The TIDAL Wave - Bye Week Edition
A few random thoughts going into LSU week:
Been on a diet and am having weird cravings. Anyone else have a hankering for corn dogs?
Went back and watched every game. The offensive play calling evolved greatly in the last 2 weeks. Can’t wait to see what Tommy Rees comes up with in light of this trend.
The offensive line is much improved especially if the second half of the Tennessee game is to be believed. They went toe-to-toe with a stud defensive front and were effective (even bullied them at times). All trending in the right direction.
The running game might be waking up. Roydell Williams is still “Mr. 3 yards in a loud of dust,” but Jase McClellan got off against Tennessee. Will be interesting to see the coaching decisions down the stretch. Will Justice Haynes be Jase’s stablemate for the rest of the campaign.
Jermaine Burton is Crazy Tony 2.0, and I for one am here for it! Love his fire. He needs to clean up the reckless plays, but he is returning from the witness protection program at just the right time.
Just as Burton is leaving witness protection, it looked as if Kool-Aid McKinstry might need to enter for his punt returning decisions. Kool-Aid’s indecisiveness cost his team crucial field position in the last two games. Bye week couldn’t have come at a better time. I expect he’ll get things cleaned up (and so does CNS who expressed confidence in him this week). If not, the future might just be now as Isaiah Bond looks to be waiting in the wings to get his shot.
Tommy Rees finally helped Milroe feel comfortable and establish a rhythm in the second half against UT, and it showed. Milroe, who has struggled to deal with pressure all season, made much better decisions in the pockets. His decision making and quick responses helped the OL tremendously. In addition, Milroe is finally working through his progression more consistently and effectively. Let’s hope the extra practice time this week was helpful as he prepares for what is sure to be his toughest test so far this season in LSU.
The defense remains the strength of this team. Hopefully this week is an opportunity to get right physically and to shore up what has made the defense Bama’s most valuable unit all season.
The strength of the strength are the Tide LBs. As expected, the OLB corps is elite, but the biggest surprise belongs to Jihad Campbell not because he isn’t extremely gifted but because of him making the switch to ILB since the spring.
Affable Nick Saban continues to make regular appearances in press conferences. Let’s see if he dresses up a cranky CNS for his birthday (Halloween), or whether the kinder, gentler CNS endures into the second half of the season.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Post your comments and feedback to continue the conversation.
