Tidbit on the MSU game - pressuring the QB

GeorgiaTider

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Oct 30, 2005
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Line play on both sides I think are what is going to determine the outcome in this game more than anything.
This is true in every game. When we struggle in the trenches, we normally lose. Auburn has a good line. They played on of their best games last week. This will be a hard game.
 

sanjosecrimson

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May 18, 2007
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I keep seeing this and hearing this. They kept touting their 4 senior OL the other day and if you look at their rushing yards I might agree, but how does this great OL give up so many sacks to Clemson and they were giving up a lot of pressure the other day. I think we may be able to do a little better against their run game because of the style Johnson runs with. He is patient and doesn't seem to hit the hole with authority, which may give us more of a chance to get him before he gets going.

agree. Miss St group was big, strong, and most of all experienced. Gmac kept mentioning that throughout the game.
 

bamamick

All-American
Feb 22, 2005
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On that final drive when Buggs had the chance to pull Fitzgerald down for a big loss and the guy found someone crossing with Holcombe trailing the play? That was a microcosm of the defense we have seen since Hand has been hurt, since Hamilton has been hurt, since Minkah has been hurt.

You give me this squad as it was designed and built during the summer and I will give you a team headed to the CFP, but this team is fractured now by injury, and if we do get by the Aubs and Georgia and whomever it'll be the best coaching job our great coach has ever done, and that's saying a lot.

rtr
 

sanjosecrimson

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On that final drive when Buggs had the chance to pull Fitzgerald down for a big loss and the guy found someone crossing with Holcombe trailing the play? That was a microcosm of the defense we have seen since Hand has been hurt, since Hamilton has been hurt, since Minkah has been hurt.

You give me this squad as it was designed and built during the summer and I will give you a team headed to the CFP, but this team is fractured now by injury, and if we do get by the Aubs and Georgia and whomever it'll be the best coaching job our great coach has ever done, and that's saying a lot.

rtr
IF we get by auburn, there is a good chance we get Christian Miller back for Georgia. IF we get by Georgia, Bama gets a month and a half off to rest and heal. Terrell Lewis as well as Mack Wilson will be back in the line up. Fitzpatrick will be 100% too. then we can talk about our chances in the Playoffs.
 
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RTR91

Super Moderator
Nov 23, 2007
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On that final drive when Buggs had the chance to pull Fitzgerald down for a big loss and the guy found someone crossing with Holcombe trailing the play? That was a microcosm of the defense we have seen since Hand has been hurt, since Hamilton has been hurt, since Minkah has been hurt.

You give me this squad as it was designed and built during the summer and I will give you a team headed to the CFP, but this team is fractured now by injury, and if we do get by the Aubs and Georgia and whomever it'll be the best coaching job our great coach has ever done, and that's saying a lot.

rtr
That's not saying much since SDH and Minkah were injured seven days before the game you're mentioning. ;)
 

gtgilbert

All-American
Aug 12, 2011
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On that final drive when Buggs had the chance to pull Fitzgerald down for a big loss and the guy found someone crossing with Holcombe trailing the play? That was a microcosm of the defense we have seen since Hand has been hurt, since Hamilton has been hurt, since Minkah has been hurt.

You give me this squad as it was designed and built during the summer and I will give you a team headed to the CFP, but this team is fractured now by injury, and if we do get by the Aubs and Georgia and whomever it'll be the best coaching job our great coach has ever done, and that's saying a lot.

rtr
I'm with you about SDH, but Buggs has played better than Hand was playing. He's better in every single stat (on an average per game basis) except sacks since they both have 1.5 even though at the beginning of the year he wasn't getting as many reps as Hand.

I need to watch the MSU replay, but I also think that Hand was part of the reason MSU ran as much as they did. I noticed a few times that Hand was not maintaining his gap discipline and keeping proper leverage, exposing some holes MSU was running in...
 

TomFromBama

Suspended
May 14, 2003
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Maybe we should play the Iron Bowl at the beginning of each season while Gus is still figuring things out. He does seem to get better mid season. Saban is much more prepared before and during the season. 😀
I've been saying this for years - we should handle the booger-eaters the way Iowa, Michigan, Colorado, Penn State, Utah and several other schools deal with their in-state rivals - play them in the first half of the season.

It removes from the rival the chance to be a "Spoiler" and potentially screw up our Title chances with a late loss - that is to say, it takes that POWER away from the rival. It also does not EXAGGERATE the importance of the in-state rival.
 

Padreruf

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I'm with you about SDH, but Buggs has played better than Hand was playing. He's better in every single stat (on an average per game basis) except sacks since they both have 1.5 even though at the beginning of the year he wasn't getting as many reps as Hand.

I need to watch the MSU replay, but I also think that Hand was part of the reason MSU ran as much as they did. I noticed a few times that Hand was not maintaining his gap discipline and keeping proper leverage, exposing some holes MSU was running in...
IMO you are correct...Hand tends to get pushed inside and not hold his outside leverage. He's not near the player Jonathan Allen was...
 

RT27

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One thing I saw in replay was the experienced guys seemed out of position, I think due to low confidence in new guys. They were trying hard to cover the entire field, not their patch of it. I think lack of trust of the young players to make plays took them out of their game. Hard to know what they were thinking, but they seemed to be trying to hard to do to much, and thus losing possition discipline. Maybe after mercer game and some more practice they trust the young uns and stay at home and do their job, and allow others to do their job. I feel trust of the others is our weakest spot now. The young uns must step up and earn that trust.
 

sanjosecrimson

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IMO you are correct...Hand tends to get pushed inside and not hold his outside leverage. He's not near the player Jonathan Allen was...
Hand was a 5 star and many sites had him as the #1 player overall regardless of position coming out of HS. I know he was injured and not 100% , but unfortunately before the injury he wasn't as productive as you would expect from a senior who's been in the system for 4 years. And to expound the point further, Buggs steps in and you could see the difference in speed and explosiveness lacking in Hand. I am happy Hand is back because we need depth and experience at the DLine, but I agree he isn't on the same level as Jonathan Allen.
 

BamaInBham

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Feb 14, 2007
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Hand was a 5 star and many sites had him as the #1 player overall regardless of position coming out of HS. I know he was injured and not 100% , but unfortunately before the injury he wasn't as productive as you would expect from a senior who's been in the system for 4 years. And to expound the point further, Buggs steps in and you could see the difference in speed and explosiveness lacking in Hand. I am happy Hand is back because we need depth and experience at the DLine, but I agree he isn't on the same level as Jonathan Allen.
It's no knock on Hand, but this is just another example of how hard it is to evaluate and project HS talent to the college level. One reason Bama has no 1 classes is because of the respect Coach Saban gets from the recruiting "analysts". They simply follow his lead in many cases and make assumptions. There are programs who base some of their recruiting efforts on who Bama offers. But recruiting rankings just provide a weak rule of thumb. Thus, Saban doesn't get the respect he deserves for the other aspects of coaching in which he excels - even from some Bama fans.
 

sanjosecrimson

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It's no knock on Hand, but this is just another example of how hard it is to evaluate and project HS talent to the college level. One reason Bama has no 1 classes is because of the respect Coach Saban gets from the recruiting "analysts". They simply follow his lead in many cases and make assumptions. There are programs who base some of their recruiting efforts on who Bama offers. But recruiting rankings just provide a weak rule of thumb. Thus, Saban doesn't get the respect he deserves for the other aspects of coaching in which he excels - even from some Bama fans.
good post. Saban has his own evaluation criteria. its a cliché , but "in Saban we trust" really rings true.
btw, Jonathan Allen was a 5 star and he too came from Virginia just like Hand. both 5 star DE from the same state, but with different results . I am hoping Hand can finish strong to end his Bama career!
 

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