News Article: Penn State wrap-up: Tide wins big, but trouble spots start to become evident

At least it is not to critical, I remember back in the day I would love only for the Tide to have the problems you think they are having now.

no upfield pressure from defense ends. MD will help that situation. But we seemed to get pushed around in the interior. Not sure there if a fix for that.

Great perspective as always. Given our play last night I am more concerned about the Arkansas game than any other on our schedule this year. If we give an experienced an talented QB like Mallett time we're going to have to win in a shootout.

But I was almost more surprised that you didn't comment on the ribbon boards. While not perfect I thought they were at least trying to use them better for stats and scores. Too bad the scores they were posting were as much as an hour old at points, but I give them kudos for the effort.

I thought #2 Ohio St. looked pretty good yesterday but they had their moments also. In the ebb and flow of a game there will be nits to pick but Alabama is as good and as solid as any in the nation and well deserving their #1 ranking.

I don't disagree, however, with what I have already seen this season, just count me as well satisfied. Here is a partial list: Florida and LSU. Moral losers? Ole Miss, VT, Minnesota and Kansas were all upset by JUNIOR COLLEGES (that's what I call 'em).

You know I noticed myself that Hightower seems to be a step slow as well. I'm not sure if he has put on too much weight or if it's due to the knee, but he's definitely not playing as fast as he used to...

I noticed the same things about the D-line -- it's definitely not the immoveable wall it was last season. I don't know how much Dareus' return will change that.

However, I don't really see a mashing OL/running game on the schedule that could really exploit that, so it might not be as much of a problem.

The DBs also look more sloppy than last year, particularly with missed tackles. Hopefully experience will alleviate some of those problems, but with the pass rush looking only so-so thus far, it looks like this year's D will be a clear notch below last year's.

I agree every team will make mistakes in a game. Remember we won the NC last year but it was not always pretty. Blocked FG against UT and late drive against Auburn. In the end all that counts is a win. But what I will say this year the mistakes seem to be fewer and we finish very well.

People have to remember we probably have replaced more starters than any team in the top 10 and yet our 2 games, one against a very good and ranked PSU have been dominant. Also lets not forget our top defensive pass rusher and the Heisman winner from last year have not been on the field yet this season.

I guess it is good to have very high expectation from the fans and CNS must rub off on us all. We are ranked number 1 and dominated in our first 2 games missing 2 of our top players, while other top schools keep dropping or playing poorly and yet we want more, but yet fans at USCe are now thinking NC this year and in the future. What a great day to be a Tide fan. RTR

I was ecstatic last night, but Jess is right that there are warning signs there for somebody looking inside the numbers.

Two things that just caught my eye are 3rd down efficiency, and time of possession. We have traditionally been a ball-control type team, but these numbers show we might be drifting towards a flashier style. I suspect these numbers will have improved if we end up winning out our schedule.

OakMtn4Bama said:

no upfield pressure from defense ends. MD will help that situation. But we seemed to get pushed around in the interior. Not sure there if a fix for that.

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Find another Mt. Cody

DrollTide said:

I was ecstatic last night, but Jess is right that there are warning signs there for somebody looking inside the numbers.

Two things that just caught my eye are 3rd down efficiency, and time of possession. We have traditionally been a ball-control type team, but these numbers show we might be drifting towards a flashier style. I suspect these numbers will have improved if we end up winning out our schedule.

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One thing to point out on third down efficiency, the refs were clearly spotting the ball short for Alabama. There were at least 3 short spots on 3rd downs that would have kept possessions going.

Other than that, it's clear to me that our defense does indeed miss all the experience from last year's unit. We take bad angles, we tackle poorly compared to last year and our DL gets pushed around much more. As Jess pointed out, Dareus's return will help the DL in a huge way. Practice and film study will help the pursuit angles. Desire to improve will help tackling.

All in all, I believe we can repeat. But just as Saban does, I'll take it one game at a time and be thankful for each win, but I understand anything is possible on a Saturday.

DrollTide said:

I was ecstatic last night, but Jess is right that there are warning signs there for somebody looking inside the numbers.

Two things that just caught my eye are 3rd down efficiency, and time of possession. We have traditionally been a ball-control type team, but these numbers show we might be drifting towards a flashier style. I suspect these numbers will have improved if we end up winning out our schedule.

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The D couldn't get off the field on 3rd downs last night. That contributed to a lot of the TIME of Possession. It felt like Penn St. had the ball for the entire 2nd half. There are too many missed tackles and tackles where the ball carrier drags the defender for another half yard or more. I think inexperience is creating hesitation in some instances, but I expect that will be ironed out by the time of the Arkansas game.

This year's defense reminds me a lot of the 2007 defense, just with much better athletes. If Bama were to face McFadden and Jones next week, I see no reason to think they couldn't run all over Bama like in 07. The difference, in the end, will be that Bama does have much better athletes now.

Timberline Tide said:

Find another Mt. Cody

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We found another mountain by way of Australia and he's arriving in January. Pretty apparent that Williams could be starting from game 1 in 2011.

We also have to remember that Penn State has a very veteran offensive line. 4 of their 5 starters from 09 returned. Still, I'm concerned a bit because several SEC coaches are likely to test our run defense after seeing Penn State averaged a healthy 4.1 ypc.

As I recall, PSUs OL was considered a weakness coming into this game. Neithre our DL or our secondary are performing to the level they did last year. Inexperience is a big part of that, naturally. Whether further experience brings them to last year's level remains to be seen.

We have a fine team. Potentially, as good as any in the country that I've seen. If a national championship is in our future, we are going to need to improve quite a bit in several areas.

BigAL413 said:

The D couldn't get off the field on 3rd downs last night. That contributed to a lot of the TIME of Possession. It felt like Penn St. had the ball for the entire 2nd half. There are too many missed tackles and tackles where the ball carrier drags the defender for another half yard or more. I think inexperience is creating hesitation in some instances, but I expect that will be ironed out by the time of the Arkansas game.

This year's defense reminds me a lot of the 2007 defense, just with much better athletes. If Bama were to face McFadden and Jones next week, I see no reason to think they couldn't run all over Bama like in 07. The difference, in the end, will be that Bama does have much better athletes now.

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Agree. I mentioned this during the game last night to the hubby. We allowed them to drive down the field on us all game, and then we'd finally buck up in the red zone (thankfully:cool2, much like the 07 team did. This defense is as advertised, uber talented, but young and inexperienced, which can only be cured by playing time. Games like last night will only help.
I've no doubt our D will get better, but admittedly I'm a bit spoiled after enjoying last years version.

From my perspective:

1. Alabama is a team deep with talent - some mature and some raw. We are more raw on the defensive side of the ball and that showed with a lack of disciplined, fundamentally sound play at times. For instance: On the reverse play Kirkpatrick over-pursued and was out of position to contain the outside and make the tackle or force the runner inside to other defenders. On the fumble return Lester should have a) just fell on the ball or b) protected the ball better when being tackled (although it was a good play by the PSU player). We also missed a few tackles. These problems should get better with time and coaching, but this team has the potential to give up a few big plays this year as well as make a few.

2. Alabama took full advantage of a) superior talent and b) a freshman QB on the other side. We put pressure on the freshman QB and as expected he made mistakes that cost PSU points. A more veteran QB could have presented more problems for us. We'll have to be more disciplined in coverage and containment against experienced QB's like Mallet or they will pick us apart. I expect a more disciplined play against Duke in preparation for Arkansas.

3. The Big 10 officiating crew called the game terribly at times, especially on spotting the ball. The fumble-fumble play was actually close as to whether we had control of the ball while on the ground. Some of the spots were not close at all and might have been an issue in a close game, but that wasn't the case and we are done with Big 10 officials so whatever.

4. We need to use the Duke game to prep for a killer stretch that includes Arkansas, Florida, and South Carolina.

5. We need to avoid injuries.

6. I'm so glad we are where we are and i'm enjoying every minute of it. I hope it lasts a long, long time. I could nitpick like this for years and years and be a very happy Tide fan.

Crimson Cat said:

I've no doubt our D will get better, but admittedly I'm a bit spoiled after enjoying last years version.

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Same. Considering we played a lot of RS Freshmen in our front 7 against a veteran Big 10 OL, I thought we did fairly well. It was tough to tell how much pressure we could generate without the blitz b/c they used those short passes so much last night. Our run D definitely didn't look as good as last year.