty rare feat.

But the real point being made is that the Tide secondary is no longer a liability. Spread offenses and prolific quarterbacks have been a struggle for Alabama and the defensive backfield was as much a target for the pundits as it was for opposing quarterbacks. But notice was served at the expense of TAMU’s Kyle Allen that the personnel changes made in the off-season have taken root.

A mole hill is not a mountain – I trust we’ve all learned our lessons about over exaggerating isolated events. Last week it was tales of the Tide offense being rudderless and the week prior it was the death of a dynasty. In the game Saturday there were two events that have some beginning to self-induce hyperventilation. Let’s unplug each in turn.

Ryan Kelly exited the game just prior to half with concussion like symptoms and, as if on cue, the Tide running game took a noticeable downturn in production so the only possible conclusion in the entirety of the universe is that JC Hassenaur must not be any good. Now this entire discussion is wasted breath as the injury to Kelly overlaps with a significant defensive shift made by the Aggies. TAMU shifted to a bear defense designed specifically to clog both center-guard gaps. Sure, the veteran Kelly may have handled the initial shift more smoothly than a red shirt freshman seeing his first snaps under live fire, but Hassenaur acquitted himself well on the whole.

Lane Kiffin did his job and nothing to disrespect Saban in refusing his boss’s recommendation to call a timeout. Sure, the video is cute and fun but on its surface it tells the full story. Saban is not watching the field as he moves towards Lane and the officials, so what he’s not seeing is the team settle into its alignment just in time to run the play. Often we’ll hear the adage about a veteran quarterback having a clock in his head and in this instance it’s pretty clear that a seasoned play caller does as well.

Units Opportunity – I don’t know what is worse, that special team woes continue to surface or that I’m no longer surprised when they do. Punts blocked, fumbled, and returned to go along with unsteady play in the kick return game. This topic takes me down a path I don’t want to go right now, so let’s leave it with the idea that our coaching in this space needs to improve before we’ll see sustained excellence in this area on the field.

Building to Something – I’ve hinted long enough. This team is hunting championships and has the tools necessary to capture the hardware. With some red leader 5 “stay of target” type focus, the path to a final four bid is paved. Oh, and nonsense on the Ole Miss holding the tie breaker talk. You did see them pull the disaster pants drill against Memphis didn’t you? Besides, they have the entire SEC West lined up ahead of them.  Ole Miss holds the tie breaker, say it out loud and listen to how silly is sounds.

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Check back next week as I continue to breakdown what we see from Alabama football on the field.  Also be sure to check out our podcasts as I explore and debate these topics and many more in a more animated format.