Ryan Fowler’s Reaction, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Every Monday, Nick Saban spends part of the afternoon showing his players the good plays, bad plays, and ugly plays from the previous Saturday.

The good section highlights what the team did well in the game; individual plays, series of plays, moments of the game that went good for the Crimson Tide.

The bad section focuses on plays that were run incorrectly, maybe a play designed to pick up more yardage but failed. It might include simple mistakes, a turnover or just a simple missed block or tackle.

The ugly section could also be called the disaster section, plays that went completely wrong or injuries. Ugly plays are learning moments for the team. Part of discussing the bad and ugly plays includes thinking through what they could have done differently.

Alabama A-Day: Crimson vs. White

Good

Salute to the Alabama fans who were part of the 58,710 who took in A-Day at Bryant-Denny Stadium, plenty of sunscreen was consumed as the afternoon sun heated up Tuscaloosa.

I went into the game with some low expectations for Alabama’s defense, but I left Bryant-Denny thinking this unit has a chance to be a solid defensive group. Plenty of youth and new faces especially with some injuries that prevented some more experienced players from participating in the annual spring game.

Malachi Moore won the MVP with 9 total tackles, hard to disagree with this voting. Moore also seems likely to fill a leadership void left by players moving onto the NFL, listening to him talk in the post-game media availability confirmed he has taken on that responsibility.

Caleb Downs lived up to the buzz that has been circulating for the last 3-4 weeks in Tuscaloosa that this 5-star recruit will be starter when Alabama plays MTSU in 134 days. For a defensive back group that lost so much from last season, I was impressed with the future of this group. Credit Travaris Robinson for getting this group ready to play.

Alabama's offensive unit for both the Crimson and White teams showed signs of promise, but at times they looked like a unit that is replacing super star Bryce Young.

Ty Simpson goes through his progressions quickly and his quick release gives Tommy Rees something to build on for the future. Jalen Milroe’s stats were somewhat impressive, but the eye test did not match up with these numbers. I think it is also great to remind people that the A-Day rules do not allow Milroe to showcase his true talent. Milroe had some nice throws, but his strength is running the ball.

Special teams will be another strength for Alabama in 2023, Will Reichard and James Burnip will be key contributors for a team with plenty of youth.

Bad

The Crimson Tide offensive line showed some concerns in protecting the quarterback, but the 12 sacks given up is misleading because of the rules designed to protect the quarterback. Overall, this unit should be one of the strengths for the 2023 Tide team, also think this group will be one of Saban’s biggest offensive line groups with an average weight that should be 320-335lb range. I also believe Coach Wolford will have this group clicking when it really matters.

Ugly

Wide receiver drops were a huge disappointment that would have kept several drives going or added to the scoring. I will need to go back and count the exact drops, but I should not have any issues reaching double digits.

Who is the leader of this group? Who is going to step-up to take some pressure off the starting quarterback? Who is going to stretch the field to keep the defenders from crowding the box? We have no answer to any of these questions following Alabama’s A-Day.

There are plenty of names you recognize on the depth chart but a close look at the statistics and you will walk away disappointed with this group. It would be easy to blame the quarterbacks, but I am placing the responsibility on the receiver group who should have been able to take advantage of a secondary who is replacing several key starters.

Coming up Monday on The Game with Ryan Fowler on Tide 100.9, we will discuss "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly". You will also have a chance to win prizes from Daniel Moore Art, starting at 2 p.m. on Tide 100.9 and on the free Tide 100.9 app.