Alabama took care of business yesterday against another overmatched opponent. The real test starts in two weeks when SEC play opens in Athens, but there was plenty to be encouraged about.
A few impressions:
Ty looks like the real deal
Don’t look now, but after yesterday’s performance Ty has raised his passer rating to 186, which leads the SEC and would have led the nation in 2024. He got off to a rough start in the opener, but has been nearly perfect the past two games. After Alabama got up by a couple of scores, it felt as if
the coaching staff removed some training wheels and let Ty cook. We saw him checking at the line and decisively distributing the ball on time and accurately. He used the middle of the field effectively, and perhaps the most encouraging play was the downfield back shoulder throw to Ryan Williams that made all the highlight reels. That is the kind of play that elite offenses are able to execute, and make life very difficult for any defender in man coverage.
Ty looked more confident than we’ve ever seen him, and if this version is what we are going to get from here on out, the season’s outlook is much more rosy. Now we just need to see it in a hostile environment.
We got the superstar version of Ryan Williams back, but he still needs to clean up the drops
Ryan was a human highlight reel in the game yesterday and the box score reflects that: five catches, 165 yards and two scores. He dropped a third touchdown however, on another route across the middle of the field. Ryan is an unreal player who does things that you rarely see on a football field, but inconsistent hands can prove quite costly.
Jaeden Roberts and Michael Carroll should be starters going forward
The running game is still a major concern, but it looked quite a bit better when Roberts and Carroll entered the game. It’s tough to imagine that they don’t lock down the starting jobs on the right side over the bye week. Both players add more beef to the line, and Carroll in particular is billed as a can’t-miss high first round prospect. The line just seemed to play a bit nastier when those two were in.
Kadyn Proctor is a star, but still gives up the inside too often
Proctor is a physical specimen who shows up on highlight reels, as he did on Ryan’s first touchdown.
Unfortunately, he is still letting guys cross his face a couple of times a game. Ty was able to get out of the pocket and burn Wisconsin on one such occasion, but it’s something that Proctor needs to improve on.
Bray Hubbard is becoming a leader on defense
Bray said last week that the criticism of his film from Tallahassee poured gas on a fire, and he played like a man possessed yesterday. When he’s flying to the ball and bringing the lumber, Bray is quite fun to watch. And, he added two interceptions as well.
The pass rush looked better, but still has room to grow
It was great to see the Tide get home three times in the first half yesterday, but there were still too few instances of an Alabama rusher whipping his man. Qua Russaw and Yhonzae Pierre both showed flashes, but the Wolf position needs to continue to improve for this defense to reach its ceiling. It was quite concerning to see LT Overton walk off the field with an “upper body injury” and somehow no one asked about him in the postgame press conference. Here’s hoping that it’s nothing major.
London Simmons has a bright future
We should see Tim Keenan III manning the nose against Georgia, but Simmons and James Smith looked quite explosive. For Simmons to be flashing this way as a true freshman in week three is exciting. Playing right away on the defensive line is challenging, but Simmons looked like a freshman Da’Ron Payne out there. May his career trajectory match Payne’s.
Don’t look now, but the college football regular season is already 1/4 of the way behind us. Three games in, we have seen this Alabama team play very well, and very poorly. The last two weeks were fun, but they came at home against overmatched opponents. Last season’s road struggles have been well documented, and the season opener did nothing to assuage fears that this team is another Jekyll and Hyde outfit.
Georgia managed to pull out a win in Knoxville, which is a feat. Their defense was exposed badly, however. It’s unfortunate that this happened before Alabama comes to town, but there are also some positional weaknesses that aren’t going to be fixed with film study. An elite offense will be able to put up some points on those guys. Is this offense ready to take that step?
We’ll find out in a couple of weeks, but for now Alabama fans are relieved at the bounce back from the disastrous opening act.
Roll Tide.
