Interesting look back at the 2016 starting defense

teamplayer said:

I think the answer was not enough offensive efficiency and ball control due to too many three and outs.
Also, in addition to Averett, I think I saw that Shaun Dion Hamilton was drafted.

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True.


Notes:
In this graph the plays column does not include the punts (I got these stats from ESPN). Keeping this in mind, Bama had held Clemson to 7 points through the first 59 plays (Bama's D averaged playing 61 plays per game entering this game) and 14 points through the first 72 plays. Clemson scored 21 points in the last 19 scrimmage plays. That's a little misleading since I counted the plays until the TD itself. But still we see the rapid deterioration after 65 plays. They had 1 score in the first 10 possessions, and 4 in their last 6.

I had forgotten that Clemson lost 3 fumbles in this game.


Bama possessions --------------------------------------- Clemson possesions

Crimson White said:

So Alabama's offense went 3 and out 8 times, only twice sustained drives more than 5 plays, only twice longer than 2 minutes, and 11 series were of 1:30 and less. Jeeze.

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And one 4 and out and two 5 and outs.

One more first down at any point in the second half would have won the NC in 2016.

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Rehashing this game is always tough.


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Intl.Aperture said:

No, the answer was too many snaps played because we couldn't sustain drives on offense. 99 plays? No college team has the depth to support that. Hell, no pro team has the depth to support that.

To me it's just further proof of the imbalance we've had on offense the last 2 years. Boom or bust. Feast or famine from drive to drive and nothing in between.

Sorry. I don't mean to hijack this thread and turn it into another offensive look back but that defense was good enough to win a championship.

We were not a complete team.

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Spot on

At some point we have to give Clemson and D. Watson some credit. That guy was flat out special that night. How many QB's would have played better after that hit from Reub? Clemson scored 14 in the first quarter while we were extremely rested.

Crimson White said:

So Alabama's offense went 3 and out 8 times, only twice sustained drives more than 5 plays, only twice longer than 2 minutes, and 11 series were of 1:30 and less. Jeeze.

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Going into the game, Alabama averaged 26.6 seconds per play. Against Clemson, Alabama avearaged 23 seconds per play. Not only did the offense have so many three-and-outs, it also was faster than most every game that year.

For all of Lane's faults, he at least waited until inside 15 seconds on the play clock before giving Jalen the play. That could have gone a long way in helping the defense.

Mystical said:

At some point we have to give Clemson and D. Watson some credit. That guy was flat out special that night. How many QB's would have played better after that hit from Reub? Clemson scored 14 in the first quarter while we were extremely rested.

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They scored once in the first half, and that was with 6 minutes left to go in the half.

RTR91 said:

Going into the game, Alabama averaged 26.6 seconds per play. Against Clemson, Alabama avearaged 23 seconds per play. Not only did the offense have so many three-and-outs, it also was faster than most every game that year.

For all of Lane's faults, he at least waited until inside 15 seconds on the play clock before giving Jalen the play. That could have gone a long way in helping the defense.


They scored once in the first half, and that was with 6 minutes left to go in the half.

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We are talking about 2 different games I guess lol. I am speaking of the year we won. I don't remember losing.

B1GTide said:

Looking back - hard to believe they didn't win the championship.

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I'm convinced if Eddie Jackson isn't injured and plays, Bama wins.

BamaMoon said:

So the Barners are right. We are basically a professional college team.

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Alabama is as talented as any NFL team. They are just less mature and experienced.

Intl.Aperture said:

No, the answer was too many snaps played because we couldn't sustain drives on offense. 99 plays? No college team has the depth to support that. Hell, no pro team has the depth to support that.

To me it's just further proof of the imbalance we've had on offense the last 2 years. Boom or bust. Feast or famine from drive to drive and nothing in between.

Sorry. I don't mean to hijack this thread and turn it into another offensive look back but that defense was good enough to win a championship.

We were not a complete team.

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Thanks for posting that, and thanks to all who posted the facts about that game. I said things like this for a year after that game, and usually got ripped up pretty good for saying it.

All the facts noted in this thread about our offense that night contributed to the loss. And its equally tragic when you consider that the 2016 Defense, with just a tiny bit more support from the Offense, not only wins the NC for us, but probably goes down in history as one of our best Defenses ever.

But as already noted, the change necessary to win the Title this past year, probably does not happen if we had "gotten by" on offense in January 2017.

CullmanTide said:

I'm convinced if Eddie Jackson isn't injured and plays, Bama wins.

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And/Or Scarborough doesn't leave the game with injury...Clemson had no answer for him. Jackson would have been good for at least one INT or huge punt return that could have made all the difference as well.

bamaee04 said:

And/Or Scarborough doesn't leave the game with injury...Clemson had no answer for him. Jackson would have been good for at least one INT or huge punt return that could have made all the difference as well.

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It’s not that I disagree but that whole line of commentary is the exact same as “if Colt hadn’t got hurt.”

selmaborntidefan said:

It’s not that I disagree but that whole line of commentary is the exact same as “if Colt hadn’t got hurt.”

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And, to be fair to Clemson, in 2015 their best DB was barely able to play. He would have limited the long passing plays by Alabama had he been healthy.

It is important to remember that it was the whole offense that kept the D on the field - not just Jalen. There were multiple drops, maybe 6, 3 of which would have been first downs. If just 2 of those had been caught, it could have changed the complexion of the game. There were also 4 or 5 throwaways because the OL was having great difficulty holding Clemson's DL. It was the offense as a whole, not just Jalen.

Btw, in full disclosure :smile:, I think Tua should and will win the QB job - IMO, Jalen has no chance to catch up.

Devils advocate, here, but what would have happened if Tua had been on the roster in 2016? Do you think coach would have put him in the NC game with Sark? In reflection, the offensive flow of the 2016 NC game and the first half of the 2017 NC had a lot of similarities.

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JDCrimson said:

Devils advocate, here, but what would have happened if Tua had been on the roster in 2016? Do you think coach would have put him in the NC game with Sark? In reflection, the offensive flow of the 2016 NC game and the first half of the 2017 NC had a lot of similarities.

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Except for the score. You scored in the 2016 game. You just did it in a way that didn't help the defense rest. But the scoring probably keeps Tua on the bench.

Just a reminder (if any were needed) that the 2016 defense was so dominant that they would have won 7 games by themselves with a field goal kicker:

Our defense outscored (by themselves):
USC (7-6)
Kentucky (7-6, including ST, 13-6)



Our defense plus the special teams:
WKU (tie, 10-10)
Kent St (7-0)
Tennessee (14-10)
LSU (3-0)
MSU (9-0)
Washington (10-7)

The defense/ST by themselves lose to ATM only by a score of 14-13.
They would have tied Florida at 16 (the missed PAT was the difference).


In the Washington game, we would have beaten them (on the scoreboard) even if the offense never gained a single yard that day.