What the heck was that?
31-17. I knew a loss was possible. I figured Florida State would be pretty good this year, better than 3 of the teams that beat Alabama last year (Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, and Michigan), but I didn’t think domination was even a possibility.
The first drive was perfect. It was exactly the kind of drive I’ve been waiting for since the days of Damien Harris and Josh Jacobs. We ran it right down their throats and I thought Richard Young looked great. That is where the positives end (for the most part).
Before I talk about the main problem (defense), what went wrong with the offense? I actually think Ty Simpson did a fine job. There was one moment late in the game where he could have gotten a critical 1st down if he would have just ran, but instead threw a terrible pass on the run. Yeah, throwing on the run isn’t exactly a strength for Simpson. However, I thought he showed great effort (something Milroe struggled with at times) and good pocket awareness (something Milroe struggled with all of the time). He was pretty good, but not great. The WRs were mostly mediocre. Ryan Williams may have had the worst game of his career, Rico Scott was inconsistent, and Isiah Horton was a non factor… Germie Bernard was fantastic. He showed that he can get open at any level of the field, and he has the best hands on the team. Nice job Germie. The line was OK. Run blocking wasn’t great, but pass blocking was good most of the time, though I was expecting more.
My main problem with the offense is the was the playcalling. As far as the scheme goes, it was pretty good. Simpson is a much better fit for the system than Milroe was. But the playcalling… Ughhhhhhhhh. We abandoned the run game way too quickly. It worked SO well in the 1st drive. Why did we stop? It was just like last year. We have one or two bad runs, and then we just give up. Also, how did the O-line suddenly forget how to shoot off and play smash mouth football? I play RG, and when I start the game with a good drive, I build on that. Having that mental edge on the guy across from you is huge, and yet somehow Bama’s line (which is supposedly one of the nation’s best, yeah right, way to get my hopes up so called “experts”) got complacent and let FSU’s D-line retake momentum. Grow a pair, put on your big boy pants, and push people around. These guys should be able to dominate almost anyone in the country, especially a team that went 2-10 last year.
With all that said, the defense was even worse. My football team has been having trouble lately. On the d-line, we have been rushing way too far up field, and it is taking us out of the play. We aren’t scraping the line, we’re turning our hips, and we can’t set an edge. We’re a 2A Utah High School Football Team. This is Alabama and they are having the exact same problems. I get it, Tim Keenan (a pre-season All-American by most publications) was out. He’s our best run stopper, but these guys should know basic fundamentals. My DC would be losing his mind right now. Oh, and don’t get me started about the LBs. Do they even know their gap responsibilities? Do they know pursuit angles? Do they know how to cover crossers without man turning, thus letting Castellanos run right past them? I used to look up to Deontae Lawson. I thought he was the baddest man in Alabama, but that was embarrassing. He sucked. Not as bad as Justin Jefferson, but geez. This was 2019 Alabama levels of bad LB play, but at least that team had effort. It seems like no one on this defense wanted to make a play. They were just waiting for someonelse to step up, but no one did. The secondary was pretty bad too, but FSU didn’t pass very much (they didn’t need to) so it wasn’t as embarrasing for them, but what was that rotation? Why rotate DBs at all? I get that Bama supposedly has a lot of depth at the position, but that doesn’t mean that all of them should get snaps! DBs should expect to be in the game the entire time. Keon Sabb, Bray Hubbard, Domani Jackson, and Zabien Brown. No one else unless you bring in a 5th guy on a passing down. 4-2-5 (sometimes 4-3) really doesn’t seem to work for this team. It seemed like we were running through molasses the entire time. Switch to a 3-4 or a 3-3-5. Here’s what I would do:
End: LT Overton
Tackle: James Smith
Nose: Tim Keenan (obviously out for yesterday, but for when he comes back)
Mike: Deontae Lawson
Will: Justin Jefferson
Sam: Qua Russaw (he would be a hybrid LB/EDGE guy)
NB: Cam Calhoun (cuz Zavier Mincey sucks)
CB: Domani Jackson
CB: Zabien Brown
S: Keon Sabb
S: Bray Hubbard
We need to know our personell. We don’t have the dudes on the d-line to run a 4 man front. You know what scares me most? This isn’t the last dual threat QB Bama has to face. Castellanos was just a preview. Gunner Stockton, Diego Pavia, Beau Pribula, Joey Aguilar, LaNorris Sellers, John Mateer, and Jackson Arnold can all run. The only break Bama gets against these kinds of QBs is against LSU, who might be the best team in the country after seeing them play against Clemson.
Speaking of LSU, the real cherry on top of this *awesome* week 1 was that all of Alabama’s rivals did amazing. LSU’s defense is back, and their offense is still awesome, so they might be my new no. 1 depending on what Notre Dame does tonight. Auburn seems to be great at the line of scrimmage and can run the ball with the best of them (after seeing what FSU did, I shutter to think about how yesterday would have gone against Auburn). Tennessee’s offense might be better than last year, cuz apparently Nico just isn’t very good. Georgia played against one of the worst teams in the country, so I’ll what and see about them. Ughhhhhhh.
On the other side of things, I am excited about basketball. The roster looks a lot different, but should still be a contending squad. Philon and Holloway should be one of the most deadly guard combinations in the country, and I am really excited for the return of Latrell Wrightsell.
At least Nate Oats knows what he’s doing…
JacobErwin.com 