Music Friday: "Rewrite Our Lives"

I have not listened to Ha Ha Tonka in a good while. Here's a good tune from their album Lessons.

Sunday Hangover: Wisconsin

What a difference a healthy starting offensive line makes. 

The Tide traveled to Madison and blew out the Badgers with lots of big plays. They scored on plays of 31, 26, 34, and 37 yards. 

Milroe accounted for five TDs, two of which were of the rushing variety. Those two long passes to Williams and Bernard were just beautiful deep balls. 

They seem to be calling more designed running plays for Milroe with the backs working as a lead blocker along with pulling linemen. 

I was frustrated with the defense at times because Wisconsin had some good running plays, and they're still really green in the secondary. 

The starting LBs, Lawson and Campbell had 12 tackles apiece followed by Moore and Sabb with 11 and 10, respectively. The DE Overton had a great game. He was a massive force against the run and in the pass rush. 

Two good signs were there were no turnovers, and the Tide only had four penalties. The number of penalties in the first two games were inexcusable. 

Music Friday: "Sure Shot"

I woke up this morning with this tune in my head. 

As albums by the Beastie Boys go, Check Your Head is my favorite. This song is the opening tune on Ill Communication. 

Have a good weekend. 

Sunday Hangover: South Florida

That was a frustrating three and half quarters of football to watch last night. 

With a reshuffled offensive, the Tide did not look good at all. With the starting left guard playing left tackle and the back-up right tackle starting, it was a flag fest with the right tackle picking up four holding calls by himself.

There were two touchdowns that were called back because of penalties.

And that was just in the first half. 

In the second half, Alabama had three fumbles that put the defense in tough positions on the field. 

Once the starting right tackle Pritchett came into the game, everything seemed to click. And the Crimson Tide pulled away. 

I'm concerned about the trip to Madison to play Wisconsin, especially if Proctor is still out. 

Music Friday: "Cherokee Purples"

Before I bought the new album from American Aquarium, I was growing Cherokee purples. They're a heirloom variety of tomato that I've never grown before, so I tried them. 

Finally here in early September some of them are turning from green to the ripe color. I'm hoping they taste good. I've been wanting to make BLTs with my homegrown tomatoes all summer. 

Here's the tune about, well, a lot of stuff. 

Stay Positive: Grading the Tottenham Summer Transfer Window

The transfer window has closed at least for the Premier League. Tottenham had a ton of outgoings and acquired some incoming players, many of whom I'm excited about. 

Outgoings

Although it's still technically a loan to Marseille, Hojbjerg was a solid player for Spurs although he didn't really fit the Ange Ball system. The Danish captain is likely to excel in the French league. 

Emerson Royal going to AC Milian made sense because he's more of traditional right-back. He was a popular guy in the squad, but he's another player who really didn't fit the system. 

Rodon to stay at Leeds United made sense, but I don't think any manager has ever given him a fair shot. Regardless, the fans at Elland Road appreciate him, and I hope Leeds come back up the Premier League next season. 

Spurs paying off Ndombele made a heck of a lot of sense. We moved on from a terrible signing. 

Tanganga going to Millwall will probably work out for him, but I hate seeing an academy player go somewhere else. 

Troy Parrott was sold to AZ for a decent fee and will probably excel in the Dutch league like he did last season. 

Lo Celso finally made it back to Real Betis. I've always liked Gio, and I think he should have played more often last season, especially when Maddison was out. But Lo Celso has his own history of injury problems even though he usually seems to be fit for international duty. 

Bryan Gil going to Girona makes sense. It just seemed like he is not built for English football. 

One of my few criticisms of the gaffer is that Skipp never played in a position that suited him. He's more of a defensive midfielder, but when he played for Ange, Skipp played more an 8 when he's really a 6. I don't get it. 

Manor Solomon is on loan at Leeds and will probably do quite well there. In his first game, he got an assist. With the guys we brought in, he wasn't going to get regular playing time and needed to go somewhere to get back in playing rhythm. 

Why couldn't they find a club for Reguilon? 

Incomings

Bringing back Werner on loan at the club early in the window was a head-scratcher to me. I think he'll do okay for what the manager asks him to do, but my reaction to bring him back was "Meh." They could have done better, but I hope I'm proven wrong. I wanted someone better than okay.

In contrast, acquiring Solanke could prove to be a pivotal signing. I think he's a solid center-forward. 

I love the signings of Bergvall and Gray because they're both young and talented. Bergvall might serve as Maddison's understudy and has looked really good so far. Gray can play a number of positions, but I think he'll eventually settle in as a midfielder. I'm excited about both of these players. 

The South Korean Yang will come in January I believe, and I like him because he's young and versatile, which is a trend among acquisitions under Ange. 

Odobert was a surprise signing, and I think he'll grow into his role as a front-line player either on the left or right wing.

Although he's technically not an incoming, Spence staying helps provide cover at right and left back. And he's English. 

Grade

The transactions of Skipp and Werner puzzle me, and I like the additions of the youngsters Gray, Bergvall, Odobert, and Yang. Solanke was a smart signing. The club also did a strong job of shipping out players who needed to go out a year ago and moving other players to clubs. I grade the Tottenham transfer window a B.  

Sunday Hangover: Western Kentucky

I thought the Hilltoppers would give the Crimson Tide a tougher fight, but I was wrong. 

Alabama blew out Western Kentucky 63 to nothing. 

The Tide had two early interceptions, and the offense was full of big plays in the running and passing game. 

True freshman Ryan Williams caught two passes for two touchdowns. 

Milroe contributed five touchdowns in total, two of which were of the running variety. 

WKU had some sustained drives, but the defense pitched a shutout. The two main linebackers were flying around. Lawson and Campbell had a great day on the field. And Russaw looks like the main guy for rushing the passer. He was a freak on the field last night. 

Another trend I noticed was the defensive linemen getting their hands up to bat passes. 

On the running plays for Milroe, Haynes, and Miller, they were the result of linemen pulling, which is a beautiful thing.