Lethargicville,Al.
Well, looks like CNS called it before it happened. Most Tide fans we watched the
game with could not figure out why we simply didnt line up and just pound
the rock, non stop. It was more than obvious that when we have film to watch on a
team, we can dissect them pretty good and get really prepared. It seems giving a team
like Tulane time to prepare, they will give you all you want for as long as you let them
hang around. We could run the ball effectively, but to me it seemed that for whatever
reason, we were bound and determined to make JPW throw the ball. Only God knows why...
I am of the opinion that JPW would overthrow Manute Bol. Trust me. He had Julio wide
open, and all he had to do is put it with in 2 yrds out in front, Julio would go GET it....but
in prime JPW style, the ball was behind Julio, and even behind the defender....I know we
had a few injuries on the line, but hell, our 3rd string should be able to block and move the
ball on the 3rd best team in Louisiana. My hat is off to Tulane, lucky for us we have
a few more playmakers, or that ugly game would have been 10-6. Defense played as well
as expected since they were on the field alot, and had to deal with an uptempo, one step and fire type offense to offset any pass rush. I am interested to see the Tulane-ECU game over watching
another sluggish performance against an inferior opponent. I guess we are further away from having a solid team. We cant play in the SEC like this without getting the brakes beat off of us, even by Arkansas. Maybe they are trying to show or not show new wrinkles in the offense, I dont get it. I also know that JPW cant seem to tell, based on down and distance, when he will get the shit knocked out of him on a blitz. After a few of the good licks he took, I bet he will make a mental note of it. If he had more awareness, and based on the Madden scale he would be a 12 out of a 100, he could have simply stepped up or made a "football move" and got out of the way.
Thank God we had Arenas. The motto for this game could have been "How to win with Special Teams"......since that is what kept us afloat til Javier tried to do a little too much and was a sitting duck for a helmet to helmet concussion. I will say this, the refs were consistent....they didnt call helmet to helmet the 5 other times it happened either. Mark Ingram looked good as usual and he plays with a huge chip on his shoulder. In 3 yrs, this team will be scary good. Like the Happening, when the Tide blows into town, people will start offing themselves.
I think we get back to basics, get everyone healthy, and run the ball, play solid Defense, and we should make the Georgia game worth our while.
