Question: Did LSU expose Bama weaknesses or just surprised with how well Mettenburger played?

BFANLC

Suspended
Nov 25, 2005
3,077
0
0
53
In a dream world
i think some weaknesses were exposed. or at least some things that we need to get better at. In particular (and most dont agree with me and i've been saying it since about the 2nd or 3rd game) is our run defense up the middle. it needs to get stronger if we are to win it all again.
Linebacking isnt quite as great as it has been.
 

TIDE-HSV

Senior Administrator
Staff member
Oct 13, 1999
84,530
39,621
437
Huntsville, AL,USA
I'd agree that our DBs, especially Belue, were a bit "exposed" last night, but as has been pointed out above, a lot of that was the failure of our blitz packages to reach the QB in time (and his new-found guts to stand in, even when he was about to be punished). One of the staff told one of my best friends, after Jarrick went down, that, if we lost one more DB, we could kiss any championship aspirations goodbye...
 

TideMom2Boys

Hall of Fame
Nov 17, 2010
20,214
398
102
Alabama
I'd agree that our DBs, especially Belue, were a bit "exposed" last night, but as has been pointed out above, a lot of that was the failure of our blitz packages to reach the QB in time (and his new-found guts to stand in, even when he was about to be punished). One of the staff told one of my best friends, after Jarrick went down, that, if we lost one more DB, we could kiss any championship aspirations goodbye...

What other db's have we lost?
 

TidePride50

3rd Team
Jan 16, 2010
296
0
0
I think we were a bit flat and Mett had the game of his life as well. I'll be interested to see how he plays from this point forward. I thought Nick Perry had a rough game as well. He seemed to always be a count late getting to the receivers in open field. I thought Mett just made some great throws at Belue. He was in good position several times, just perfect thrown balls at him.
 
Last edited:

Alasippi

Suspended
Aug 31, 2007
12,875
2
57
Ocean Springs, MS
The game didn't surprise me at all. In the pick the score thread I picked Bama 16-13 on a last play field goal.
I don't think LSU exposed any weaknesses because we don't have any. LSU just finally executed to their potential, played with heart and fire, lined up and took it to us for much of the game. I honestly don't think Oregon, Kansas State nor Notre Dame could beat LSU in Tiger Stadium on a Saturday night. The Tigers are flat out good bordering great when playing at home.
I'm just glad we played for 60 minutes and pulled out a win that champions are made of. I'm very happy today.
sip
 

marcusroby

1st Team
Jan 7, 2004
414
2
137
auburn,al usa
Most teams won't have the abundance of talent at the skill positions to create the matchup issues that LSU did. That team was built to beat us and the QB played out of his mind.
 

BFANLC

Suspended
Nov 25, 2005
3,077
0
0
53
In a dream world
I think our injuries have really hampered Bama's offense more than we care to admit. Imagine if Fowler was healthy and Cooper and White...I would rest Cooper as much as possible and not play him until the championship game if possible. We are just a different team rushing with Fowler in there.
 

JustNeedMe81

Hall of Fame
Sep 30, 2011
14,905
6,189
187
42
Huntsville, Al
I think our injuries have really hampered Bama's offense more than we care to admit. Imagine if Fowler was healthy and Cooper and White...I would rest Cooper as much as possible and not play him until the championship game if possible. We are just a different team rushing with Fowler in there.
True.... WHy would you want to rest Cooper for next few games? that doesn't make sense. We need Cooper as much as we can. Last night, we didn't see Cooper, Lacy was hurt. THe offense wasn't itself and they struggled mightly. We really need everyone back for Texas A and M.
 

BigBama76

Suspended
Oct 26, 2011
1,002
0
0
Atlanta, GA
I give LSU a lot of credit. I'm not trying to make any excuses here...but don't you think Mettenburger's performance came out of no where?

So my question is: Did LSU expose some weaknesses or was Mettenburger's performance so unexpected that we didn't expect him to be able to do what he did?
Every team has weaknesses, you just have to keep trying to improve on them while maintaining consistency in the stuff you've been doing well all along. That being said, everything was in alignment for LSU, revenge, raucous home crowd, two weeks to prepare, etc. ect..

The off week, I think, really helped them. They looked a step faster and fresher than us most of the night.
 

rgw

Suspended
Sep 15, 2003
20,852
1,351
232
Tuscaloosa
A lot mo' better. :cool2:

TAMU is a dynamic offense that can score quick off mental errors or drive down the field methodically. Defensively, they are very similar to MSU but they have a much better pass rush. They aren't a high takeaway defense nor particularly impressive with yardage allowed but they are good at affecting the passer and getting off the field on third down.

Consistency and maintaining intensity have been their biggest issues this year. They seem to wear down defensively and they sometimes can sputter offensively. Still, this is a threatening team - much more so than I thought of MSU going into the game - because they consistently start fast with good gameplans offensively. This is the exact kind of team that can landmine your title hopes. They're unique thus a hard game prep. They can put you in a hole quick if you have a "hangover" from the previous week. They also have the ability to disrupt offenses with an aggressive pass rush. If they start hot, they can snowball things on you quick because of these things.

I'm glad that TAMU looks like they'll be our new Arkansas game (the first SEC test of the season) going forward with the schedule. Though in the future we may fret over new guys on defense handling them, I'd rather play them there than right after LSU every year.
 

CapstoneTider

Suspended
Dec 6, 2000
7,453
6
0
The off week, I think, really helped them. They looked a step faster and fresher than us most of the night.
I would have to believe that they were about as motivated for a game as you can get and is why I see this as the most impressive victory for us this year. I remember how I felt as a fan against Florida in the 2009 SECCG. We got our revenge, LSU didn't, and that's impressive.
 

FitToBeTide

All-American
Aug 19, 2001
4,213
828
237
St. Florian
What I saw exposed last night was the markings of a true championship team, that does what it has to do to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, if you'll excuse the cliche. We did exactly what we needed to do when we needed to do it. It's not always been like that in the last 20 years or so. We've had teams do the same thing to us and pull it out in the waning moments. There's more work to do before going to the big dance, but we turned a huge corner last night in a gut-check situation.

CNS is now 4-3 against Leslie now, I believe.

Well done, guys...

RTR
 

Padreruf

Hall of Fame
Feb 12, 2001
8,687
12,227
287
73
Charleston, South Carolina
The game didn't surprise me at all. In the pick the score thread I picked Bama 16-13 on a last play field goal.
I don't think LSU exposed any weaknesses because we don't have any. LSU just finally executed to their potential, played with heart and fire, lined up and took it to us for much of the game. I honestly don't think Oregon, Kansas State nor Notre Dame could beat LSU in Tiger Stadium on a Saturday night. The Tigers are flat out good bordering great when playing at home.
I'm just glad we played for 60 minutes and pulled out a win that champions are made of. I'm very happy today.
sip
Agreed...how excited we're you over Norwood's game? I thought he played lights out...
 

TideWatcher

All-SEC
Dec 11, 2006
1,814
11
62
newton county, ms
Exposed what many have whispered; Defense is not what it was last year. Bama is very good on defense; last year it was great.Need one more cover guy at safety. I don't think Belue was exposed. He played pretty well. Sunseri and Perry have trouble in one on one coverage against quick receivers. But everybody has trouble spots. Bama has fewer than most. Bama has great shot after great win, but it cannot afford an offnight by the offense against a great team.Not many great teams out there; I am happy to still have a shot. But that is what it is. It will take great play to win it all; but that is how it should be. Last year Bama was the best team. This year not as obvious.
 

bamacpa

All-American
Jul 19, 2006
4,783
1,073
182
Our secondary is the way to attack us defensively. we're younger and thinner there. We just hadn't seen a decent QB yet. We'll see one Saturday. I think we beat the Aggies, but it may very well another nailbiter. Our D isn't airtight like last year, which we knew.

If we had a fully healthy WR corp, I think AJ would have looked better last night.
 

Neverending

Suspended
Nov 19, 2011
1,157
0
0
I've seen hints of this in previous games in which we give the opposing QB a lot of time to make a throw. It's hard to get to the QB with a 3 man front and sometimes I've seen us blitz corner/safety/LB and it they still can't get there in time. However, I would imagine that the team/coaches didn't believe Zach could exploit our secondary like he did even if he had adequate time to throw the ball. We know who's coming to town next week, so I'm confident some changes will be made accordingly.
 

RhodeIslandRed

All-SEC
Dec 9, 2005
1,517
9
62
LSU had an excellent gameplan for us. It was apparent that they spent a lot time - well before the bye week - planning for our defense. The biggest problem was that their interior OL was winning their share of battles and keeping them on schedule offensively. They're really the first team in a long time that has at least had a "draw" on the battle up front. The second problem they presented is that their simplicity offensively actually made it difficult for us to affect the passer without creating liabilities on the backend. Yes, they called plenty of 2-man and 3-man patterns which should be easy to cover but the max protection made it impossible to force a pass without leaving the backend in a lot of one-on-one situations. Their level of preparedness showed in they often had the exact routes called to find the soft spots in any blitz package we executed.

They knew all our blitzes seemingly. By playing a lot of 22 personnel (2 back, 2 tight) and max protection, they limited what we could execute which certainly helped their seemingly "being in our headsets" like playcalling. I told people that Mettenburger was closer to being the QB they need than many gave credit. They gave him a lot of simple reads, the coaches kept him safe but effective playcalls, and he was mostly given the protection needed to play pitch and catch with those short stick routes and button hitches on the outside.

This was probably the finest offensive gameplan I've seen against us since the 2009 UT game - which we also won - in terms of seemingly being in Saban/Smart's heads. Other teams have been more explosive but none of them were as well prepared for blitz packages and flat out consistently finding the soft spot as last night.
Interesting observations. So if they were largely in max protection and we couldn't get to the QB with the blitz, then perhaps the matchup strategy next time will be to show blitz then drop back into coverage.
It appeared that during their 2 minute offense that Mett had trouble finding his receivers with 8 in coverage.
 

New Posts

Latest threads

TideFans.shop : 2024 Madness!

TideFans.shop - Get YOUR Bama Gear HERE!”></a>
<br />

<!--/ END TideFans.shop & item link \-->
<p style= Purchases made through our TideFans.shop and Amazon.com links may result in a commission being paid to TideFans.