A return to 'smash mouth' football? (watch the teaser title)

bamafan2

BamaNation Citizen
Feb 26, 2001
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grayson ga.
Would like to know if anyone knows or your opinion on if our offense is gearing back toward more ball control with a lot of smash mouth running the ball to open up the pass and also to keep the other teams offense off the field. I think that's were we were most successful in winning all our national championships.
 

WMack4Bama

Administrator
Staff member
Nov 7, 2008
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Re: Smash mouth?

Why waste generational talent at QB & WR with trying to force nostalgia?

But to answer your question, we can expect to see more running to set up play action kind of stuff. That's Sark's thing.

But going back to my original point, we score 60 just by walking out of the locker room against most teams. No need to try to harness that, or change our formula just because we had one bad game. Our defense just has to be better about being so predictable with blitzes and man to man. We're susceptible to wheel routes (Arkansas when Petrino was there, Lousiville, Arkansas this past year) and picks (AU, UGA, Clemson) as we have been for the past 8-10 years. Sure, we match up against other athletes well. But not every team is going to want to line up and come right at us. Our defense, as dominant as it has been, is not indestructible. We just have to be better.
 

4Q Basket Case

FB|BB Moderator
Staff member
Nov 8, 2004
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Re: Smash mouth?

Why waste generational talent at QB & WR with trying to force nostalgia?

But to answer your question, we can expect to see more running to set up play action kind of stuff. That's Sark's thing.

But going back to my original point, we score 60 just by walking out of the locker room against most teams. No need to....change our formula just because we had one bad game. Our defense just has to be better about being so predictable with blitzes and man to man. We're susceptible to wheel routes (Arkansas when Petrino was there, Lousiville, Arkansas this past year) and picks (AU, UGA, Clemson) as we have been for the past 8-10 years. Sure, we match up against other athletes well. But not every team is going to want to line up and come right at us. Our defense, as dominant as it has been, is not indestructible. We just have to be better.
Now there you go injecting logic and perspective into the situation. Don't you know it's time to bow down to the orange and purple King?

Seriously, that should be sent to every talking head and ink-stained wretch in the country.
 

BamaInCummingGA

1st Team
Jun 8, 2017
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Cumming, Ga
Re: Smash mouth?

Smash Mouth football doesn't have to mean leaning entirely on the run and passing occasionally.
To me, smash mouth is being able to line up and run the ball at will, not necesarilly all the time. I hope we do get back to more of a smash mouth running game because play action can open up alot of openings for our passing game. More importantly, when we get down around the goal line and we have the abillity to just run over people it adds a whole new dimension and can certainly open up the pass more around the goal line and force the defense to truly cover the whole field.
 

jthomas666

Hall of Fame
Aug 14, 2002
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Re: Smash mouth?

Saban's goal is likely an offense similar to the one that dismantled ND--a dominating OL that allows you to run any play, from any formation, whenever you damn well please.
 

GrayTide

Hall of Fame
Nov 15, 2005
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Re: Smash mouth?

Saban's goal is likely an offense similar to the one that dismantled ND--a dominating OL that allows you to run any play, from any formation, whenever you damn well please.
While I agree, that ND team wasn't in the same universe with this year's TAMU, LSU, UGA, Auburn.
 

Tide&True

All-American
Sep 24, 2004
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Murfreesboro, TN
Re: Smash mouth?

Smash Mouth football doesn't have to mean leaning entirely on the run and passing occasionally.
To me, smash mouth is being able to line up and run the ball at will, not necesarilly all the time. I hope we do get back to more of a smash mouth running game because play action can open up alot of openings for our passing game. More importantly, when we get down around the goal line and we have the abillity to just run over people it adds a whole new dimension and can certainly open up the pass more around the goal line and force the defense to truly cover the whole field.
I hear what you are saying but I haven’t seen that around here in awhile. If other offenses weren’t so prolific you could make a living beating teams by just lining up and pounding them. Personally I loved that style of play when it was in vogue.


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uafanataum

All-American
Oct 18, 2014
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Re: Smash mouth?

While I agree, that ND team wasn't in the same universe with this year's TAMU, LSU, UGA, Auburn.
Didn't that same team line up against a good Georgia team and tell them where they were running the ball and still force it down their throats?
 

Ole Man Dan

Hall of Fame
Apr 21, 2008
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Re: Smash mouth?

Saban's goal is likely an offense similar to the one that dismantled ND--a dominating OL that allows you to run any play, from any formation, whenever you damn well please.
Reminds me of the John Hannah days.
That team could tell the other team where they were going to run, and our line would knock the other teams back 5 yards.
During that time our Defense was a punishing Defense.
I seem to remember a fumble and a huge pile of players.
John Hannah jumped into the pile, found the ball, took it away,
stood up and held the ball in the air.
ALABAMA'S BALL...
(We forced our will on our opponents. I loved it.)
 

PA Tide Fan

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Dec 11, 2014
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Re: Smash mouth?

When we played the kind of smash mouth football you describe it was seasons we had elite (top 5) defenses and good but not great QB's. We played for field position and basically let our defense win us the game. The situation reversed itself last season when we had a good but not great defense but had an elite QB. This season the defense is still a question mark. Will it be elite or just another good but not great one? The one thing we are certain of is that we have an elite QB and receivers so I think that is what the offense must focus on.
 

81usaf92

TideFans Legend
Apr 26, 2008
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Re: Smash mouth?

Would like to know if anyone knows or your opinion on if our offense is gearing back toward more ball control with a lot of smash mouth running the ball to open up the pass and also to keep the other teams offense off the field. I think that's were we were most successful in winning all our national championships.
Those days are over. We play far more efficient offenses with far more talented qbs.
 

81usaf92

TideFans Legend
Apr 26, 2008
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Re: Smash mouth?

I would have thought the same until this year's CFPCG. We all know Bama is better than what they showed. Perhaps ND was also.
2012 ND was the worst national championship participant since 2001 Nebraska. There were so many close calls against bad teams that almost constitutes as Barner luck. Had we played Oregon or KSU that year instead then we probably would’ve had a pretty competitive game until the second half because both had offenses that were capable of giving Kirby a migraine, but neither had a defense to stop us. Notre Dame benefited from BCS chaos, and also was doomed because of it. Had only just one of Oregon and KSU lost then their odds of a national championship was about 40%, but both losing it made it less than 10%. They had no chance vs Alabama or Georgia.

Alabama last year got caught having a really bad practice week and was unfocused (especially on defense). Clemson came in highly motivated to play.

Alabama 2019 was where they were because they were one of the two best teams. Notre Dame 2012 was there because of luck.