Alabama Football: Report Card Grades for the Tide's First Game

Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer) Despite the lopsided score, which was expected, there were still areas of concern that Nick Saban could point to.

He was not in the best of moods Saturday after the game when we interviewed him and Saban himself helped us come up with our grades by pointing out the lower ones.

Quarterbacks

 Overall, you'd have to give the two-headed quarterback a "C." There were overthrows on both quarterbacks' part and just some first-game jitters.

Individually, A.J. McCarron would have had a "B." He looked poised, had good pocket awareness, didn't take a sack and hit the throws he should have, some very well. He had two picks like Sims, but one was a perfectly thrown pass that went off the tight end's two hands and deflected perfectly into a defender's.

Phillip Sims, at times, had no pocket awareness, with silly sacks and very poor decisions. Saban was especially hot over one interception that they had talked about being extra careful when they threw that route. Sims would have to grade out a "C-" for his work.

Running Backs

 Though no one back had a great statistical day, all were effective in doing what they were asked to do and would be given a solid "B."

Trent Richardson didn't have the numbers, but when you punch in the touchdowns from near the goal line you won't get numbers, just scores.

Eddie Lacy looked like the back of the future and showed his adeptness at catching the ball too and Jalston Fowler had some great runs against a very tired defense.

Receivers 

  Overall a "C." Just an average day. Saban was upset over ball control issues and dropped passes. Still, Maze showed his senior leadership and had a good day.

If you're looking for good news about the receivers, it would be potential. The young guns in the corps showed great promise.

Offensive Line

You'd have to give them a "B-," and for a line touted to be one of the best in the nation, that was a very disappointing grade. They did allow a sacks, but you'd have to give Phillip Sims an assist on that and they just didn't seem to blow the defense off the line for much of the day.

That could have been because of the constant substitutions and no one getting into a rhythm or having the chance to gel.

Once Saban decides on a starting line up, they'll all start learning how to lean and trust one another.

Defensive Line

 A solid "A." The only way they could have earned an "A+" was more sacks and holding on the goal line after the Sims interception.

Though they too substituted frequently, they never missed a beat and the depth should scare opponents the rest of the year.

Linebackers

A solid "A." They too substituted often and were all but seamless from first to second teams.

They had devastating hits and kept backs from catching balls out of the backfield. Again, the depth here is just scary. One freshman, Trey DePriest, was the SEC freshman Player of the Week.

Defensive Backs 

I might have said an "A," except that Saban was so upset over the few balls they did catch so I'll give them a "B+."

Overall, they had a fine day, but as Saban was too quick to tell us all, they had their lapses and one total failure to cover a man.

Special Teams

"B" would be a good grade. Cody Mandell finally got consistent punting the ball and there were no shanks, Cade Foster did miss one long field goal try, but Jeremy Shelley hit all his.

Vinnie Suneri was a special team beast on kick and punt returns and you have to also give a shout out to fellow freshman Trey DePriest who made some jarring hits on special teams.

Overall Team Grade

 You'd have to say they turned in a solid "B" performance. Personally, I think Saban was happy they weren't on their "A" game so he could motivate them for future games.