Bama
I do like the talent on this team a lot, but they haven’t come together just yet. I’ll say this, Colorado State really fought the Tide tooth and nail. I’ll give Jim McElwain a lot of credit. He came in with a good game plan and his team played tough, hard-nosed ball with the Tide. They got pretty good pressure on A.J. McCarron is a classic drop back passer, a Peyton Manning, Tom Brady-type. Honestly, that’s the kind of quarterback play I like if you have a good running game. A.J. isn’t great on the run. He’s made some plays scrambling and has shown some proficiency at running the ball, but he’s most comfortable throwing from the pocket. He still made some good throws, a couple of nice long ones to DeAndrew White, and I loved the quick hitter to Chris Black, who turned it into a 14 yard TD. I really think Tide fans are going to like Chris Black. If Amari can get back to full health and not drop the ball any more, with Black, White, Kenny Bell and the underrated Kevin Norwood along with the emerging O.J. Howard at tight end, this passing game is going to be special this year. Gotta run the ball better. T.J. is stellar. There is no doubt in my mind about that. He’s proven. He just needs to get in a rhythm when he’s running the ball. When he does that he excels. His suspension, which was deserved, threw him off a little bit Saturday Night and the whole running game just wasn’t there. Still expect big things from T.J, this season. Kenyon Drake still looks to me like a guy who can help in the running game. Maybe S wants more size at running back to compliment T.J., that’s what I’ve thought since watching the first three games. He doesn’t trust Drake totally as the backup to T.J. But the kid can get it done when given the opportunity. You work him in and get Fowler some work and see if Altee Tenpenny or Derrick Henry can step up. That’s probably what S wants, one of the bigger guys to step up. But Drake makes a pretty good case for some carries. We’ll see how that develops this weekend vs Ole Miss (6:30 PM ET/5:30 CT on ESPN). I thought the line did OK. Still need to get that chemistry and physicality a little more developed, but I think you can say that for the whole team. Chemistry needs to improve to reach their goals of winning titles this season.
Defense played OK. I really like Landon Collins. He’s a player. He’s all over the field. He’s a big time guy. I expect him to get some ints this year. He’s going to get more and more playing time. He deserves it. The dline is still a mystery to me. Just not getting the rush they need to get yet. There’s a lot of talent there, but they’re still developing. Adrian Hubbard needs to step up his play some and Jeoffrey Pagan and Ed Stinson need to be more active and make more plays. Still a lot of talent there. Again, just need to develop, but it’s time now. Linebacker is decent. C.J. Mosley really needs to take leadership of this defense or Sunseri or Clinton-Dix. Maybe it takes all three. Probably does. Cornerback is still an issue with injuries and underperformers. This weekend will be a very good gauge on the defense. Need to really home in this week in practice and get prepared for an explosive offense led by quarterback Bo Wallace, running back Jeff Scott and wide receiver Donte Moncrief. Major test for the Tide. I see a lot of points being scored once again. The Tide is favored by 16 1/2 in the early line, so we’ll see what the wagerers think as the week progresses. This looks like a shootout in the making.
AU
I liked the fight of the group Saturday Night in Baton Rouge. I thought Nick Marshall really competed hard. He threw a couple of ints, but threw a couple of really nice deep balls, one a beautiful 52-yarder to Sammie Coates that hit Coates in full stride. Really like the way Nick throws the deep ball. Needs to brush up on his intermediate passing and make sure he takes care of the football. In fairness to him, it was a rainy night and the ball was slipping some. Tre Mason had an awesome game running for 132 yards and two scores. Mainly, I just liked the way the Tigers fought throughout the game. It was impressive. Defense gave up some big plays to Jeremy Hill, Mettenberger, Landry and Beckham, but that’s going to happen to every team LSU plays this year. Those guys are all NFL players. I think Zach Mettenberger has gotten it together and he’s thriving under new OC Cam Cameron. He looks for real to me and those playmakers around him are fantastic players who will win a lot of games for you. The LSU offensive line looks really good too. This LSU-Georgia game is going to be an epic. There should be some offensive fireworks. Will have previews and predictions on Thursday. Georgia is a three point favorite, but I don’t know how you stop that LSU offense. Both defenses have their work cut out for them to say the least.
AU is off this week before playing Western Carolina and going to A&M. A&M will be tough. The swing games left are Tennessee and Arkansas, both on the road. Ole Miss is a possibility for a win at home, but that’ll be tough too. Florida Atlantic is a win, and Georgia and the Tide will be tough games. Seven wins looks realistic with eight a possibility. Of course with UT and Arkansas both on the road, despite the fact that UT is not there and Arkansas is a decent team but beatable, it’s tough for a team that’s making a full recovery from last year. There’s talent there and the coaching looks good. I’m just concerned still about AU’s defense and Nick on the road despite the fact that I’ve been impressed with his play. AU looks headed to getting back to a higher echelon in the SEC in the next year or two. Seven wins would be a good season this year; eight would be excellent.
Looking forward to LSU-UGA at 3:30 PM ET/2:30 CT on CBS. That should be a fun game. Another interesting game to me is South Carolina at Central Florida. That game kicks off at noon ET/11 CT on ABC. I’m looking for a really good game there. UCF beat Penn State at Happy Valley a week ago Saturday, 34-31. I know Penn State isn’t a powerhouse right now but they won eight last year and their coach, Bill O’Brien, has done a good job there. They’re 3-1. UCF is for real to me. They’re 3-0. I watched them in the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl last year in St. Pete and they were really impressive in a 38-17 victory over Ball State. Their quarterback, Blake Bortles, is for real. He looks like an NFL quarterback to me. He’s 50-of-70 this season (71.4%) for 816 yards and seven TDs against one int. George O’Leary is a proven coach. He can get it done. He had good teams at Georgia Tech and he’s built a really good football program at UCF. They’re going to give SC some problems. SC is really good on offense, but suspect on defense right now. Not sure what’s going on with Clowney. He’s got a foot problem, so that is certainly hampering his performance this season. Need to get more out of him and the rest of their defense to have a shot of getting to Atlanta. They’re going to need some help too starting with LSU this weekend.
Wisconsin at Ohio State could be an OK game. Wisconsin’s a pretty decent team. What can you conclude about the Buckeyes so far? Urb beats Florida A&M 76-0. That’s classy Urb. I know he’s trying to gain the attention of the pollsters and position himself for the BCS title game, but man, put on the brakes against a team that has no shot and is so outmanned. Wisconsin could be a pretty interesting game. Brett Bielema left them with good talent, and I like Gary Anderson, the head coach. He came from Utah State where he did a good job, almost upsetting AU a couple of years ago in the opening game of the season. He’s good. So this could be a pretty good game. Wisconsin lost to Arizona State in a really poorly officiated game at the end that cost them the victory. James White is an excellent running back. They’ve got a good team.
Oklahoma at Notre Dame sets up to be a pretty good game. Stoops needs to get this one. A&M goes to Arkansas, in what could be an interesting game. Arkansas lost at the end to Rutgers on Saturday, but played with their backup quarterback which kept them from winning. Their starter, Brandon Allen, is a good player. He should be back this weekend. A&M is only a three-point favorite which is a little surprising. Manziel and company should be able to put up some points, but this could be a pretty good contest. Arkansas is better than people thought they’d be.
Stanford played well Saturday Night in beating Arizona State convincingly and they go to Washington State Saturday Night. Could be interesting there.
NFL
The stories of the weekend were the Bears and the Colts. The Bears had two more defensive touchdowns last night in a 40-23 victory over the Steelers. That’s now 10 since the beginning of 2012. It’s unreal. Jay Cutler is playing with a ton of confidence with Marc Trestman as his head coach. Michelle Tafoya asked Lance Briggs last night before the game what Trestman has brought to the table for the Bears this season, and Briggs said, “he’s clutch.” He’s getting it done and so is Cutler and the Bears defense. This team looks special.
Andrew Luck and the Colts’ defense just dismantled the 49ers yesterday at Candlestick. The Colts are the real deal and the Niners have problems, namely at the quarterback position. Colin Kaepernick is NOT getting it done. Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman have their work cut out for them getting Kaepernick to perform up to last year’s level. He’s really been a disaster so far this season. So has RGIII.
Meanwhile, Cam had an excellent game yesterday as the Panthers pummeled the Giants, 38-0. Cam was 15-of-27 for 223 yards and three TDs against one int. I like this Panthers team. I think they’re playoff-caliber. Feel really bad for Eli and coach Tom Coughlin, who lost his brother, 63-year old John, last week in a freak fall out of a taxi cab. I really like Coughlin. He’s an excellent football coach as two Super Bowl titles suggest. Hate this for him. Just a real struggle for the Giants right now.
The Seahawks look good, but they’ve been winning at home, which has been a tremendous advantage for them. They beat Carolina on the road to open the season then blasted the Niners last week and the Jaguars, a terrible team, yesterday. They’re for real no doubt, Russell Wilson looks very good right now, but I need to see them on the road some more. Same with the Dolphins. Pretty impressive win over the Falcons yesterday to move to 3-0 and they beat the Colts at Indy which is very impressive, but I need to see some more of them on the road. So far so good though.
Saints playing very well. They’ve got Sean Payton back and that alone puts them back in the Super Bowl hunt.
Broncos at Oakland tonight. Peyton and Broncos playing very well. Broncos 35-21.
Thought the Tide played excellent defense and ran the ball well. Kenyan Drake looks like a good second back for ‘Bama. T.J. had a 100-yard plus game and so did Drake. I know S and the staff would like to get a bigger guy in the rotation, but Drake is making a strong case for himself. Defense was fantastic. Dominant. By far the best performance they have had this season. “Sunshine” was critical of the defense particularly the corners last week, but the Ole Miss quarterback now ought to take a hard look at himself and see if he can get it together for Saturday at AU. He’s got his work cut out for him Saturday ( Ole Miss @ AU, Saturday at 7 PM ET/6 CT on ESPNU). I thought freshman corner Eddie Williams did an awesome job. The whole defense played well. Just dominated. Saturday host Georgia State at 11:21 AM CT on SEC Network. A.J. played well enough. Needs a little more time in the pocket, but I thought the line played pretty well overall. Now with Ryan Kelly out Chad Lindsey will be called on to play the all important center position. I believe he’s up for it. Did a good job Saturday. I noticed T.J.’s and Kenyan’s long runs were both over the right side. Anthony Steen and Austin Shepherd played well. Line coming together.
