When is the last time you remember an Alabama offense being this explosive?

Well, it's one game, and we don't know how good Louisville's defense is, so I'd caution on that.

And we did actually score more points in the opener against USC two years ago as well as against W Carolina in 2007.
We had 66 in the 1973 opener against Cal, who turned out to be a 4-7 team.

And the other thing that I didn't care for is we got into a lot of third down situations early, almost like we were sort of blah blah for
the first two plays and then decided to get serious. That won't work against an LSU, Auburn, Clemson or playoff team not named
Oklahoma.


However, I'm no Debbie Downer, and I'm excited about the potential. Unlike the early days of the Saban tenure (2007-9), at least we can hold our own if the game turns into a shootout, much more so than before.

I think we have the potential - key word - to be the best offense the school has ever had.

4Q Basket Case said:

I'm not worried about Tua's ability to throw, even against good defenses. Sure, he might not have the numbers against some of our future opponents, but that's because they deny opportunities in the form of open receivers, not because Tua can't throw.

The OL is a bit worrisome. I know, I know...it's the first game, it's two new linemen and a third playing a new position. But Louisville's DL got far more penetration, far more consistently, than I would have expected. Until late in the game when they knew they were beaten, and just wanted to go home.

This is Brent Key's third year as OL coach, and I'm not at all convinced that he has maximized the talent at his disposal. He will be feeling some heat if Ole Miss does what Louisville did.

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I thought the OL settled in way before that. Still UL got in there mainly because they were bringing heat on every play seemed like.

Never.

crimsonaudio said:

But we do know how good the UGA defense was last season.

Also worth noting that Tua was QB on half (or fewer) of Bama's drives.

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True - but last season/this season......well...

Your second point is quite valid, however.

Ask again in November.

Loam said:

Especially in the passing game. Herbie said during that game against Louisville that we will be scoring like that all season long and now teams have to prepare for an aspect that they have never prepared for with us: The passing attack. We look downright unstoppable on offense with Tua at the helm. If he had stayed in that game against Louisville all game long, we may of scored 80+ points or more.

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1989...with Gary Hollingsworth.

Even with Tua I think we are at our best when we can run the ball effectively on 1st down.

With Tua I think we are going to be very good on 3rd down. So a running game that can consistently get us 2nd and 5, 3rd and 3, will be very complimentary.

When Gary Hollingsworth was spinning the ball in the late 80's.

4Q Basket Case said:

The OL is a bit worrisome. I know, I know...it's the first game, it's two new linemen and a third playing a new position. But Louisville's DL got far more penetration, far more consistently, than I would have expected. Until late in the game when they knew they were beaten, and just wanted to go home.

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That has me concerned, too. Too much penatration by an inferior defense. if it weren't for Tua we wouldn't have scored on the first drive. I also thought we started out slow on the defensive line. I thought we'd be in their back field early and often. That really didn't happen till later in the game

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4Q Basket Case said:

I'm not worried about Tua's ability to throw, even against good defenses. Sure, he might not have the numbers against some of our future opponents, but that's because they deny opportunities in the form of open receivers, not because Tua can't throw.

The OL is a bit worrisome. I know, I know...it's the first game, it's two new linemen and a third playing a new position. But Louisville's DL got far more penetration, far more consistently, than I would have expected. Until late in the game when they knew they were beaten, and just wanted to go home.

This is Brent Key's third year as OL coach, and I'm not at all convinced that he has maximized the talent at his disposal. He will be feeling some heat if Ole Miss does what Louisville did.

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The fly in the ointment...OL was very spotty in the beginning...we did not have a consistent run game until UL felt overwhelmed. We don't need Tua to get beat up every week...a clean jersey this week would be fine with me.

Loam said:

Especially in the passing game. Herbie said during that game against Louisville that we will be scoring like that all season long and now teams have to prepare for an aspect that they have never prepared for with us: The passing attack. We look downright unstoppable on offense with Tua at the helm. If he had stayed in that game against Louisville all game long, we may of scored 80+ points or more.

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I agree. I does appear that Petrino is a master at getting an open receiver against any defensive scheme. I would conjecture a bit that Enos would gain more input into the offensive plan for Bama to be able to do the same. The only SEC offense that I remember that could attack the entire field the way Tua can is the outstanding Spurrier teams at Florida. I say that remembering how they consistently drove a stake in our hearts throwing the slant in the red zone against some great defenses.

Considering that and what we saw against Louisville, I believe that our red zone offense will be the best Bama has had since AJ, Cooper and Lacy in 2012. It will be extremely difficult for defenses to cover this set of receivers with Tua's quick release. There will be high percentage throws for him particularly with the running threat that will consistently hold the LBs.

crimsonaudio said:

Just saying - we all know Bama could have hung 70 or 80 on UL if Tua had played all four quarters.

I've never seen an offense so laden with talent, at any school. Closest I can think of was a couple of the USC teams in the early 2Ks.

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We have more speed/ability (hands to catch) than we've ever had...If we wanted this offense could be legendary in running up the score. I doubt we will...CNS doesn't do that...

That 1979 Bama offense was talented and explosive in the running game. I don't remember for sure if Bendross and Jones were on that team but we had good receivers and a couple of serviceable QB's.

83' Walter Lewis led offense and the '84 opener against BC with KG, but Goode got hurt and Lewis was streaky.

2012 was dang good.

But nothing quite like this in my lifetime.

If the team stays healthy and keeps their heads right it's going to be a fun season.

I have seen nothing so far to discourage me from standing by the prediction we average over 500 yards a game this year.

With Tua likely getting more series going forward and the likelihood of our OL gelling, we'll get even more balanced.

I was just a little surprised we didn't run the ball better against UL, but when the run game clicks it'll just open up the passing lanes even more and Tua has already proven he just needs a small window to get the ball to our guys downfield.

Did I see that right now Tua is averaging a TD pass for every 11 throws and every 5 completions? It was something like that. That'll probably change slightly with him playing more against better competition, but that's insane!

selmaborntidefan said:

And the other thing that I didn't care for is we got into a lot of third down situations early, almost like we were sort of blah blah for the first two plays and then decided to get serious. That won't work against an LSU, Auburn, Clemson or playoff team not named Oklahoma.

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But Tua was 7 for 7 I think on the 3rd downs and that WILL beat teams like LSU, auBARN, Clemson or playoff team not named Oklahoma.

BamaMoon said:

Did I see that right now Tua is averaging a TD pass for every 11 throws and every 5 completions? It was something like that. That'll probably change slightly with him playing more against better competition, but that's insane!

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Last year it was 1 TD pass for every 7 throws and every 4.45 completions.

Sat. Night it was 1 TD pass for every 8 throws and every 6 completions (He's slipping):wink:

Career Avg is now 1 TD pass for every 7.15 Throws and every 4.69 Completions. It's just FILTHY!!!