| 03 December 2009
The Alabama football team held its final practice of the week with a media viewing period this afternoon. The full pads practice was held inside the Hank Crisp Indoor facility due to Saturday's game being inside the Georgia Dome.
Here's what you need to know:
The injury situation looks to be good.
Mark Ingram led the running backs during individual drills and did not show any signs of an injury. It will be interesting to see how he responds the first time he gets hit on Saturday, but for now, he looks good to go.
The same can be said for Cory Reamer. He was running without a visible limp after missing some time with a bad hamstring. He expects to play linebacker and return to his normal special teams role.
Terry Grant is still doubtful, I'm guessing. He was out of the black jersey for the third straight day, but he isn't working fully with the other running backs.
One interesting note from individual drills is that Roy Upchurch was working ahead of Trent Richardson. Coach Saban has warned all along that the order of guys running in individual drills doesn't matter, but that order typically coincides with the depth chart. I don't think Trent has actually moved down the depth chart, though. I honestly don't know what this could mean - so it could just be an organizational thing.
The defenisve backs spent a good deal of time during the viewing period working on jamming and defending the short-out and short crossing routes that are staples of the Florida offense.
The defensive ends and outside linebackers spent time working on maintaining assignment when the tackle releases. The tackle is going to release on both the zone read and option plays (including the option play with the pass to the tight end), and it is imperative that Bama's players not over-pursue.
After seeing a lot of Ali Sharrief in the Auburn game, it looks as though Bama may be going back to Robby Green in the dime package. Florida is a team that gains a ton of yards after contact, and Green is one of the best pure tacklers on the team. It will be necessary that Bama not miss tackles, especially in the secondary.
Thomas Darrah worked as the scout team quarterback again, and he was once again working without the black jersey. Michael Bowman continued to emulate Aaron Hernandez.
The practice was, once again, very focused and intense. The Bama players aren't flying around hitting each other and jumping around with excitement. Instead, they seem to have a very stolid determination. They are practice with a purpose. And that's good news.
Bama's practices the remainder of the week will be closed to the media. We'll let you know if we hear anything important.
And again, in case you forgot... I hate orange.
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