JessN: Texas A&M wrap-up: Manziel, sloppy Bama play combine to nix title hopes

rgw

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Yep, that is the problem at this point. It's not like a fire under a tail or light turning on will make Sunseri a step faster nor make Fulton the consistent 3rd corner we need. We are what we are at this point. The best we can hope for is that we do what we already do well a little better and that makes up the difference.
 

BigEasyTider

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Yep, that is the problem at this point. It's not like a fire under a tail or light turning on will make Sunseri a step faster nor make Fulton the consistent 3rd corner we need. We are what we are at this point. The best we can hope for is that we do what we already do well a little better and that makes up the difference.
Biggest issues we had in 2010 were complacency and injuries, neither of which have been a problem this year.

Moving into next year, we've just got to develop Landon Collins and hope the light finally goes on for Clinton-Dix, who continues to take bad angles and make bad decisions when tracking the ball. Would love to get Milliner back for another year, but that won't happen, so we're going to be need very big senior seasons out of both Belue and Fulton, and hopefully get Geno Smith and Bradley Sylve to develop into quality nickel and dime players.
 

marcusroby

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With it being obvious that LSU and TAMU, had schemed well against our defense, it will be interesting to see if there is a shift personnel for coach Saban. I think teams have given up traditional running games against us. Quick passes and the occasional run into the interior to keep the safeties honest appears to be the way to go. This defense works a high percentage of the time but in college football there is not much room for error. Jess, do you feel that too much emphasis has been placed on the passing game in order keep the appearance of being explosive?
 

BigEasyTider

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With it being obvious that LSU and TAMU, had schemed well against our defense, it will be interesting to see if there is a shift personnel for coach Saban. I think teams have given up traditional running games against us. Quick passes and the occasional run into the interior to keep the safeties honest appears to be the way to go.
We might have further changes in the years ahead (likely, in all honesty), but we've changed a lot in recent years regardless. People talk about the 3-4, but the truth of the matter is that we've been a 4-2-5 base for several years now.
 

rgw

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People in the know don't talk about Saban's Jack LB in base...they talk about his Star (nickel back) in the 4-2-5/3-3-5 look. It is the difference maker position in this defense: a guy who can play some robber zone like a safety, hold up in man against interior receivers, and often a blind side blitzer too. Look at Arenas in 2009: I believe he had more TFLs and sacks than INTs that season. This team lacks that kind of player this season. Milliner is probably the best option for star but he's too valuable on the perimeter of the defense it seems. We moved him inside Saturday and it forced more outside throws but we gave up one too many for the hole we dug in the first 15.

Dixon leaving for personal reasons put us into a bind. Milliner would have more than likely played star this year with the two JUCO transfers playing field and boundary in 5 DB. Sunseri would have played Dime emulating some of Barron's hybrid LB/S roles. More than any of the camp or in-season injuries, Dixon's departure affected things the most with Fowler being a distant second.
 
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CoastGhost

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Because in my opinion, Bama is done. In terms of the BCS title, that is; SEC title is obviously still very much in play.

I don't expect more than one of the other three unbeaten teams to lose, and even that is a 50/50 bet at best (USC over Notre Dame). I think KSU blows out the rest of its schedule, Texas included. As for Oregon, Oregon State frequently gives them problems when the Beavers should honestly have no right to do so, but the Ducks have a title in front of them if they just keep winning and Chip Kelly is good at keeping them focused.
My brain knows you are probably right but my heart still sees through Crimson colored glasses! Those eyes see ND getting roasted and stuffed by USC and hoping Oregon, with an increasingly porus defense, drops one to Stanford or O-State or the Championship. KState will probably romp on Tejas (A&Ms little red headed step brother) and for the life of me I can't bring myself to pull for the Longhorns.

Frankly, I am more worried about us finishing strong with Georgia ramping up as we seem to be stalling out.
 
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JessN

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How much did Jarrick Williams' injury hurt us?
He would have been in competition with Perry for safety in base. In other words, we would have had four players rotating in that position rather than three.

The big problem for the secondary right now, in my opinion, is you have two guys playing downhill (Lester, Milliner) and the other two positions are playing without much confidence at all. Belue has gotten better, and he's keeping focus better during the game, but he is really small. He needs to do a lot of body modification over this offseason or having any kind of pro career is going to be tough for him. I think Sunseri and Clinton-Dix will be among the best in the conference -- two years from now. Over the past two weeks, they haven't known whether to scratch their watch or wind their butt. The other thing, of course, is the lack of an experienced third cornerback, which would solve the issue at Star. Travell Dixon being an all-around bust really hurt UA.
 

rgw

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What was the nature of Travell Dixon's departure? Considering it is apparent we were relying on him to get us into an ideal nickel personnel group, it is hard to believe it was a JUCO transfer miss...he was one of the most sought after DBs in the JUCO ranks last year. We've had such a high batting average in that regard, I suppose it was going to happen before long but was it simply because he couldn't handle the program when he got here or was it truly some kind of personal/family issue?
 

JessN

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What was the nature of Travell Dixon's departure? Considering it is apparent we were relying on him to get us into an ideal nickel personnel group, it is hard to believe it was a JUCO transfer miss...he was one of the most sought after DBs in the JUCO ranks last year. We've had such a high batting average in that regard, I suppose it was going to happen before long but was it simply because he couldn't handle the program when he got here or was it truly some kind of personal/family issue?
Well, he was behind Geno Smith when he left. May have also been behind Bradley Sylve. I think it was a combination of not picking up the defense fast enough, coupled with some kind of doghouse issue. I don't really buy into the family stuff.
 

rgw

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I think Geno is going to be the next in line in terms of our great corners but we have to remember that even Dre was not ready in year one and struggled some in year two.
 

efd840

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"5. Defense couldn’t create a pressure point. Aside from the first couple of Aggie drives in the second half, Alabama couldn’t find any way to seriously affect Manziel in the pocket."

This, ladies and gentlemen, was your ball game. It was almost the ball game at LSU and if dramatic improvement doesn't occur it will be the reason Alabama loses the SECCG.

I don't know what is wrong, but Alabama simply cannot get pressure no matter what defensive set they use or how many they bring on the blitz.

The inability to get off the field on 3rd down is happening because they can't get pressure and the offensive downturn (turnovers excepted) is a direct result of the offense not getting enough snaps to establish a rhythm.

All the talk about getting the needed help to make it back to the title game and which undefeated team Bama would like to face is pretty much wasted air. Unless the pass rush issues are get resolved in the next two weeks, Bama's not even going to win the SEC.
 

deliveryman35

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Seems like everytime November rolls around we struggle. I'd much rather lose a game that we're supposed to win in September than this time of yr.
 

bamafaninOhiO

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With it being obvious that LSU and TAMU, had schemed well against our defense, it will be interesting to see if there is a shift personnel for coach Saban. I think teams have given up traditional running games against us. Quick passes and the occasional run into the interior to keep the safeties honest appears to be the way to go. This defense works a high percentage of the time but in college football there is not much room for error. Jess, do you feel that too much emphasis has been placed on the passing game in order keep the appearance of being explosive?
Appearance of being explosive???? Go back and look at the passing attack we've had so far, we've had a significant increase in long passes, which helps loosen it up when 8-9 crowd the box...passing got us back into the game against A&M...a poorly executed play at the end killed us, but the coaches obviously felt that play would work based on how the game had went.

its so that we dont become one dimensional...
 

Neverending

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good read

Yeh, I've been talking about it for years: We just don't have talented pass rushers on the line. These opposing QBs are having an amazing amount of time to make decisions in the pocket.
 

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