9/21/12 Arkansas Game
Yes, I know I’m late writing this blog, but let’s be honest; no one reads these anyway, so who cares if I’m late? Anyway, Saturday Alabama demolished the Arkansas Razorbacks 52-0. Well, I say it was the Arkansas Razorbacks, but in reality, it was more like a dumpster fire that burns where the Razorbacks used to be. Seriously, as much fun as it was watching Bama in all its glory, I couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed for the Razorbacks.
As has become the norm, we started out a little sluggish, but when Arkansas failed to execute that punt snap leading to a Bama TD, the floodgates were opened, and even though Arkansas had a few opportunities to score, they were never really in the game after that point. We took a 24-0 lead into halftime, a 38-0 lead into the fourth quarter, and even though we tried our hardest to avoid it, we scored twice more in the fourth to make the final 52-0. At the end, we were so far down in our depth chart that we were playing a 6th-string walk-on at running back. Actually, he’s not even 6th-string. If push came to shove, we would move Blake Sims back to running back and play him, so in reality, we were playing our 7th string running back.
Anyway, instead of going into detail on this train wreck, I want to make some general observations on our personnel. First, our defense has a slightly different look than I expected going into the season. It appears that Nick Perry has earned the starting free-safety position, which surprises me. Clinton-Dix still gets plenty of playing time, and Vinnie Sunseri appears to be a hybrid safety/nickel-back/linebacker, but Perry seems to be our primary option at FS. So far it’s hard to argue with the results; I hope Perry becomes the ball-hawk that we’ve become accustomed to seeing since Lester had that role.
The biggest surprise to me on defense is a pleasant one however, because it appears that we are going away from the standard Jack/Sam outside linebacker configuration and going with more of a configuration where both outside LBs take on both roles, and we’re manning those spots with Adrian Hubbard and Xzavier Dickson. Personally, I love it. We can send either or both LBs at the QB to provide consistent and unpredictable pressure, and either/both can drop back into coverage. It’s a credit to Saban that he found a way to get both of these guys onto the field at the same time. I certainly support that decision – both of these guys are too talented to keep off the field.
My favorite part of the game was the very end, when he had almost all freshmen and sophomores on the field. Really, our last two recruiting classes have been phenomenal, but I when I look at our youngsters out there together on defense, and I see LaMichael Fanning, DJ Pettway, Denzell Duvall (who got a beautiful sack), Jeoffrey Pagan, and Geno Smith, I can’t help but think that our defense in two years might be on a level with the 2011 group. Big words I know, but these guys have the talent to do it. Have I mentioned how glad I am that Saban is our coach?
Finally, I want to give some credit to Eddie Lacy, who looked better on Saturday than he has all year. Maybe he’s getting over his nagging injuries. I certainly hope so, because we need a bruising, physical back now that Jalston is out for the year. Lacy and Yeldon (with a little dose of Hart) provide a potent RB combination as long as Lacy stays healthy, and we’re going to need him as the year progresses.
I won’t prolong this blog any farther. Consider this me taking a knee so as to not run it up anymore on the hapless Hogs. Next week we face Florida Atlantic, who should actually provide a stiffer test than what we got from Arkansas last week. Hopefully our younger players will get some more quality playing time, and most importantly, we get out of this game without any substantial injuries. Assuming ESPN3 doesn’t flake out on me, I’ll be able to watch the game and post another blog next week. Until then, feel free to send me any questions or comments.
Kenny
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