OL play - when is it going to bite us...

B1GTide

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Apr 13, 2012
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Guys - what defensive fronts will you see in the playoffs that are better than the ones that you have already faced? I get Iowa, but their offense is so bad that they might not even get past MSU.

I really don't get the angst here. They are not as good as you had hoped, but they continue to improve and occasionally play incredibly well (LSU).
 

deliveryman35

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I also think it is crazy that everyone is bringing up Oklahoma and how good their defense is. I just don't see it. They haven't stopped anyone.
Statistically, you're actually correct:

OU--31st in total D, 46th in rushing D, 35th in redzone D.

DH should have a field day against them, just like he did in the sugar bowl. MY concern is stopping their O and how our back 7 handle Mayfield and their receivers.
 

CraigD

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Guys - what defensive fronts will you see in the playoffs that are better than the ones that you have already faced? I get Iowa, but their offense is so bad that they might not even get past MSU.

I really don't get the angst here. They are not as good as you had hoped, but they continue to improve and occasionally play incredibly well (LSU).
My fear is not that a team will shut us down, but more that a singular great player may be a difference-maker in a game. Think Nick Fairley in 2010. Think Striker last time we played Oklahoma. I was worried about Lawson Saturday but he did minimal (if any) damage. If it weren't for Jake's nifty moves he may have taken Jake's head off on the TD play... but I digress. If a single player can create 3-5 game altering plays, then we could have a problem. It only takes one weakness along our OL for this to happen. This is the reason for my angst.

I don't know the OLs for the contenders well enough to know if there any of this type player - save for Bosa for OSU and Striker for OU.



By the way, B1G, I strongly dislike OSU but your presence on this board threatens to affect my level of dislike. You are an excellent ambassador for your program. Stick around. :)
 
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92tide

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Statistically, you're actually correct:

OU--31st in total D, 46th in rushing D, 35th in redzone D.

DH should have a field day against them, just like he did in the sugar bowl. MY concern is stopping their O and how our back 7 handle Mayfield and their receivers.
with this year's d, i am not worried about stopping any o
 
Statistically, you're actually correct:

OU--31st in total D, 46th in rushing D, 35th in redzone D.

DH should have a field day against them, just like he did in the sugar bowl. MY concern is stopping their O and how our back 7 handle Mayfield and their receivers.
To me he is no more of a concern than any other running QB in the SEC. That just an opinion of mine. If our front seven shows up and our secondary doesn't have major lapses we are fine with OK.
 

RTR91

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Guys - what defensive fronts will you see in the playoffs that are better than the ones that you have already faced? I get Iowa, but their offense is so bad that they might not even get past MSU.

I really don't get the angst here. They are not as good as you had hoped, but they continue to improve and occasionally play incredibly well (LSU).
Oklahoma has Eric Striker, who had his way in the 2013 Sugar Bowl.

Michigan State has Malik McDowell.

You're probably correct in that Alabama won't face a defensive line better than ones it has played thus far, but it will face some teams that have one or two solid linemen.
 

B1GTide

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My fear is not that a team will shut us down, but more that a singular great player may be a difference-maker in a game. Think Nick Fairley in 2010. Think Stryker last time we played Oklahoma. I was worried about Lawson Saturday but he did minimal (if any) damage. If it weren't for Jake's nifty moves he may have taken Jake's head off on that play... but I digress. If a single player can create 3-5 game altering plays, then we could have a problem. It only takes one weakness along our OL for this to happen. This is the reason for my angst.

I don't know the OLs for the contenders well enough to know if there any of this type player - save for Bosa for OSU and Stryker for OU.



By the way, B1G, I strongly dislike OSU but your presence on this board threatens to affect my level of dislike. You are an excellent ambassador for your program. Stick around. :)
Striker is a LB who plays with a hand in the dirt. He could give you problems with his speed, but he isn't going to overpower anyone. aTm had two better speed rushers on the same team and you beat them by simply running right at them. You do the same thing to Striker - run at him and take away his aggressiveness.
 

B1GTide

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To me he is no more of a concern than any other running QB in the SEC. That just an opinion of mine. If our front seven shows up and our secondary doesn't have major lapses we are fine with OK.

Mayfield is no better than Kelly, but he is very good.
 

BamaAlum97

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The O-Line has been inconsistent. There are times they look unstoppable and times where they are getting blown up.

Statistically, The OU defense is not great...but I think they are better in person then on paper. They won't plan to shut us down completely...that is not their style. They just want to get enough stops to outscore us. Their running game is solid and Baker-Mayfield is a playmaker.

We'll need our A-game, and we are certainly capable of stopping them and scoring on them.
 

CB4

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I think what you see in Domonic Jackson at right tackle is similar to what you saw with Eddie Jackson at corner last year. Eddie was great in run support but due to his recent knee injury and rehab, didn't have the speed to stay with wide receivers. Domonic is great at blocking in the run game, but in situations of 2nd or 3rd and long where the defense pins the ears back and comes after you, I just don't know if he consistently quick enough. Whether this is due to his ankle injury issues, I'm not certain.

Like moving Eddie to safety, Domonic is probably better suited to play guard. However, at this point, you have to "dance with what brought you." I think you have to plan going forward when playing a team with a superior end rusher that you going to keep a back in to help, or at least have the back "chip" the rusher.
 
The O-Line has been inconsistent. There are times they look unstoppable and times where they are getting blown up.

Statistically, The OU defense is not great...but I think they are better in person then on paper. They won't plan to shut us down completely...that is not their style. They just want to get enough stops to outscore us. Their running game is solid and Baker-Mayfield is a playmaker.

We'll need our A-game, and we are certainly capable of stopping them and scoring on them.
Don't let the smoke and guns fool you!
 

B1GTide

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The O-Line has been inconsistent. There are times they look unstoppable and times where they are getting blown up.
They have been inconsistent, but generally against opponents that they didn't respect. But they have not been "blown up". Their inconsistency has been in totally missed blocking assignments and penalties, not in getting man-handled at the LOS.
 

BAMAVILLE

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I think the difference in all of our games will be the play of our O and D lines. The plus for us is the fact that this years team has an elite SEC-caliber D-Line WITH speed ... which is going to be vastly different from what any opponent we play has faced this year in their own conference. The difference for our O line is going to be facing faster twitch players on the d-line ... I guess the best comparison for the D line we've faced like that is A&Ms D line? Either way, I don't think it will be a liability to where it will lose us a game. The flip side for us will be that teams that will have those type of players will have a challenging time stopping our running style.
 

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