you're absolutely right and I'm sure that's why he was the first S moved in to see what he can do. It seemed like he was having a hard time getting up to the weight needed to play LB, maxing out at 215, but was able to shed enough to be a productive S (down to 201, or maybe he never really got up to 215 to begin with, but either way we aren't going to have many/any LB's at that weight) much easier, so I think his long term future is likely SS and/or Star where he could play a role a lot like Sunseri (who was also an LB out of HS) did.
2017 Week 11 Game Week Thread (Practice Reports, Press Conference Updates, etc.)
- Thread starter RTR91
- Start date
IMO, the offensive line has been overrated all year due to the blow outs of some really weak defenses. FSU aside, we did not face a defensive line that could go toe to toe with us until the LSU game. Pass protection was woeful, fortunately Hurts avoided a lot of negative plays with his legs. This is another weakness I see in the offense. I still believe Hurts is not being allowed to play instinctively, he was recruited as a dual threat QB but it appears he is being trained to be a pro style QB. He pretty much played instinctively last year which I understand would be the case with a true freshman with lots of raw talent. I honestly believe in an effort to hone his QB skills as a passer he is reluctant to play the game that he is best suited to. It appears he runs tentatively, as a last resort, not run to put pressure on the opponent's secondary.
Those are my concerns with the offense which probably won't hurt us against MSU, but will likely be an issue against auburn, UGA and if we make it into the CFP.
2011 was a great year on D. A caveat is that the offenses that Bama played that year were pathetic. Nevertheless, Kirby did a great job. Also, I didn't mean to imply that Kirby was not a good/great DC - he certainly was. I was just combating your contention of Kirby over Pruitt by pointing out areas where I thought Pruitt is superior. Pruitt did a great job at FSU and UGA. In 2014 Pruitt's good UGA team held AU to 7 points while Kirby's number 1 Bama team gave up 44 and it could have been worse. Of course, you don't evaluate anyone on one game. But Pruitt's D's have done much better against spread, up tempo teams than Kirby ever did. To sum up they are both top notch DCs, but I prefer Pruitt's D: more frequent and creative blitzing and a less complicated overall scheme.
I don't understand how we are leading the SEC in rushing offense, total offense and scoring offense but our OL and QB are not playing well in your opinion. I know you are a half empty guy but your opinion and the stats do not jive. I guess I am a half full guy with crimson colored glasses.:cool2:
Explained what? I know he explained his opinion but I think that it is a harsh explanation considering the facts.
Well J, it appears to me that it`s not much more complicated than, for the most part, he thinks that our competition hasn`t been worth a damn.
exactly this - and it's the reason GA is above us in the playoff rankings. We've done a great job at smashing inferior teams. FSU (preQB loss) and LSU are the only decent teams we've played, and against both we didn't rush as well as we'd like, and had issues in pass pro. MSU, AU, and GA + playoffs if we get there will be much, much more like FSU and LSU than the rest of the cupcakes we have played so far.
aTm also has a very good front 7. Their weakness was in their secondary, but Daboll decided to play them like they were LSU (very carefully). So, IMO, you have played 3 games with very good defenses since you so limited the offense against aTm.
My understanding of why Anderson was moved to safety is that he was to small to play linebacker and could not get larger. As to speed and athleticism , he is one of the faster guys on the team and he is athletically talented.
good point about their front 7 being pretty good and I think drives the overall point about offensive efficiency home. Even though we rushed for over 230 against A&M 140 of it came on 4 big plays. Those big plays aren't there against teams who not only have good front 7 like a&m, but also good back half to keep those explosive plays in check. Take out those 4 plays we only rushed for 92 yards on 40 carries with a 2.2 ypc average. Not what we're looking for...
I am not so worried about yds per run, or stats in general. PUT UP POINTS how ever you have to do it. To many get wrapped up in stats that mean nothing. Would you like to average 10 yds a run and only score 17 pts or 2 yds a run and put up 40 points? Stats do not win games, scoring does. I do not care if Jalen throws for 100 or 400 yds, just get the ball in the endzone more than the other team. Championships are won not by stats but by scoring more than opponent. I do not care how we score, just score more. I have seen many games that if all you looked at were game stats you would be shocked at who actually won. I have seen Bama lose in most stat categories and beat a team pretty big. ONE stat really matters.............. SCORE.
My point is that you have been better tested than you believe. You don't have to score 40 points per game to win because of your defense. Your offense is good enough to beat anybody.
I think this is an intellectually dishonest assessment of our offensive game. (That's not an accusation of you doing something nefarious, it's just that...well, let me try to explain below...)
The term "Big Play" means 2 different things. Obviously it means chunk yardage gained by the offense but it is also a term that becomes synonymous with "Rarity."
I understand that it would make people feel better to have the 2012 offense where we gash people slowly down the field but having 4 Big Plays is not a rare occurrence in the Alabama offense. Because of our personnel they are regular occurrences and can happen at any time against any team. To take those out is to discount the very essence of why this is a top tier team.
You could take Hurts deep pass against LSU and make it incomplete and subtract the yardage from his game total and we'd have a dimmer view of his performance. But that Big Play was not just luck, it was a combination of good play calling, good protection, good route running, and a good deep ball thrown by Hurts. It was decently defended by LSU but better executed by Bama.
The same can be said of those 4 runs against A&M. While there were some lapses by the defense it was also superb execution by the offense and the RB's toting the rock. The Big Plays are a result of this offense operating how it is supposed to be. To pull them out and look at the data without them is to basically ignore half our offense for the crime of achieving it's goals.
It's also not fair to take out those big runs against A&M because the complexion of the game is remarkably different BECAUSE OF THE RESULTS of those large plays. The context in which those yards were gained means a lot as well. We scored a lot of points off those big plays and so the philosophy behind the game changes when you are protecting a lead. Sure we may have only rushed for 92 yards outside of that but we were also not in a position to play catch up. Context matters, those 92 yards were not gained in a vacuum.
Now I understand if you want to make the argument that we are boom or bust, feast or famine, and I would agree with you that it would be nice to see a little more consistency. But I think that the way this offense is built and being executed makes the Big Play a regular occurrence, not an outlier or an aberration as it is for so many other teams.
I agree completely. To further confirm your conclusions: one reason for those big plays is that many defenses take such chances against Bama's O (shooting gaps, slanting, run blitzes, etc.) that make it impossible to "gash people slowly down field", but leaves them vulnerable to big plays. Or as Saban calls it, "big little".
Our OL is really good but there are some issues. When they get'em blocked, boy do they...when they don't, it has been a train wreck. Guys must be Computer Science majors because they're the most binary group of linemen we've had in awhile. 
I think this is the most equitable depiction of our O-line yet.Our OL is really good but there are some issues. When they get'em blocked, boy do they...when they don't, it has been a train wreck. Guys must be Computer Science majors because they're the most binary group of linemen we've had in awhile.
The criticism is on point but it acknowledges their strengths. A lot to work on but the potential is there. It just feels like it's 1 good week of practice away from clicking, all the elemnts are there.
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