Very well done. RTR LC
--- kurtrasmussen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Tide with solid performance in SEC opener > > > > > > Tide running back Ray Hudson ran for 116 yards and a > touchdown in Bama’s > win. > > > By: Daniel Rasmussen 9/12/04 > > Last week against Utah State, Alabama wasted no time > in coming out and > making a statement. They had the big plays, they > committed few > penalties, and they did not turn the ball over. All > positive things that > left Bama fans feeling good about their next game: > the SEC opener > against the Ole Miss Rebels. > > There is a slight difference, though, from playing a > team like Utah > State that went 3-9 last year, and playing a team > that contested for the > SEC West title in 2003. Not to take anything away > from Utah State: they > have a fine quarterback, and are much improved from > last year. But this > being the Tide’s first SEC game, you knew it wasn’t > going to be the same > as last week. That was evident from the beginning. > > Junior quarterback Brodie Croyle started off solid > again, but Alabama > began making careless mistakes. Alabama senior > tailback Ray Hudson > fumbled after trying to cut through traffic with > only one hand > protecting the ball. Brodie Croyle hooked up with > tight end Clint > Johnston for a first down, but an illegal shift > penalty brought that > back. Brandon Brooks attempted to return a punt by > fielding it off of a > bounce instead of calling for a fair catch, > resulting in the Tide’s > second turnover in one quarter. > > But as much as we can sit here and criticize > Alabama’s shaky start, we > can just as easily give them the benefit of the > doubt: it’s only the > second game of the season, mistakes will be made > this early. > > It’s Bama’s first SEC game this year, and you’re > going to have a lot of > guys trying to prove something. You’ll have players, > especially on a > team as young as Alabama, get too excited at times. > > However, after the Tide’s first two turnovers, they > handled their > offense very effectively. And as Alabama football > has been for quite > some time, a good offense began with the running > game. > > Yes, Brodie Croyle, arguably one of the three best > quarterbacks in the > Southeastern Conference, was firing those bullets to > our promising young > receivers early. But it was the running > back-by-committee between the > trio of Ray Hudson, Kenneth Darby, and Tim Castille > that relentlessly > ran it down the throat of the Ole Miss defense, > eventually tiring them out. > > Tide coach Mike Shula was forced to answer several > questions regarding > the status of the offensive line for most of the > summer. Justin Smiley > left the team after his junior season to apply for > the NFL, as did > Dennis Alexander. Alabama also lost their most > versatile lineman off the > bench in Atlas Herrion due to graduation. Despite > these setbacks, > Alabama has yet again showcased a very solid > offensive front in their > first two games. Even with Wesley Britt returning > from a broken leg last > season, Evan Mathis moving from right tackle to left > guard, and with > Kyle Tatum now on the line transferring from the > defensive side of the > ball. The hog mollies up front provided those holes > that our talented > running backs can find. The line isn’t spectacular, > but it’s looked very > solid. > > As sharp and consistent as Brodie Croyle looked with > his 169 passing > yards, and as dominating as the running game looked > with the triple > threat of Hudson, Darby, and Castille, the most > pleasing point of the > night had to be the defense. > > > What looked the best was Alabama’s > > aggressiveness. They moved to the ball very > > well and pressured Ole Miss quarterback > > Michael Spurlock, eventually taking him > > out of the game. Spurlock was held to > > only 54 yards passing, completing only > > 33 percent of those passes. > > The big play of the night came on > > a blitz thrown by Bama when junior > > free safety Roman Harper fired through > > the gaps, putting Spurlock in the turf, > > and the ball on the ground. The fumble > > was recovered by linebacker Juwan Garth. > > Alabama linebackers DeMeco Ryans and Juwan Garth > celebrate after forcing > a turnover. > > “We were blitzing from the outside. We switched and > called my number > from the middle. I didn’t know what happened until I > saw guys diving for > the ball,” Harper said of the turnover, which led to > a Bama score. > > Ole Miss head coach David Cutcliffe stressed the > fact that the Rebels > needed to establish a running game. Alabama’s > defense disrupted that > game plan from the get-go. Another positive from the > Tide defense, which > is prone every now and then to give up the deep > ball, is that they did > not allow the big play to happen, unlike last season > when these two > teams squared off, and a guy by the name of Eli > Manning completely > embarrassed the Tide. > > “We were anemic offensively again,” Cutcliffe said > after the Tide’s 28-7 > win. “But give Alabama credit, they had a good plan > and beat us in every > phase.” > > The Rebels also had two early opportunities to score > after Bama > turnovers, but came away with no points, thanks > somewhat to a rare miss > by the consistent Jonathan Nichols, the nation’s top > kicker last year. > > The Tide was solid on special teams as well. Bo > Freelend is quietly > emerging as one of the better punters in the SEC. > Jamie Christensen has > already been declared a crowd favorite for his > booming kickoffs (despite > one kick that went out of bounds in the game.) Brian > Bostick was perfect > in extra points, which may not sound like a lot, but > after seeing Oregon > State and LSU earlier this year, let’s be thankful > for what we have. The > one major setback was the fumble by Brooks in the > first quarter. > > Any win feels good, but this is a little better than > most. The victory > marks the first time in Mike Shula’s young career > that the Tide has won > back-to-back games. It’s the first time since 1999, > the year Alabama won > an SEC title, that the Tide’s started off 2-0. It’s > the === message truncated === __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Helps protect you from nasty viruses. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail ______________________________________________________ RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup! 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