Alabama Football: Observations That Shouldn't Be Forgotten at Arkansas Game

Larry Burton (Syndicated Columnist)

There are many things I'm afraid Alabama fans may forget in the euphoria of the Tide's 24-20 comeback win. And in no particular order, let's examine a few things good and bad to remember.

1. Though it would appear to the casual fan that Dre Kirkpatrick saved the day with his last few minutes to go interception of Ryan Mallett, it was more like him saving his own skin from the coaches for the repeated torchings he took during the day.

Arkansas decided early to pick on Kirkpatrick and it paid off handsomely.

Not only was he burned on some running plays, but he was totally burned on several passing plays, especially the one where he was fooled on a double move. He also has some sloppy tackles to explain in the film room when they review.

Still, just like the team, he never lost his composure and he made the big play when the time came. He earned a little redemption for that, but still has a lot of learning to do before he can be relied upon by the Tide.

2. Greg McElroy had a very un-McElroy day but he never lost his composure. He is a different quarterback that went into a funk last season during a slump and has finally learned to not get down on himself and simply concentrate on the next play and series.

That "been there, done that" confidence was obvious in his facial expressions and his body language. That had to have a calming effect on the whole team.

3. Dareus may be back, but is he really back? Clearly he's not playing his best and I could only find two plays I considered outstanding by him. He lacks explosiveness and he missed a few tackles, and much of that was before he hurt his ankle.

By the second half, it was hard to believe that he was still in the game. His backups had to be better than what we were seeing in his play.

4. Speaking of a step slow, there's an unspoken sort of uneasiness about the play of Dont'a Hightower.

While doing an excellent job of moving the defense around and running the defensive line, his pass rush is non-existent and he seems to have trouble keeping up with even fullbacks in pass coverage.

Though he's playing and making lots of tackles, especially in run support, it's obvious he's not back to 100% as of now.

5. Though Julio didn't have a great game, he didn't have a case of the dropsies this week. I couldn't help but notice that although he didn't have a big day catching the ball, he was noticed making several key blocks for others.

Julio is an asset even when he isn't touching the ball.

6. It looked like Saban woke the team up at halftime. At halftime Saban got with Kirby Smart and did away with the defensive game plan. It wasn't working and the players were confused and often out of place.

So they decided to go to something simpler, do more man to man, take your chances that way and increase the pressure on Mallett. It was their belief that Alabama had more muscle and the backs could make a play if they had to.

He placed his faith in individuals and not in defensive schemes and it worked. Once Mallett was hit, he started getting happy feet and the defensive backs didn't let anyone out of their sight with one to one coverage.

After the game, Saban's comments were a warning for the future. He said once in his book the most dangerous thing a team can have happen is to win while playing poorly, because it may make them think they can do that always.

At least they have lots of film on what went wrong, but they have very little time to correct it before Florida.

7. For the comeback to have been so sweet to Alabama fans, the real victory was due to Arkansas getting a few ill timed penalties, some dropped balls and just a few awful throws by Mallett.

Though Alabama did come down the field and win it in a late drive, the Hogs imploded as much as Alabama won it.

Florida won't do that, they know how to play like a champion.

8. A name you didn't hear much, and someone who may have been the game hero was Nick Gentry. He got the one good lick on Mallett that, in my opinion, turned the game.

After getting drilled hard in the chest by Gentry, Mallett had happy feet the rest of the game and was never the same quarterback. After going for over 30 throws without a lick, Gentry's blow made him nervous the rest of the game.

9. The late week decision to put Nico Johnson in as a starter certainly paid off. He had a great game with his playing time last week and that helped, but this week's practice saw a man working so hard he could not be denied.

His eight tackles were almost all crucial ones and he never seemed to be out of place. Some of his tackles were stops that either stopped a score or a first down. In the first half, he kept things from getting worse.

10. Lastly, the offense did the little things in the second half that a good team is supposed to do, and that is do whatever it takes to move the chains.

The fact is that they converted so many third downs in the second half and made the tough decision of going for it on fourth down so easy for Saban with just seconds remaining.

In the fourth quarter, they were three for four on third down and one for one on fourth down and they moved the chains a total of eight times in the final quarter, scoring on every possession but the final one when the clock ran out.

You don't win games if you don't move the chains, and Alabama did that. Conversely, without penalties, Arkansas only moved the chains four times in the forth quarter.