when you're winning, but this season has been filled with John Parker Wilson's bad decisions, which have put our defense in some very tight spots. It started in the 3rd game of the season, and moved on from there.
I'll point out a few of them from the past couple of seasons. I apologize for not having the youtubes ready just yet. I'm going to have to rip them from my dvds and go from there, so it may be this weekend before I get it accomplished. We'll spend today looking at last season's botched plays that have led to his record of 12-11 as a starter at the Capstone.
#1 Vandy at AlabamaSept. 9th, 2006
2nd quarter - With Bama leading 3-0, Simeon Castille had just intercepted Chris Nickson after Vandy drove from their 25 to the Alabama 44. Immediately after that, at the 11:57 mark, JP threw an interception on the very next play to give the Commodores the ball at the Vandy 47. The 'Dores continued driving to the Bama 25, where they were stopped and held to a field goal to make it 3-3.
#2 Alabama at ArkansasSept. 23rd, 2006
3rd quarter - Arkansas had given us a point by missing an extra point, making the score 10-9 in the 3rd quarter. With 4:18 left in the 3rd quarter, John Parker dropped back and was swarmed out of the pocket. He didn't cover up the football, and Arkansas forced a fumble, which they recovered and ran back to take a 17-10 lead, after converting the 2-point conversion.
#3 Alabama at FloridaSept. 30th, 2006
4th quarter - We were down 14-13 and had the ball with under 9 minutes left. We started the drive at our own 10 yard line. JP promptly hit Keith Brown for a 17 yard gain to the 27 yard line. Then, after an incomplete pass, JP threw a pass that was intercepted by Ryan Smith on the Alabama 34. Florida then drove down the field and took a 21-13 lead with 6:16 left in the game.
4th Quarter - After going down 21-13, we still had a shot to tie up the game. 6 minutes left is plenty of time to drive the field. We drove from the Alabama 20 to the Florida 46 in about 2 minutes. Then, on a 2nd-and-10, JP threw a pass that was easily read and picked by Reggie Nelson, who returned it for a touchdown and a 28-13 lead. That was the final score.
#4 Alabama at TennesseeOct. 21st, 2006
4th Quarter - There's not one play in particular that really made the key difference. The bottom line is that John Parker went 4/10 in the 4th quarter and took 3 sacks, including two on the last drive with one minute left and us trailing by three.
#5 Mississippi State at AlabamaNov. 4th, 2006
2nd Quarter - We had already given up 17 points, but our defense had gotten us 7 by returning an interception for a touchdown to make it 17-10. Our defense had held Mississippi State, and while we were down by 7, we had flipped field position on them. Arenas took a fair catch at the Alabama 45 with only 3:28 left in the half and a chance to tie the game up before the half. Darby ran for 2 yards up the gut. Then JP tried to throw and out route that was read perfectly by Quinton Culberson, who returned the interception for 51 yards and a touchdown to make it 24-10. We drove at the end of the half, had 1st-and-Goal at the 1 with just a few seconds left, and from shotgun formation, JP tried to run it into the endzone. He was met by two linebackers who promptly stuffed him from getting into the endzone. We lost the game 24-16.
#6 Alabama at LSUNov. 11th, 2006
3rd Quarter - Trailing 28-14 after Christiansen missed two field goals, Alabama had driven down to the LSU 23 with under 4 minutes left in the quarter, with a good shot at making it 28-21. After Darby ran for no gain, JP threw an incomplete pass to Will Oakley. On 3rd-and-10, Wilson threw an ill-advised pass that was picked off by Chevis Jackson at the LSU 12 yard line. LSU was held to a 3-and-out, but had successfully kept us out of the endzone.
4th quarter - After having driven to the LSU 19 yard line, Alabama faced a 3rd-and-9. LSU brought pressure and JP took a sack, again. Christiansen missed another field goal. It was our last chance to score, cause we never got close again.
#7 Alabama vs Oklahoma StDec. 28th, 2006
4th Quarter - After a miracle punt return, and a spectacular play call to Andre Smith for a touchdown, Alabama and Oklahoma State were tied at 31. Oklahoma State had just gotten the ball back on a kickoff and were driving before Simeon Castille picked off a pass by Bobby Reid at the Alabama 42 with 7 minutes left in the game. After getting a first down to the Oklahoma State 46, we handed off to Ken Darby twice, picking up 6 total yards, leaving us with a 3rd-and-4 with 3:30 left in the game. John Parker, of course, took a sack on the very next play, leaving us to punt to them and give them a shot to win the game - which they did, kicking a field goal with 6 seconds left to win 34-31.
Now, I will admit that all of these games were not completely on the quarterback's shoulders, but I will also admit that he did not give us the best chance to win the games. All we ask is for a quarterback to not lose games. He doesn't have to win them for us...just not lose them. And the holes that were dug in these games were too much for our under-talented squad to dig out of.
¶ 8:41 AM
