Link: Areas where Alabama can/needs to improve.

I don't want to be old gloom and doom, but there were numerous times during the season where opposing receivers were wide open 20-30 yards down the field and if the other team had a qb that could have hit a barn with a bazooka they would have been completed.

we had blown and out of position coverage problems going all the way back to the WVU game.

I definitely agree that pass coverage is the #1 area to work on. The only thing that saved us at times last season was the dropped pass. The opposing receivers were wide open and the the pass was right there and they dropped it. We may have lost a couple more games if not for the dropped passes. On offense we need to run the ball better. While high scoring shootouts are becoming the norm in college football it's still not the best way to try to win. I don't know how many more 55-44 games we can win. It's still better to keep the opponents pass-happy QB's on the bench while we grind out a long drive.

CrimsonEyeshade said:

All true. Yet many of those same posters cheered Kirby's reassignment to the secondary last year. That leaves us with two conclusions: What he taught didn't work OR his students weren't good enough to put the lessons in place.

I choose door no. 2.

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How about door no. 3 The defense is way too complicated to defend todays offenses with 18 to 23 year olds. I swear sometimes we just overcomplicate things or we are too busy subbing in and out players that we are so out of position or just totally lost. I think Kirby is good but I have to say Chavis's approach to the Spread HUNH offenses has been the most effective in the last three years than any coach in the SEC.

PA Tide Fan said:

I definitely agree that pass coverage is the #1 area to work on. The only thing that saved us at times last season was the dropped pass. The opposing receivers were wide open and the the pass was right there and they dropped it. We may have lost a couple more games if not for the dropped passes. On offense we need to run the ball better. While high scoring shootouts are becoming the norm in college football it's still not the best way to try to win. I don't know how many more 55-44 games we can win. It's still better to keep the opponents pass-happy QB's on the bench while we grind out a long drive.

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as crazy as it seems, meyer won the NC with an Ohio State team that looked more like old-school Alabama than Alabama looked.

81usaf92 said:

How about door no. 3 The defense is way too complicated to defend todays offenses with 18 to 23 year olds. I swear sometimes we just overcomplicate things or we are too busy subbing in and out players that we are so out of position or just totally lost. I think Kirby is good but I have to say Chavis's approach to the Spread HUNH offenses has been the most effective in the last three years than any coach in the SEC.

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Chavis played the the "we're gonna out-personnel you" game. Maybe we can, too.

4Q Basket Case said:

Other than characterizing Missouri's offense as balanced (it was anything but), you nailed it.

Sometimes, the truth is unpleasant.

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What is your definition of a balanced offense?

81usaf92 said:

How about door no. 3 The defense is way too complicated to defend todays offenses with 18 to 23 year olds. I swear sometimes we just overcomplicate things or we are too busy subbing in and out players that we are so out of position or just totally lost. I think Kirby is good but I have to say Chavis's approach to the Spread HUNH offenses has been the most effective in the last three years than any coach in the SEC.

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I think the D staff have figured out the HUNH to a large degree. As a philosophy, the HUNH is not what gave us trouble all year. How many times did the defense have a HUNH team in 3rd and long and a bomb down the field bailed them out? It happened repeatedly against AU, Mizzou, and OHSt. That's a pass coverage problem more than a defensive philosophy problem.

I doubt that Saban will change his defensive philosophy, but we went to Ash and the 4 quarters defense to end this very problem without destroying our ability to stuff the run. It is easier to learn, though still complex enough to keep offensive lines guessing.

I think ball play was lacking in the secondary. We had guys in position but they were not taught to be agressive enough. This isn't 1980. If you're DB's don't fight for the ball and risk a few penalties you're going to get eaten alive by a QB with a big arm.

Secondly tackling. We aren't as good as we used to be. The 09 and 11 teams really were good at that and we've taken a big step back. It was especially maddending against Ohio State

Offensively my only concern is the development of receiver talent and QB's. That's a challenge for most every team because we win a lot of games because the other team failed to master that as well. I just think we need to pick that up some.

bamaslammer said:

Secondly tackling. We aren't as good as we used to be. The 09 and 11 teams really were good at that and we've taken a big step back. It was especially maddending against Ohio State

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Sometimes we seemed to want to just knock the ball carrier down with a big hit rather than wrapping up to make the stop.

davefrat said:

I don't want to be old gloom and doom, but there were numerous times during the season where opposing receivers were wide open 20-30 yards down the field and if the other team had a qb that could have hit a barn with a bazooka they would have been completed.

we had blown and out of position coverage problems going all the way back to the WVU game.

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and yet somehow, we ended up in the playoffs ranked #1 at the end of the regular season

bamaslammer said:

Secondly tackling. We aren't as good as we used to be. The 09 and 11 teams really were good at that and we've taken a big step back. It was especially maddending against Ohio State

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Chukker Veteran said:

Sometimes we seemed to want to just knock the ball carrier down with a big hit rather than wrapping up to make the stop.

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It's interesting that y'all mentioned tackling. There's a lot of talk on here about trying to get younger players on the field by simplifying the system. I wonder if we would see poorer tackling as a result of that. I guess another way of saying it is "do you think players who have been in the system longer tend to be better tacklers?"

Tackling is a fundamental that should be taught at the high school level and refined in college. IMO kids coming out of high school are not as fundamentally prepared as they were even ten years ago and certainly during the Bryant era. Also going for the interception rather than just knocking the ball down usually produces bad results.

92tide said:

and yet somehow, we ended up in the playoffs ranked #1 at the end of the regular season

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and that discounts my comments in what way?

davefrat said:

and that discounts my comments in what way?

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only if you consider them discounted.

92tide said:

and yet somehow, we ended up in the playoffs ranked #1 at the end of the regular season

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That is because you were so good in so many other ways, offensively and defensively. Your secondary was actually very good, except in this one aspect.

B1GTide said:

That is because you were so good in so many other ways, offensively and defensively. Your secondary was actually very good, except in this one aspect.

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yes, the problems with our secondary were obvious. however, there is little need to fret over the problems that could have happened but didn't

It was clear from the first game that the CB's weren't up to the usual Bama level under CNS. We had Safeties playing the star and money positions when in years past at least one of those positions were manned by a true CB. Arenas used to move into that spot in '08 and '09. I believe Milner and Menzie did the same thing but I could be wrong. This showed me that we only had two CB's ready to play at most and they both struggled at times. I do look for improvement because of the lack of turnover and the talent of the guys that have now been in the system for a year, and the continued recovery of EJ from knee surgery. Better CB and Safety play outside of Collins and no one has a prayer against Bama this past year, but that's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. I'm pumped for National Signing Day, A-Day, QB competition, and that CLK is going to be back. RTR!!

92tide said:

only if you consider them discounted.

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what's the point of your post then?

do you deny that we have a problem defending the pass?