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Alabama Weekly
October 7th, 1998 -- Issue #13 --
Volume #1
AW Web Site: http://TideFans.com
Welcome to Alabama Weekly, a
weekly E-Mail Newsletter about Alabama football. The purpose of this
newsletter is to basically recap the weeks events that has happened in
Alabama Football. We are now over 1000 subscribers to
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Email: admin@tidefans.com
Atlanta Folks •Reminder•
Mark your calendar for Thursday, October 22. It is Alabama Thursday.
Where: The Lodge in Buckhead
When: Thursday, October 22. 4-7pm
The Zone is having "Alabama Thursday"
The host will be wearing crimson and white. They will be interviewing
Alabama coaches and discussing the Tennessee game. A
framed panoramic picture of Bryant-Denny Stadium will be given away to
someone wearing Bama attire.
Free Wings and 79¢ draft.
Thank you...Just think it would be neat to have MANY Bama people there
to support our team:-)
Kristi-LadyinRed
LadyinRed's Bama Page: www.LadyinRed.net
East Carolina Preview
written by Jess Nicholas
The Tide hosts the East Carolina Pirates for the first time in history.
East Carolina is coming off a victory over Alabama-Birmingham while the
Tide is riding a wave of emotion after a 20-17 win over Ole Miss in
overtime. East Carolina is trying to rebound from a disappointing 5-6
record in 1997, and so far, they're doing it, playing to a 4-1 record
thus far in 1998. Alabama must not overlook the Pirates, as a loss here
could torpedo the Tide season. Here's how they match up:
OFFENSE
Each team lives by the same philosophy: Create offensive balance and
make
the defense work for their supper. While Alabama is a one-back,
pass-first group who throws to create running lanes for Shaun Alexander,
East Carolina uses a one-back attack that sprinkles in a ton of option
work.
QUARTERBACK
Alabama's Andrew Zow was a winner in his first start, going 15-for-30
for
277 yards and a touchdown against the Ole Miss Rebels. Zow proved up to
the challenge, moving well in the pocket and throwing the ball to
several
different receivers. In addition, he scored himself on an exciting
7-yard
quarterback draw. As for East Carolina, there is no telling. The Pirates
will use at least two and maybe three quarterbacks against Alabama.
Sophomore Bobby Weaver was completing 66% of his passes (35-53, 381
yards, 4 TD's, 2 INT's), but didn't play a down against UAB. Redshirt
freshman David Garrard got the start, going 11-for-24 for 189 yards and
an interception. Weaver is small and quick, and is the best option
quarterback. Garrard is 6-3 and 240 pounds, and is largely a dropback
passer. Senior Ernest Tinnin (3-5, 53 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT for the year,
1-3 with 2 INT vs. UAB) will probably play as well. He's a mixture of
Garrard and Weaver. It's hard for me to conceive of a team playing
better
with three quarterbacks than with a single starter, but East Carolina
has
made it work---so far. Advantage: Alabama
RUNNING BACKS
Alabama's Shaun Alexander came alive again against the Rebs, netting 125
yards on just over 20 carries. East Carolina uses the one-back more
often
than does Alabama, and the rushing is split betweek Jamie Wilson (19
carries for 96 yards against UAB; 82-for 373 and 1 TD for the year) and
Leonard Henry (15-for-70 against UAB; 35-for-174 on the season). Both
Wilson and Henry have good size, but neither is fullback material and
the
Pirates lack a true talent there. Advantage: Alabama
WIDE RECEIVERS
Alabama's Calvin Hall netted 104 yards receiving against Ole Miss, and
Quincy Jackson and Eric Locke also had good games. Shamari Buchanan
played for the first time this season, and appears to have recovered
from
his broken collarbone. East Carolina has the single best receiver
between
the two teams in Troy Smith (6 catches for 164 yards against UAB,
28-for-568 and 4 TD's on the year), who is a load at 6-3 and 185 pounds.
Lamont Chappell provides good support for Smith. Alabama has better
depth, but ECU's receivers have made a questionable QB rotation look
very
good. Advantage: East Carolina
OFFENSIVE LINE
Alabama's hot-and-cold offensive line was hot again against Ole Miss,
allowing only one sack and opening many holes for Shaun Alexander. After
the 1st quarter, Alabama averaged over eight yards per snap, a terrific
figure. East Carolina returns four starters from 1997, but that was a
poor group last year and in their only game against a top-flight
opponent
in 1998 (Virginia Tech), they were clearly overmatched. Advantage:
Alabama
DEFENSE
Alabama has moved to the 4-3 defense for the rest of 1998, but it didn't
exactly shine brightly against Ole Miss. The Rebels outgained the Tide,
and Alabama once again played poorly outside the red zone. Little is
known about the Pirate defense, other than the fact that they have two
of
the best linebackers in the country. Again, against Virginia Tech, the
defense played poorly, but that was five games ago.
DEFENSIVE LINE
Alabama has finally settled on a rotation for their men up front. Kenny
Smith and Kindal Moorehead continue to impress, and the Tide has been
lucky injury-wise. East Carolina has three 3-year lettermen for
starters,
but depth is decidedly on Alabama's side. Travis Darden had eight sacks
last year for the Pirates and could be a star. However, the backups are
inexperienced and are at a sizeable disadvantage in girth (the backup
noseguard is 6-1, 240). Advantage: Alabama
LINEBACKERS
Alabama's Trevis Smith continues to draw All-SEC consideration, and
Steve
Stanley came up big in yet another Ole Miss game, getting a crucial
interception in overtime. Travis Carroll is playing very well to be so
banged up, and Canary Knight looked more comfortable moving from the
Jack
position to strongside linebacker. However, Trevis Smith hurt some ribs
against the Rebs and won't practice much this week. East Carolina boasts
two studs, Roderick Coleman and Jeff Kerr, the latter of which had 167
tackles in 1997. While depth is on Bama's side, East Carolina is
healthier. Advantage: East Carolina
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Alabama got burned a few times against Romaro Miller and company, and it
will be hard to prepare for East Carolina not knowing who will start at
quarterback. Kecalf Bailey had a great first half, but was toast in the
2nd half. Kelvin Sigler and Fernando Bryant each played superbly in the
clutch, and the Tide coaches are holding their breath hoping neither
gets
hurt. True freshman Reggie Myles played quite well in his first game of
meaningful action. East Carolina ranked 5th of seven C-USA schools in
1997 and lost their best player to graduation. Kendrick Phillips and
Kelvin Suggs are good players, but no one stands out. Depth is a minus
for the Pirates. Advantage: Alabama
SPECIAL TEAMS
Both teams boast excellent punters, but ECU's placekicker doesn't
inspire
confidence. Alabama holds the edge in kickoff returns, while the Pirates
have the better punt returner. Each team covers kicks well. The
difference is the gap between Ryan Pflugner and whoever the Pirates
choose to kick (probably Brantley Rivers). Advantage: Alabama
OVERALL
Alabama leads in six categories, East Carolina in two. ECU coach Steve
Logan has been successful and is rarely outcoached, but he has to make
up
a sizeable talent differential to the Tide. Coach Mike DuBose has
compared ECU to Southern Miss in terms of playing style, preparation,
and
talent level, but the Pirates aren't quite yet in the territory that the
Golden Eagles usually inhabit. If the Tide isn't looking over the
Pirates, casting their eyes towards Tennessee, they should beat East
Carolina handily. However, nothing has gone according to plan this year
for the Tide, and there's nothing to suggest otherwise this week. The
coaches must prepare the team emotionally; the lack of doing so would
give the Pirates a legitimate shot at the upset. Will it happen?
Probably
not.
Alabama 28
East Carolina 10
-- Jess Nicholas
Alabama Weekly Columnist
The Ole Miss Game
written by John Hinds
What a perfect setting for a comeback victory by the Tide Saturday.
Homecoming, 83,818 in attendance, a picture perfect day and a win after
two dismal performances by Alabama in back-to-back games against
Arkansas and Florida.
Not only did we get out third triumph of the year, only three more and
we are back in the bowl games but also Andrew Zow exhibited speed,
skill, athleticism and leadership. He completed 15 of 30 passes for 272
yards and a crucial fourth quarter touchdown.
Zow’s ability to throw the deep pass loosened up the defense and Shaun
Alexander broke out of his two game slump. The Kentucky thoroughbred
touched the ball 11 times on the Tide’s final 14 plays and scored a
touchdown on a 33-yard pass. Overall he had 125 yards rushing and
another 72 yards receiving. Don’t count him out of the Heisman Trophy
race quite yet.
Last but certainly not least was the first game winning kick by Ryan
Pfulgner. His 22-yard field goal in overtime proved that his blocked
field goal attempt in the fourth quarter was a mild setback.
Interestingly enough it came on the day that Van Tiffin was honored as
the Grand Marshall of the Homecoming Parade.
Even the coaching switch, bringing Neil Callaway out of the pressbox and
down to the sidelines and putting Charlie Stubbs up in the coaches’
box proved fruitful.
Now that the offense is back on track its time for the defense to gain
some confidence and stability. They had a difficult time stopping Duce
Staley who tore holes in the Bama stop troops as he carried the ball for
188 yards.
The rock solid foundation of the Tide football legacy, the defense, has
fallen on hard times these days. They rank last in the Southeastern
Conference in total defense, last in passing defense and 10th of 12
teams in scoring defense.
While allowing 443.2 yards per game, 79 yards more per game than last
year’s team, this unit faces a long uphill fight against the likes of
Tennessee, LSU, Mississippi State and Auburn all of whom remain on the
schedule.
Fortunately this unit bends quite often but seldom breaks. Against
Florida they forced three turnovers inside the 10-yard line. OLE Miss
had a short field goal attempt blocked, was stopped on fourth down from
the two, and was held to a field goal from inside the 10 in the waning
minutes of regulation. Alabama made 16 tackles against the Rebs for a
total of 45 yards lost rushing.
Part of the problem with the defense has been injuries. Travis Carroll,
Trevis Smith, Kenny Smith and Cornelius among others have been banged up
this season. Part of the problem has been lack of experience only Kelvin
Sigler and Fernando Bryant were legitimate starters going into the year.
But another huge part has been blown assignments.
This past Saturday proved that the Tide is rising but to continue that
trend and get the three more wins needed for post season play it will
take a combined team effort.
Don’t put the East Carolina Pirates (4-1) in the win column
automatically. It could be an interesting game on Saturday.
-- John Hinds
Alabama Weekly Columnist
The ‘Bama of Old
written by J P
“Bama wins close game with overtime kick” read the Sunday morning
headlines. Their are two ways you can look at Alabama’s win last
Saturday; a key win over a good Ole Miss team, or a close win that
should have been bigger. The performance against Ole Miss made this
writer feel a sense of familiarity, the way Bama played in the 90’s
before the Mike DuBose era. Play to your opponents level and win the
game late, giving all the fans heart problems in doing so, which is what
Bama did.
As many fans remember this is what we didn’t like about Coach
Stallings, we wanted to win big, but now as long as we win most fans and
myself don’t care by how much. Sure Bama didn’t play as well as they
could have, but they moved the ball and the defense played with heart
and played great when they had to.
With Ole Miss up 14-10 Andrew Zow found Shaun Alexander deep for a
touchdown in the closing minutes of the game to put Bama up 17-14. Ole
Miss marched the ball down the field and kicked a field goal to tie the
game up and send it into overtime, although Bama had a chance to win it
late, but the field goal attempt was blocked.
It was great to see Alabama win a close game again. Can you name the
last close game Bama has won? Two factors play a role in winning close
games; coaching and leadership; the very two things that many fans have
had questions about early this season. That means one of two things we
got lucky or we are getting better. I have to think that Bama is getting
better, the coaches did a great job of play calling against Ole Miss,
and Shaun Alexander showed great leadership by catching the touchdown
pass to give Bama the 17-14 lead and setting up the winning field goal
with a long run in overtime.
Slowly but definitely surely the Tide has caught it’s balance and is
climbing that steep hill back to the top. It’s going to take time and
a probably a few losses but I think a 7-5 and even maybe an 8-3 season
is reachable.
-- J P
Alabama Weekly Editor
The Cardiac Kids Do It Again
written by Francis Nicholas
That noise you heard at around 5:30 last Saturday afternoon was the
sound
of a thousand pacemakers coming to life simulatneously. Alabama, who had
been taken to the wall by BYU and who had sliced a decade from Steve
Spurrier's life a week earler, decided to welcome seven decades of
alumni
back to campus by giving them their first look at overtime in
Bryant-Denny Stadium. Thankfully, the result was better than last year's
heartbreaking loss to Kentucky. The setup was eerily familiar...a
blocked
kick late in the game, followed by a trip into the netherworld of OT.
But
this time, Alabama would not yield. How fitting was it that on the day
famed Alabama placekicker Van Tiffin brought the game ball to the field,
a kicker would be the ultimate difference in victory? Ryan Pflugner's 22
yard kick sent 83,000-plus fans home happy and secured Pflugner a key to
the city at the earliest opportunity.
Not to be lost in this story are the accomplishments of other Tiders.
Linebacker Steve Stanley, who caused two fumbles in the Ole Miss game
last year, intercepted Rebel QB Romaro Miller at the goalline in their
overtime possession, which was a play every bit as important as
Pflugner's kick. The offensive line came back from a two-week hiatus to
give excellent protection (only one sack allowed) and open a myriad of
running lanes for Shaun Alexander. Freshman quarterback Andrew Zow had a
monumental coming-out party, passing for 277 yards on 15 completions.
All was not rosy, however. The pass rush must improve and do so
immediately. Cornerback Kecalf Bailey will get a lot of grief for his
play on Saturday, but it's hard to be effective when the opposing
quarterback is getting four or more seconds to find receivers. Bailey
played a good first half and never quit, and should get better with more
experience. Punter Daniel Pope had an off day, and Dustin McClintock
didn't have his best game at fullback by any means. Still, these factors
pale in comparison to the "W" that now adorns Alabama's tally
sheet.
For the second week in a row, the coaches made good adjustments at
halftime which led to good play in the fourth quarter and overtime. The
intensity level, largely absent in the 1st quarter, improved as the game
went on. Especially encouraging was Alabama's defensive performance in
the red zone. As Florida found out last week, Alabama gets pretty stingy
when opposing teams get inside the twenty yard line. Now, if that same
attitude can be applied to the length of the field, the Tide might be in
business.
All in all, it was a very exciting game and good value for the fans'
entertainment dollars. The Tide must now focus tightly on the East
Carolina Pirates and not get caught looking forward to Tennessee. East
Carolina is an improving team who played well against UAB on Saturday.
The Tide must take the season one game at a time and take care of
business completely. All in all, the fans can be proud of their team,
and
things certainly look bright for the Tide.
I must now get fitted for a pacemaker.
-- Jess Nicholas
Alabama Weekly Columnist
SEC Preview 10-17
written by Francis Nicholas
Here's a look at games involving SEC teams for the week of October 17.
Last week's predictions came out 5-2 (.714). For the season, the record
is 19-8 (.704).
--Jess Nicholas
AUBURN AT FLORIDA
Auburn completely self-destructed against Mississippi State, losing
38-21
and proving to have no command of special teams or offensive line
blocking. Things don't get any easier against the Gators, who are coming
off a big win over LSU. Spurrier hates all Bowdens, and he won't let his
Gators overlook the floundering Tigers. Auburn's defense rises to meet
the challenge, but the offense isn't there.
Florida 27
Auburn 12
VANDERBILT AT GEORGIA
Georgia is coming off a disappointing performance at home against
Tennessee and will be looking to rebound. Fortunately for the Bulldogs,
they face a Vanderbilt team that lost to mid-pack MAC school Western
Michigan last week. This one could and probably will get ugly early.
Suit
up the water boys.
Georgia 38
Vanderbilt 0
KENTUCKY AT LSU
Kentucky is hard to figure. As with last year's squad, they got off to a
fast start in 1998 and have started fizzling down the stretch. Last
week's game against South Carolina was a whole lot closer than it should
have been. LSU is reeling from two straight conference losses over teams
it could have beaten. Kentucky got drilled at home last year versus the
Tigers, and they still haven't proven able to stop the run. Look for LSU
to rebound, but this one will be closer than 1997.
LSU 34
Kentucky 29
ARKANSAS VS SOUTH CAROLINA
South Carolina probably played their best game last week against
Kentucky, and before the season I picked them to win this game. That was
before South Carolina imploded and Arkansas realized their potential.
Arkansas is coming off an unimpressive victory over Memphis, and could
get caught napping before an off-week. Still, the Gamecocks find new
ways
to lose each week, and Arkansas has showed able to capitalize on
opponents' miscues.
Arkansas 28
South Carolina 17
EAST CAROLINA AT ALABAMA
Check out our extended preview!
EAST TENNESSEE STATE AT MISSISSIPPI STATE
George Bush has a better chance of winning a popularity contest in Iraq
than ETSU does of winning this game. As the old World War II slogan
goes,
"is this trip REALLY necessary?"
Mississippi State 55
East Tennessee State 7
IDLE: Tennessee, Mississippi
-- Jess Nicholas
Alabama Weekly Columnist
Depth Chart for East Carolina
written by Jess Nicholas
OFFENSE
SE 15 Freddie Milons 8 Tim Bowens 84 Shamari Buchanan
WR 7 Quincy Jackson 83 Calvin Hall 80 Jason McAddley
FL 22 Michael Vaughn 2 Eric Locke 81 Wes Allen
TE 82 Terry Jones,Jr. 85 Rhett Crutchfield 86 Joe Yount
RT 72 Will Cuthbert 63 Sage Spree 56 Kenric Lott
RG 70 Jason McDonald 69 Michael Moore 71 Marico Portis
C 74 Paul Hogan 55 Brooks Brodie 57 Ty Babcock
LG 75 Griff Redmill 68 Sam Matthews 62 Mal Waldrep
LT 60 Chris Samuels 78 Michael Barfield 77 Bart Raulston
QB 5 Andrew Zow 12 John David Phillips 14 Tyler Watts
FB 30 Dustin McClintock 21 Montoya Madden 6 Marvin Brown
RB 37 Shaun Alexander 26 Arvin Richard 31 Adam Cox
PK 42 Ryan Pflugner 32 Mark Wisniewski 11 A.J. Diaz
---
DEFENSE
RE 98 Reggie Grimes 91 Clint Waggoner 53 Granison Wagstaff
RT 88 Kenny Smith 67 Kelvis White 50 Rob-E Staten
LT 97 Cornelius Griffin 51 Carlos Stennis 90 Jamie Carter
LE 54 Kindal Moorehead 38 Shawn Draper 92 Shaun Williams
RLB 48 Trevis Smith 1 Chris Horne 47 Eddie Hunter
MLB 44 Travis Carroll 89 Tito Smith 59 Chris Edwards
LLB 58 Canary Knight 4 Steve Stanley 99 Darius Gilbert
RCB 13 Kecalf Bailey 39 Antoine Hunter 16 Chris Reier
FS 20 Kelvin Sigler 17 Warren Foust 35 Owen Winston
SS 24 Tony Dixon 41 Marcus Spencer 10 Miguel Merritt
LCB 25 Fernando Bryant 23 Reggie Myles 3 Michael Feagin
P 40 Daniel Pope 84 Patrick Morgan 11 A.J. Diaz
Newsletter by: JP and Brett Young
Guest Article by: None
Special Thanks to: Jess Nicholas
PLEASE VISIT BAMANATION AND ALABAMA WEEKLY.
BamaNation: http://www.BamaNation.com
Alabama Weekly: http://come.to/ALGameDay.com
Thanks for subscribing; next newsletter October 21st, Roll Tide see ya
next week!!! |
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