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Let’s discuss our defense...so many injuries, so many freshmen.

rgw

rgw

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In the second half we had too many big plays busts on defense which is not what we need. They may not be a Standard Bama D this year but if they can at least make teams execute long drives and convert 3rd down consecutively then they will more than likely succeed at keeping the opponent's scoring low enough.

Not allowing chunk plays is the key this year. Make teams run more plays and increase the likelihood they submarine their drives due to procedure penalties and execution errors.
 
bamaga

bamaga

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BayouBama75 said:
We need to tackle better than we did in the 2nd half...
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Out of position on a lot of those, hesitation for a split second due to inexperience is the difference between making a great play and getting caught up in the middle on a wide play , or taking a desperation angle and missing the ball carrier all together.
 
Tide&True

Tide&True

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Sep 24, 2004
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rgw said:
In the second half we had too many big plays busts on defense which is not what we need. They may not be a Standard Bama D this year but if they can at least make teams execute long drives and convert 3rd down consecutively then they will more than likely succeed at keeping the opponent's scoring low enough.

Not allowing chunk plays is the key this year. Make teams run more plays and increase the likelihood they submarine their drives due to procedure penalties and execution errors.
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When we play the good teams we don’t need the D on the field for 90+ plays. That’s why I’d like to see the O able to possess the ball for more than a minute and a half.


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bamaga

bamaga

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I still have high expectations. There are other things they can do, and as the team gets healthier and experienced, the defense will get better. Good thing the schedule is backloaded. I’m not tempering expectation, the kids are good, very good . They just have to put it all together. I hope they put the effort in during the off-season, because down the stretch is where it will pay off. Raekwon Davis, X, or Afernee Jennings needs to step up and be a vocal leader on the defense! Probably needs to be X since he can see the whole defense.
One of the problems is in the blowouts, normally the subs would come in early to build depth, but this year the starters are playing deep into the game because of their inexperience. To bad there isn’t a freshman team anymore so the young guys can get game reps. .
 
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D

davefrat

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Jun 4, 2002
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I understand that our offense scores so quickly that it leaves our defense on the field too long, but what’s the likelihood that the offense is going to score in 2 minutes against top level defenses?
 
mlh

mlh

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I keep reading where people are blaming the offense for some of the defensive struggles because they score too fast and the defense is on the field for too many plays. Well, if the defense could get more 3-and-outs, they wouldn't be on the field for so many plays. Just sayin'...

I think our defense is improving. But they're not elite. Injuries have knocked out key players and leaders on the defense. The guys who are playing have talent, but lack experience. And as Saban has said, you can't teach experience. Hopefully the young guys will improve with experience. But we'll have to outscore a couple of teams on our schedule. The teams that worry me the most are UGA, if we get to the SECCG, and Ohio State, if we get to the playoffs, simply because they have the ability to control the clock, wear down our defense, and slow our offense down a little bit.
 
Tide&True

Tide&True

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mlh said:
I keep reading where people are blaming the offense for some of the defensive struggles because they score too fast and the defense is on the field for too many plays. Well, if the defense could get more 3-and-outs, they wouldn't be on the field for so many plays. Just sayin'...

I think our defense is improving. But they're not elite. Injuries have knocked out key players and leaders on the defense. The guys who are playing have talent, but lack experience. And as Saban has said, you can't teach experience. Hopefully the young guys will improve with experience. But we'll have to outscore a couple of teams on our schedule. The teams that worry me the most are UGA, if we get to the SECCG, and Ohio State, if we get to the playoffs, simply because they have the ability to control the clock, wear down our defense, and slow our offense down a little bit.
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Let me be clear. I’m as disappointed in the D as much as anyone but I do know the reasons it is the way it is. We have seen elite defenses here during CNS’s tenure but this team has had its share of difficulty for sure. If these young players were a year or two older this defense might be elite as well. This is the team we have and I know they are working hard to get there.


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Mystical

Mystical

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rgw said:
At this juncture I think injuries are also affecting our offense. We may not be calling many run plays because we really can't afford Najee Harris to get hurt. Sure it really is in line with our talent mix (a minimum of 4 NFL-bound WRs on the roster) but Sanders was a huge loss. B-Rob has been getting better as he gets more snaps but there is a noticeable drop off between Najee and Brian Robinson. Gotta think that we've kinda had to abandon what seemed to be a lead up to a run and play action heavy strategy for 2019 once Sanders went down. Definitely been seeing a lot more RPO passing than we were allegedly planning to do. Defense being battered to the point of ineffectiveness and already short a high-end tailback, we're just running a lot more of the easy money RPO stuff to put up numbers.
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You think so? Maybe in the passing game but I think BRob hits the hole really well. Not sure if he is getting enough snaps. Seems to me he has the ability to make the first guy miss in the back field just a little bit better. I am pretty sure their average is about the same. I would say our line is not opening up holes as well as it used to. Both of those guys are getting hit way to often in the backfield.
 
rgw

rgw

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Najee is averaging 6.2ypc while B-Rob is averaging 4.3ypc. Pretty big difference. Granted Robinson has gotten better over the course of the season but so has Najee.
 
J

JustNeedMe81

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Well, after a week in Mexico being with my new wife.... We made it back in time to watch the game.... and This is my take on the defense:
Anyone noticed we scored 31 points in 2nd quarter? That's crazy! When was the last time we did something like that?

I believed Defense played sloppy in 2nd half... lot of mental mistakes. I believe the score would've been 66-14 and we have to remember that John Plumlee is not fast. He is quick. Dude can run. Ole Miss did great job of developing game plans against Alabama and they are much better team than they were last year. I believe we can defend the pass game better in next few games... we just need to work on our run game, and we have two weeks to improve. I'm confident we will be fine. Ole miss game was perfect teaching tool for those LBs to learn from. You can bet that TAMU, Arkansas, LSU, Miss and Auburn will try the same game plan.

I really think we will see some changes at LB position ( Harris) I wouldn't be shocked to see Kaho starting next game. TAMU game will definitely tell us a lot about where we are as a team, and can we improve from Ole Miss to TAMU? The team we see in TAMU game is what we will get for the rest of the season. I want to remind everyone that our Run game is fine. It is getting better reach week. We will be pass first offense this season. I have to keep bringing that up to remind folks.... not to get upset about the running game. We are witnessing something special out of Tua, so enjoy it folks.

Guys, Tua has thrown over 400 yards against SC and Ole miss. What's the odd of him throwing over 400 yards against TAMU?






 
R

RollTide_HTTR

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I don't think we match up well with Auburn. And I'm not going to lie I'm becoming slightly worried about it. LSU might be the better team but we may match up better with them because we have very good CBs and a very good safety.
 
D

davefrat

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RollTide_HTTR said:
I don't think we match up well with Auburn. And I'm not going to lie I'm becoming slightly worried about it. LSU might be the better team but we may match up better with them because we have very good CBs and a very good safety.
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Nix is a really good runner and at least an adequate passer...which have been fatal to us in the past against good Auburn teams...and this defense looks to be very vulnerable against that kind of QB.

FWIW Auburn has looked like the best all-around team in the SEC so far as I can see.
 
B

Blueguitar

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Nov 19, 2017
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rgw said:
At this juncture I think injuries are also affecting our offense. We may not be calling many run plays because we really can't afford Najee Harris to get hurt. Sure it really is in line with our talent mix (a minimum of 4 NFL-bound WRs on the roster) but Sanders was a huge loss. B-Rob has been getting better as he gets more snaps but there is a noticeable drop off between Najee and Brian Robinson. Gotta think that we've kinda had to abandon what seemed to be a lead up to a run and play action heavy strategy for 2019 once Sanders went down. Definitely been seeing a lot more RPO passing than we were allegedly planning to do. Defense being battered to the point of ineffectiveness and already short a high-end tailback, we're just running a lot more of the easy money RPO stuff to put up numbers.
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I think our play selection will change when we play tougher opponents. Right now controlling clock is not necessary, and as you say, we need to keep Najee healthy. I'm not saying we'll revert to a Derrick Henry type offense, but I wouldn't be surprised if Najee gets 20-25 carries against LSU or Auburn.
 
RammerJammer15

RammerJammer15

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Let’s look at points given up by defense (my most important defensive stat)through 5 games since 2012:

2012: 35
2013: 61
2014: 65
2015: 80
2016: 65
2017: 43
2018: 65
2019: 74

So we’re second most behind 2015 which turned out to be a pretty good defense down the stretch, I don’t think the front seven is as talented as it was in 2015 but, it still goes to show that there can be improvement.
 
C

Cruiser

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After watching what Plumlee was able to do against our D ; what do you think Jalen could do if we draw them. Scary
 
T

Tideflyer

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davefrat said:
Nix is a really good runner and at least an adequate passer...which have been fatal to us in the past against good Auburn teams...and this defense looks to be very vulnerable against that kind of QB.

FWIW Auburn has looked like the best all-around team in the SEC so far as I can see.
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I’ll say it. If we played the barn today, at JH, I think they win. But.....we don’t play today.
 
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