JessN: Ohio State recap: Tide may have even more changes to make

JessN

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Ohio State recap: Tide may have even more changes to make
by Jess Nicholas
TideFans Editor-In-Chief
January 2nd, 2015 02:01 AM

. By Jess Nicholas TideFans.com Editor-In-Chief Jan. 1, 2015 About this time last year, Alabama was finding out that Doug Nussmeier was not the answer as the Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator. Whether Nussmeier was actually fired, whether he was encouraged to examine other offers, whether his contract simply ran out and was not renewed, is […]

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Isaiah 63:1

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Dec 8, 2005
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This was a total team loss, no doubt (though special teams were solid); but despite the third down defensive issues I still believe that this was Lane Kiffen's worst job this year relative to prep time. We seemed to have no offensive philosophy other than to stay away from what worked - namely, Derrick Henry and other aspects of the running game. I agree we may need to reexamine our defensive philosophy, but even with the third down meltdowns we would have won this game with more rational play calling...
 

TideMan09

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Jan 17, 2009
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Blake Sims played at his best when we went into our HUNH offense & Coach Saban even said that after the game..I wish we had stayed in our HUNH offense all year long with Blake at QB, cause that's when he & our offense looked its best, why we shied away from that as the season went on I will never understand..You play the kinda football that's best suited for the kind QB you have playing..And Blake never looked comfortable when we went with our slower paced huddle type offense..JMHO
 

twofbyc

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Oct 14, 2009
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I have said this before: do what works. If you run and they can't stop you, don't stop until they do. CNS (I know pre-LK and probably still) put a lot of emphasis on balance, and that's just wrong IMO. You waste plays on things that don't work when not running plays that do.
I read DH averaged over 9 yds per carry - but only toted the rock 13 times? (Actually, I heard 15, but still...) That's insane.
 

GrayTide

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Nov 15, 2005
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I have said this before: do what works. If you run and they can't stop you, don't stop until they do. CNS (I know pre-LK and probably still) put a lot of emphasis on balance, and that's just wrong IMO. You waste plays on things that don't work when not running plays that do.
I read DH averaged over 9 yds per carry - but only toted the rock 13 times? (Actually, I heard 15, but still...) That's insane.
Absolutely agree with this whole idea of offensive balance. I do think it is important "to be able to be balanced" but to force balance statistically at the expense of consistency is just wrong. I think Jess is right, change in how CNS does things defensively may or may not happen.
 

Ole Man Dan

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Apr 21, 2008
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Jess saw what I saw. We needed a 'Hot' QB, and Blake wasn't.
Our pass rush was practically non existent.
Our running game was working and we shelved it in favor of a passing game that for the most part failed to deliver. We failed to contain the edges.

When our passing game faltered, we failed to utilize Blake's running ability.
Seems like he was at his best this year. when things fell apart, he scrambled, and threw on the run. Didn't happen last night.

Maybe it's just a fighters observation, but when something is working, we should have kept at it, until they stopped us. (Drake Henry should have kept gashing TOSU, because they were not stopping him) Case in point... I don't remember the time in the game,but we were 2nd and four, and instead of rushing for a first down, we threw two ineffective passes that led to yet another punt. We seemed to get our punter a lot of practice last night...

We lost a game we should have won.


Guess I'll retreat to my cave now and lick my wounds.
 
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TideHiFlyer

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Fellas, we scored 35 points last night. 35 should win a ball game. Blake and Kiff were not the problem! Defense wins championships!
 

bamanix

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great review jesse. my thoughts are that in the old days when we started gashing defenses with the run it always result in a win, because we controlled the tempo. however, we just became a sims to cooper passing game. coop was the security blanket for sims at all times. there were so many opportunities, and we failed. the bad pass to howard wide open in the end zone, not utllizing fowler at all. driving the ball with handoffs to henry, and then sims rushing the ball three times in a row, and having to punt. the defense who use to stop any perimeter rushes had problems all season. I think because our def backs are playing the pass so hard, they lack support for the perimeter. landon Collins is the only true warrior in the secondary. our linebackers are basically smaller def linemen not quick enough to recover when needed. when we put Hamilton in and they nailed him immediately, and ran for the big td. no help for the freshman. so many mistakes, turnovers. watching jones do his qb gash up the middle against our defense has been a problem all year. we never stopped it. we really need to rethink our old school game, and go into the new era. its not that we don't recruit good, its, the utilization and teaching. I am so tired of hearing how the secondary is coach sabans personal group, well, we need some serious changes in our teaching up.
 

TideEngineer08

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A great write up as usual, JessN. I have to say, I was completely wrong about so much in college football this year. I don't know if it is because of SEC arrogance, or what, but I was wrong about Oregon, Ohio State, and TCU. (Frankly, even though I believe the top 4 was right, it is so obvious now that TCU was one of the best teams in the country and probably should have replaced FSU in the final 4). Oregon is a machine. Meyer has brought Ohio State much farther than I thought, and what Gary Patterson has done at TCU is remarkable. I think the game has passed Nick Saban by. Or, I should clarify, the rule changes has passed Nick Saban's system by. I don't think there is any reason why we can't continue to be very good, but beating these teams like OSU/Oregon/TCU is going to be much more difficult without some drastic changes on the defensive side of the ball. The game has changed so much in the past decade; it's really amazing when you think about it. I was also very frustrated with the offensive strategy last night... we should have run more power to the left and we should have gone downfield in the passing game more. The draw plays and bubble screens were wasted plays for most of the night. And in the end, third down was what killed us on both sides of the ball. It was astonishing that they could convert third and longs so well, and we couldn't convert a third and short. You're not going to win many games with that statistic.
 

skipster63

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Great analysis Jess. I do think we got too cute but Blake just had a poor outing. Lane did a good job all year game planning around Blake's more limited passing ability but Ohio State did a masterful job of putting the game on Blake's shoulders to win or lose it and he wasn't up for the challenge. I do believe he was the best QB we had this year but he was very inconsistent with his accuracy and often made poor decisions and Ohio State made us pay for it last night. Otherwise, I agree with everything you said.
 

tide power fan

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Most of the time when you score 35 points and lose it's the d's fault but the D got a turnover that led to 7 points got the ball back for the O at the 24 and we turned it over to them, we also threw a pick 6 so I say it's as much on the O as the D. I think the D not being able to pressure the QB hurt us on third down.
 

dvldog

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Most of the time when you score 35 points and lose it's the d's fault but the D got a turnover that led to 7 points got the ball back for the O at the 24 and we turned it over to them, we also threw a pick 6 so I say it's as much on the O as the D. I think the D not being able to pressure the QB hurt us on third down.
I'd say almost half their total yardage came on third down; too may 3 and outs on our part and to many long 3rd down conversions allowed haunted us all season.
 

CoachJeff

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I have said this before: do what works. If you run and they can't stop you, don't stop until they do. CNS (I know pre-LK and probably still) put a lot of emphasis on balance, and that's just wrong IMO. You waste plays on things that don't work when not running plays that do.
I read DH averaged over 9 yds per carry - but only toted the rock 13 times? (Actually, I heard 15, but still...) That's insane.
Henry had 13 carries for 95 yards - or 7.3 yards a clip, also caught two balls for 54 yards.

In the last 4 games Henry had 50 carries for 400 yards (8.0 ypc) and 6 TDs. He also caught 3 passes for 63 yards and TD.
 

fundytide

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Good insights, Jess and I agree with you for the most part.

It seemed to me that the defensive line was getting lots of pressure and was pretty disruptive early until Jones gashed us up the middle on a few runs in the second quarter and we shifted to the 'mush rush' to try to stop that. When our defense made that adjustment, Jones had time to throw the ball downfield and did so successfully. Then in the fourth quarter we got aggressive on the defensive line and had some success again. Again, just my opinion but this is the same pattern that we saw vs. Auburn. Our failure to set the edge is a repeat of last year's Sugar Bowl. I think in general we are OK in terms of ability in the secondary (starters, at least) but we seem to not be using our front seven as effectively as we need to do to beat teams like OSU, OU, Auburn etc.

I'm not sure what to make of that other than to say that a lot of troubles in our secondary come from a combination of no pass rush (by design) and very aggressive run support from our SS. Our defense's failure to get off the field on third down- and in particular, to play very well on first and second down and then implode on third and long- was a running theme all season and seemed to just get worse as the competition improved.

As for the offense, as has been mentioned, baffling why we would not run the ball more given the success that we were having all game long.
 

JTBama

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Fellas, we scored 35 points last night. 35 should win a ball game. Blake and Kiff were not the problem! Defense wins championships!
I have to disagree, the whole team takes responsibility . Offense looked good at times and the defense stood tall at times. Defense got turnovers to keep our o on the field....and on the flip side the offense didn't give our d a lot of time to rest.both share their fare share of responsibility
 

JDCrimson

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I have said this before: do what works. If you run and they can't stop you, don't stop until they do. CNS (I know pre-LK and probably still) put a lot of emphasis on balance, and that's just wrong IMO. You waste plays on things that don't work when not running plays that do.
I read DH averaged over 9 yds per carry - but only toted the rock 13 times? (Actually, I heard 15, but still...) That's insane.
I think your comment sums up the entire season for us. This season was in many ways a real departure for Saban. Probably a learning experience. He started to dabble with tempo situationally yet still preferring ball control through balanced playcalling. The one thing that I think he could take a page from the the tempo offenses is the tendency to continue to run the same play consistently until it is stopped. That is is a basic tenet of tempo offenses (and high school offenses for that matter). We could have owned the game had we continued to run left with any TB we trotted out there. Personally, I dont there is much we really need to change on offense except to get better execution offensively and adjust offensively playcalling towards efficiency as you put it rather than balance that impedes momentum. Offensive momentum whether achieved through tempo or repetitive playcalling is the name of the game now.

Defensively speaking, I think we improved the front half of the defense this year by recruiting different type players to play DL. However, there are not enough scholarships to also fix the back half. We will now have to re-double our recruiting efforts to find big fluid DBs with a wingspan. I dont think the technique is the problem. Its just that more times than not our DBs were not fast or quick enough to play the technique taught. Go back and look and most of the time our DBs are in recovery mode. In that situation you are simply beat and the only thing you can do is get a hand up a attempt to face guard or rake the ball. Neither of which work to well with the bigger receivers. Too putting DBs totally on an island so that safeties can help with run support limits your ability to get INTs.

To ask for more pressure from the DL at this point is really not the answer. We simply need DBs that can attack a WR off the LOS and cover an extra second longer. We have the right mix on the DL now.
 

TRU

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I do not know what the defensive answer to the HUNH is, but I am sure of two things. First, that as has always happened in the past, there is an answer out there for the HUNH, as there has been for every offensive innovation since the forward pass. Second, the multiple substitution for the situation defense perfected by CNS and CKS is not that answer. I agree with Jess that something has to change for the defense to adapt to the way the game is evolving. And I agree with Jess that it may be too much for CNS. He has made it very clear that he hates the direction in which the game is moving. He is past 60, quite well off, and it would not surprise me if he feels that the game is no longer any fun for him, he will decide to retire.
 

JTBama

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I do not know what the defensive answer to the HUNH is, but I am sure of two things. First, that as has always happened in the past, there is an answer out there for the HUNH, as there has been for every offensive innovation since the forward pass. Second, the multiple substitution for the situation defense perfected by CNS and CKS is not that answer. I agree with Jess that something has to change for the defense to adapt to the way the game is evolving. And I agree with Jess that it may be too much for CNS. He has made it very clear that he hates the direction in which the game is moving. He is past 60, quite well off, and it would not surprise me if he feels that the game is no longer any fun for him, he will decide to retire.

I think you are spot on. This was the exact discussion I had with some fellow fans this year before the season.Love CNS but eventually he will ask himself those very same questions if he already hasn't.Until then, we can have fun watching what adjustments are made.
 

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