I think the odds are against Alabama, and a big part of that would be the injuries. Drake does things on offense no other RB can do and you lose a couple other starters and you're limping along... the team couldn't afford to get much more inexperienced.We'll be ok. We have issues to deal with but the talent is there. If we only lose one and win it all, I'll be glaring at quite few negaposters for a while...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the center got hurt during a drive in which Yeldon was an integral part.I noticed that too. I'm not sure why we went away from him and we did it at the wrong time. He had a very good game. We should have won it.
He did, but Yeldon was doing his thing anyway. Remember we were killing them on the left side. They knew it was coming and we still were popping them.Correct me if I'm wrong, but the center got hurt during a drive in which Yeldon was an integral part.
They are always going to rotate RBs a bit, to keep them fresh and what not, but after the center got hurt, it obviously impacted all facets of the play calling. Just getting the ball from the center to the QB became an issue.
i agree about drake, but he only played in 3 scrimmage plays that i remember in the floridly game (and two of those were fumbles, one by him) i think we will miss him more on special teams coverage.I think the odds are against Alabama, and a big part of that would be the injuries. Drake does things on offense no other RB can do and you lose a couple other starters and you're limping along... the team couldn't afford to get much more inexperienced.
Anyway, at about this point last year, Auburn had beaten Washington State by a single score, Miss. State by a single score, and they'd lost to LSU by two scores. Who on earth thought they'd win the SEC much less get into the BCSCG? It took luck though, Johnny got banged up at the end of the game, they had miracles against Georgia and Alabama, and luck is part of the equation.
I just wish Alabama fans would be a bit more realistic about things. Alabama could start all true freshman, and have 3 of them get hurt and we'd still have people asking why on earth Alabama can't win with all that 5 star talent and start asking about the coaches.
The question I was responding to was when you said "I'm not sure why we went away from him". Alabama used Yeldon aggressively, and the running game in general, but losing a starting offensive lineman, in particular the center is huge in terms of blocking. Knowing it is coming and having your blockers vs. knowing it is coming and not, is a massive difference. That's compounded by the center, who was making bad snaps (not really blaming him, tough position to be in) and was having trouble knowing when to hike the ball at all. I'm not sure what you're trying to say at this point.He did, but Yeldon was doing his thing anyway. Remember we were killing them on the left side. They knew it was coming and we still were popping them.
A lot of the offense sets up certain explosive plays. Losing Drake defanged Alabama's offense to a certain extent. Drake had 6 touchdowns so far! That's not a tiny piece of the offense, that's a big, important part. So, when you draw up all your play calls, there's no doubt that there are certain plays for Drake that no one else can run. There's no other RB on the team that can line up and go deep like he could, so you take him out of the game (especially with the extra coverage Cooper was getting, and White being banged up) and it really took a lot away from what the offense could do.i agree about drake, but he only played in 3 scrimmage plays that i remember in the floridly game (and two of those were fumbles, one by him) i think we will miss him more on special teams coverage.
Yeldon looked really good! 123 yards on 20 carries, 130 yards for the game. He's still the man.
We're at 7. Looking at 1-6, most of them have to play each other. There will be a lot of 1 (or more) loss teams in that top six within a few weeks.We'll be ok. We have issues to deal with but the talent is there. If we only lose one and win it all, I'll be glaring at quite few negaposters for a while...
This is the most frustrating aspect of it. I think most fans can live with getting beat because the other team is better. With all the mistakes, penalties, injuries, not play not to lose game plan, we still were in it right down to the end. That tells me we got beat by an inferior team. But like you, I think these things are fixable. But it is the injuries that are in key positions that concern me. I'm hoping this week the back up center (Bozeman ?) will get a lot reps, get comfortable and will quickly fit into place without any critical hiccups.Ole Miss is a really good team. They are a legit top 10 team. If things break their way, they are in the hunt for the whole shebang. We were at their place and had them stonewalled. We started wetting the bed and let them back in the game late and yet we still were throwing the ball into the end zone with a chance to win it at the end.
That was a horrible performance against a really good team and we still should have won the game. I wouldn't have the first hesitation in believing we are going to get the ship turned around starting this weekend, but the injuries do give me pause. We certainly don't need anymore of those.
4.8 yards per play is an unstoppable drive.Alabama still used Yeldon after the center got hurt, but here's the stats: 6 rushes for 29 yards. So, he averaged 6.7 yards per rush with Kelly in, and 4.8 with him out. That's a huge difference, and it wasn't that they stopped using Yeldon though, his attempts average out consistently, but the effectiveness of the offense overall was impacted. I keep seeing Alabama fans ignore the injuries and blame everything else.
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