Went back and watched the Bama game...

I knew Benny Brown had a big game, but good grief, he had an even better game than I thought. He was everywhere. Hell of a job by 42. I did not expect to see him have a game like that this year, if ever. Looks like he could end up being a stud.

Guys, DeRunnya Wilson is a blocking machine. On the Josh Robinson run around the right side where he bounced it outside and dove for the first down...Wilson came back and absolutely demolished one of the Alabama defenders to help Robinson pick up the first down. I really love the way that guy plays.

There was another run by Robinson where he ran up the middle, and Ashton Shumpert blocked one guy, then peeled off and realized Robinson was still running, so he pancaked another guy. It cannot be said enough how much of an impact these Freshmen and RS Freshmen are having when they get on the field.

And finally...I thought Jameon had a mediocre game, but apparently it was the punt return blunders and the drop late in the game that clouded my judgement....he made several big catches for us. One when we were backed up in our own end zone, and several others. There is no telling how bad our offense would be without Jameon Lewis this year. I just don't think he gets enough credit as a WR. Dude has absolutely become our go to guy on offense

I remember Jameon making several good catches at key times. It's always easy to remember the ones they don't catch. Those last two drops hurt (him and Bear). What I think hurts worse is being inside the 10 not getting a first or TD and getting a penalty that Saban accepted which gave us an extra shot at it. Oh and then we miss a field goal. That is what really hurt.

one problem WR's have is having to catch balls from different QB's. The ball comes at different trajectories, speeds, etc. If you are a top-notch WR, obviously it's not as big of a deal- but when you are developmental WR's like we have- it stands out more. I'm convinced this is part of our drop problem.

Wilson's miss of the ball William's threw him shows him clearly misjudging the speed of the ball. Williams threw him a laser and put it right where it had to be. Just something I thought of yesterday

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Originally Posted by Coach34

one problem WR's have is having to catch balls from different QB's. The ball comes as different trajectories, speeds, etc. If you are a top-notch WR, obviously it's not as big of a deal- but when you are developmental WR's like we have- it stands out more. I'm convinced this is part of our drop problem.

Wilson's miss of the ball William's threw him shows him clearly misjudging the speed of the ball. Williams threw him a laser and put it right where it had to be. Just something I thought of yesterday

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Good point. One thing we SHOULD finally get next year is consistency at the QB position. Hopefully no more revolving door. Injuries would be the only reason

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Originally Posted by Coach34

one problem WR's have is having to catch balls from different QB's. The ball comes at different trajectories, speeds, etc. If you are a top-notch WR, obviously it's not as big of a deal- but when you are developmental WR's like we have- it stands out more. I'm convinced this is part of our drop problem.

Wilson's miss of the ball William's threw him shows him clearly misjudging the speed of the ball. Williams threw him a laser and put it right where it had to be. Just something I thought of yesterday

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I agree I immediately said the same thing. Same for the ball to Jameon but if i remember right the first one was a little behind him.

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Originally Posted by CadaverDawg

And finally...I thought Jameon had a mediocre game, but apparently it was the punt return blunders and the drop late in the game that clouded my judgement....he made several big catches for us. One when we were backed up in our own end zone, and several others. There is no telling how bad our offense would be without Jameon Lewis this year. I just don't think he gets enough credit as a WR. Dude has absolutely become our go to guy on offense

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This is especially true. He has really developed from a WR standpoint. He just has no business in the punt return scheme. Even his high school coach couldn't depend on him from that aspect.

I'd give Redmond and maybe even Calhoun a shot on PR KR. Calhoun looked very good returning that pick.

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Originally Posted by Dawg61

I'd give Redmond and maybe even Calhoun a shot on PR KR. Calhoun looked very good returning that pick.

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What we really need Holloway to learn to how to catch so he can be the punt and kick returner. Every time I watch Trendon Holliday return a kick for Denver, I shake my head. That's what Holloway could be.

Holloway can catch? The KO where he got smoked the ball was short and took a backwards hop... Bama got a lot of breaks in the kicking game Saturday... People seem to overlook that when watching the game.


The one thing that stood out to me about Holloway getting smoked is he's a tough SOB... People thought he was too small... Bullshit... he needs to be out there in the slot too... Dude can take a lick

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Originally Posted by CJDAWG85

Holloway can catch? The KO where he got smoked the ball was short and took a backwards hop... Bama got a lot of breaks in the kicking game Saturday... People seem to overlook that when watching the game.


The one thing that stood out to me about Holloway getting smoked is he's a tough SOB... People thought he was too small... Bullshit... he needs to be out there in the slot too... Dude can take a lick

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Did say anything about that kick off being the reason that I said he couldn't catch? Way to assume man.

Plus, catching a kickoff is different than catching a punt, and their is mounting evidence from practice, games, etc, that Holloway has trouble holding on to the ball.

If I'm coach, my first concern when picking a punt returner is decision making and sure-handedness. I worry about that more than their ability to return the ball. So many decisions have to be made quickly (return, faircatch, let it bounce). Also a punt is tougher to catch than a kickoff. Many punts never get returned, so the ability to run with the ball isn't a huge deal. I don't like Jameon's decision making and he muffs too many. The punt that bounced around the 20-25 then rolled to the 1 yard line was a killer. You absolutely have to faircatch that. Look how some major colleges and NFL teams are putting a surehanded white guy back there who can make a good decision. Not necessarily a game-breaker.

Kickoff return is a different story. It is easier to catch and the coach can make the decision by telling the player before he walks onto the field if he wants him to take a knee or return one should it happen to go into the endzone.

Jameon had 3 punt returns that cost us 50-70 yards in field position. Think about that type of yardage for a minute against a team like Alabama.

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Originally Posted by ShotgunDawg

Did say anything about that kick off being the reason that I said he couldn't catch? Way to assume man.

Plus, catching a kickoff is different than catching a punt, and their is mounting evidence from practice, games, etc, that Holloway has trouble holding on to the ball.

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Not assuming anything? That was the one time the other night he had a chance to return a KO other than the Alcorn game where he almost took it the house.

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Originally Posted by Bo Darville

If I'm coach, my first concern when picking a punt returner is decision making and sure-handedness. I worry about that more than their ability to return the ball. So many decisions have to be made quickly (return, faircatch, let it bounce). Also a punt is tougher to catch than a kickoff. Many punts never get returned, so the ability to run with the ball isn't a huge deal. I don't like Jameon's decision making and he muffs too many. The punt that bounced around the 20-25 then rolled to the 1 yard line was a killer. You absolutely have to faircatch that. Look how some major colleges and NFL teams are putting a surehanded white guy back there who can make a good decision. Not necessarily a game-breaker.

Kickoff return is a different story. It is easier to catch and the coach can make the decision by telling the player before he walks onto the field if he wants him to take a knee or return one should it happen to go into the endzone.

Jameon had 3 punt returns that cost us 50-70 yards in field position. Think about that type of yardage for a minute against a team like Alabama.

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^This^

We need to let every WR and DB practice catching punts in heavy traffic, and make a decision from there. Hell, our blocking on punt return sucks anyway, so we don't necessarily need a game breaker as Bo just said. We just need someone that will fair catch the ball every single time, and never let it bounce unless it's inside the 10. I just want someone back there that doesn't make us all nervous when the ball is punted, and that will catch it every time regardless of traffic. I don't give a shit if that guy is Sam Cowart...put him back there. We have enough screw ups on our ST's as it is....no need in putting a guy back there that is known to screw up in the return game.

Therefore I expect to continue seeing Lewis returning punts this year and next year...it would make too much sense to get someone else back there.

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Originally Posted by CadaverDawg

^This^

We need to let every WR and DB practice catching punts in heavy traffic, and make a decision from there. Hell, our blocking on punt return sucks anyway, so we don't necessarily need a game breaker as Bo just said. We just need someone that will fair catch the ball every single time, and never let it bounce unless it's inside the 10. I just want someone back there that doesn't make us all nervous when the ball is punted, and that will catch it every time regardless of traffic. I don't give a shit if that guy is Sam Cowart...put him back there. We have enough screw ups on our ST's as it is....no need in putting a guy back there that is known to screw up in the return game.

Therefore I expect to continue seeing Lewis returning punts this year and next year...it would make too much sense to get someone else back there.

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Completely agree with this. Throw Bear back there. I know he dropped the ball the other night, but for most of the year, he has shown to have the best hands.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CadaverDawg

^This^

We need to let every WR and DB practice catching punts in heavy traffic, and make a decision from there. Hell, our blocking on punt return sucks anyway, so we don't necessarily need a game breaker as Bo just said. We just need someone that will fair catch the ball every single time, and never let it bounce unless it's inside the 10. I just want someone back there that doesn't make us all nervous when the ball is punted, and that will catch it every time regardless of traffic. I don't give a shit if that guy is Sam Cowart...put him back there. We have enough screw ups on our ST's as it is....no need in putting a guy back there that is known to screw up in the return game.

Therefore I expect to continue seeing Lewis returning punts this year and next year...it would make too much sense to get someone else back there.

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Why do I have that awful feeling that this is the week Lewis muffs one and it goes for an Arkansas touchdown?

Whoa, calm down there sparky, not going to happen.

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Originally Posted by Bo Darville

If I'm coach, my first concern when picking a punt returner is decision making and sure-handedness. I worry about that more than their ability to return the ball. So many decisions have to be made quickly (return, faircatch, let it bounce). Also a punt is tougher to catch than a kickoff. Many punts never get returned, so the ability to run with the ball isn't a huge deal. I don't like Jameon's decision making and he muffs too many. The punt that bounced around the 20-25 then rolled to the 1 yard line was a killer. You absolutely have to faircatch that. Look how some major colleges and NFL teams are putting a surehanded white guy back there who can make a good decision. Not necessarily a game-breaker.

Kickoff return is a different story. It is easier to catch and the coach can make the decision by telling the player before he walks onto the field if he wants him to take a knee or return one should it happen to go into the endzone.

Jameon had 3 punt returns that cost us 50-70 yards in field position. Think about that type of yardage for a minute against a team like Alabama.

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This is where we miss Bumphis.

Tubby's first muffed punt of the season came off a left footed punter and I can gauran-damn-tee you that he didn't know the ball was spinning that way before it hit his hands. After that, it's been an issue of confidence IMO. He should've fielded 100 balls that week off of a jugs machine with a left footed spin... but I bet he didn't.

Same with QBs... switching from a lefty to a righty is a big adjustment the first few times the ball hits your hands.

If I am not mistaken, that muff against Bama was the first one Lewis did all year. Odds are your feeling was just indigestion. They make some medicine for that. ;)

Guys, I know I'm late to the game on this thread, and maybe someone else has already discussed it, but shouldn't Bama have been called for targeting on the Holloway punt? I watched that several times, and it was definitely helmet to the chops.

yes. they should've been called for targeting IMO. The rule says "a defenseless player".