I'll tell you what will change...very little. The fact remains that it takes a great team that is playing at the top of their game PLUS bonehead mistakes by our team to beat Bama. As crappy as it feels right now, we were still in position to grab #16. Last night trends, like 3rd downs, went the complete opposite direction than they have all season. Hats off to OSU, but I'm not convinced they're the best team that we faced this season. I think Saban will view this as an opportunity to make some subtle changes. But face it, we were right there. I'm feeling the same as much of you. But we got to enjoy an extra game (SECCG), we were in it till the end and we didn't lose by 40 (ha ha FSU). We'll be back. RTR!
JessN: Ohio State recap: Tide may have even more changes to make
- Thread starter JessN
- Start date
I still go back to a game in Knoxville when Bobby Humphrey gashed Tennessee for over 200 yards running toss sweeps. When something works that well, screw balance!
In the era of more-or-less parity, anybody with a meaningful schedule will lose the occasional game. Losing sucks, but it is part of the game. Neither, though, do I want to get used to it.
I'm not ready to go full hysterical/suicidal, or throw anyone under the bus (although there are a few assistants that could probably be improved upon). We had a great year, and I appreciate the fine fellows who represented us and their efforts.
He are my top-5 areas for change:
1. Become a bend-not-break/disruptive defense
We are set up like Gandalf on the bridge, telling the Balrog that he shall not pass, by which I mean we don't want to give up a single yard. This is extremely effective against lesser teams, but not always effective against Balrogs. Yards are much easier to get these days - you may as well plan on it, and move to a disruptive defense that focuses instead on big plays and turnovers. Rather than a Bama defense "2 yards/4 yards/0 yards" stop, you try for the "12 yards/8 yards/-8 yards/8 yards" stop.
2. Mush rush got to go
So, if #1 is a philosophy change, this is a technique change. The mush rush, I guess, is supposed to keep the D line in their lanes so they keep containment while trying to collapse the pocket. It worked fairly well last night, at least from a running perspective, but I believe it is not disruptive enough and puts too much on the corners.
3. Don't be so predictable with the 1-on-1 at the corners.
If #2 changes, we have more defensive options in the secondary. I feel our defense is far too predictable. We rely on great execution by top talent, and it worked pretty well when we had true NFL talent at corner and before HUNH became more popular. But this is now the bleeding gash of our D, and we need to be able to switch to new looks to confuse offenses. For instance, the OSU defensive play where their backer dropped into coverage to bracket Cooper resulted in an interception. Very nicely done, except they got a pick-6 out of it.
4. "Balance" has got to go.
On offense, I'm in violent agreement with today's RBR analysis. If a thing is working, balance be damned and make them stop you. I think we had a thing going with Henry and TJ, nice yards, nice clock control, and no chance of interceptions. Looks like a winner to me, so we switch to passing and lost the game. Now, OC playcalling is always a lot easier the next day, but (if it were true) being a slave to stats is the most important thing, this needs to change.
5. Recruit difference makers and maradonnas
This is a difficult balance to achieve, and I would be very timid about second-guessing the guy who gets the #1 recruiting class every year like clockwork. However, I feel like we may be losing recruits because Saban won't promise them playing time the first year. Might we have gotten Fournette? Or the big Kentucky NT? Maybe.
The other thing is hard to quantify. We get a tremendous level of recruit, but whether because of the player or because of the scheme, it is hard to say that many of them "make a difference". Compare A'Shawn last night to Joey. I'd take A'Shawn any day but how do we scheme him to set him free? These are tough questions and, as Jess is suggesting, they strike at the heart of The Process and what it means to be a Saban-coached team.
I'm not ready to go full hysterical/suicidal, or throw anyone under the bus (although there are a few assistants that could probably be improved upon). We had a great year, and I appreciate the fine fellows who represented us and their efforts.
He are my top-5 areas for change:
1. Become a bend-not-break/disruptive defense
We are set up like Gandalf on the bridge, telling the Balrog that he shall not pass, by which I mean we don't want to give up a single yard. This is extremely effective against lesser teams, but not always effective against Balrogs. Yards are much easier to get these days - you may as well plan on it, and move to a disruptive defense that focuses instead on big plays and turnovers. Rather than a Bama defense "2 yards/4 yards/0 yards" stop, you try for the "12 yards/8 yards/-8 yards/8 yards" stop.
2. Mush rush got to go
So, if #1 is a philosophy change, this is a technique change. The mush rush, I guess, is supposed to keep the D line in their lanes so they keep containment while trying to collapse the pocket. It worked fairly well last night, at least from a running perspective, but I believe it is not disruptive enough and puts too much on the corners.
3. Don't be so predictable with the 1-on-1 at the corners.
If #2 changes, we have more defensive options in the secondary. I feel our defense is far too predictable. We rely on great execution by top talent, and it worked pretty well when we had true NFL talent at corner and before HUNH became more popular. But this is now the bleeding gash of our D, and we need to be able to switch to new looks to confuse offenses. For instance, the OSU defensive play where their backer dropped into coverage to bracket Cooper resulted in an interception. Very nicely done, except they got a pick-6 out of it.
4. "Balance" has got to go.
On offense, I'm in violent agreement with today's RBR analysis. If a thing is working, balance be damned and make them stop you. I think we had a thing going with Henry and TJ, nice yards, nice clock control, and no chance of interceptions. Looks like a winner to me, so we switch to passing and lost the game. Now, OC playcalling is always a lot easier the next day, but (if it were true) being a slave to stats is the most important thing, this needs to change.
5. Recruit difference makers and maradonnas
This is a difficult balance to achieve, and I would be very timid about second-guessing the guy who gets the #1 recruiting class every year like clockwork. However, I feel like we may be losing recruits because Saban won't promise them playing time the first year. Might we have gotten Fournette? Or the big Kentucky NT? Maybe.
The other thing is hard to quantify. We get a tremendous level of recruit, but whether because of the player or because of the scheme, it is hard to say that many of them "make a difference". Compare A'Shawn last night to Joey. I'd take A'Shawn any day but how do we scheme him to set him free? These are tough questions and, as Jess is suggesting, they strike at the heart of The Process and what it means to be a Saban-coached team.
We have become the UK of College Football --
We have so many blue chip athletes that at times it just doesn't all come together.
Coach Cal figured it out this year -- but just splitting his team into two platoons....not sure how that can translate to Football -- BUT -- perhaps we can look for a few more "heart" guys -- instead of the biggest, tallest, fastest all the time
I also notice Evans didn't play last night -- did his "Bourbon Street" comment get him benched? I also didn't notice Hand -- if these two were supposed to be our two of our best pass rushers -- where were they?
We have so many blue chip athletes that at times it just doesn't all come together.
Coach Cal figured it out this year -- but just splitting his team into two platoons....not sure how that can translate to Football -- BUT -- perhaps we can look for a few more "heart" guys -- instead of the biggest, tallest, fastest all the time
I also notice Evans didn't play last night -- did his "Bourbon Street" comment get him benched? I also didn't notice Hand -- if these two were supposed to be our two of our best pass rushers -- where were they?
I wondered that too. Maybe since Jones outweighed Evans by about 25 lbs.? Also, I don't recall Tim Williams getting in either.
Amen. IIRC, we ran the toss sweep with DH only ONCE? How many times did we run out of the I, twice?
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I am all for balance if it's the potential on almost any play to either run the ball or throw it. Make the defense respect that potential all the time. How that manifests itself at the end of the game in terms of relative plays, yards and scores doesn't matter.
I think the DL underperformed all year as well as the DB's. Not sure why on earth Coach brought back Bo Davis....they let Bo go to texas for a reason several years ago.
Switch Bo Davis with the ex Washington DL coach that is currently on the support staff and see what he can do with this group....or something.
The DBs are struggling too, and that is Kirby and Coach's positions....need some kind of coaching improvement there as well somehow.
No matter what happens....KEEP Bobby Williams AWAY from JK Scott!
Balance is a means to an end (keeping the defense guessing), not an end in itself.
I would hope that the coaching staff would not call plays on the basis of things this team does not do well, simply in the name of "balance.".
I believe the days of completely shutting down a great offensive team is over. Not that OSU has a great offense, but we are going to see more of this hurry up stuff in the future. Although OSU did great on offense, I believe we lost because of our own poor offensive play. In tight games you can't throw three interceptions and expect to win (in most cases). When you can't buy a first down on third down, forget about any sort of ball control. The way to stop an opposing offense is to stay on offense yourself. That did not happen. I realize our defensive corners need to improve, but they are not the reason we lost this game. We simply could not sustain drives. PLAY SELECTION FIRST, EXECUTION SECOND. OSU is not a better team than us, but they were ready for us; we were not ready for them.
With that said, we still had a very good season. We were still the best in the SEC, which surprised many of us. I am proud of how these guys fought throughout the season. But, I am going to remove my crimson glasses for a moment and say that we really did not need to play Oregon this year. I believe they are the best of the best and OSU will take a beatdown if the ducks perform as usual.
With that said, we still had a very good season. We were still the best in the SEC, which surprised many of us. I am proud of how these guys fought throughout the season. But, I am going to remove my crimson glasses for a moment and say that we really did not need to play Oregon this year. I believe they are the best of the best and OSU will take a beatdown if the ducks perform as usual.
A big Part of our Ds problem was our offense. When we have multiple consecutive 3 and outs the D has no time to rest. I don't know but I am sure osu dominated time of possession. This is where running the ball would have really benefited us and I was expecting this adjustment after halftime.
I remember very specifically thinking this after an Alabama drive stalled late in the second quarter. Just one small example. Bama is up 21-6, controlling the game thus far, and has a third down, passes the ball to a receiver who had run a route that would have resulted in a first down had he caught the ball. He dropped it and on the replay, you can see he had turned his eyes away from the ball to look where he was going to run after the catch (or for the DB that was going to hit him). (One of the things about Bama's uniforms, the stripe on the helmet indicates where the player is looking and this receiver did not look the ball into his hands.) Bama punts, OSU scores a TD on the ensuing drive, closing the gap to 21-13. If Bama does not even score on that drive, but goes into the locker room up 21-6, I believe they win the game.
Basics: blocking, tackling, looking the ball into your hands before you run with it. Bama did not need 50 yards after the catch on that play. They needed five yards for a first down to sustain the drive. But you have to catch the dang ball to get the five yards.
And this is not to hang the loss on one player or one play. Just an example. One dropped pass did not give OSU a TD on the ensuing possession. I'd bet you could find other problems on other plays. Nobody's perfect, but the cumulative effect of small errors is a defeat.
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DH is best when he is in space. He is so big that he can't hide behind the line like the typical running back can. When we ran the toss sweep with DH he got chunks of yards. We only ran that 2 or 3 times that I remember.
I know this has been talked to death, but wasn't in the mood to comment, until the season was over. So, if I may, I would like to bring up one subject I have not seen mentioned.
Listening to the pre-game show, Phil said he expected us to be in our Pro Set formation (Fowler, and 2 TEs) a lot, as this would force tOSU to use a defensive alignment they prefer not to use.
If we went to a 3 WR formation, this would play into tOSU's strength. They are much better, when they utilize that defensive alignment, as they move players around, and change/disguise their roles. Which would gives us fits.
I kept waiting for us to go Pro Set heavy, and it never seemed to materialize. I assume Phil had some inside knowledge of this, rather than just pulling it out of his hat.
He was probably right about one thing: tOSU's defensive alignment against 3 (or 4) WRs sets works pretty well.
In any case, it is wait until next year. At least we will still don our Bama gear, instead of hiding it in the closet, like some other team who does not merit mentioning by name.
RTR!
Listening to the pre-game show, Phil said he expected us to be in our Pro Set formation (Fowler, and 2 TEs) a lot, as this would force tOSU to use a defensive alignment they prefer not to use.
If we went to a 3 WR formation, this would play into tOSU's strength. They are much better, when they utilize that defensive alignment, as they move players around, and change/disguise their roles. Which would gives us fits.
I kept waiting for us to go Pro Set heavy, and it never seemed to materialize. I assume Phil had some inside knowledge of this, rather than just pulling it out of his hat.
He was probably right about one thing: tOSU's defensive alignment against 3 (or 4) WRs sets works pretty well.
In any case, it is wait until next year. At least we will still don our Bama gear, instead of hiding it in the closet, like some other team who does not merit mentioning by name.
RTR!
I agree. While it is hard to argue the overall success of our offense this year; I have wondered if Kiffin did not go too far a way from what CNS wanted. For those who will admit it, tOSU beat us at our own game and, BTW their on the field talent level is equal to ours. I am in hopes that next year we can rebuild our defense while returning to some extent to the type offense that won NCs. As for now, tOSU is the model for a championship team.
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Anybody think they looked like us when we won our championships ( run it, play sound D, etc. )?
"A big Part of our Ds problem was our offense. When we have multiple consecutive 3 and outs the D has no time to rest. I don't know but I am sure osu dominated time of possession. This is where running the ball would have really benefited us and I was expecting this adjustment after halftime."
This helped me to remember this was basically a rebuilding year, everybody thought we need to change our offense which is what we started to do this year. The offensive changes cost the defense; Alabama’s defense was on the field more this year more than in any of the past 5 years, averaging 8 more defensive plays a game. While that may not seem like much, it is. If we’re going to play fast offense we are going to have to adjust our defense as well.
Personally I don’t think the change in offense is necessary but trust our coaches to know more then me.
This helped me to remember this was basically a rebuilding year, everybody thought we need to change our offense which is what we started to do this year. The offensive changes cost the defense; Alabama’s defense was on the field more this year more than in any of the past 5 years, averaging 8 more defensive plays a game. While that may not seem like much, it is. If we’re going to play fast offense we are going to have to adjust our defense as well.
Personally I don’t think the change in offense is necessary but trust our coaches to know more then me.
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