Bama Over VaTech in Deceptive Win

Let's start this article by saying that this was a hard fought win.  Bama had to earn every little bit of it and Va Tech was not too giving.  Now, I'll try to break this game down in sections focusing on position play/stats.

Quarterback

With this being Greg McElroy's first college start and first start in three years, he was rusty at best in the first half.  As a matter of fact, during one stretch, he missed 9 straight passes.  After the half, Greg calmed down, got into a rhythm and showed what most Bama fans would tell you that they already knew.  G-Mac is a wonderful leader, and a very skilled passer.  Yes, he went 15-30 (50%), but let's not discount the Hokie D, which is consistently one of the best in the nation.  For this to be his first collegiate start, I'd say that he performed pretty darn well.  Only a handful of times last year, did JPW approach 200 yards, and G-Mac went 30 over.  He made his reads pretty well, checked down decently, and didn't make too many mistakes.  His only fault that did not improve over the night was having "happy feet" which will improve with confidence in his line.  Overall, I'd say he passed this test and will have a couple of weeks off with two upcoming opponents that border on absurd (FIU and N. Texas). 

On to Va Tech's Tyrod Taylor.  Poor guy.....he looks and sounds a lot like Mike Vick, but without the leadership or skills.  He does not possess the Vick-like cannon arm, and he isn't particularly electric when he scrambles.  I will cut the guy some slack in seeing the defensive front he was playing against last night.  However, if he is truly the next coming of Vick....I'd say it's more like Marcus than Michael.  Stats were not very good, considering his wish was to show the nation that he can pass the ball

Running Back

I'd say that the Tide made major strides in departing from being a smash-mouth, ground pounding, two tight end, one back, between the tackles, running team.  The very first play from scrimmage was out of the "Wild - (insert cheesy name here)" formation with Mark Ingram receiving the snap.  This formation did nothing for the Crimson Tide rushing game netting 9 yards in 9 attempts.  Outside of the Wild-whatever formation, the Tide did an excellent job of running the ball.  They were in the shotgun most of the night, with some pistol mixed in (both of which are WAY different from last year).  Mark Ingram may very well be a Heisman candidate (if he can keep up last night's performance), and Roy Upchurch was a very capable relief back.  Ingram had a stellar night, racking up 150 yards rushing with a score and 35 yards with one score receiving.  Add to that, Upchurch's 90 yards rushing and you have a very productive night. 

VaTech's Ryan Williams will soon be a household name.  He's very fast and has great vision.  Last night, he managed to get 71 yards against a very stingy defensive front.  Outside of Williams, not much was positive for the Hokies, though and they ended the night with a dismal 64 total rushing yards.

Wide Receivers

All in all, Bama managed to spread the ball around a great deal last night, which is a departure from last year (see Julio Jones vs rest of 08 roster).  Jones had a productive night keeping safeties away from Darius Hanks and Marquis Maze.  Speaking of Maze, what an incredible talent he will be this year.  This guy is blazing fast, and he's probably 5'8" (with heels on), but he has great hands and gets open.  Overall, I think we should see more production as a whole from the WR spot this year if last night is any indication.

The VaTech receivers are a pretty good group, however, they have Tyrod Taylor throwing the ball.  This is their only drawback, and it keeps me from analyzing their performance due to his poor performance.  I'd say that, given any other QB, this group is adequate.  However, VT is stuck with Tyrod, so....I'll leave this one up to you.

O-Line

Bama's OL did not do very well in the first half.  No ifs, ands, or buts about it, they just flat stunk it up.  I think that the emergence of the Wild formation and the prevalence of the shotgun last night are a testament to Bama's lack of quality blockers up front.  They seemed to gel in the 2nd half, but still weren't the immovable force from last year's squad (not to say that they are expected to be).

VT's hog-mollie's did the best they could, but Bama's front 7 (and sometimes 8-9) were too much.  Once it was established that Tyrod would have to beat Bama with his arm (constant 3rd and longs), Saban brought the house.  These 5 guys didn't stand a chance.  I am sure they are just dying to get back to the ACC!

Defense

To Be Continued........

No time right now, so stay tuned!