Greatest quarterback battle in SEC history

    

McCarron beats Manziel when it really counted

 

Bama defense gives up over 600 yards but Tide offense explodes...

      

    Saturday,  we all watched the greatest Quarterback dual in the history of college football.  No disrespect to Scott Hunter vs. Archie Manning, but this was different.  It wasn't a day for the defense. It wasn't a game for old school fans. That was something else. It was a collision of two quarterbacks who wouldn't quit. One is disciplined as a bobcat in a bag.  The other is right out of The Terminator.  Johnny Manziel did everything but win the game. A.J. McCarron did everything necessary to win the game. In the end it was McCarron who proved to be the better quarterback. I'm sure the media is going to worship at the alter of Johnny Football.  The Aggie quarterback proved he could do almost anything possible on the football field except tackle Vinnie Sunseri. McCarron didn't have to tackle anyone. He did have to tackle 14-0 deficit when  it looked like Alabama was in danger of getting run off of Kyle Field.  Slow and steady won the game. Despite how great a player Johnny Manziel might be - he walked off  field as the loser. It was the biggest football game that #2 had ever played.  For A.J. McCarron, it was just another big game. 

 

     

       Alabama is going to hear a lot about giving up 42 points. National sport pundits are going to talk about Alabama's lack of prowess on defense.  I don't think you can really look at this game as any indicator about future Tide defensive effort. This game was an anomaly. This was a once in a lifetime game.  One thing that we did learn is that the Crimson Tide has enough offensive punch to beat anyone.  Texas A&M doesn't have a great defense.  They don't have to have one. They have an offense you can't say enough great things about. The Aggies might have the greatest offense ever seen in college football. I wouldn't argue the point. Still, when all was said and done, it was the Crimson and not the Maroon who won the game.  It seems to me that when it said and done it is always the Crimson Tide.  McCarron was flawless.  10 different Crimson Tide players caught passes.  Al Bell had a nifty 50 yard plus run for a touchdown.  He did that after walking away from  football for a day. Kevin Norwood had a couple of his sideline specials. I have no information on his injury. 

             The biggest thing that happened Saturday is that the Tide won and didn't play any where their best game. Oregon wants Bama? Yeah, I'd like to go have a root canal on Monday. This Alabama football is going to get better. The offense is nowhere near where as good as they can be, and they are pretty good right now.

           The defense is going to improve. The defensive backs have some work to do. What? Do you think Bama's defensive backs are going to get worse? As bad as the secondary looked they had some good moments.  Cyrus Jones interception of a Manziel fade route was a huge play. Sunseri was the only one to embarass Johnny Football with a juke on his touchdow run. Frequently, the Tide defenders were in perfect postion but were outjumped by a 6-5 wide receiver. Remember, the secondary had to cover receivers far longer than normal. Not only is that true, but they had to be aware of running ability of the TAM quaterback.  There were times that the secondary looked confused and lost. I suspect that Bama's DBacks will do much better under "normal" situations.

      After the Colorado State game the how of  Bama's defense will be forgotten.  Play well against the Rams and all will be overlooked. My belief is that by season's end this defense will be just fine, and representative of Alabama's finest.