NFL Network's David Jeremiah Gives Critique of Bama DL

RTR91

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Nov 23, 2007
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It's pretty obvious and something we've said for the last couple of seasons.




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gamersfuel

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yeh.. its just hard for 300 lb DE's to get off blocks trying to make a play on a screen pass. or even trying to get into position to make a tkl on a read option play once the play is beyond the LOS.. i'd like to see more 250 lb DE's in some sets. the kid from Carver should be solid in his role at DE.
 

GrayTide

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This is a point I have alluded to on more than one occasion when discussing our defense. We appear to put too much reliance on bulk at the expense of athleticism and speed on the DL. The same has applied to the LBs. I realize there is no ideal size for any position, but given the shift in offense over the last couple of years a 300+ pound DL and 240+ pound LB may no longer be desirable.
 

AlexanderFan

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Jul 23, 2004
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If that's all you need to be an NFL analyst sign me up. We have 3675443 posters in this forum alone who have said the same thing 33578875432 times.

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RTR91

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yeh.. its just hard for 300 lb DE's to get off blocks trying to make a play on a screen pass. or even trying to get into position to make a tkl on a read option play once the play is beyond the LOS.. i'd like to see more 250 lb DE's in some sets. the kid from Carver should be solid in his role at DE.
Are you talking about the 2016 recruit Marlon Davidson? He moved back to Greenville after his mother passed away.

To Jeremiah's point - I think the coaching staff has tried to make a transition to smaller, quicker DEs but waited a year longer than it needed to. We have some guys entering their third and second year in the program that fill the need. For whatever reason, Saban and Kirby have continued to use the bigger DE's - presumably due to their time in the system over the quicker guys.
 

AlexanderFan

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This is a point I have alluded to on more than one occasion when discussing our defense. We appear to put too much reliance on bulk at the expense of athleticism and speed on the DL. The same has applied to the LBs. I realize there is no ideal size for any position, but given the shift in offense over the last couple of years a 300+ pound DL and 240+ pound LB may no longer be desirable.
There has also been a gigantic and swift movement in what's allowed offensively. You can't diminish the importance of offensive line being allowed to move so much during the pre snap. You know what they are doing? They are getting the line read from the coaches on the sidelines. How much more effective is the offensive line going to look, and conversely how ineffective the defensive line is going to look, if the offensive line is correctly positioned every play? There is always room for improvement, but these guys are designed to take up offensive linemen and let the linebackers make plays.

The conspiracy theorist in me thinks that possibly other schools may use the lack of stats and perceived glory from ESPN to negatively recruit against us, but that kind of stuff just doesn't happen, right? ;)

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BigEasyTider

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Nov 27, 2007
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Jeremiah is correct on this, and frankly the staff has been very open in their acknowledgment of it. In that sense, there really is no debate to be had on this subject. We've pretty dramatically altered our recruiting strategy for most of the defensive front seven, and in the past 18 months have spent a slew of scholarships trying to re-make the front seven.

The good news is that it looked like last year that we are making real progress on this front, although we still have a ways to go. The defensive backfield, on the other hand, is another story.
 

BigEasyTider

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Nov 27, 2007
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isn't this somewhat at odds with recent praise of our DL?
Lot of praise for the DL, which consists of true interior players and 3-4 combo end-tackle players. None of those guys are edge rushers, though, and for the most part none of them give us tremendous production rushing the passer.

Jeremiah isn't talking about those guys here. Instead, he's mainly referring to OLBs and the pass rush specialists we bring in on obvious passing downs. Think of this as more of a criticism of guys like Pettway, Williams, etc.
 
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davefrat

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Lot of praise for the DL, which consists of true interior players and 3-4 combo end-tackle players. None of those guys are edge rushers, though, and for the most part none of them give us tremendous production rushing the passer.

Jeremiah isn't talking about those guys here. Instead, he's mainly referring to OLBs and the pass rush specialists we bring in on obvious passing downs. Think of this as more of a criticism of guys like Pettway, Williams, etc.
thanks.

clearly i was too lazy to read the article.
 

TommyMac

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Apr 24, 2001
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Couldn't agree more, it's so frustrating to see us miss out on sacks so often when just one half of a step is the difference, or to see the QB escaping to the outside by that same half step and msking a big play.

I'm really hoping to see guys like LB's like Evans, Williams and Holcombe make a difference with their speed and quickness.
 

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