So is losing a Heisman winner and a Julio Jones....Uh, no I think a new QB is a major change. 2011 was not the same as 2010. 2010 was more like 2009.
So is losing a Heisman winner and a Julio Jones....Uh, no I think a new QB is a major change. 2011 was not the same as 2010. 2010 was more like 2009.
Well, I agree that Clemson was good and worthy. I do absolutely think there is a family resemblance between complaining about Kiffin and complaining Colt got hurt. I mean, I get the difference but the key point is both are excuses. We are just going to have to deal with the results; not excuses. In that, yes, they are the same.
Looking at the 9 offenses in the top 50, Alabama held each - on average - 199.29 ypg below their average in games not played against Alabama. So just imagine how much higher some of those teams would be.Rankings of offenses Alabama played
5 W Kentucky (1)
12 Clemson (14)
20 USC (36)
24 ATM (34)
26 Ole Miss (42)
32 Washington (8)
40 Tennessee (24)
44 Miss St (56)
Auburn (49)
Over 1/2 the schedule was in the top 45 in ypg. The parenthesis is the ranking by POINTS per game.
Either way you slice it, we played eight of the top 49 offenses in college football in a 15-game schedule, nine if one includes just the yards MSU ran up. And Arky and UK were 57 and 58, still in the top 1/2.
Then keep this in mind: since the SEC had four of the seven best defenses in the country that will by definition LOWER the offensive PPG (just as the offenses will RAISE the defensive one).
AJ would've been destroyed by that defense. He was not a scrambler. Coker and Sims with Cooper you may have an argument, but AJ not unless he has the 2012 line with ELI like numbers, but they don't always tell the full story. Based on those rankings, Western Ky had the best offense we faced. USC changed QBs after we played them and had great success with Darnold, Tennessee was lead by Josh Dobbs who was a great student and great kid but sub par QB, and Auburn started Jeremy Johnson against us because of injuries and had that big RB hampered as well because of injuries. Flip side is that our defensive performance against Ole Miss suffered because of numerous injuries during that game. 2016 was a very good defense and rushed the passer better than any Saban team at Bama, but it's my opinion we only faced three good passing QBs last year. Going back to the original post and premise, I think AJ and Coop would have a big day against the 2016 secondary, although he'd have to throw a bunch away because of the rush. It would be a fun matchup to watch.
So you want to solely look at the QBs? Alabama faced six QBs ranked in the top 30 in passing efficiency.I like numbers, but they don't always tell the full story. Based on those rankings, Western Ky had the best offense we faced. USC changed QBs after we played them and had great success with Darnold, Tennessee was lead by Josh Dobbs who was a great student and great kid but sub par QB, and Auburn started Jeremy Johnson against us because of injuries and had that big RB hampered as well because of injuries. Flip side is that our defensive performance against Ole Miss suffered because of numerous injuries during that game. 2016 was a very good defense and rushed the passer better than any Saban team at Bama, but it's my opinion we only faced three good passing QBs last year. Going back to the original post and premise, I think AJ and Coop would have a big day against the 2016 secondary, although he'd have to throw a bunch away because of the rush. It would be a fun matchup to watch.
That's correct. Statistics are a lens through which we view things. That lens may or may not be fully accurate. Just because Cy Young won 511 games doesn't mean he was a better pitcher than Greg Maddux.I like numbers, but they don't always tell the full story.
None of this is relevant to the prior claim that we didn't face many good offenses. Let's drop WKU, because let's face it: their numbers are inflated by the schedule. I'll concur with that. It's like when Texas had the second best rushing defense in the country in 2009 - sure they did, because they played in a passing conference.Based on those rankings, Western Ky had the best offense we faced. USC changed QBs after we played them and had great success with Darnold, Tennessee was lead by Josh Dobbs who was a great student and great kid but sub par QB, and Auburn started Jeremy Johnson against us because of injuries and had that big RB hampered as well because of injuries.
That's an entirely different argument than......Flip side is that our defensive performance against Ole Miss suffered because of numerous injuries during that game. 2016 was a very good defense and rushed the passer better than any Saban team at Bama, but it's my opinion we only faced three good passing QBs last year.
A team can have a decent offense in college football without a quality QB. All the QB has to do is not screw up.I think the 2016 defensive stats were helped a bit by the lack of quality offenses on the schedule. That D was very, very good but did not face many quality QBs.