Link: Another autopsy of AJ to TJ touchdown from the corndog side...

BigBama76

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Re: SIAP....Another autopsy of AJ to TJ from the corndog side...

Bama has been running the RB screen as well as any team I've ever seen pretty much from 2008 on. Think back how many times Ingram, Richardson, Lacy or Yeldon have caught one of those for big yardage prior to LSU. I think Burton Burns does an outstanding job teaching our RB's the nuances of playing RB. Of course our OL and receivers know what to do as well.
 

78Alum

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Re: SIAP....Another autopsy of AJ to TJ from the corndog side...

Read this earlier today and thoroughly enjoyed it. It really does show how difficult this game is to play...
 

TIDE-HSV

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Re: SIAP....Another autopsy of AJ to TJ from the corndog side...

It just goes to show what a special player TJ is, just worlds beyond his years and experience. When I remember this guy is someone we recruited lightly until his senior season, when he exploded talent and growth-wise - and we had to go and pluck him from sure destruction for AU - it's enough to make me shudder. If we do manage to beat the odds and hoist the crystal again, this young man will have a great deal to do with it...
 

45longcolt

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Re: SIAP....Another autopsy of AJ to TJ from the corndog side...

Very good breakdown. I'd be more than interested in Jess picking an interesting play for each game, and doing a breakdown along these lines.
Doesn't Jess do enough for us as it is??? Maybe you could do it for us in your spare time! LOL
 

thefloydian

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Oct 28, 2012
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Re: SIAP....Another autopsy of AJ to TJ from the corndog side...

Bama has been running the RB screen as well as any team I've ever seen pretty much from 2008 on. Think back how many times Ingram, Richardson, Lacy or Yeldon have caught one of those for big yardage prior to LSU. I think Burton Burns does an outstanding job teaching our RB's the nuances of playing RB. Of course our OL and receivers know what to do as well.
There was a big one to Ingram in the '09 Tennessee game if I remember correctly.
 

jeremylanes

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Re: SIAP....Another autopsy of AJ to TJ from the corndog side...

Doesn't Jess do enough for us as it is??? Maybe you could do it for us in your spare time! LOL
I could do this once a game since Jess is so busy, but i don't think any of us, myself included, would understand any of the play at the end of my breakdown! I guess I better stay away and let the experts do what they do. Thanks to all of you guys for such a great board!

RTR
 

rgw

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Re: SIAP....Another autopsy of AJ to TJ from the corndog side...

There was a big one to Ingram in the '09 Tennessee game if I remember correctly.
I remember the one for a big gain in the 09SECCG. It was also against a blitz look where the defense sent a corner too. We've done a good job of attacking those looks with screens over the years.
 

UAME

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Re: SIAP....Another autopsy of AJ to TJ from the corndog side...

I think this analysis reinforces the idea that Les Miles attempted to throw an "anonymous" player under the bus rather than open himself (and, in part, his staff) up to further criticism. With the tension below the surface that Les is simply a strategic idiot, played up by the national media even to Les' face, Miles did not want to throw any gas on the fire that he may have once again been outsmarted by Saban in the most critical moment of battle.

Les would have been better off to tell the truth: Bama dialed up the perfect play call against the defensive play that was on. It wasn't like LSU had the field goal unit out there to defend a Hail Mary play. The fact is, the strategic advantage was slight - the play happened to go toward the blitz and all players in the secondary were locked up elsewhere. Even at that, a superior athlete (Yeldon) had to make men miss to score. There's no shame in that. But, Les would rather throw his "unknown" player out there to take the heat, when it doesn't take much more than a casual fan to analyze the tape of what really happened. Not to mention that the player he's blaming (the specifics of which are more than known among the LSU team) may be the best LBer to ever come thru LSU and also a player who had a pretty darn good showing against Bama up to that point. Short of calling his name and number, I don't know if Les could make a statement that does more to undermine the trust between him and his players.

The cynicism of today's media and fans causes everyone to roll their eyes when a coach falls on his sword and says, "It wasn't the players, it was me. I failed this team." We all know the players are the ones that have to execute. But, to me, it is a character flaw in a coach that won't protect his kids from the criticism of the outside world. It is the most indicative characteristic of an "every-man-for-himself", "save my own butt" mentality - which will eventually be a cancer among any organization trying to operate as a cohesive team.
 

rgw

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Re: SIAP....Another autopsy of AJ to TJ from the corndog side...

Les' statements do reinforce the idea that they told guys who matched up on an eligible to peel if they released. Unfortunately, Alabama still had a "gotcha" going since they didn't immediately roll into the screen look but delayed it off the snap to bait the LB and corner designated to peel. They called a blitz, they had some measure to defend against guys who looked like blockers releasing into routes, but the structure of the offensive play faked both their best LB and their young corner.

In that respect, he should have just fallen on the sword and said something like: "We decided that we were going to blitz. We thought it was a good call at the time. They executed several good plays against 4-man pressures and we wanted to create a negative play to get them in a tough 3rd down situation. We had some things in place to protect against a pass like that but they did an excellent job of disguising things and getting our defenders out of position."

In that paragraph he diverts the spotlight off the player's failures, he puts the spotlight on their decision to bring some pressure to force a negative play and take control of this defensive series of downs, but he highlights how it wasn't a terrible call because they had some measures in place to protect against that pass but Alabama did an excellent job of disguising the screen. The media is satisfy because they get their scapegoat to opine about, the players know their coach has got their back, and the fans realize the mindset of the staff seeing they'd probably make the same call in that scenario. They had a legitimate shot of forcing Alabama into a tough 3rd and long...they had to ramp up the pressure and not allow Alabama to get some quick pass for a 3rd and 5-ish or a first down...they had to make their stand right there on 2nd down.
 

theballguy

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Nov 5, 2012
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Re: SIAP....Another autopsy of AJ to TJ from the corndog side...

Gotta love the juke to the sideline... TJ went back to the right it seemed for an eternity while Mingo stumbled to the sideline. Great play. Will never forget it. ROLL TIDE ROLL!!! :BigA::BigA::BigA::BigA::BigA::BigA::BigA:
 

TIDE-HSV

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Re: SIAP....Another autopsy of AJ to TJ from the corndog side...

Les' statements do reinforce the idea that they told guys who matched up on an eligible to peel if they released. Unfortunately, Alabama still had a "gotcha" going since they didn't immediately roll into the screen look but delayed it off the snap to bait the LB and corner designated to peel. They called a blitz, they had some measure to defend against guys who looked like blockers releasing into routes, but the structure of the offensive play faked both their best LB and their young corner.

In that respect, he should have just fallen on the sword and said something like: "We decided that we were going to blitz. We thought it was a good call at the time. They executed several good plays against 4-man pressures and we wanted to create a negative play to get them in a tough 3rd down situation. We had some things in place to protect against a pass like that but they did an excellent job of disguising things and getting our defenders out of position."

In that paragraph he diverts the spotlight off the player's failures, he puts the spotlight on their decision to bring some pressure to force a negative play and take control of this defensive series of downs, but he highlights how it wasn't a terrible call because they had some measures in place to protect against that pass but Alabama did an excellent job of disguising the screen. The media is satisfy because they get their scapegoat to opine about, the players know their coach has got their back, and the fans realize the mindset of the staff seeing they'd probably make the same call in that scenario. They had a legitimate shot of forcing Alabama into a tough 3rd and long...they had to ramp up the pressure and not allow Alabama to get some quick pass for a 3rd and 5-ish or a first down...they had to make their stand right there on 2nd down.
This! However, this is not the first time for him to throw a player under the bus. He just seems incapable of giving credit to the other team/coach, especially when that other coach is Saban. IMO, the youth of the corner had nothing to do with it. Yeldon sold that fake so thoroughly that a veteran corner would have been taken in. Yeldon continues to amaze me with his performances...
 

rgw

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Re: SIAP....Another autopsy of AJ to TJ from the corndog side...

Especially with Saban, he probably senses any level of admission that they just got outschemed on a play is a no-go. He can say he doesn't hear the talk but he was compared unfavorably to Saban until the 2007 season when he put together the most bizarre title-winning season in college football history. Even then the relationship between Les and the fans has always been tenuous. He's brought them success but not without bizarre circumstances and a fair amount of good fortune.

He lives and dies by being unconventional. He never settled on Lee or Jefferson between 2008 and 2011 when they clearly needed to decide on a direction to that offense. To be frank, Alabama was Lee's only bad matchup last season...they lucked out by not using Jefferson much previously that season and caught Alabama ill-prepared for the speed option. Conventional coaches would just take that as a nice steal realizing Jefferson's unique skillset was just a "gotcha" that week and not a mandate to name him the QB of their offense. Les ain't no conventional coach though.

Lee was the ideal quarterback for them against any other team in the nation that season. He could actually pass the ball consistently down field which is all that they needed to keep their offensive rhythm. Lee was not the quarterback to beat Alabama but neither was Jefferson when they were anticipating him playing significant snaps.
 
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UAME

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Re: SIAP....Another autopsy of AJ to TJ from the corndog side...

In that respect, he should have just fallen on the sword and said something like: "We decided that we were going to blitz. We thought it was a good call at the time. They executed several good plays against 4-man pressures and we wanted to create a negative play to get them in a tough 3rd down situation. We had some things in place to protect against a pass like that but they did an excellent job of disguising things and getting our defenders out of position."
The problem I see with your scenario is that it would require Les Miles to string four coherent sentences together, in sequence, to phrase a complete thought. History shows this is beyond his capabilities.
 
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rgw

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Re: SIAP....Another autopsy of AJ to TJ from the corndog side...

The problem I see with your scenario is that it would require Les Miles to string four coherent sentences together, in sequence, to pharse a complete thought. History shows this is beyond his capabilities.
"There was a want to stop Alabama but in that scenario given the boundaries at which the endzone was near. The anxious want to sack the quarterback probably outweighed the effective of the play."
 

DrollTide

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Re: SIAP....Another autopsy of AJ to TJ from the corndog side...

Doesn't Jess do enough for us as it is??? Maybe you could do it for us in your spare time! LOL
I realize I'm being very generous with someone else's time, and I'm already grateful for everything Jess does. Perhaps if I'd said, someone with some competence (instead of Jess) did this for a feature play each week, that would be fabulous. It gives an X-n-O's view of play execution that is very interesting, that most of us so-called fans know nothing about (including me).
 

DCETP

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Sep 29, 2012
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Re: SIAP....Another autopsy of AJ to TJ from the corndog side...

Great read!!! It was a near-perfect call, but it was also a remarkable play by Yeldon to (1) sell the fake block, (2) make the move in space to beat Loston. I am just amazed this guy is that good as a true freshman. Coming into this season, I admit I was worried about the fact that we were going to be depending on Yeldon so much at the RB position, due to Lacy's toe injury and depth a little thin. Fowler and then Hart going down didn't help at all. Yeldon started out the season strong and is just continuing to improve rapidly. The fact that this kid is carrying the load right now is just phenomenal to me.
 

socalbamafan123

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May 26, 2010
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Re: SIAP....Another autopsy of AJ to TJ from the corndog side...

here is what people don't understand, les is not good enough to play a game straight up, he has to gamble to save his butt. excellent analysis in the article, very detailed, i was impressed.kudos to mingo on the excellent effort, wish we had got him.
 

ccc2259

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Oct 29, 2010
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Re: SIAP....Another autopsy of AJ to TJ from the corndog side...

I enjoy the "game within the game" so I thoroughly enjoyed this analysis. Thanks for posting.

As others have said, this is NOT the 1st time Les has thrown a player under the bus. That can't be good for team chemistry. Nor does it spawn deep respect for the head coach. I know I'm in the minority, but I just don't see ole Les as a good coach. I see him as someone that wins off of shear talent and an over-abundance of luck.
 

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