Bonus notes, observations from a second viewing of Alabama's win over Georgia

We are back.

Loyal readers may remember this weekly Sunday series from my time as a beat writer covering Alabama. He was put on hiatus after taking on a new role last spring, but we’ll dust him off on special occasions.

So here’s Sunday’s DVR replay of Alabama’s 41-34 win over Georgia. For the uninitiated, this was a series to go back and clean up the notes we missed while watching the game in real time at the stadium. Sometimes the TV copy of the game can add context to what we saw, and instead of wasting those notes, we just put them all over the internet for people to read.

So here we go, stream-of-consciousness note-taking as we watch this one a second time.

– Coming out, I expected to see a Georgia team with their hair on fire after a full offseason to reflect on what Alabama stole from them in last season’s SEC title game. I was clearly wrong.

— From the first play, I was surprised to see how Georgia played Ryan Williams. The CBs lined up well on the ball, allowing a free release for a quick 8 yard gain on the first play of the game.

– Running back Jam Miller threw several impressive blocks. He’s a power back who only had five carries but made his impact in other ways. It’s worth pointing out that Alabama’s RBs only got 11 carries while Jalen Milroe ran it 16 times.

— It’s hard to explain Milroe’s movement and burst in the running game. He makes rushers miss with phone booth moves and the next burst of speed in the open field is unlike almost any QB I remember seeing.

– Alabama overcame three penalties on the first drive to score the first touchdown allowed by Georgia in its fourth game. The Tide set the tone physically and with a great game plan.

– It was clear that Georgia was testing Alabama’s young secondaries early and often after seeing how many open WRs were missed by the Tide’s first three opponents. It didn’t work at first. Then it did later.

— I remember watching this in real time so I checked the stats. Carson Beck appeared to have had enough time to operate by throwing the ball 50 times. He was sacked three times while Alabama was credited with only two QB hurries. I thought affecting Beck was going to be a big factor in the match and the fact that he got time was crucial for the comeback later.

– Ryan Williams gains seven or eight extra yards (it seems) on every catch with his footwork. He’s like a dancer with his footwork.

— It was interesting watching the TV version of Milroe’s TD pass to Jam Miller to make the score 14-0. The camera angle didn’t do this justice, but our angle in the press box did. We were right at the line of the throw that Milroe had to throw so far in front of the RB to get around the pursuing linebacker. That thing flew through a window barely bigger than the ball, nearly kissing the LB’s helmet before landing in Miller’s breadbasket. I thought it was safe to say this was one of Milroe’s best throws at Alabama, even more impressive for Miller to bring him back as an RB and not a WR.

– The third down on the following Georgia drive was among the most important of the game. The crowd also played a role here. On the Alabama student side, Beck tried to change the call at the line, seeing that Alabama had more passers than blockers. Well, the WRs didn’t get the message, Kirby Smart said after the game. Alabama DB Domani Jackson sniffed it out all game long, stepping in for a game-changing INT. The Tide had the shortest field of the game and took advantage. Suddenly it was 21-0 and the first quarter wasn’t even over.

– Alabama CJ Dippre had an impressive game catching passes where he was almost primarily a blocker. He had four receptions for 38 yards.

-The most surprising thing to me early in the second quarter was the things Alabama tried. It was a matter of gacking the Dawgs in the traditional manner before attempting two tricks in three games. The first was stopped for a 1-yard loss on a WR pass that Kendrick Law ultimately ate.

— Alabama’s fourth TD was a message. Jam Miller removed LB Jalon Walker’s helmet as Milroe somehow turned a corner and rushed upfield for the 36-yard score. Taking you behind the scenes, this piece was the subject of the first paragraphs of a column that never saw the light of day. The way the game changed involved removing this LED, but here’s what you would have seen:

Jalon Walker knelt in the dark, helmetless, looking stunned.

The lights of Bryant-Denny Stadium flashed as its seats pulsated, perhaps the most astonishing moment of a confusing night at the center of the universe.

The Georgia linebacker had just been separated from his headgear as Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe made a cut and rushed upfield. His 36-yard run gave the Crimson Tide a fourth touchdown on four possessions, but it was the helmet-smacking block on the Bulldog defender that was insult to injury.

– Alabama had a 258-27 edge in yards after taking that 28-0 lead that was clearly as good as it would get for the home team. The Tide finally finished with a close score (547-519).

– There was a serious push from Alabama as they found themselves on fourth down late in the half, followed directly by Beck’s second INT of the half thrown to LB Jihaad Campbell. He made an impressive play on the ball for a linebacker, but it was wasted when Dippre threw a Milroe pass into the air for the first INT of the year (against 10 TDs).

-Was impressed with Alabama’s sellout blitz that led to the intentional safety being grounded three plays after the INT. They sent EIGHT smugglers to Beck. Robinson and Koht sandwiched the QB because Georgia simply didn’t have enough blockers to stop eight blitzers.

-I totally forgot about the missed flicker at the end of the half when Alabama led 30-7 before halftime. He lost eight yards on 2nd and 5 from the 40. The Tide finally punted when there was blood in the water.

– I can only imagine how Saban would have handled an unsportsmanlike penalty after halftime like the one Alabama received with a dustup before halftime.

– I remember thinking Beck’s third sack on the first drive of the second half was huge. That forced a three-and-out when Georgia desperately needed momentum.

– The level of desperation peaked on the Bulldog’s next drive, 30-7. Georgia took its chances with three fourth downs on its own side of the 50. That included plays at the 29, 37 and 46. Stuff on any one and Alabama had a short field and play to reach 37- 7. Awesome play under pressure to keep this game competitive.

– Malachi Moore played with an edge all night.

– One stat to note, Alabama defenders were credited with nine assists. Moore and DeVonta Smith led with two each.

— To show how quickly this game changed, Georgia was behind 50 trailing 30-7 with 5:45 left in the third quarter. He would come back to take the lead in just over 17 minutes of football.

– What more could be said about this insane catch by Ryan Williams. It’s here. Watch it again.

– It’s crazy to think that Alabama brought in reigning Lou Groza Award winner Graham Nicholson and his first field goal came late in the third quarter of his fourth game. And the 28-yarder just missed the upright to make it 33-14 with 1:23 left. Once again, it was a three-point lead with just over a quarter to play.

– Georgia outscored Alabama 275-115 in the fourth quarter with 75 of those Tide yards coming on the game-winning touchdown pass to Williams.

– Alabama’s defenders started to look gassed in the fourth quarter, just as Georgia was kicking things into high gear and scoring three straight touchdowns.

-I just noticed Ryan Williams did the Dirty Bird dance after scoring the game-winning TD.

— Huge stat: Georgia was 1 of 3 on 2-point conversions. Alabama was 1-for-1.

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ParCasagrande or on Facebook.