Question: Did LSU expose Bama weaknesses or just surprised with how well Mettenburger played?

DocCrimson

All-SEC
Jan 3, 2010
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my wife kept complaining that saban was not is usual self on the sidelines either. she was concerned that he was not screaming and yelling at everyone and tearing his hair out like he normally does. we were giving off an odd vibe last night, but we were still able to get out of the funk in time to win.
That's a good point. It felt like everyone was flat and a bit "off" in general. The fact we kept it close despite our performance was remarkable in itself, let alone turning things around at the very end.
 

Al A Bama

Hall of Fame
Jun 24, 2011
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With our DEFENSE on the field 2/3's of the game (39 minutes and 15 seconds), they were a little tired in the 2nd half. Mettenburger's passing in the 2nd half was precise and the receivers were making plays. For an OL that wasn't what they started the year with, they played well. I really thought Alabama would be able to take advantage of their OL.

Here's hoping our OFFENSE is on the field for 40 minutes+ against the Aggies so our DEFENSE is fresh in dealing with Johnny Football. However, the Aggies do score quickly.
 

Dallas4Bama

Suspended
Sep 27, 2006
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There is a weak area in CNS' defense and they tapped into it a bit last night. They also kept our best defensive player CJ Mosley off the field most of the game by the sets they ran. That coupled with Mettenberger's game of a lifetime made for a tough night for the Tide. I also think we picked the wrong night to try and bolster AJ's passing stats. A lot of 3 and outs were from lack of establishing the power run game. One last thing that may have contributed; a few guys may have been reading the paper and watching too much ESPN lately.

LSU had the best gameplan against us I have seen in a while, plus very good execution and a little luck. Some of those passes were incredible. Had Les made a few more conservative calls last night the outcome might have been different. He didn't believe his team could actually line up and beat us. In the end that doubt led to some lame gambles and it cost them.
 
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Al A Bama

Hall of Fame
Jun 24, 2011
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my wife kept complaining that saban was not is usual self on the sidelines either. she was concerned that he was not screaming and yelling at everyone and tearing his hair out like he normally does. we were giving off an odd vibe last night, but we were still able to get out of the funk in time to win.
He was showing how patient he was with his players. You have to have a lot of patience to wait until the last minute and a half (a 43 second drive). I'm not sure that I've ever seen an Alabama team capable of doing what the Tide did last night in those 43 seconds. Was there Divine Intervention from above?

Even though we had a 14 to 3 lead at the half, I just didn't feel right with us not driving the ball down their throats at the beginning of the 2nd half.

Awesome! Roll Tide.
 

BamaSC

All-SEC
Oct 17, 1999
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Mettenburger was dialed in for sure, but IMO we made it way too easy in the 2nd half. If anything was exposed on defense, it was our lack of adjustment in the playcalling. It seemed like on every 3rd and medium to long, we'd blitz, it wouldn't get there, 1 or more receivers would be wide open, and an easy toss from Mettenburger moves the chains. I'm not sure we ever adjusted away from that.

That said, the defense did a great job holding them to just 17 points and giving the offense a chance to win it in the end.
 

Quicksilver

1st Team
Mar 13, 2010
393
30
52
Ellicott City, MD
He was showing how patient he was with his players. You have to have a lot of patience to wait until the last minute and a half (a 43 second drive). I'm not sure that I've ever seen an Alabama team capable of doing what the Tide did last night in those 43 seconds. Was there Divine Intervention from above?

Even though we had a 14 to 3 lead at the half, I just didn't feel right with us not driving the ball down their throats at the beginning of the 2nd half.

Awesome! Roll Tide.
About CNS not going berserk on the sideline, this demonstrates to me the extent to which the man is in control of himself, his behavior, and the team that he coaches. He understood no doubt that Alabama was fighting for its collective life against LSU and berating players during the game for lapses in performance would probably have been counterproductive.

What AJ did at the end of the game was worthy of John Elway in his Broncos prime.
 

Tide Pride La.

Scout Team
Aug 3, 2004
103
1
37
57
Denham Springs, La.
I think if it exposed anything it was our lack of running the ball on first downs, our offensive line wasn't relied on enough in the second half to take over the game like they could have. Yeldon and Lacy were gashing lsu in the middle and we got away from it. I underdstand the need to be balanced but after the first 3 and out im the second half gave lsu momentum we should have started pounding the ball between the tackles with our strength. JMO.
 

teamplayer

Hall of Fame
Jul 31, 2001
7,573
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Some of those plays our guys were in perfect position but a great throw beat it. I take my hat off to a good game plan and Met played out of his head.
I agree. Many of those throws would have been batted down or intercepted if they hadn't been thrown perfectly. It is a little like when people tried to say that Honey Badger couldn't cover anyone in the title game even though he was often in perfect position. There are times when a DB can cover perfectly, and the throw still gets completed. There were a few of those last night. We did leave a few guys wide open, but many were just great throws from a guy who hadn't made that many great throws all year combined. The simple summary for this game was this: our defense couldn't get off the field, and our offense couldn't stay on the field. We were dominated in the second half like we dominated them in the championship game. Fortunately, we had control at halftime, so we were in a position to put one drive together to get the win. I'm hoping for no more close games. Roll Tide!
 

BamaAlum97

1st Team
Dec 13, 2002
335
0
0
Tulsa, OK
I give full credit to LSU. They came in with a good gameplan and executed it very well. They were more physical then we were, and looked like the better team with the exceptions of the 2nd quarter and last 90 seconds.

That being said, the D still only gave up 17 points. It's hard to say they were dominated. The stats say a lot, but so does the scoreboard.

More missed tackles than usual and inability to get off the field on 3rd down were the big defensive issues IMO.

Offensively, we seemed to be out of sync. It's a game of inches and we were about a foot off for most of the game.

I loved the fight and finish of this team.
 

teamplayer

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I think if it exposed anything it was our lack of running the ball on first downs, our offensive line wasn't relied on enough in the second half to take over the game like they could have. Yeldon and Lacy were gashing lsu in the middle and we got away from it. I underdstand the need to be balanced but after the first 3 and out im the second half gave lsu momentum we should have started pounding the ball between the tackles with our strength. JMO.
I was thinking the same thing. We were averaging about seven yards per carry, but we kept trying to throw. I wish we had continued to gash them up the gut until they changed their defense and then popped them over the top with play action. Simple truth- we dodged a bullet and were very fortunate to come out with a win. I hope this scare gets us ready for the rest of the season.
 

GeorgiaTider

All-SEC
Oct 30, 2005
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Both and neither. Every defense that endures 70+ plays will tire and make mistakes. Our secondary is young, but they play well and will only get better. Yesterday was a combination of poor tackling, out of position and a very good LSU team. Also Mettenburger had the game of his life just like Garcia.
 

CrimsonTheory

All-American
Mar 26, 2012
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LSU played their best game of the year while coming off a bye week and Alabama played their worst game of the year. Yet Bama still won the game. That is very telling. Despite LSU being prolly the better team last night, Alabama has been the better team for the better part of two years.

Hats of to LSU and Mett.
 

B1GTide

TideFans Legend
Apr 13, 2012
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You will not play another team like LSU this year. Texas A&M will be a challenge, but they do not have the personnel to take advantage of the things that LSU did to you.
 

JDCrimson

Hall of Fame
Feb 12, 2006
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Simply not enough running in the second half. We were very productive with our running game - we just didn't go to it enough. Had we done so and got an extra FG or TD I think you would have seen LSU be forced to go with a more down field passing game likely leading to more INT opportunities.

We tried to keep the same game plan from last year; however we refused to believe that Mettie could continue to execute the way he did. More running would have kept the ball out of his hands.

Running the ball next week will be paramount if we expect to win.
 

Dallas4Bama

Suspended
Sep 27, 2006
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It's hard to say they were dominated. The stats say a lot, but so does the scoreboard.
It's not really hard to say at all. Every Alabama fan including myself insisted on saying it last year after the game in Tuscaloosa. We dominated them statistically in that game and we lost. Almost each one of us here repeatedly pointed to that as why we would and eventually did win the championship game. LSU's defense stopped us for most of the night last night and our defense could not stop them most of the night. Plain and simple they beat us everywhere except the score board.

LSU took advantage of our defensive game plan. All week everyone in the country and most on here said we would focus on stopping their run and basically dare mettinberger to beat us with his arm. It looks as if that's what our plan was and he almost did.
 
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BamaFlum

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Dec 11, 2002
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You will not play another team like LSU this year. Texas A&M will be a challenge, but they do not have the personnel to take advantage of the things that LSU did to you.
I concur to an extent. The Aggies have a big WR that will give our secondary problems. However, they do NOT have a big bruising running game to complement the passing attack.
 

TideMom2Boys

Hall of Fame
Nov 17, 2010
20,214
398
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Alabama
I think the fact that LSU is as physical as we are...was a huge factor! We will not see another team like that, except maybe ND (defense). They have some nfl players in waiting.
 

Sabine Free Sta

BamaNation Citizen
Jul 3, 2012
69
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About CNS not going berserk on the sideline, this demonstrates to me the extent to which the man is in control of himself, his behavior, and the team that he coaches. He understood no doubt that Alabama was fighting for its collective life against LSU and berating players during the game for lapses in performance would probably have been counterproductive.

What AJ did at the end of the game was worthy of John Elway in his Broncos prime.[/QUOTE

I would compare AJ's performance to my favorite old time NFL quarterback, Roger Staubach. He too was a master of the two minute offense but was a rairity in that he could have a terrible day and then in the last two minutes make 4 or 5 exceptional throws and pull off a win. Like AJ, he also had defense and running game that could keep the game close until the final 2 minutes. It takes an exceptional quarterback to turn a personally bad game (or half) into a win with one or two minutes of excellence.
 

russtang

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Apr 11, 2007
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Without the muffed punt and the fumbled handoff, the game isn't close. But they did happen so that is moot.
I was a really great, exciting game, and all of the little things have pretty much been covered in this thread.
Big picture, LSU had two weeks to prepare and they had a good game plan and obviously practiced it all two weeks. They executed it well. They were at home , at night and fired up.

We were a little flat, made some out of character mistakes on D like missed tackles, miss assignments, muffed punt.
I think the biggest thing on offense was seemingly abandoning the running game for most of the second half. I believe we had 3 three and outs with three passes. Its like we followed our game plan of throwing on 1st down just for the sake of following the game plan. We didn't make real time adjustments. There are plenty of mistakes to work on and and we need to keep working on getting better.
We showed that we aren't going to give up and will play for 60 minutes.
Time to start getting ready for aTm.
 

Crimson Speed

All-American
Oct 2, 2005
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When a 270 running back gets up a head of steam, he is hard to bring down. That is why they had so much success with their running game. Plus, they played a very balanced game with their QB having the game of his life. In recent history, I haven't seen a QB place such perfect passes against us. Our secondary will continue to grow and learn from this. In fact, it just might be what we need as a team to stay focused and continue to get better.
 

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