Evolving offenses and defenses...

CNS is so meticulous. It's not only changes in recruiting and changes in scheme, but also changes in how they train. There was a lot of talk about how the defensive players cut weight over the off season to be even faster. I bet if we could see behind the scenes, there are no details that CNS wouldn't change, except the "process" itself.

TIDE-HSV said:

One thing Herbie said today on Gameday sort of stuck with me through the game. He commented that we were completely changed on offense from a year ago. Well, we are, but we are very similar to where we were with Blake, season before last. As Jalen develops more touch with his deep ball, we will resemble it even more. It's almost as if Herbie suddenly woke up and realized something which has been evolving but was interrupted because we needed to take advantage of Coker's strong suites. Saban basically caused the college game to change and, then, the changes in the college game caused him to have to change. And he was up to it.

People had already noticed our changing defenses. He put the best defenses on the field to counter the traditional types of attacks and, when we could no longer counter the spread attacks on the edge, he recruited the right people and directed their coaching-up to counter the new styles. I remember one of the reasons Coach Bryant gave for retiring, that he didn't want to teach pass-blocking again. He wasn't really much older then than Coach Saban is today. So these thoughts put me to musing, part-time of course, when the action allowed it, on how lucky we are to have a coach who is so willing and able to adapt to changes, radical changes in the form of the game...

Click to expand...

Bear was of a different breed


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

TIDE-HSV said:

One thing Herbie said today on Gameday sort of stuck with me through the game. He commented that we were completely changed on offense from a year ago. Well, we are, but we are very similar to where we were with Blake, season before last. As Jalen develops more touch with his deep ball, we will resemble it even more. It's almost as if Herbie suddenly woke up and realized something which has been evolving but was interrupted because we needed to take advantage of Coker's strong suites. Saban basically caused the college game to change and, then, the changes in the college game caused him to have to change. And he was up to it.

People had already noticed our changing defenses. He put the best defenses on the field to counter the traditional types of attacks and, when we could no longer counter the spread attacks on the edge, he recruited the right people and directed their coaching-up to counter the new styles. I remember one of the reasons Coach Bryant gave for retiring, that he didn't want to teach pass-blocking again. He wasn't really much older then than Coach Saban is today. So these thoughts put me to musing, part-time of course, when the action allowed it, on how lucky we are to have a coach who is so willing and able to adapt to changes, radical changes in the form of the game...

Click to expand...

It's an attribute of most successful leaders. The ability to adapt to the inevitable changes and evolutions of the game is the difference between mediocre and exceptional. Coach Bryant showed some of this in the early seventies in his prime when he recognized the movement to the option game. I might add that his health was worse than Sabans is now as well, I look for coach to last for 5 more years or so.

With the length of games today, I believe there will be more changes to come. CNS will adapt as long as he coaches.

Nice article by Chris Low here.

"You play the way you need to play under the rules the way they are," Saban said. "If you don't, you're going to get left behind."

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/17803865/alabama-crimson-tide-look-even-better-thanks-defense-quarterback-tennessee-volunteers

Click to expand...

TIDE-HSV said:

One thing Herbie said today on Gameday sort of stuck with me through the game. He commented that we were completely changed on offense from a year ago. Well, we are, but we are very similar to where we were with Blake, season before last. As Jalen develops more touch with his deep ball, we will resemble it even more. It's almost as if Herbie suddenly woke up and realized something which has been evolving but was interrupted because we needed to take advantage of Coker's strong suites. Saban basically caused the college game to change and, then, the changes in the college game caused him to have to change. And he was up to it.

People had already noticed our changing defenses. He put the best defenses on the field to counter the traditional types of attacks and, when we could no longer counter the spread attacks on the edge, he recruited the right people and directed their coaching-up to counter the new styles. I remember one of the reasons Coach Bryant gave for retiring, that he didn't want to teach pass-blocking again. He wasn't really much older then than Coach Saban is today. So these thoughts put me to musing, part-time of course, when the action allowed it, on how lucky we are to have a coach who is so willing and able to adapt to changes, radical changes in the form of the game...

Click to expand...

Human beings are the species most able to adapt to their surroundings and thrive. Some are like like that in their work dealings and they are the best of the best. So glad we got the Chief Titan of modern coaches. Simply the best.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Its funny I got up this morning thinking how our offense has changed basically every season Saban has been here. One year it was a heavy dose of wildcat with Mark, the next the pistol, lots of drop back passing with AJ, pounding between the tackles with Derrick another and now this. Every season a little different than the previous, depending on current personnel and defensive tendencies.

TIDE-HSV said:

One thing Herbie said today on Gameday sort of stuck with me through the game. He commented that we were completely changed on offense from a year ago. Well, we are, but we are very similar to where we were with Blake, season before last. As Jalen develops more touch with his deep ball, we will resemble it even more. It's almost as if Herbie suddenly woke up and realized something which has been evolving but was interrupted because we needed to take advantage of Coker's strong suites. Saban basically caused the college game to change and, then, the changes in the college game caused him to have to change. And he was up to it.

People had already noticed our changing defenses. He put the best defenses on the field to counter the traditional types of attacks and, when we could no longer counter the spread attacks on the edge, he recruited the right people and directed their coaching-up to counter the new styles. I remember one of the reasons Coach Bryant gave for retiring, that he didn't want to teach pass-blocking again. He wasn't really much older then than Coach Saban is today. So these thoughts put me to musing, part-time of course, when the action allowed it, on how lucky we are to have a coach who is so willing and able to adapt to changes, radical changes in the form of the game...

Click to expand...

I was thinking about this during the game yesterday when (I believe it was) Danielson talked about his adjusting. Saban made what I thought was a legitimate complaint about the HUNH and he was dismissed as 'whining because he got beat.' But then he went out and decided to use it AGAINST other teams but with a twist - go right to the line and not let the teams that have a defense used to subbing bring in fresh players and THEN calling the play.

I think the seminal moment where Saban moved from great coach to legendary - and it won't even be remembered by anyone save Tide fans - was last year when he let the players choose to send Tony Brown home during playoff week. It showed a symbiotic trust between the players and their coach of the decision and it kept Saban out of the line of fire from 'why did he send Tony home.'

A friend of mine - who was a football coach before becoming a HS principal - is an MSU fan, and I recall him saying on FB during the 2012 UGA game that was so close that 'Saban is the best coach in football at half-time adjustments.'

I'd say he's the best-ever even at off-season adjustments and changing to the game. Some very good coaches like Pat Dye, Steve Spurrier, Les Miles and Bob Stoops have often shown no ability to adapt to the changes in the game. Stoops, in fact, I don't consider a very decent in-game coach at all. If he can't recruit the talent to put you 28-0 down in the first quarter, he's not very good - and even the most mediocre poster at TideFans could coach a talented team with a 28-0 first quarter lead. "Hey, just don't mess up."

CNS has a philosophy of doing the right thing, giving it your best, and all else will take care of itself. Do what is right in life and you will be successful. Not a bad way to coach...RTR

The guy who wrote Smart Football (his first name is Chris) commented on Twitter yesterday that Jalen Hurts running the read option was akin to Coach Bryant switching from drop back passers (Namath, Stabler) to the wishbone.

I thought to myself, maybe he's forgotten Blake Sims. But his point was still a good one. Coach Saban has proven a master at adapting to the changing game. (I also can't help hoping we will continue on for another decade of dominance much like the 70s were for Coach Bryant).

TIDE-HSV, I also never refer to him as "Bear" even though I'm 33 and was born a few months after he passed away. I read one time that he never really cared for the nickname.

Flexibility is the key to success as much as having a plan...and working that plan. CNS is fun to watch...and a great pattern for learning life skills and leadership.

As mobile as Blake Sims was, this is a different offense at this stage. jalen has 70 more yards rushing than Blake had in the entire season and has about 1/3 of the passing yards Blake had. Blake may have been as mobile, but we
Emphasize the QB run more now (partially to Jalen's current passing inconsistencies and partially for the way we run more no huddle now).

I'm no high school or lower division football coach like the smart football writer(s) but I do think there are some important differences between our offenses in 2014, 2015, and 2016.

2014 offense - We were really a more modern west coast offense scheme that tried to mismatch our best WR by alignment, motion, and route combinations. We used the I-form more than prior years under Nussmeier and McElwain because Jalston Fowler was a good mismatch player at fullback. The QB runs were often on bootlegs and sprint outs where Sims saw the opening to run and occasionally designed QB draws/power plays or zone reads. Sims added a dimension we didn't really see in the prior years but his QB run rate was not as high as people remember. It was often the ace in the hole that came up big for us in important game situations like 2-minute needing a score or 4/5-minute needing to hold on to a lead with possession. 2014 Alabama was a passing football team.

2015 offense - This team developed into a pretty traditional power-run offense that had enough balance to make you pay for bringing the defense in too close. Coker's running ability was kinda underrated in my opinion. He had several scrambles that made a huge difference throughout the season. The called QB runs for Coker had mild success but they were usually a once or twice a game deal at best. A lot of what we did last year was out of the shotgun despite being a kinda traditional hand it off to tailback offense.

2016 offense - I think what has changed this year is simply the fact that the QB is a A+ caliber runner. We've added some wrinkles that are only practical when you have that kind of runner at QB but the core of the offense is not all that different from 2015. The best example is this QB sweep where the H-Back comes from the backside to chip the unblocked man. I think it is almost 100% an RPO where Hurts has the option to flip it out to the H-B if that unblock man takes the QB instead of the H-B. Nobody has taken the bait and instead that is probably one of Hurts' most explosive running plays to date...one of these Saturdays someone is gonna crash on Hurts and the H-B is gonna run for a long time.