UAB Grades

[expony18]

QB: B-

While Padron still doesnt have "it" going this year, he made much better decisions with the ball. Padron is nowhere near the level he was at the end of last season, he made up for a lot of it on his feet this week. Padron needs to make quicker reads in the pocket, but with out knowing who is missing the reads, its tough to place the blame on the QB or the WR. However, Padron definitely needs to fine tune his accuracy before TCU. Key stat: 0 Ints. With the way the defense is playing the key to our success will be protecting the ball and taking what the defense gives us. final stats:
18/33, 145, 2 td, 0 Int (66 yards rushing)

RB: A

Line was the MVP for the second week in a row. 122 yards, 2 TDs, averaging over 7 yards a carry. Key stat: No runs for a loss. While many of us doubted Line as a feature back, he has proven over the last two weeks that he has the ability to run the ball efficiently. He is essentially a Mike Alstott type back, and this last week he showed some pretty nice cuts for a guy his size. Butler looked good when he got the ball, and Fields showed flashes of a quality D1 back with speed and power. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season pans out but i like having the "thunder and lightning" mixture whether it be line and fields or line and butler.

OL: A

Key stats: 1 sack, 2 Tackles for a loss. OL absolutely dominated the line of scrimmaged from start to finish. The OL deserves the MVP as much as line. Not only did they provide the holes, but they gave Padron PLENTY of time to stand in the pocket.

WR's: B-

Still havent seen it yet. I have a bad feeling that DJ is our next Ssanders. Unfortunately, he is supposed to be that after robinson graduates, not this year. AR has been almost nonexistent this year, and beasley is struggling too. Listen to JJ post game press conference, you can tell by his remarks (regarding Beasley) that the film session was going to show a lot of missed opportunities. Can't place all the blame on them (just like Padron), but SMU's offense can't expect to rush for 247 yards every week...

DL/LB/CB: A

this is by far the most impressive defense I have seen a long time at SMU. They held Isabele to only 34 yards rushing, and UAB as a team to only 108. They also shut down the passing game allowing only 153 yards (one for 50 yards, which resulted in a fumble / touchback). Key Stats: 3 sacks, 7 tackles for loss, 1 Fumble Recovery, 1 Interception, 7 pass break ups.

This isnt the typical win under June Jones, but its early in the season and I see no reason for us to be discouraged. Traditionally defenses start the season stronger then the offense. I think between now and TCU we will see a vast improvement on offense and defense. Hopefully the guys are taking care of their injuries and their school work....

[Football4ever]

Its not good for the receivers when our leading receiver in yards and TD's is considered to be struggling. I just hope our passing game comes around this week and we are much improved for TCU.

[mrydel]

Did you purposely leave out the safeties? I was very disappointed to see a receiver running free down the middle of the field but pleased with the very fortunate outcome.