re: My thoughts on the first game, what are yours?

Overall, we played really well for the opener, and I'm very encouraged by what I saw.

Qbs- Coker had a great first start. He was rattled early by the Wisconsin pass rush, though so was our OL. But once the offense settled down and got a few plays in, they progressively improved, and were dominate in the 3rd quarter. Coker was tackled pretty easily. He just needs to learn when to just get rid of it. But I'd much rather him take a sack, than try to force a play that isn't there

He made good throws on short and medium routes. Even his longs balls were solid. The Wisconsin DB made a great play on the Ridley pass. 9/10 times, that's a completion. I blame Stewart on the overthrow. He misjudged it and hesitated. Otherwise, that ball was on the money. The deep pass in to the corner was terrible. It hit the DB's back, right in between his numbers. If he was playing the ball, that's an easy interception. Throw it right, it's a touchdown. That was his only huge mistake last night, imo.

I'm really looking forward to seeing Coker develop over the season.


Bateman had a good first series, that was well orchestrated by Kiffin. But after that, it became obvious why Coker is #1. Cooper didn't seem to be able to go through any progressions. It was first option, or bust. We ran a run play into an obvious blitz, because I think the staff didn't trust him to call the audible, and we just took a loss. He has good potential, but didn't look as poised and comfortable as Coker. But he's also younger.


Rb- Henry is officially a bad motherfricker. He busted his arse in the offseason, improving his balance and lower body strength. He didn't go down easy, and is the monster we remember once he gets past the first level.

Drake is who we thought he was, and that's why he took the damn field. He's quick and fast, with underrated strength. D Coordinators didn't enjoy watching him and Henry compliment each other last night.

WRs- We don't have that Cooper level star, but there's playmakers all over the place. Years end, this could be our most WR squad we've had under Saban.

OL- shaky to start, but after a couple possessions, they just kept getting better and gelling more. Kelly and Robinson are looking particularly great. I feel good about this group. Much more than last year.

The D is just nasty. They weren't perfect, and coverage could improve. But Stave also played a helluva game. He threw several 10-20 yard completions, that were right on the money. Paul Chryst really helped him since he was hired. Of course, being a three year starter and RS senior, his experience showed, and he played with confidence and poise. He was just severely overmatched. I think our secondary will be fine, especially when we aren't stacking the box almost every down.

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CCTider

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Pretty much agree with your analysis. I was worried about the pass protection to start off, but it seemed to get more cohesive and better as the game wore on. To be expected with the new starters. I think they could be really good by the end of the year.

All in all, I think it was a pretty good game against decent competition and an 18 pt win against a ranked opponent is always a good thing. I was glad to see a lot of people get a lot of playing time when it still mattered. Usually, it seems that the reserves don't go in until the last couple minutes. It was nice to see extensive playing time for them and will do nothing but help down the road.


eta- Oh. I LOVED our kick return coverage.. seems we always give up something big in the first game of the yr, and they pretty much stuffed the return game.

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Secondary wasn't last year's hot garbage but it still isn't very good

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I don't get the bitching about the secondary unless it involves talking about the penalties.

If anything I would blame the linebackers for Wisconsin's success through the air. All they were doing was finding a linebacker lined up on a RB/TE and dinking & dunking up the field. Their actual WR's barely made any catches at all.


We made adjustments at half time and completely shut down their short passing game. Once we shut that down, you saw the pressure we started putting on the QB.

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You guess???

Maybe I'm too demanding or I have unrealistic expectations. But I would think a frickin 5th year senior should know to throw the ball away rather than taking 2 sacks for a 30 yard loss. Maybe thats too much to ask.

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Well, Saban said the sacks weren't Coker's fault, that's why I said I guess.