ALABAMA'S DEFENSE IS GOING TO BE UNREAL...
 |
| 'Bama's defense could save the season ... |
In the day of unmanly offenses, Alabama showed the rest of the SEC what real football was meant to be. That is one of those statements which separate different generations and eras. To me, football was more about looking your opponent in the eye and letting him know how long a day he will be facing. Football was being the strongest, meanest, and toughest hombre in the neighborhood. Don't get me wrong, I still love football. It's not the same as before. I'm sure it will be different in the future. For now, we have decided that entertainment value is more important than skill. Who ever knew that magic and trickery would be so important than lining up face to face with the opponent and seeing who is the best? A thief can pick your pocket. He can get away with it more often than not. If that same thief had to look a an in the eye the outcome would be different. When we see this season's defensive team it feels like a throw back to a different time. It may be this old fashioned type of blue collar defense that saves the Tide this season. Perhaps the defense can give the offense a time to find themselves. I think that with the ability to stop the run, the Tide is going to be harder to score on than last season.
Which brings us to Auburn...
and Gus Malzhan. If you think that Alabama fans are unrealistic, you haven't been to the Loveliest Village on the Plains in the last two seasons. Last season's blowup will seem mild to the upcoming meltdown known as 2015. The demotion of their starting quarterback was stunning. The head man made a decision to put the remainder of the AU season on the shoulders of a red-shirt freshman. He played pretty well, but the Tigers couldn't get the ball in the end zone. The opening drive which seemed like the answer to AU's problems ended as a cruel joke. The fan's support of Malzhan had been almost Bear like. Well, Bear like minus the decades of excellence. Now the AU fans are asking themselves if they have a real head coach or David Blaine. The Tide's rush defense isn't going to succumb to the rush game of the Tiger smoke and mirror show. Here's an interesting question. The new QB played a good game. Better than Johnson had played to date. What rationale does Gus have to re-instating his old starter? Does he say that I thought Johnson was better before I thought he worse ? I was right the first time.
Credit to Kirby Smart...
 |
| Smart had the Defense ready...(cmp.Tide Sports) |
Meanwhile, the Tide has an unimpressive win over the Warhawks. At least it was unimpressive on one side of the ball. The defense held a trick and shoot offense to less than 100 yards in total offense. If you can hold any team to less than 100 yards you have played a great defensive game. The Tide defensive line played the best game I can remember in the past since round two versus LSU a couple of seasons ago. The Warhawks couldn't run. Then they couldn't pass because they didn't have time. Or they couldn't get the ball past the Defensive line. Once again the Tide knocked down several passes. Credit Kirby Smart for a new wrinkle in how to stop the wide open passing attack. The young defensive backfield had no breakdowns. They stopped most receptions short of first down yardage. All in all it was a very impressive performance, and scary for future opponents. The Tide's run defense will get a major league test in Athens against Nick Chubb and company.
Finally, it was nice to see Adam kicking with confidence. Field goals may become very important this season. Let's hope that confidence is contagious and that spreads to punting as well.
OFFENSIVE PLAY OF THE GAME: Coker's roll-out TD pass to Stewart was a thing of beauty. It almost seems that Coker is harder to pin down when on the move. He doesn't lock in on a receiver.
DEFENSIVE PLAY OF THE GAME: No one play stands out. The front seven were deadly all day long, and it was a team effort. Nice to see Harrison pick one off.
No comments:
Post a Comment