Game Thread: ****Official A-Day Game Thread****

[JustNeedMe81]

My take?

Top priority is the development of a back up QB.

Blake is o.k. but needs to stop trying to force the action and start taking what the defense gives him. Right now though I think he's probably the only one of the back up QB's that Coach Saban would trust to manage a game if something happened to A.J.....but somebody needs to step up. I liked Morris's passing ability but I wish I could have seen more of the freshmen, especially Bateman and Del Rio.

The O-line looked o.k. but the defense was still able to put quite a bit of pressure on A.J. which concerned me.
This one's a wait and see.

I think our d-line will be better because we seem to have a lot more quickness and ability to pressure the QB.

Loved the receivers but I don't think Kenny Bell is close to 100% yet. Falkins and Black impressed me.

T.J. Yeldon will be an All-American. He's mighty darn good.

I definitely think Henry, if recovered, is an obvious choice as his back up.

The db's looked very good to me. Even though Cyrus got lost on Bell's TD he seems to have a very good nose for the ball. I think he'll help us.

I didn't realize Sunseri could run so fast. On his TD he was burning.

I can't imagine there being a better safety in college football than Ha-Ha. If you want to know where Ha Ha is just find the ball. That's where he'll be.

Collins will push Vinnie for PT if he develops a full understanding of the system. What an athlete he looks to be.

Cade Foster did good but I think our place kicker(PAT-FG) will be Adam Griffith. He's probably NFL bound some day.

Some mystery surrounds this team right now but I have a feeling it's going to be a mighty good team that scores a lot of points and gives up very few. 3 of 4 is definitely a possibility if all the pieces fall in place.

RTR!

sip

I concur. I think Lance and Vinne will split up playing time.... and Foster/Griffin as well.

 

[257WBY]

How did Sylve do yesterday?

 

[BradtheImpaler]

Personally, I love a sloppy A Day Game... more teachable moments for Coach Saban.

 

[IH8Orange]

. 3 of 4 is definitely a possibility if all the pieces fall in place.

If you're going to count percentages, it will be 4 of 5... and 3 straight. DT_Armataz_02_44:

Don't start counting on a bad year when there's a good one available just preceding it.

If we win another NC this year, we'll have some players wearing 4 NC rings. That would be unprecedented and incredible.

 

[BamaMoon]

Didn't get to attend this year but I did record and watch it Saturday evening. My additions to above comments:

1. Running backs situation is fluid except for TJ. I didn't like seeing TJ Yeldon so much...was scared senseless every time he touched the ball that he'd get injured. If Henry can get the blocking schemes down I'm hoping he gets plenty of attempts next year. It was awesome seeing the two number 3's sitting beside each other on the bench (Trent and Henry). Obviously, Drake is no slouch and might start for a number of SEC schools! And remember we have a couple more studs coming in this fall too!

2. Receivers: loaded for bear! Can't wait to see what the fall holds!!! Was real impressed with Howard too!!!

3. OL looked solid. Lot's of depth! They'll gel this fall!

4. Kicker: I loved Griffin's ball flight. Reminded me a little of Tiffin. I kinda hope CNS splits the oportunities for both next year like last year. I didn't like that at first, but it grew on me!

5. Dbs can only get better (real fast) by practicing against AJ and the best receivers in the country! Hear they have a pretty good position coach too! Safety is a position of strength!!!

6. And qbs: I really wonder if the no contact...two hand touch black jerseys hurt them. They are willing to take more chances just due to the fact that it's easier to stand in the pocket. Also, with so many splitting time they are all probably pushing to get ahead. Bateman struggled but he reminded me a lot of AJ...just the way he moves and his posture. Morris ought to be a little more ahead since he's a redshirt frosh (if I remember correctly). I think Blake is the change of pace guy, but if AJ goes down (shutter to think it) I imagine one of the young guns would get an early look to run the full offense but a possible championship year will turn to 2 or 3 losses most likely.

 

[DzynKingRTR]

if you watched on ESPN and not the replay on CSS you missed Saban's take on OT in a spring game.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

if you watched on ESPN and not the replay on CSS you missed Saban's take on OT in a spring game.

What was it?

 

[DzynKingRTR]

What was it?

cannot be repeated on tidefans.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

cannot be repeated on tidefans.

Can you paraphrase and sanitize it?

 

[DzynKingRTR]

Can you paraphrase and sanitize it?

Crimson team down by 3 and they seemed to be letting the clock just run down. Saban is barking at them to hurry up and exclaimed "We are not having any overtime!" There was just an expletive before the word overtime (not the F bomb). The funnier thing was Blackledge had just said aloud what happens in case of a tie. He just chuckled and said "I guess we are not having overtime." Then again later the players were taking their sweet time and Saban screamed about OT again.

 

[bamaslammer]

I like Alex Morris and hope the staff will invest some live action on him this season. I realize sims has a special skill set but if we had to play a good SEC team with his one dimensional game we will lose 10 out of 10 times. We simply aren't built to be one dimensional. Morris is the guy who is ready to actually run the offense should McCarron go down.

I was impressed with OJ Howard. He needs to add some bulk to endure the season but he's a game changer at H-Back in my opinion.

we have more at DB than I thought. We had four safeties that I think can start and win. Corner is different. We have one good one and two really young but seemingly very talented players, plus Fulton who will be a senior who has experience. I think if they survive the onslaught that they are going to get from Manzel they might have a chance to get us somewhere. That early test will be a bear however. I watched some of A&M's spring game and Manzel isn't a one year wonder. I don't think I saw a ball touch the ground.

I really like our linebackers. Ragland is just a beast. Hoping Devall doesn't have a sophomore slump. Ryan Anderson looked the part, didn't see him so much on the field. Hubbard was giving our tackles fits as usual. Getting Dickson and DePriest back would be good obviously. Dillon Lee appears to be a utility guy but he's very good in coverage.

I'm not sure about our defensive line. They held the point of attack well against the run but I didn't see any real pressure up the middle, they have identified that as a point of emphasis too. I really hate that DJ Pettway was apparently a moron because he brought something to the pass rush that we needed and no longer have.

 

[RTR91]

Missed about half the first quarter because I got to Tuscaloosa late (thanks to you slow drivers on 82). Here's my take on what I saw:

Nick Perry surprised me. I saw him in high school and knew he could play. However, he didn't do so well last year. He made plays on Saturday, though. Last year going into the Arkansas game, he commented how he was getting more comfortable in the system because he was playing more and that is necessary in CNS's system. That may be the reason for his progression along with some others. They need playing time to grasp what CNS wants.

TJ Yeldon possibly may have the most receiving yards for a Bama RB in one season. Not only did AJ check down to him several times, TJ had room to run. With Bama's WR group, TJ should have plenty of room to run after a check down pass.

Blake Sims tried too hard. Saban said post game he wasn't looking at all of his reads. I want Blake to succeed at Bama, but I'm not sure he will. By the time he gets into the game, Bama doesn't pass. Similar to what Perry said, Blake (any QB for that matter) needs the in-game passing reps to learn. Appeared on Saturday Alec Morris passed him for the #2 spot.

The secondary as a whole can play really well when it's playing against a very bland offense. Probably why the stats in the first two scrimmages were tilted in the offense's favor more than Saturday.