Self Scout - How would you attack Alabama?

rgw

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Sep 15, 2003
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I have never understood how we've consistently missed on a good rush end type. I think the 3-4 scheme scares them but truthfully Upshaw probably had his hand off the ground 10-15 times a season.
 

colbysullivan

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Dec 12, 2007
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I would try to pick out a receiver that will be covered by a linebacker and make it my go to on 1st down. Delayed draws seem to work well and on defense pick out the players on OL playing injured and double team them to get to AJ. Barret Jones is gimpy so he should be a pushover. Blitz on 2nd and long and 3rd and long right smack over the gimpy center. Piece of cake.
Not sure if trolling or just bad at subtlety
 

RollTide1224

All-American
Feb 18, 2008
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They want to play in the 4-3. It's a hard sell to attract that sort of guy to the 3-4. Just a fact of life. Has nothing to do with Saban's recruiting power...
The crazy thing is, like saban said in one of his December press conferences, we end up playing with 4 down about 80% of the time.

The other thing is there are dominant pass rushers in the nlfl who play in a 3-4. Harrison, ware, woodley, matthews, etc.
 

LCN

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Sep 29, 2005
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I'd try to scheme up a few plays with a TE split wide or as a slot receiver . Just be careful as what you see , pre-snap , is seldom what you get :)
 

BigBama76

Suspended
Oct 26, 2011
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Atlanta, GA
Fast tempo with a quarterback named Johnny Football. It is the only way. :biggrin:
That's not that far off IMO. Every loss since 2008 you can say the QB play has been the difference. Utah and 2011 LSU may be an exception. So much of the Utah game is just a blur as it's blotted from memory, but my sense was we got beat in every phase of that game. 2011 LSU we just couldn't punch it in or kick long FGs.

Mettenberger in the LSU game stayed in the pocket making several perfectly thrown passes with a 300 lb DL a fraction of a second from creaming him. Everybody, considering his previous play, were surprised by how well he played.
 
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TIDE-HSV

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Oct 13, 1999
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The crazy thing is, like saban said in one of his December press conferences, we end up playing with 4 down about 80% of the time.

The other thing is there are dominant pass rushers in the nlfl who play in a 3-4. Harrison, ware, woodley, matthews, etc.
I totally agree, but most of these boys are green and they're being fed lies by adults. Personally, I love that Saban first sits down with the parent(s) and discusses academics and the importance of getting a degree, etc. In the end, that wins and we don't get a lot of kids we're better off without. Let other teams lead the league (and nation) in penalties and arrests. (Believe me - there is a real connection...)
 

colbysullivan

Hall of Fame
Dec 12, 2007
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That's not that far off IMO. Every loss since 2008 you can say the QB play has been the difference. Utah St and 2011 LSU may be an exception. So much of the Utah State game is just a blur as it's blotted from memory, but my sense was we got beat in every phase of that game. 2011 LSU we just couldn't punch it in or kick long FGs.

Mettenberger in the LSU game stayed in the pocket making several perfectly thrown passes with a 300 lb DL a fraction of a second from creaming him. Everybody, considering his previous play, were surprised by how well he played.
Wow, you really did repress those memories. So much so, you changed our opponent.
 

AlexanderFan

Hall of Fame
Jul 23, 2004
11,076
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Birmingham
Double Jesse in the middle on runs, have a lead blocker, and throw slants and short crosses.

Speed rush on Fluker's side all day. Pressure the middle.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
 

NDGiantsKings

Suspended
Dec 2, 2012
31
0
0
On defense, play straight up, stuff the run with 7 in the box, be aggressive in coverage and everything will fall in to place.

On offense don't get cute run the ball or go deep, don't try and pass over the middle much. Control the clock and let the defense win the game
 

JustNeedMe81

Hall of Fame
Sep 30, 2011
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I would expect ND to try and do no hurry offense, and throw lot of slant pass and screen pages. I Think we can expect them to use up lot of the time as possible to keep the offense off the field, and I don't expect to see 20 + plus play often. Expect ND to stuff the box and force AJ to throw a lot, kinda what Texas A and M did.. but we could see lot of plays going around the edge... Alabama will get creative
 

Ole Man Dan

Hall of Fame
Apr 21, 2008
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I'm surprised no one mentioned slipping across the Mississippi line and hope Florida showed up to help.
Fl. didn't show up for their bowl game, they might not want to attack Alabama.
Tennessee would have liked to help, but their strategy didn't work.
Georgia is still miffed at loosing the SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME so they might attack from the East...
;)
As far ND. I look for them to crowd the box and attempt to stop the run.
 
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TIDE-HSV

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I'm surprised no one mentioned slipping across the Mississippi line and hope Florida showed up to help.
Fl. didn't show up for their bowl game, they might not want to attack Alabama.
Tennessee would have liked to help, but their strategy didn't work.
Georgia is still miffed at loosing the SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME so they might attack from the East...
;)
As far ND. I look for them to crowd the box and attempt to stop the run.
Now, that's breaking news...
 

JPT4Bama

Hall of Fame
Aug 21, 2006
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At the risk of inviting responses like "pray," "hope they don't show up," etc. I am curious as to how you guys would attack Alabama on offense as well as defense.

If you feel as though you know enough about NDs schemes, personnel and tendencies to speak to this specific match up, great. But that might be tough unless you've seen ND play a lot over the course of the entire year and have great familiarity with their coaching staff. Otherwise, I think fans, even highly educated fans, tend to form opinions on other teams based primarily on statistics, highlights, one or two games, things they've heard / read and what they believe about their own team - with the last item outweighing all others. While that's worth something, I'm not sure that yields the best results - as you've seen with Alabama breakdowns done by ND people.

If you're like me, you tend to obsess over the negatives on your squad - injuries, players that have not developed as you hoped, areas where you've been hurt before, etc. - rather than sitting around and daydreaming about your strengths. For example, I spend a lot more time worrying about the right side of ND's offensive line than I do watching replays of jump balls Tyler Eifert hauled in this season. And that mentality can lead to an interesting perspective.....

Anyway, you know more than I ever will about this Alabama team. What would you do if you had to face them? What are the keys on offense / defense to competing and giving yourself a chance to win?
I would study film from the 7 losses Bama has in the last 5 years. Avoid what the opponents did in the 60 Tide wins during that time.
 

dtgreg

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Jul 24, 2000
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I'm worried Coach Nuss doesn't really understand how to use a dominating run game. He's prob never had one. Plus, AJ is just too good a weapon to not use. It's a tough call; eps in this game. Against TAMU, not so much. I'll never understand why we didn't just muscle those little boys and keep Johnny F off the field.
 

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