What exactly did you expect? Richt never really attacks these sisters of the poor and the efforts are always a little sloppy and unfocused. We had some particularly sloppy plays in the first half that made the game a little closer than it should’ve been for a little longer than it should’ve been, but the game was never really in doubt. We got the win, we had no major injuries, we move on.

About the WC game

I’m not even going to bother here…any attempts at reading into anything into that performance would be just wasted time and considering I’m on vacation right now, frankly I don’t want to. Let’s just say it wasn’t quite as polished as what we were looking for against such an overmatched opponent. Giving up 3 first half field goals wasn’t good although one came off a deep fumble.

Bama Offense

This is a balanced Bama attack that has had success at various times this season on the ground and through the air. Against the best defense they’ve faced so far (Arkansas [4]) they put up over 40 points, a week after managing only 24 against Vandy, with 7 of those coming from a punt return for TD. It’s still early, so it’s tough to say whether last week’s performance was more Bama being good on offense or Arkansas being bad on defense.

At QB, Jr. John Parker Wilson has really established himself as a capable passer after going through an on-again off-again sophomore season where he replaced Sr. Brodie Croyle. Coming into this season, he had a respectable 19/10 TD/INT ratio, but he’s already thrown 3 INTs this season. His season completion percentage of 56% is pretty much right in line with his career numbers. He’s somewhat mobile, but at times can become too deliberate, getting sacked in each game this season despite playing behind a solid OL. Last season he was sacked 27 times. I think he’d prefer to play Arkansas every week, as his two starts against them have arguably been his two best. He’s not the kind of QB that’s going to wow you. He’s steady and does a good job of getting the ball to his playmakers.

At RB, the Tide rolls out redshirt Freshman Terry Grant. At 5-10, 188, Grant isn’t huge, but he’s shown a knack for toting the rock early and often. He’s averaged over 20 carries per game for more than 130 ypg so far with a nice little 6.5 ypc average. He has 5 TDs through two games and has the speed to take it the distance every time he touches the ball. How explosive is he? He’s had a carry of 35 yards or more in each game this season. He’s just a good solid SEC RB…the kind that Bama seems to always have (Alexander, Darby, etc.). He caught 5 passes in his first two games but none last week. His backup Glen Coffee is a solid backup, averaging nearly 6 ypc with 2 TDs so far and on pace to gain over 600 yards rushing so they are in good hands when he’s on the field.

At WR, Bama has some solid options although their go-to guy is banged up some. DJ Hall is having a tremendous season so far but got beat up some last week. The senior is a big-play threat, with 13 catches and nearly 300 yards through 3 games, including 172 yards and 2 TDs against Arkansas last week. He’s averaging over 22 ypc this year. Matt Caddell, Mike McCoy, and Earl Alexander all provide excellent depth. TE Nick Walker has 2 TDs on the year out of 8 grabs. He’s averaging under 7 ypc, but when you couple that with the fact that a quarter of your catches are going for TDs, you’re an obvious redzone threat.

The Bama OL is the best we’ve seen this season. So. LT Andre Smith is living up to his billing as the #1 OL recruit in the country 2 years ago after starting every game at LT since he’s set foot on campus. At 6-4, 340, he’s a mountain that’s surprisingly agile. His backup is a senior with 25 career starts. That must be nice. The left side of the line is particularly steady, with Smith, Jr. Justin Britt (20 starts) and So. Antoine Caldwell (28 starts). RT Mike Johnson is the only newcomer, as RG Marlon Davis started several games to end the 2006 season. This is a solid, veteran OL that’s played well this season.

Bottom Line: Bama brings the balance you want in an offense. They have a solid passing attack with a true downfield threat, a steady QB, explosive RB and best of all, a proven OL. Our defense has played pretty well this season, but I don’t think we know yet what we’ve been up against this year. Given the strength of their OL (and the success that SC had at times), I’d expect them to run it at us and try to wear us down. We’re pretty strong up the middle and we’re light at DE and have gotten some suspect OLB play this season, so I’d look for them to go there, taking a shot downfield regularly to keep our safeties back.

Key Matchup to watch when they have the ball: We need Ellerbe and Washington to have big days. If Bama gets Grant rolling early, that will open them up more for the play-action stuff up top to Hall. If we can put them in 3rd and long, I like our chances, as we’ve had some success there this year (it was the 1st two downs we struggled on against SC).

Bama Defense

Normally here I’d tell you about Bama’s national rankings in pass defense, run defense, etc. but that won’t be the case this week for a couple of reasons. One, it’s too early in the season to get a good feel for how good a team is because of too varied a competition level. Two, Bama played Arkansas, a team that has the ability to make your run defense appear porous (McFadden has that effect on lots of folks), while making your pass defense appear incredibly strong. And three, this is their first year under Saban, so looking at last year’s stats won’t do much good either. Basically, Bama has a defense that I would say is comparable to ours. Solid, not spectacular. They play a nominal 3-4, which would be a bit of an oddity in the SEC, but apparently it’s by name only, as one of the “LBs” plays with his hand down, a lot like we did a few years back when Antonio Cochran was listed as a LB for us the whole year and I don’t think ever logged a down standing up.