UAT's offense

[Ranger12 46]

Why is their running game, which was supposed to be their offensive strength this year struggling? I admit, JPW has surprised me so far this year. He isn't blowing away the conference in passing, but he is getting the job done as a first year starter. If it was not for him being able to move the ball, UAT may be starting at 3 losses instead of one by now. Shula is screwing up their red zone defense but getting all conservative when they get there. UAT is going to have a very long season if their running game does not pick up and Shula keeps on calling the plays for them.

[CircleDrill 178]

Oh come on now. This is the bammer we expected to see last year, except they came out on the lucky side until the last two games.

I am not surprised a bit.

So far, I have not seen any posts blaming this on probation. So maybe the bammers are actually coming to terms with reality in some sense, that Bama = Ole Miss.

[Ranger12 46]

Oh come on now. This is the bammer we expected to see last year, except they came out on the lucky side until the last two games.

I am not surprised a bit.

So far, I have not seen any posts blaming this on probation. So maybe the bammers are actually coming to terms with reality in some sense, that Bama = Ole Miss.

Yeah, but at least their rushing offense was working most of the time last year.

[Argo 8]

Why is their running game, which was supposed to be their offensive strength this year struggling? I admit, JPW has surprised me so far this year. He isn't blowing away the conference in passing, but he is getting the job done as a first year starter. If it was not for him being able to move the ball, UAT may be starting at 3 losses instead of one by now. Shula is screwing up their red zone defense but getting all conservative when they get there. UAT is going to have a very long season if their running game does not pick up and Shula keeps on calling the plays for them.

Jimmy Johns

19-115 6.1ypc

I'm still not sure it's the running game that's the problem. The few times Johns has been called, he's picked up yards. Against Hawaii....against Vandy......and against Arky today.

I don't have the answer, but I know the outcome if things don't change.

[PChamp119 96]

I agree - their running game destroyed Arkansas' defense - at least from what I saw in the fourth quarter (it is all I saw)

[Ranger12 46]

The running game did do a decent job in this game, but overall, for the whole season, it has been JPW being able to move the ball. But, even with the running game working today, what happened when the got into the redzone again? Is Shula and Rader just not calling the right running plays inside the 20?

[MrMoJo 0]

They need to name their quarterback:

John Parker Bubba Wilson Junior III

I'd love to hear those CBS announcers gush over that name. Can't call him just Wilson like they call our Cox.

[CircleDrill 178]

Well, they won a nailbiter against Hawaii. They won a nailbiter against Vandy. They lost a nailbiter to Arkansas.

That is just about the same level of play as last year, honestly. Maybe they had a little more luck last year. I don't see any 31-3 whoopings of Florida this year, however.

I don't think they are overrated. They are probably right on the top 25 bubble where they belong.

The problem is they have all been drinking the koolaid and buying the hype for too long. Don't worry though. If there is one thing I know about bammers it is that the koolaid will be back sooner than you think.

It will go like this:

A couple of days from now, they will start spinning this into somekind of "this was good for us" moral victory. Then it will turn to "we will bounce back from this because we are Alabama," whatever that means. Then it will be "look at our tradishun and we are the greatest program in football...the barn isn't even close." Then, once again, the kool aid will be flowing freely just in time for a whipping by a big-time SEC team or two, or 5. But this time it will be sympathy points for Sheila and their team... kind of like when your dog poops all over the carpet but you can't spank it because it is your dog and you love it eventhough it poops all over the carpet. And then after the season, they will give him another raise and another contract extension to strengthen the image of "stability."

It will all be OK.

[WinCrimson 61]

Well, they won a nailbiter against Hawaii. They won a nailbiter against Vandy. They lost a nailbiter to Arkansas.

That is just about the same level of play as last year, honestly. Maybe they had a little more luck last year. I don't see any 31-3 whoopings of Florida this year, however.

I don't think they are overrated. They are probably right on the top 25 bubble where they belong.

The problem is they have all been drinking the koolaid and buying the hype for too long. Don't worry though. If there is one thing I know about bammers it is that the koolaid will be back sooner than you think.

It will go like this:

A couple of days from now, they will start spinning this into somekind of "this was good for us" moral victory. Then it will turn to "we will bounce back from this because we are Alabama," whatever that means. Then it will be "look at our tradishun and we are the greatest program in football...the barn isn't even close." Then, once again, the kool aid will be flowing freely just in time for a whipping by a big-time SEC team or two, or 5. But this time it will be sympathy points for Sheila and their team... kind of like when your dog poops all over the carpet but you can't spank it because it is your dog and you love it eventhough it poops all over the carpet. And then after the season, they will give him another raise and another contract extension to strengthen the image of "stability."

It will all be OK.

No moral victory to it.

Nutt schooled CMS today. We had the better team (even though we are very mediocre) but simply got outcoached. Losing games like this/giving Rader a raise tell me that Shula's days are numbered in Tuscaloosa... and frankly, I'm starting to think that is a good thing.

Firing him would absolutely KILL our recruiting for this season. But looking longterm - a change might do us some good. As much as I hate to say it.

[Ranger12 46]

No moral victory to it.

Nutt schooled CMS today. We had the better team (even though we are very mediocre) but simply got outcoached. Losing games like this/giving Rader a raise tell me that Shula's days are numbered in Tuscaloosa... and frankly, I'm starting to think that is a good thing.

Firing him would absolutely KILL our recruiting for this season. But looking longterm - a change might do us some good. As much as I hate to say it.

Not that I like to give UAT any good ideas, but if Shula ever does get the boot and Bobby Johnson is still at Vandy, the PTBs are UAT would be fools to not consider him. I bet that man could do some good things with the talent at UAT.

[BamaGrad03 0]

wincrimson, im so glad you arent making the decisions in ttown. You are a typical knee jerk reaction fan.

Name one coaching move nutt made today that outcoached Shula? Was it the 30 yard dead on field goal that Tiffin missed where he out coached us? How about the 35 yarder? OR maybe the 37 yarder?...oh no..it was the extra point that was missed where nutt showed his stuff.

Get a clue dude. Im sure you were ready to fire stalllings after year one too.

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

Houston is making a living off the inaccuracy of other team's kickers right now.

Arkansas fans are in a quandry tonight. Happy about their win, but quite perplexed as to what all this means in the soap opera that is "All The Broyles' Men".

Will Houston and Gus ever decide who's calling the plays?

Can Reggie and Markuson get over their jealousy of Gus and Mitch?

Is Mitch sleeping with Frank's new wife?

Tune in next week, fo "As The Hill Turns".

[BamaGrad03 0]

Arkansas sucks. Plain and simple. Bama gave up 9 points on defense and dominated that game. A WR holding call and a WR false start pushed us out of field goal range in one trip (we would have had 1st and goal on the 2). And then we miss 4 freaking kicks. Arkansas didnt have any part in any of that. We just didnt execute.

A team with a little less youth and a little more killer instinct will handle them with ease. Mustain isnt half the QB JPW is right now.

Auburn beats Arkansas by 17.

[Ranger12 46]

Arkansas sucks. Plain and simple. Bama gave up 9 points on defense and dominated that game. A WR holding call and a WR false start pushed us out of field goal range in one trip (we would have had 1st and goal on the 2). And then we miss 4 freaking kicks. Arkansas didnt have any part in any of that. We just didnt execute.

A team with a little less youth and a little more killer instinct will handle them with ease. Mustain isnt half the QB JPW is right now.

Auburn beats Arkansas by 17.

So, not trying to be a jerk, going by your comment, are you saying you guys suck really bad because a team that sucks just beat you? Not trying to be funny or anything like that, but when you read your post, that is what is sounds like.

Nutt did not outcoach Shula, because that means Shula would have had to do some coaching. Shula forgets how to coach when UAT gets in the redzone. Nutt got lucky, because he did nothing as far as coaching goes to win this game. Like BG3 said, UAT handed them a win.

[CircleDrill 178]

OK, didn't this same scenario happen early last year(minus the loss)? Then UA finally figured out how to score against UF. Then the rest of the year he just forgot, but they still got lucky. Until the last two games when luck was not enough...

I sure do not envy you guys this week trying to prepare to go to the Swamp.

[BamaGrad03 0]

Arkansas sucks. Plain and simple. Bama gave up 9 points on defense and dominated that game. A WR holding call and a WR false start pushed us out of field goal range in one trip (we would have had 1st and goal on the 2). And then we miss 4 freaking kicks. Arkansas didnt have any part in any of that. We just didnt execute.

A team with a little less youth and a little more killer instinct will handle them with ease. Mustain isnt half the QB JPW is right now.

Auburn beats Arkansas by 17.

So, not trying to be a jerk, going by your comment, are you saying you guys suck really bad because a team that sucks just beat you? Not trying to be funny or anything like that, but when you read your post, that is what is sounds like.

Nutt did not outcoach Shula, because that means Shula would have had to do some coaching. Shula forgets how to coach when UAT gets in the redzone. Nutt got lucky, because he did nothing as far as coaching goes to win this game. Like BG3 said, UAT handed them a win.

Totally fair question. No i dont think we suck. I just think we are knocking on the door (see dominating total yards, passing offense, first downs, etc) but we have some rough edges still when it comes to executing. And that is amplified in the red zone. Where its tougher to execute because you are playing against a short field.

I think we are still young in some areas and will get better with experience. I think shula has put us in a position to win every game this year going away, and guys just didnt do quite what was needed.

Im VERY happy with how JPW and the receivers are playing. Pass protection seems much improved. And the defense is still pretty dang good. We just got to avoid holding and fumbling in the red zone...and maybe hit a straight on 30 yard field goal from time to time.

[Ranger12 46]

I agree with you on JPW and the receivers, BG3. I think that has been the only highlight of UAT's offense this year. Darby apparently has his mind elsewhere, and rightfully so. Johns is looking like he may need to be the guy to get the touches.

However, taken your comment from the other thread because I don't feel like posting in that thread anymore , I don't buy the groin issue with Christensen. I know the mechanics of kickoff and field goals are a little different, but if you have a groin injury, both are still too similar that it should affect him on kickoffs if he is still injured. You may not have to plant on a KO like a FG, but you still come to a slight plant when you kick the back and you actually become airborne for a second and have to land. If a groin is bothering him too much to kick FGs, it should be bothering him to much for KOs.

[AUslug 1]

wincrimson, im so glad you arent making the decisions in ttown. You are a typical knee jerk reaction fan.

Name one coaching move nutt made today that outcoached Shula? Was it the 30 yard dead on field goal that Tiffin missed where he out coached us? How about the 35 yarder? OR maybe the 37 yarder?...oh no..it was the extra point that was missed where nutt showed his stuff.

Get a clue dude. Im sure you were ready to fire stalllings after year one too.

The play where Arky's offense came out and pitched it back to the running back and the oline was standing on the los while Bama's defense was loafing and the Hogs picked up a big first down. Nutt had them doing that in practice this week because of the new clock rules while Shula is thinking, "What new clock rules?".

[CircleDrill 178]

Let's not forget either that after 3 quarters, the score was Arky by a touchdown. Once Bama tied it with about 13 mins to go, Nutt called timeout and tried to run his trick play. It was a good idea, but they could not make it work for a big gain.

So, I'm not buying the "we dominated them in every phase of the game" story that some are using.

This was a bad outing for Alabama. There is just no way to spin it into something positive. They have two choices: 1) keep trying to spin it and suffer a meltdown or 2) get pissed off and get better. Time will tell which they choose.

[ECEstudentUA 9]

Let's not forget either that after 3 quarters, the score was Arky by a touchdown. Once Bama tied it with about 13 mins to go, Nutt called timeout and tried to run his trick play. It was a good idea, but they could not make it work for a big gain.

So, I'm not buying the "we dominated them in every phase of the game" story that some are using.

This was a bad outing for Alabama. There is just no way to spin it into something positive. They have two choices: 1) keep trying to spin it and suffer a meltdown or 2) get pissed off and get better. Time will tell which they choose.

I agree with you. Bama played like crap.......not prepaired at all......We need to get pissed off and try to get better, or we will get our a$$es stomped in the ground in gainsville on sat.

Its not going to be a fun week or weekend for coach shula and company......i really dont see us bouncing back and really giving UF a game.

As for Tiffin, I hope he can look past yesterday and realize that its one game....he had a bad day.....it wasnt his fault....the team as a whole stunk yesterday (game never should have come down to field goals).

[GalensGhost 0]

wincrimson, im so glad you arent making the decisions in ttown. You are a typical knee jerk reaction fan.

Name one coaching move nutt made today that outcoached Shula? Was it the 30 yard dead on field goal that Tiffin missed where he out coached us? How about the 35 yarder? OR maybe the 37 yarder?...oh no..it was the extra point that was missed where nutt showed his stuff.

Get a clue dude. Im sure you were ready to fire stalllings after year one too.

This is the funniest thing to me. Two weeks ago, the comparisons were between Shula and Bryant. All the way down to "have you noticed how much they look alike!?? It's EERIE.

The offense has trouble moving the ball and struggles against middling competition, and it's "remember 1992? This team resembles that one so much it's eerie! Will beat Arkansas 31-10 or more."

Now, after a loss, it's "remember Stallings? You wanted to get rid of him when he lost three games and then he went 31 straight without a loss. What's happening now is so much like that, it's eerie."

Do I think Alabama got out-coached yesterday? Nope. But I didn't think either team was particularly well-coached. I saw two teams (watched the replay after I came home from AU) that were just about even talent-wise. I saw, at least to me, a dearth of real play-makers on both sides of the ball for UA. I saw a team that's going to have trouble running the ball this season and one that may have serious trouble when it runs into a team that has some athleticism at corner and safety and can play Brown/Hall. There are teams like that in the SEC. I saw a team that would make a good play or two and then wanted to take a few plays off. Wilson was okay, better than Mustain, but I'm not ready to hand him the Heisman.

And FWIW? The "youth" excuse that's been floating around for four years now doesn't have a single hair left. The team is NOT that young. It's just as seasoned/experienced as any other in the SEC right now. "We're young" is a crutch.

[BamaGrad03 0]

Wilson was okay, better than Mustain, but I'm not ready to hand him the Heisman.

Wilson was okay? What? Wilson was awesome. He had 245 yards and 62 rushing (less the sacks) and 3 touchdowns vs no INTs. He also went 15/16 over the final 3 quarters. With the lone incompletion being a ball he threw away to avoid a sack.

And if houston cant cover Brown, i dont see a corner in the SEC shutting him down. That guy flat out shut down Everett from vandy and Jarret from USC.

You can say we played poorly, or even that we arent a good team right now. But to say JPW is just ok and that Brown and Hall arent playmakers, is completely off base.

[AUHansel 0]

They need to give Johns some more carrys. Darby just isn't getting the job done right now. But the line isn't looking very good thus far either.

[GalensGhost 0]

Wilson was okay, better than Mustain, but I'm not ready to hand him the Heisman.

Wilson was okay? What? Wilson was awesome. He had 245 yards and 62 rushing (less the sacks) and 3 touchdowns vs no INTs. He also went 15/16 over the final 3 quarters. With the lone incompletion being a ball he threw away to avoid a sack.

And if houston cant cover Brown, i dont see a corner in the SEC shutting him down. That guy flat out shut down Everett from vandy and Jarret from USC.

You can say we played poorly, or even that we arent a good team right now. But to say JPW is just ok and that Brown and Hall arent playmakers, is completely off base.

Yeah, Wilson is okay. I certainly wouldn't go so far as to call him "awesome".

You'll see some corners shut Brown down. Arkansas isn't what you'd call the cream of the SEC defensive crop. USC went into that same atmosphere with a brand new quarterback and lit up Arkansas' defense for 50. Took them out early. It's ridiculous for you to think that ripping off 23 points in four-plus quarters against a suspect Arkansas defense qualifies for putting anybody on a pedestal. But if it makes you feel better to do so, knock yourself out.

[BamaGrad03 0]

Galen, thats not what im saying. I dont think our point total is impressive at all. But heading into the season, everyone was saying how we were going to be suspect at QB because the guy had no experience.

But after 4 games, Wilson has a 162 passer rating and is only behind Leak, Russell and Ainge. All guys with plenty of weapons and experience.

USC's booty threw 15 more passes for 20 more yards. JPW also ran for 62 yards (after sack yardage removed). USC's top receiver had 72 yards. DJ had 144 and keith 96.

There's nothing JPW has done to indicate that he's just ok.