QB: A+ Zach Mettenberger was simply outstanding, making several tough throws look quite easy. The one in the corner of the endzone with blanket coverage should have brought back memories of Auburn in 07. His movement in the pocket is getting better and better, and he threw under duress out to the backs very effectively. RB: B+ A near 5 yard average per rush attempt. Hill looked good right off the rip. Hilliard even looked good in back up duty, hopefully that trend continues. Three real nice catches out of the backfield by the running back/fullbacks was really nice to see. The plays looked smooth and polished. WR: A 12 catches for another 230 yards and 5 TDs. Odell. Beckham. Junior. Enough said. The lone detraction from the grade was the lost fumble by Landry. TE: B A couple of complete passes out to the TEs were another welcome sight. We need to see this trend continue as well. OL: A- Nice consistent attack all night long by the O-line. Kept Mettenberger clean. Run blocking was solid, although it took a back seat to the passing game. Wow, I can't believe I just typed that. DL: B- Again, a lot of activity at times from the D-line, but not getting to the QB with any consistency. Some big gashing holes as well in the running game was a bit disconcerting. There isn't enough havoc being created by this D-line. Freak appears to be playing at much less than 100 %. We need him to be healthy and dominant if we're going to be that great D-line of the past 10 years. We did register a couple of sacks from this unit. LB: C Way too many big running plays given up. We did have some impact plays like Barrow getting to the QB and a couple of good run stuffing plays early on, but again the consistency is not there with this unit. DB: C+ Two disastrous plays by Jalen Mills, one on run defense and the other on pass defense. Maybe the safety should have been able to help out with the deep touchdown throw, but he was beaten pretty badly. The run play he simply gave up contain to the outside which was his responsibility on the 3rd down run for a TD by UAB. Outside of the big play for the touchdown pass, UAB did very little damage through the air. There were also 2 passes that should have been intercepted. Those plays down the road need to be made. Special Teams: A+ Coverage was very good, and the highlight was the brilliant decision by Beckham to run that missed FG for a touchdown. Beckham also had a near punt return for a TD. A really nice 60+ yard net punt was another highlight for this unit. It was nice to see several kickoffs that were not returnable deep in the endzone. Coaching: A- Offense gets an A+, with Cam Cameron doing a terrific job with the game plan and the confidence Zach showed in executing that game plan. Defense was another story as we had a severe lapse in the 2nd quarter of play.
The pass-blocking from this OL so far has been about as good as you'll ever see. Funny because that was their weakness last year. Run-blocking has actually underwhelmed a bit. Zach breaks a record but barely breaks a sweat & doesn't have to wash his uniform. Anyone still taking a "seeing is believing" approach WRT Cam??
I thought the backers played better than the secondary, Loston took a terrible angle on a big run, as did Mills on a TD run, no safety help over the top when Mills got beat long and Jalen Collins continues to show his weakness is covering anything over 20 yards. Ronald Martin and Dwayne Thomas both dropped sure interceptions. Still these are fixable issues, and this D will only get better with more experience. I'm also surprised you didn't mention Rasco and Jordan Allen. They both had big games on the end.
Yeah I mentioned how they were "active", well the D-line in general. But someone like Allen is just not going to be an impact player. He has a non-stop motor (God I hate that expression), but it's true in his case. He won't ever take a play off. He just doesn't have that burst to get to the QB quick enough. He will have many "he almost got to the QB" moments this season. I was excited about Rasco coming into this season, but I have to admit I am underwhelmed by his play. He also doesn't have that B-line to the QB kind of attack. I like Hunter the most in terms of potential ceiling. He rates higher than Allen or Rasco in my book.
Agree on Kwon. Again, in terms of ceiling, he is at the top of my list with the LBs. Barrow is solid and should provide the leadership for this group. The LB corps so far is a head scratcher. On one play they look good (or someone from the group stands out). The next play they are out of position or missing tackles.
They played so much better this game than they did TCU though. Most of the running issues weren't really their fault, there was some really shitty tackling going on by people other than them.
If we can't dominate Kent State and CAUSE SOME TURNOVERS, then I think the concern for this unit will continue. We need to get some confidence heading into the SEC schedule that this can be a defense that can create havoc and cause turnovers. We have not shown that as of yet.
