JessN: A-Day Wrap-up: Bama looks loaded again, but is not yet complete

JessN

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A-Day Wrap-up: Bama looks loaded again, but is not yet complete
by Jess Nicholas
TideFans Editor-In-Chief
April 23rd, 2017 03:39 AM

By Jess Nicholas TideFans.com Editor-In-Chief April 23, 2017 For those with extreme Bama fatigue who were hoping Alabama’s chances at contending for a title would leave with Lane Kiffin, a review of Saturday’s A-Day game popped a few bubbles. This is, once again, a potential title contender, although as head coach Nick Saban alluded to […]

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GrayTide

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Thanks Jess, great read. Like most, it is so frustrating that with all the recruiting success we seem to have every year a truly dependable place kicker still eludes us.
 

JD95

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"Bad News: Once again, the kicking game is an albatross, not an anchor."

It just amazes me that for all the dominance we've enjoyed in the Saban Decade, placekicking has been consistently so poor. Meanwhile, despite erratic results overall, schools like Auburn, Georgia, and Tennessee seem to always find a reliable kicker. I wouldn't trade places with any of them, but I don't understand why we can't seem to solve this glaring weakness in Tuscaloosa.
 

BamaBuc

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May 12, 2003
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"Bad News: Once again, the kicking game is an albatross, not an anchor."

It just amazes me that for all the dominance we've enjoyed in the Saban Decade, placekicking has been consistently so poor. Meanwhile, despite erratic results overall, schools like Auburn, Georgia, and Tennessee seem to always find a reliable kicker. I wouldn't trade places with any of them, but I don't understand why we can't seem to solve this glaring weakness in Tuscaloosa.
Hopefully this will be solved when the new kicker, Joseph Bulovas, a 6-foot, 210-pound kicker from Mandeville, La., arrives on campus next month, per A-Day reporter's! Either way he'll be there for Fall practice's...
 

4Q Basket Case

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Agree all around. I had noticed that Tua's production slowed considerably in the second half, and now understand that no-foolin' SEC blitz packages were the cause.

As a pure passer, he might be more talented and polished than Jalen. But as we've stated here numerous times, pure passing is far from the only (or even most important) aspect of the QB position in Saban's offense. There was no question that, with bullets flying, Jalen was the more effective option. Barring disastrous injury to both Jalen and Tua, Jones is headed for a redshirt and a year in Scott Cochran's tender tutelage.

I do think we'll see Tua in meaningful playing time. Not the starter, and probably not a true two-quarterback system, but not limited to mop-up time either. I look for 1-3 meaningful series a game, starting with Fresno State and Colorado State. No way they ask that of him against FSU. But the first four games after that set up well for the development of a backup QB.

PK is a problem. Unless he was hurt (and I have no reason to think that was the case), I think we've seen the last of Andy Pappanostos. Saban had mentioned that he was really accurate, but just didn't have a super-strong leg. So, with that profile, he absolutely can't miss anything under 40 yards. He did (twice), and after the second, they started using JK Scott for even short kicks.

Looking like we have two options: Bulovas and Scott. And that's a bit scary. Bulovas is going to his prom about now, and faces FSU first, then two games to steady himself, then the SEC fray. Not an easy baptism, and there's no way to know how he will react. Or Scott...a known quantity, with a strong leg, but with the inconsistent accuracy you would expect from a guy whose day job is being the best punter in the country. I hope PK duties don't adversely affect his punting.

All that said, I wouldn't trade places with any other fanbase. Looking forward to a productive and uneventful off-season.
 
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TRU

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The A day game was entertaining with JK winning it with a last second field goal, but these things are always frustrating, given the team is basically playing with itself. So there are always alternative hypotheses for anything that happens. For example, the QB performance was good, especially until the blitz packages start getting called in the second half. This might mean that the QB is really good,or that the D secondary is getting lit up and has some real issues. One could possibly differentiate between these competing hypotheses by doing an experiment. One could change one variable, it this case the QB, and see what happens. To control for the possibility that you might just substitute one great QB for another, I would choose a QB replacement that is unlikely to perform well against a strong D secondary. Say, perhaps a high school senior who never had faced an SEC defense before for example. If the sub had success, I might be tempted to conclude that the D secondary might be something that would keep me up at night next season.

OTOH, the kicking game is something that will keep us up at night without having to do any experiments to clarify the situation. Elsewhere on this board we have seen discussions about players (e.g. RBs) who were originally highly rated coming out of HS but are likely to transfer because they have dropped far down the depth chart. Instead of expending scholarships on position players that will end up transferring, would it really hurt to recruit a kicker once every other year?
 
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Bamabuzzard

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The A day game was entertaining with JK winning it with a last second field goal, but these things are always frustrating, given the team is basically playing with itself. So there are always alternative hypotheses for anything that happens. For example, the QB performance was good, especially until the blitz packages start getting called in the second half. This might mean that the QB is really good,or that the D secondary is getting lit up and has some real issues. One could possibly differentiate between these competing hypotheses by doing an experiment. One could change one variable, it this case the QB, and see what happens. To control for the possibility that you might just substitute one great QB for another, I would choose a QB replacement that is unlikely to perform well against a strong D secondary. Say, perhaps a high school senior who never had faced an SEC defense before for example. If the sub had success, I might be tempted to conclude that the D secondary might be something that would keep me up at night next season.

OTOH, the kicking game is something that will keep us up at night without having to do any experiments to clarify the situation. Elsewhere on this board we have seen discussions about players (e.g. RBs) who were originally highly rated coming out of HS but are likely to transfer because they have dropped far down the depth chart. Instead of expending scholarships on position players that will end up transferring, would it really hurt to recruit a kicker once every other year?
I must have missed that part of the scrimmage.
 

FitToBeTide

All-American
Aug 19, 2001
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Agree all around. I had noticed that Tua's production slowed considerably in the second half, and now understand that no-foolin' SEC blitz packages were the cause.

As a pure passer, he might be more talented and polished than Jalen. But as we've stated here numerous times, pure passing is far from the only (or even most important) aspect of the QB position in Saban's offense. There was no question that, with bullets flying, Jalen was the more effective option. Barring disastrous injury to both Jalen and Tua, Jones is headed for a redshirt and a year in Scott Cochran's tender tutelage.

I do think we'll see Tua in meaningful playing time. Not the starter, and probably not a true two-quarterback system, but not limited to mop-up time either. I look for 1-3 meaningful series a game, starting with Fresno State and Colorado State. No way they ask that of him against FSU. But the first four games after that set up well for the development of a backup QB.

PK is a problem. Unless he was hurt (and I have no reason to think that was the case), I think we've seen the last of Andy Pappanostos. Saban had mentioned that he was really accurate, but just didn't have a super-strong leg. So, with that profile, he absolutely can't miss anything under 40 yards. He did (twice), and after the second, they started using JK Scott for even short kicks.

Looking like we have two options: Bulovas and Scott. And that's a bit scary. Bulovas is going to his prom about now, and faces FSU first, then two games to steady himself, then the SEC fray. Not an easy baptism, and there's no way to know how he will react. Or Scott...a known quantity, with a strong leg, but with the inconsistent accuracy you would expect from a guy whose day job is being the best punter in the country. I hope PK duties don't adversely affect his punting.

All that said, I wouldn't trade places with any other fanbase. Looking forward to a productive and uneventful off-season.
I share the same concerns in the kicking game as everyone else. Would like to protect Scott from double duty, if possible. My dream is to have 4 straight years from a kicker where every KO is a TB in the end zone. 10rc and the University of Auburn always have good kickers...
 

sanjosecrimson

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May 18, 2007
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its been mentioned by sources close to the program and I tend to believe it esp. with Saban at the helm that Diggs was purposely picked on. trial by fire as they say. he wasn't as bad as some fans believe, he was in position for some of those TD passes, but the passes were thrown perfectly. just a gut feeling, Diggs will be better as the season nears.
 

CrimsonProf

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Dec 30, 2006
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its been mentioned by sources close to the program and I tend to believe it esp. with Saban at the helm that Diggs was purposely picked on. trial by fire as they say. he wasn't as bad as some fans believe, he was in position for some of those TD passes, but the passes were thrown perfectly. just a gut feeling, Diggs will be better as the season nears.
Diggs has held that spot for nearly a month - I have to think it's because he's earned it as opposed to all the others being terrible.
 

TideMom2Boys

Hall of Fame
Nov 17, 2010
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Alabama
Great read! It is kind of sad that we just expect to never have an elite kicker. Luckily, we "usually" just need an average kicker.
 

Jkl0802

1st Team
Apr 9, 2015
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Stuttgart, Germany
"I do think we'll see Tua in meaningful playing time. Not the starter, and probably not a true two-quarterback system, but not limited to mop-up time either. I look for 1-3 meaningful series a game, starting with Fresno State and Colorado State. No way they ask that of him against FSU. But the first four games after that set up well for the development of a backup QB"

Why do you think Tua will split time 1-3? I've never seen CNS do this in years past? Granted Tua is talented....but I believe CNS believes more in the adage "If you have 2 QBs, you don't have 1." Also, I've never seen back up QBs play at Alabama in anything more than mop up duty. QB development in Saturday games has not been one of our priorities.
 
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