Tide’s big plays not limited to offense against Gators

December 06, 2009

By Ken Rogers

Javier Arenas has seen the play dozens of times, at least.

“Even from our own offense,“ the senior cornerback said.

So when Tim Tebow was looking to cut into Alabama’s lead in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 32-13 beatdown of the Gators, Arenas was ready.

Florida wanted Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey to run crossing routes in the end zone on first and goal at the 6 with about 12 minutes left in the game.

“I had No. 2 (Demps), but if No. 3 came out he was my responsibility,“ Arenas said. “So I knew I had to be on my Ps and Qs. When he came out, I read him, seen him.“

Tebow did, too. He looked at Demps at the goal line, then tried to zip the pass to Rainey deeper in the end zone.

Arenas didn’t break too soon, but he took three quick steps backward and reached up for the interception a couple yards deep in the end zone.

“We were actually in a pressure on the play that Javier made,“ Alabama coach Nick Saban said, who added Arenas made a much tougher play look easy. “When they reloaded the back to block the pressure, the plan was to ... go to cover 7, ... Then we dropped zone and, actually, Kareem (Jackson) should have been in the deep third. ... Javier recognized it and got up underneath the throw. The field was shrunk, that’s why he could make the play and did a great job reading it.“

Perhaps the key tackle of the game didn’t come by the Alabama defense. Punter P.J. Fitzgerald cracked through a wall the Gators had set up for Brandon James. James weaved from the right numerals across the field, where the wall was set up.

‘We were trying to cut him to the sidelines. It was crazy how he found a hole,“ Fitzgerald said. “I saw a bunch of white jerseys. My only thing was to go grab him and wrap up.“

It was a tremendous tackle and came with Alabama leading 9-3 early in the second quarter.

“We lost contain,“ Saban said. “P.J.‘s a good athlete. He did a great job of getting a great athlete on the ground.“

Those were just two plays of an afternoon full of effort.

“I think that’s the kind of relentless competitive attitude that ‘not to be denied’ really kind of means,“ Saban said. “Guys making those kinds of plays, extending themselves, done it in every play of the game.“

Tide, Gators set for wild second half

December 05, 2009

By Ken Rogers

Thirty minutes haven’t decided a thing, except to prove these might be the two best teams in the country.

Alabama is giving us the full Monty, with some new formations and wrinkles that have confused the Florida defense at times.

Both teams have answered big plays with even bigger plays.

The Tide takes a 19-13 lead into the locker room, but it’s pretty clear more points will be needed. Alabama is averaging 8.0 yards per play; Florida 7.7 ypp.

The surprise of the first half if Greg McElroy has more than held his own with Tim Tebow. McElroy is 9-for-13 passing for 184 yards, including a 69-yard completion to Mark Ingram that set up Ingram’s second touchdown run of the game.

Tebow is, well, being Tebow. He is 9-for-17 passing with a touchdown to David Nelson and a 59-yard completion to Riley Cooper. He’s also rushed six times for 49 yards.

Alabama has done a nice job of keeping the ball away from Florida. The Tide has held the ball 18:25.

Neither team has turned it over. The first mistake of the second half could be costly to whoever makes it.
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Winner takes it all today in Atlanta

By Ken Rogers

Clock dips under 18 minutes until kickoff and the Georgia Dome is mostly full—and rocking.

Unquestionably, this is an all-in game. The winner gets the national championship game. The loser, well, doesn’t.

The Sugar Bowl is a sweet consolation prize, but the emotional toll on the loser of this game will be devastating. Looks like an undefeated opponent awaits in New Orleans, and we remember how that went last season.

The reason the atmosphere is so electric is everyone knows what they want, but nobody really knows what’s about to unfold.

That’s the cool part.

What must Carlos Dunlap be thinking today?

By Ken Rogers

We’ll turn our full attention to the 170 players in uniform in a few minutes, but two hours before the opening kickoff, I can’t help but wonder what Carlos Dunlap is thinking today.

This was going to be as special a day for Dunlap, the 6-foot-6, 285-pound sack specialist, as it is for the rest of the Florida football program. In fact, he was going to be a central figure in Florida’s defensive game plan against Greg McElroy and the Tide offense, particularly on second- and third-and-long.
He is a legitimate NFL draft prospect as a junior.

Dunlap, of course, was cited for DUI in the early-morning hours last Tuesday. Police found him behind the wheel, sleeping in his idling car at a traffic light.

Florida coach Urban Meyer suspended him indefinitely from the program.

“He’s a 3.0 student at a great university. I told you he takes care of his business,“ Meyer said. “This is very uncharacteristic for him. He made a horrible decision. He apologized.

“I was with his family. I’m very close with his family. And he is devastated. Made the comment he didn’t want to hurt his teammates. Very poor decision, but that’s certainly not an indictment on who he is the rest of his life at all. We’ve got to make sure that those kind of things don’t happen again—for his future.“

Florida’s multiples will test Tide’s proud defense

December 04, 2009

By Ken Rogers

Nick Saban left little doubt about the challenge his defense faces against Florida’s offense in the SEC Championship Game.
“To summarize their offense, they have a quarterback who can run the ball,“ Saban said at Friday’s pregame press conference. “They have some very good running backs who have great speed on the perimeter. And they are reading their plays almost each and every play as to whether they hand the ball off or option the ball, or even create a pitch man, sometimes, to option the ball.
“Or even when they run a shuffle pass sometimes they have the option to pitch the ball, so that, in itself, is an option.
“And so it is difficult to defend, because it’s about numbers. So you really have an offense that the point of attack can change from out there to out here to running it in here or throwing it down there,“ the coach said, pointing in the different directions as he spoke.
“And all those things can change in one step, whether it’s play-action pass or how they create their options. And the fact that they have a quarterback who is unique in terms of his ability to run the ball, execute their offense and be a very efficient, effective passer, makes it very important to play very disciplined team defense.“
That discipline includes more than just being in the right spot, Saban said.
“They do it out of a lot of different personnel groups and different formations, so that makes it even more difficult for the defense to adjust to each one of those things correctly.“