Not Too Early "Pivot Game" (part 2) Thread: Bama @ TAMU:

[CB4]

This is what worries me about this game.
"Second-year defensive coordinator D.J Durkin is a man on a mission, orchestrating an impressive turnaround for an Aggie defense that has dominated the trenches, recording 14 sacks and 30 tackles for loss in their last two games."

You can bet, given our pass protection issues so far this year, Durkin is going to dial up the pressure on Milroe. And with their D-line, they may be able to do it without much blitzing.

 

[CB4]

Remember when teams would beat Alabama, it took a flawless performance from the opposing QB????

The roles have reversed. JM needs to play well and maybe out his mind. We’ve seen strange things before, so is JM able to pull it off? Maybe not, but if he makes good decisions and doesn’t turn the ball over we are in it from start to finish. The defense will hold up its end of the bargain, offense needs to follow suit

I think this is the key. We don’t necessarily need Milroe to play “out of his mind “good” and win the game” for us. He needs to play good enough, without terrible mistakes and “not lose the game” for us. Conversely, we need force bad decisions by Johnson and turn them over.

 

[Joefus]

Here is an interesting stat:

Texas A&M beat Auburn 27-10 and limited them to 200yrds total.

Georgia beat Auburn the next week 27-20 and only limited them to 307yrds total.

Auburn is in the same boat we are. Running the ball with RB and QB and limited throws. Could this translate that A&M's front seven is much better than Georgia's front seven?

there’s a lot to be said for playing a rivalry game at awwbarn. But yeah I think this will be the best d line we face this year. The best money can buy for sure

 

[Joefus]

I think this is the key. We don’t necessarily need Milroe to play “out of his mind “good” and win the game” for us. He needs to play good enough, without terrible mistakes and “not lose the game” for us. Conversely, we need force bad decisions by Johnson and turn them over.

Jase having a big game wouldn’t hurt either

 

[crimsonaudio]

This is what worries me about this game.
"Second-year defensive coordinator D.J Durkin is a man on a mission, orchestrating an impressive turnaround for an Aggie defense that has dominated the trenches, recording 14 sacks and 30 tackles for loss in their last two games."

I don't care what that jerk does, he killed a kid who played for him while at Maryland - that ANY team would give him another chance to kill another is beyond me.

He and the douchebag HC at LSU shouldn't be allowed to coach anyone.

 

[Tidelines]

Why don

I don't care what that jerk does, he killed a kid who played for him while at Maryland - that ANY team would give him another chance to kill another is beyond me.

He and the douchebag HC at LSU shouldn't be allowed to coach anyone.

Why don’t you tell us how you really feel about it.

 

[crimsonaudio]

Why don’t you tell us how you really feel about.

I can elucidate if you feel it necessary.

 

[Tidelines]

I can elucidate if you feel it necessary.

You kind of forgot Jimbo and his FSU escapades.

 

[CoolBreeze]

I think the excommunication of a certain DC plays heavily in our favor in this game. Last time we were at 8&4 we made a 2 star backup QB look like an NFL starter.

 

[CB4]

I can elucidate if you feel it necessary.

Yes but can you do it in “interpretive dance” fashion?

 

[crimsonaudio]

You kind of forgot Jimbo and his FSU escapades.

AFAIK, Jimbo hasn't had anyone killed under his watch - unlike durkin and kelly.

 

[deltatider]

Going into this game each team has some areas of concern/question marks, the result of which will likely determine the outcome of the game. For Bama I think those questions are will the O-line hold up against the A&M front, will we get effective play from the QB position/will we have a gameplan that plays to the QBs strengths, and will our guys up front on defense be able to keep pressure on the A&M QB? I think A&M's concerns are whether their secondary will hold up, and like Bama; will their O-line hold up enough to limit pressure on their QB.

So based on the five questions/concerns between the 2 teams listed above, the performance from the Bama O-line will have an effect on the outcome of 3 of those 5 questions/concerns. Based on how that group performs will also have an effect on performance of Milroe, but how the line performs will also have some effect on whether or not we can take advantage of the A&M secondary. If we see a USF type of performance, then Milroe will be under fire all day which will certainly have an effect on him...which will also result in a huge benefit for the A&M secondary. However, if we get the O-line from the 2nd half of Ole Miss, well then that puts a lot more pressure on all levels of that A&M defense.

We also really, really need to get off to a quick start. Styles make fights, and if A&M can jump on us early and keep us having to play catch up the entire game; then I'm not sure that type of game will really fit with Milroe's skillset. It'll be interesting to see if that staff approaches this game a bit like that last Sugar Bowl game against Clemson. Jalen started, but there was a lot of buzz that week that Tua was expected to play if the offense couldn't get it going...well based on how that game progressed, it made more sense to leave Jalen in a go with a more conservative approach...but then came that UGA game. I wonder if we get ourselves into a hole if there is a chance that we might put Simpson in on a gamble to see if he can throw us out of it...hopefully that's just my bourbon talking and it doesn't come to that; but it has crossed my mind.

 

[RammerJammer15]

This game needs to play out similar to the 2015 A&M game if Bama wants to win imo, strong running game combined with the defense forcing multiple turnovers to where the QB doesn’t have to do too much.

Ironically A&M had a strong DL that year as well just like they do this year.

 

[AgSwag]

Well unfortunately for you guys last year that defense was still the strength of the team.....What do you think has changed between last year and this year to account for the improvement against the run?

Personally we played a LOT of 3 man fronts last year with 1 linebacker and 7 DBs. Part of that was that we had NO linebackers last year, but Durkin ran some stupid crap last year. I hated his schemes last year. I bashed him weekly. Since the Miami game there have been significant changes in schemes. Players looked lost last year, and this year they are much quicker to the ball and some of those 5 stars started playing like it. There has been MUCH better gap control and they are blitzing a lot more without losing containment. We will see if it holds true as this will be our best team to face. Usually I have very little hope of beating Alabama because they always have so much more talent, but I do think that has evened out a bit to give us a shot.

 

[deltatider]

Personally we played a LOT of 3 man fronts last year with 1 linebacker and 7 DBs. Part of that was that we had NO linebackers last year, but Durkin ran some stupid crap last year. I hated his schemes last year. I bashed him weekly. Since the Miami game there have been significant changes in schemes. Players looked lost last year, and this year they are much quicker to the ball and some of those 5 stars started playing like it. There has been MUCH better gap control and they are blitzing a lot more without losing containment. We will see if it holds true as this will be our best team to face. Usually I have very little hope of beating Alabama because they always have so much more talent, but I do think that has evened out a bit to give us a shot.

I'm glad you mentioned your linebackers...I've heard that your D-line is really good/deep, and that your secondary can be suspect; but I haven't heard much about your linebackers. How has that unit held up so far this year? I assume better than last year based on your response, so did you guys hit the portal or have been able to develop some of the young guys?

I am a bit surprised to hear you say that part of the improvement is from you guys blitzing more....based on what's being said about your D-line I figured you wouldn't have to blitz as much. One question about your D-line....do you guys have someone that's able to really take over a game, or is it more strength by numbers? Meaning that you can rotate a bunch of guys without any real drop off?

 

[81usaf92]

This stat early in the season, don't mean jack. I'm hug fan of stats, but I've learned from my experience, don't look at the stats until mid october or late october, that's when the real stats opens up show the true data after playing decent/better teams.

Look at TAMU and who they played.... it's skewed at best, but I'm not going to discount the stats at all. It does give us somewhat idea, but it's inconclusive.

But on the same token… who have we really played too? Between Texas and Miami it’s not that huge of a gap. Especially when you consider having to play Van Dyke on the road compared to Ewers at home.

Aside from Ole Miss the schedules are pretty comparable.

 

[deltatider]

This game needs to play out similar to the 2015 A&M game if Bama wants to win imo, strong running game combined with the defense forcing multiple turnovers to where the QB doesn’t have to do too much.

Ironically A&M had a strong DL that year as well just like they do this year.

It's funny that you referenced the 2015 season because I think this game has a very similar feel to the 2015 game at UGA when we were coming off a loss to Ole Miss.....hell, we even have a similar QB situation going into this game as we did back in 2015. Coker starts the first couple of games, then Bateman started the Ole Miss game only to have Coker replace Bateman, which resulted in Coker winning the job full time. A lot of parallels in this team and that 2015 team at the moment...and I hope those parallels continue until about mid-January of 2024....

 

[BamaMoon]

I'm looking forward to JessN's breakdown. In recent breakdowns it's been 4-4 several times in position breakdowns. I can't imagine how we are not in the negative in this breakdown.

So how he picks the game and offers insight into a possible victory will be interesting.

We are in unchartered waters going into a game like this knowing we don't match up well to the other team's strengths.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

I'm looking forward to JessN's breakdown. In recent breakdowns it's been 4-4 several times in position breakdowns. I can't imagine how we are not in the negative in this breakdown.

So how he picks the game and offers insight into a possible victory will be interesting.

We are in unchartered waters going into a game like this knowing we don't match up well to the other team's strengths.

Not only "unchartered," but also "uncharted"...

 

[SkullDuckery]

This game needs to play out similar to the 2015 A&M game if Bama wants to win imo, strong running game combined with the defense forcing multiple turnovers to where the QB doesn’t have to do too much.

Ironically A&M had a strong DL that year as well just like they do this year.

Milroe will have to do a lot with his running for us to win. Also 0 turnovers and hit a few deep shots. We have to stay ahead of the chains and I think running him will help.