| 21 September 2010
The Game
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Oh man, that was fun. Yeah, I know that Duke has no defense at all, but I was seriously thinking this is the best crew of offensive weapons ever assembled in Tuscaloosa.
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OK, I know that I should not draw a terrific number of conclusions from nine carries against Duke, but I had two words come to mind watching Mark Ingram on Saturday. Barry and Sanders. Seriously. Barry and Sanders. The only thing that keeps me from saying that he is not clearly still the best runner on this team is that it was only nine carries against Duke.
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I think I’ve said earlier that I think Trent Richardson is probably better this year than Mark Ingram was last year, and I still think that is true. And we saw something new from him this week; we already knew about the top-end speed, but on the long second-half run, we got to see how long it takes him to go from picking-his-way-through-holes speed to top-end speed, and the answer is: blink and you’ll miss it. I kind of lost my breath when I saw that burst. Folks, that was an elite burst. His top-end speed is a hair short of elite, but the burst is not.
Still, almost certainly the second-best back on this team. Probably the second-best in the country, too.
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Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson vs. Thurman Thomas and Barry Sanders at Oklahoma State. Discuss.
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Julio Jones is coming into his own. Once again, yeah it was Duke, but he was a man among boys Saturday. A fast man among slow boys, to be more precise. He’s everything we thought he was coming out of high school, and if he stays healthy this year he’s grabbing that "top receiver in the SEC" label right away from that Georgia dude.
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Our other receivers were studs. Darius Hanks looks like he’s going to catch everything in the vicinity, and then take off with it. Even Chris Underwood and Earl Alexander made nice catches.
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Greg McElroy was stellar. Several of his completions were to guys who were covered, but Greg put it right in the spot where they could make a play and the other guy couldn’t. Those skills translate excellently from Duke to worthier opponents because there's usually a spot to throw it to no matter how good the D is.
Last year he also looked stellar early, then looked shaky mid-season. I’m not predicting a repeat of that. And oh by the way, in case you haven’t heard, he’s leading the nation in passing efficiency.
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A.J. McCarron: sweet read, quick release, and accurate dump-off to Lacey in the face of an untouched blitzer.
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Not nearly as much to talk about on D, but Dre Kirkpatrick showcased some really impressive body control and balance. And despite the skinniness, he’s long, wiry, and a lot more physical than you would first think. I believe he is, in fact, all that and a bag of chips.
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I don’t know if Nico Johnson has been injured, if there has been a doghouse situation or what, but after watching him Saturday it is not at all surprising to hear nxojkt tell us he’s running with the ones this week. His most impressive play was mauling and quickly dropping a running back who had just caught a flat pass.
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After that play, Nico promptly turned and walked away as if making a big play were not a big deal for him. But Darrington Sentimore got a little over-excited after making a nice stop of his own, continuing to go after the ball in a mauling fashion long after the whistle blew. Calm down, big feller, you’ll get your chance.
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Still a little soft against the inside run, especially compared to the '09 edition. Maybe the only place we've slipped this year. Well, duh, punt returns, but we're still pretty good.
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David Cutcliffe, who has seen Alabama play in the past, said this is the best Bama team he has ever seen. Of course, he has to say that, or else how can he explain a 62-13 that wasn’t really that close – but I’m not sure I can argue. (Meanwhile, folks, 2011 shapes up to be THE year for us. Heh heh.)
Around College Football
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First off, let’s stay in Tuscaloosa for a minute. Alabama started the season as #1 by default, and largely because no other team figured to be truly impressive. But at this point in the season, the Tide has clearly been the best team in America for the first three weeks. Ohio St. has staked out a decent claim to #2, but they haven’t shown what we have.
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It’s a tough question as to who is #2 in the SEC. But I think I’ll still go with Florida. Yeah, they have been unimpressive, but the talent is extreme, the coach is proven, they have avoided a loss, and my money says they are going to step up as the season goes along. They’ll sure get a big chance in a couple of weeks.
LSU looked a lot better this week, too, and of course Arkansas gets its big chance this week, after nearly blowing a solid lead in the 4th-quarter with some uninspired play against Georgia.
Speaking of all that, we might well be seeing #2, #3, and #4 over the next three weeks. Two of ‘em on the road. Certainly, no SEC team that is not on our 2010 schedule has shown much this year. If Bama makes it to Atlanta, it's earned, ain't no two ways about that.
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OK, and just for a quick peek at that inferior game they play in places like Green Bay and Oakland, a rookie linebacker you may have heard of did ">something pretty doggoned scary Sunday.
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