Tide Tidbits – October 8, 2009

Make no Miss.-take — stick with ‘Bama
With quarterback issues at Florida, and Texas more or less being untested, it’s hard to even say how good those teams are right now. Which leaves us, of course, with Alabama. In a season filled with drama and surprises, the Crimson Tide — perhaps fueled by their awful end to last season — just keep rolling along. “We have been efficient in throwing the ball, and we have been effective enough running it and the balance that we’ve created has probably been the key to our success,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “A key to future success is that we continue to do that.” The Tide can play some defense, too. Alabama, in cruising to a 5-0 mark, has outgained opponents by at least 50 yards, and in three cases earlier in the season, by 300 yards. But, as always, there’s work to be done.

Freshmen may see action at Ole Miss
University of Alabama freshmen Nico Johnson and Tana Patrick could get playing time at weakside linebacker when the Crimson Tide faces host Ole Miss on Saturday. Since starter Dont’a Hightower was injured early in the Arkansas game, the Crimson Tide has compensated without using the freshmen, instead sliding senior Cory Reamer to Hightower’s weakside spot. UA coach Nick Saban said Monday that more players would be involved at linebacker, however, and mentioned the freshman tandem specifically on Wednesday. “Tana is making progress, Nico is making progress. We’ve really played Nico at both Mike (middle) and Will (weakside), so his learning curve is a little heavier than the rest of the guys,” Saban said.

Bama’s QB Bond
When Alabama’s new quarterback won his first game, one of the first people to congratulate him was Alabama’s former quarterback. A close friendship that formed during direct competition has endured now that current starter Greg McElroy and John Parker Wilson, departed starter-turned-NFL backup, have had their roles reversed in separate locations. McElroy still calls Wilson “one of my best friends,” while Wilson notes that he and McElroy still speak about once a week. It’s proof that the pecking order of the sport’s most high-profile position is not always defined by controversy. “I think he’s doing a really good job,” Wilson, now a member of the Atlanta Falcons, said this week. “He’s throwing the ball great, and he’s been doing a good job with the team, getting it to the open guys.”

#1 Alabama at #23 Mississipi (+5.5) 2:30 p.m. – CBS
A game some heralded as a sort of play-in game of sorts for the SEC Championship Game back in preseason, this contest has lost much of its luster with Alabama looking every bit a legitimate threat to Florida’s SEC crown and Mississippi looking anything but ready to compete for the SEC West crown. Jevon Snead’s looked far more akin to his freshman year at Texas than last season’s inaugural campaign as the Ole Miss starter. Pending him suddenly channeling a Manning or an epic performance for the ages from Dexter McCluster, look for Saban and Greg McElroy’s squad to take it in a less close than it appears 24-13 affair.

Attention to Jones makes a difference for other receivers
Greg McElroy wanted one message made clear this week: His job is to direct scoring drives, not direct The Julio Jones Show. The University of Alabama’s quarterback bristled a bit when the question of Jones’ production this season came up after the Playboy All-America wide receiver made just two catches for 13 yards in a road win over Kentucky last week. Jones has 133 receiving yards on the year, ranking just sixth on the team. But the UA offense as a whole hasn’t suffered for it, and McElroy let it be known why. “Just because Julio is not catching balls doesn’t mean he’s not involved. He’s very involved. He demands the eyes. Four eyes are on him every time we snap the ball. That’s two from a safety and two from a corner. He makes a difference whether he catches a ball or not,” said McElroy.

SEC offenses lighting up scoreboards
Alabama has yet to be held under 34 points. Auburn has scored more than 40 points three times this season. So has Arkansas. Florida is averaging better than 45 points per game. Even Mississippi State has scored 24 points or more in four of its five games. The SEC, a conference known for de fense, has been putting an awful lot of points on the board so far this season. SEC teams have averaged 31.4 points in 56 games this season. That’s up nearly five points a game from last year’s 26.8 average through the same number of games. “I think there are a lot of good offensive teams,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “I think sometimes that stuff sort of goes with the quarterbacks. It seems like there’s some really good quarterback play this year.”

Roll Tide!

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