The classic good news/bad news scenario follows Alabama's special teams out of the first scrimmage of August.

One of the two post-possession resolutions looked strong, Nick Saban said. The other needs work.

Senior punter JK Scott was "fantastic" with his punting, Saban said after the steamy scrimmage on a humid Saturday afternoon. The 6-foot-6 senior averaged 45.6 yards per punt in his first three seasons and was a Ray Guy Award finalist as a freshman.

The punt return game on Saturday was strong too, Saban said.

Then, the bad news ...

"I think we have things to work on relative to some of the other areas in the kicking game," Saban said. "Missed a couple field goals. We had a couple blocked because we didn't really have good protection."

Saban didn't say who missed the field goals or how long they were. Stats were not released from the closed scrimmage.

"It's not just the kicker," Saban said. "It's the protection, the holder, the whole operation being on time. We need to do a lot of work in that area."

Alabama returns redshirt senior and Ole Miss transfer Andy Pappanastos who saw limited action backing up Adam Griffith last season. Freshman Joseph Bulovas is the newcomer while Scott has some experience, making 3 of 4 field goal attempts on A-Day.

Saban also touched on the kickoff situation. He said the kickoff and returns were strong but they "have to develop confidence in that area."