Sunday, September 2, 2012

Sunday Hangover: Michigan

That was one of the best opening games I've seen from a Crimson Tide squad. It compares to the opening wins in the Georgia Dome against Clemson and Virginia Tech.

If you watched the game, it seemed like it was well in hand by the end of the first quarter because the Tide held a 21 to 0 advantage, and then they tacked on 10 more points in the second quarter.

There were shades of the '10 team though because of the big plays given up in the secondary. With Robert Lester, the lone returning starter in the secondary, apparently hampered by a shoulder stinger, Alabama played a lot of less experienced players in the back end of the defense, most notably Belue, Smith, and Fulton at cornerback and Clinton-Dix and Perry at safety. The defense got burned on three big plays because of busted coverages by Belue and Milliner (who besides that gaffe played an outstanding game).

All this summer on TiderInsider, I read posts about how Belue might be the best cornerback Saban has ever had, but he wasn't the freshman who impressed in this game.

That would be true freshman T.J. Yeldon, who set an Alabama for a freshman running back in his first game with 11 carries for 111 yards. He's fast and has good vision -- knows how to set up his blockers.

Eddie Lacy suffered a small ankle injury that opened more opportunities for the three other backs (Yeldon, Fowler, and Hart) than probably was planned. All three did well, and Jalston Fowler drew time both at fullback/h-back and running back. The only new wrinkle I saw in this year's version of the offense was the use of the old school I-formation with Fowler at fullback. I like it.

Even though 41 points is impressive against a top ten opponent, Center Barrett Jones' comments indicate the team's mindset: "We have a chance to have a really, really explosive offense here. We have a long way to go. We left a lot of points out there tonight. I'm not trying to be arrogant or cocky. That's just how we're trained to think."

On the other side of the ball, the defensive used the same strategy they used against Tim Tebow in the '09 SEC Championship Game and Jordan Jefferson in last year's National Championship Game: keep the QB in the pocket, keep him in front of you.

I suspect the defensive backs will get a heavy dose of intense coaching the next two weeks. The Tide plays Western Kentucky next week, but a road game against an explosive Arkansas offense looms large on September 15. Tyler Wilson is a much better passing quarterback than Denard Robinson. And that is not a good thing for the Tide secondary.

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