9/7 Kent State Game
At long last, the 2011 football season is underway, and Alabama opened their season with a 48-7 win over the completely outmanned Kent State Golden Flashes. It’s hard to take too much away from this game simply because the opposition was so weak, but it’s probably a good thing that we started with an opponent of that caliber, because we have a lot of newcomers that really needed to get their feet wet while still playing with a proverbial net.
Of course, the main thing that most Bama fans were watching was the ongoing QB duel between AJ McCarron and Philip Sims. AJ got the start, but both got substantial playing time. I wish I could say that a clear leader emerged after the game, but really, both QBs had positive and negative moments. Don’t get me wrong; I have eyes. I know that AJ had the better game, but I’m not sure that any of us saw enough to point at one QB and say, “Hey, that’s the guy that’s going to take us to the national championship!” That being said, I do believe that AJ has probably shown Saban enough to be named the starter for the Penn State game, so if I had to guess, I’d say that the job is his to lose for now. I realize that I have been preaching the merits of Sims being our QB for some time now, but I trust Saban to make the right choice (as if my approval mattered in the least!).
If there was one point of concern on Saturday, it was clearly the play of the offensive line. We can make excuses all day long, but when all is said and done, there is no reason for our offensive line to struggle against a team like Kent State. I hope that the juggling we saw all day was simply our coaches trying different combinations, trying to find one that worked, but my concern was that they never tried the combination that I believe would be our most effective. For some reason, they seem to be absolutely set on having Steen play right guard, which is the one position where we excelled on the offensive line last season with Barrett Jones. Now Jones is floating from position to position, but not the one position where he is a pre-season All American. I know I don’t see everything the coaches see, but I really wish we’d try the Cyrus K, Warmack, Vlachos, Jones, Fluker lineup, just to see how it would work. With that lineup, we’d have 4 returning starters at the positions they played last year, with the only newcomer at LT. Hopefully the coaches found something good they can lock onto, because if the line play doesn’t improve significantly, we’ll lose to Penn State.
The defense looked about like I expected. I don’t think they played at the absolute top of their game, but I did see the abundance of talent that I was hoping for. The only points we gave up were on a 3-yard drive after an interception, and other than that blip, I never really thought Kent State had any chance of scoring whatsoever. Again, I know it was only Kent State, but I didn’t see anything on Saturday to make me change my prediction that this would be our best defense since 1992. Note that I’m saying “since” 1992, not “including” 1992. This unit has the potential to be truly great, but I don’t think we have the ability to generate a pass rush from the defensive line like we could in 1992. I wouldn’t trade this group of linebackers for any we’ve had before, however. And until we get the QB and O-line issues resolved, this defense will have to play at the top of their game if we’re going to achieve our lofty goals for this season.
Before I close, I want to mention a particularly bright spot that I noticed on Saturday. Remember in my preseason preview where I said our running backs would take a step back without Ingram? I still stand by that, but I think I’ve greatly underestimated Eddie Lacy. As a matter of fact, I’m going to make a bunch of people mad and say that I think he’s our best running back right now. I know that Richardson was supposed to be the one that eased the pain of losing Ingram, and I’m still a huge fan of his game, but to be honest, I feel better when Lacy is in the game. He’s seems to have better vision, better moves, and he seems to in general be more explosive. Regardless, I feel much better about our RBs now. We’ll know a lot more after Saturday, so I might do a complete 180 (or I could imitate Lacy and do a 360), but as of now, we’re looking good!
We have a very tough game next week as we head up to College Station to play Penn State. Can any of you name the last time we played a game north of the Mason Dixon line? Look it up; it’s shocking! Hopefully the geographical challenge won’t affect us, because we’ll have our hands full with Penn State even without any external distractions. They’re big, tough, and physical. Don’t get me wrong, we’re the better team, but we’re still maturing, and I’m not sure if our offense can handle the pressure if Penn State gets an early lead. We’re playing with fire by scheduling a game like this early in the season, but I think we’ll be all right. By Saturday night, we’ll know a lot more about our team.
That’s it for now. As always, feel free to send me any questions or comments. Until next time, Roll Tide!
Kenny
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