Bulldogs answer many preseason questions in 24-7 opening victory. Alabama A&M coach Anthony Jones had questions about his football team he was hoping to answer in Saturday night's season opener against Tennessee State. How much had quarterback Kevin Atkins matured since last season? Could the Bulldogs get their running game - which was nonexistent last season - going again? Could A&M's defense regain the form it had in recent years before last season? Had the Bulldogs improved their special teams - particularly their kickoff coverage team - from a year ago?
A&M answered those questions with a resounding "yes" en route to a 24-7 win over Tennessee State. A&M answered those questions with a resounding "yes" en route to a 24-7 win over Tennessee State. "I was impressed with the way our kids responded to the challenge," Jones said Sunday. "The big challenge was playing in an NFL stadium. That could have been intimidating, but our guys rose to the challenge. We played well for the first time out."
TSU loses more than opening game
The news went from bad to worse for Tennessee State in its season opener Saturday night against Alabama A&M. First, it became obvious early that the Tigers have a long way to go to rebuild their depleted offense. Then, just as the offense started to show signs of life, quarterback Dominic Grooms was knocked out of the game. Alabama A&M coasted to a 24-7 win in the John Merritt Classic at LP Field before a crowd of 23,871.
The lopsided loss left the Tigers, who were coming off an 8-4 record in 2008, with more questions than before the game started. "I knew going in that our offense was going to take some time to jell," TSU Coach James Webster said. "We had nine new starters. I did expect us to perform better than what we did. And now losing our quarterback, that sets us back even further." Grooms suffered a severe hamstring pull and is out indefinitely.
Photo Gallery: TSU vs. Alabama A&M
TSU QB Jeremy Perry poor decision making earns the criticism of his coach, James Webster.TSU coach criticizes backup quarterback's play
Tennessee State Coach James Webster did not sugarcoat his comments when asked to evaluate the performance by quarterback Jeremy Perry, who replaced injured starter Dominic Grooms in the Tigers' 24-7 loss to Alabama A&M. Two of Perry's first four passes were intercepted and he finished 10-of-30 for 136 yards and was sacked twice. He failed to get the offense in scoring position until late in the game and then, with the ball on Alabama A&M's 23, tossed four consecutive incomplete passes.
"The one thing we always say is to protect the football,'' Webster said. "If he protects the football we've got a chance to win. He threw two interceptions so he didn't protect the football. I thought he did some good things, but we've got to protect the football. We can't have turnovers."
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