Are you expecting an easy win vs. Texas?

[RJ YellowHammer]

*sigh*
Thanks for answering my question, and for the record I define blitz as when someone not with their hand in the dirt OR more than 4 rush.
No it doesn't make me feel better to say a LB with his hand in the dirt is blitzing, why would I even say that
Obviously its not going to be a jail break blitz, where you got the idea I thought that I don't know

So, in your nickel and dime packages, do you think you will get the kind of pressure OU and NU got on us by just rushing 4? That's my question

I think we can get pressure with the front four. We have all year long, and I don't see a reason to expect otherwise on January 7th.

 

[OreBama]

I fully expect us to dominate. The score may be close, but Texas is simply not physical enough on either side of the ball to have a realistic chance at competing. I say that truthfully and with no "smack" intended. This Bama team is for real.

 

[cam4mav]

I think we can get pressure with the front four. We have all year long, and I don't see a reason to expect otherwise on January 7th.

does the pressure come from the DE's, DT's or all of the above?
I only ask because looking at the sack stats its easy to assume that the most effective pressure is when blitzing. educate me

 

[jps1983]

*sigh*
So, in your nickel and dime packages, do you think you will get the kind of pressure OU and NU got on us by just rushing 4? That's my question

In those packages, when we go with 4 down linemen, you'll see Eryk Anders with his hand down on the pass rush (essentially he's a light DE there) and Dareus lined up inside or out. We've gotten consistent pressure with that thus far with the occasional blitz from anywhere (could be Javy from the edge, Ro or Nico in the middle, etc.). The only game where we didn't get a lot of pressure was against Tennessee. You can look up Jess's article from it and although he is usually very objective he mentioned how often the UTe OL grabbed/ tackled our guys (it was usually Marcell Dareus).

 

[buzzincuzzin]

I'm not sure I know what you mean.
Are you saying the front 3 with be bringing heavy pressure?

Yep,,,,, there's a package to do just exactly that. Cody's not in it. But when you see it you'll know.

 

[RolltideFanz]

does the pressure come from the DE's, DT's or all of the above?
I only ask because looking at the sack stats its easy to assume that the most effective pressure is when blitzing. educate me

"Our" line has done a great job of pushing "their" line back and around all year long. Truth be told, our line has gotten their paws on the QB numerous times this year (I'm constantly screaming at the television to "drag that sucker down!"). Although they don't have the sack stats, it's only because they're pushing the QB around and the rest of our defense is basically performing mop-up duty.

And you've been here long enough to have heard by now that we don't look at "sack stats" as the tell-all of how much a QB is being pressured. We may not have the stats, but I think I speak for most of us when I say that I think we can pressure with the best of them. And it's not all about the blitz. I'd be very surprised if at some point in our game (and probably more than once) Cody isn't in the backfield chasing Colt around. He's just not quite fast enough to catch them, most times. :tongue:

And as an above poster mentioned (think it was jps), Anders has been able to help generate some pressure when we have 4 on the line (which we did frequently during the Florida game).

 

[TIDE-HSV]

does the pressure come from the DE's, DT's or all of the above?
I only ask because looking at the sack stats its easy to assume that the most effective pressure is when blitzing. educate me

As I have said before, CNS has said that he's interested in sacks only secondarily. QB hurries do the same and are more productive of TOs. We've been able to maintain pressure with our front four. Blitzing is fairly rare - again, just a handful each game. I don't know where the impression got started that we blitz every play. Let me make one thing clear - we do not accept the premise that, if we bring five, Colt gets a TD. I don't know how that got started, either. On the rare occasions when we bring five, it will be very, very fast and it will not be from where he's expecting it...

 

[RolltideFanz]

As I have said before, CNS has said that he's interested in sacks only secondarily. QB hurries do the same and are more productive of TOs. We've been able to maintain pressure with our front four. Blitzing is fairly rare - again, just a handful each game. I don't know where the impression got started that we blitz every play. Let me make one thing clear - we do not accept the premise that, if we bring five, Colt gets a TD. I don't know how that got started, either. On the rare occasions when we bring five, it will be very, very fast and it will not be from where he's expecting it...

Preach on, Earle.

 

[bamachile]

I didn't answer the poll. After predicting blowout wins last year over Tulane, Kentucky, and Utah, I am serving a self-imposed one-year ban from predicting scores. :aiwebs_001: If we win the NC, I will continue it until we lose a game.

I expect a tough game. Texas is no patsy, and I'm sure Coach Brown and the Longhorns will break out their best effort of the season come January. Of course, I expect the same from UA, and I have confidence in the Tide.

I expect the UT fans to pull for their team. I'm pulling for mine.

I can't wait. _wink:

 

[Little Piggie]

All I know is that I am supporting the Tide. Pigs hate the Horns. Gotta watch out for Texass lucking out! RTR!

 

[ForeverBama]

I'll begin this by saying I'm largely ignorant of Texas' team this year. I saw parts of their games against Oklahoma and Nebraska, and highlights from some others, and that's it.

With that said, it seems there's a LOT of confidence coming from our side -- it seems the consensus is Alabama *should* win fairly comfortably, unless they do some things to beat themselves.

I have to admit, though, I've been a bit underwhelmed by many of the arguments being made in support of that.

Four of the most oft-repeated:

1. SEC > Big 12. Therefore, SEC's Bama is clearly better than Big 12's Texas.

2. Florida > Anyone Texas beat. Bama blew out Florida, so Texas can expect the same from Bama.

3. Texas struggled against the only two good defenses they played -- Oklahoma and Nebraska.

4. Texas isn't physical enough to contain Alabama's running game, because they didn't play any strong running teams.


While those first three are true, I just don't know how much those things matter in this game.

• Yes, Bama played a tougher schedule, but it's not like the Big 12 is the Big East and Texas is a mirage because they've feasted on cupcakes.

• Yes, Bama drilled Florida, but that was our best game of the season, and we've certainly looked much worse than that, at times.

• Yes, Texas struggled against Oklahoma and Nebraska, but how is that any different from our struggles against UT or Auburn or even South Carolina?

• And as for Texas not being physical enough to match our running game, I think you need to have a pretty good argument for that when you're talking about the No. 1 rushing D in the nation (62 ypg). I mean, I'm sure you can present the numbers to somehow make it less impressive, but 62 yards is 62 yards. Those guys are obviously very strong against the run.

A few more reasons why I think this is a more evenly matched game than many of us seem to think:

• Anytime you're playing against a QB like Colt McCoy, you've got a chance to lose. The guy's hitting better than 70% of his passes over the past two seasons and has put up monster numbers. The guy can sling it, he can run it, he's got moxie and he's the winningest college QB ever.

• Texas' short, accurate passing game is similar to what gave us so much trouble against Utah. It's been said that no one's been able to make it work against us this year, but we haven't exactly played against a bunch of West Coast-type aces this year, either. I think Texas will be at least as good at running that type of offense as Utah was.

• Texas' struggles against Nebraska shouldn't be a dead giveaway they're no good. Remember how crummy we looked against UT after playing eight straight weeks? I think Texas was in a similar situation against Nebraska.

• I think a lot of Bama's momentum from the Florida game (as well as Texas' lack of momentum from the Nebraska game) will be negated by the long layoff.

• Despite Saban's pleas, the always-dangerous "no respect" advantage will squarely be with the Longhorns. It's a great equalizer.

• I mean, this is Texas we're talking about here. Doesn't Texas have 4- and 5-star talent all over the field? I know their fans are down on their OL, but I have a hard time seeing them being a whole lot less talented than Bama. And, by the way, they're 25-1 over the past two seasons.

To those who've watched Texas and can make an honest assessment: Am I missing something here? Is Texas really just not that good? Are Bama fans expecting a closer game than they seem to be?

(For the record, I think Bama will win by one score in a low-scoring game.)

Without stepping too far out on a limb, I'm going to say no. Not expecting an easy game.

 

[rgw]

does the pressure come from the DE's, DT's or all of the above?
I only ask because looking at the sack stats its easy to assume that the most effective pressure is when blitzing. educate me

I'll let coach learn ya:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alx_xBOJki8]YouTube - Saban blows up over sacks (post-game UNT)[/ame]

 

[TideFan in AU]

does the pressure come from the DE's, DT's or all of the above?
I only ask because looking at the sack stats its easy to assume that the most effective pressure is when blitzing. educate me

Our D line's sack numbers aren't spectacular for sure. But what they do so well is push the O line into the QB's face. They are big and strong enough to disrupt the play by creating a big mass of bodies coming straight at the QB. What we have done so well against mobile passers is not rushing deeper than the QB. This does not allow the QB a real pocket to step up into to throw nor does it allow a running lane to shoot through. The O lines we've faced haven't been able to just force them outside like you can do undersized pass rushing DE's. What the sack stats don't show is how many times QB's actually get hit. We had very few sacks on Snead or Mallett but they got hit over and over and over. They both started throwing the ball early trying to keep from getting hit and both were held to around 40% completion percentage with multiple INT's. Of all of our true lineman Marcel Darius is our best pass rusher. He is a monster! as Gary Danielson calls him almost every game. I'm really interested to see how he compares to Suh and McCoy. Florida had 2 All SEC and 2nd team All American O linemen and our guys manhandled them all night. That's why I've been adamant that Texa's O line is going to have to play better than they did last time out.
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[cam4mav]

that's what I'm looking for, It sounds like your guys D line is very comparable to our D line, its just we usually get him down before the rest of the D can clean up, giving the better sack stats.
What you described is exactly why sergio kindle is so good for us, he is so fast that lineman get on their heels trying to keep up, but he is strong enough to push them right into the QBs grill. He has a ridiculous amount of QB hurries and hits, but a lower sack number.
I fully expect our line to perform better than against NU, that was a horrible performance by us and a great one by NU, they will bounce back enough so that it won't be as easy for you guys, not that you won't get your licks in

as for the notion that sending 5 means Colt scores....um of course not, but he has been very good at finding the blitz and getting the ball to that hole, he has done it his whole career, I see no reason to expect different for the next game. We are very good at eating up yards when teams blitz us, your DB's will have to play super glue man all game for us to not take advantage of that.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

You seem to be catching on to the way the our DL works. Once again, we're not really what you'd call a blitzing team, so, for your sake, I hope Colt doesn't spend the whole game looking for it. You've watched him for four years. I may have watched him for four games. I don't see superman, by any means. He looks susceptible to the type of pressure we bring. Guess we'll just have to play the game after all...

 

[cam4mav]

Guess we'll just have to play the game after all...

:biggrin: that's a shame lol

 

[cam4mav]

Ok so here is a thought
Consider your D line and our D line as the same, both good against the run and good at pressuring the QB.

How does you O handle the situation? What do you guys do when you can't run the ball consistently (remember hypothetical) and need to throw. Who do you go to, what routes, how long do the plays take to develop? etc...

I haven't seen much of you guys outside espn highlights, so if you think that question is absurd save the roll eyes and *sigh* please and give me a break lol.

 

[TideFan in AU]

I do think some of our fans are selling Texas' defense a little short. We've seen what Muschamp's defense can do with Auburn's talent and I think its safe to say Texas has better talent than Auburn did at the time Muschamp was at there. They were loaded from 02-05 but their recruiting tanked after Jetgate in 03 and the talent had dropped off a lot by then. I'd also argue that there was not a team in the SEC that was more balanced than we are now while he was there. So yeah, I guess you guys are right, we're just gonna have to play the game and see!
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[RJ YellowHammer]

Ok so here is a thought
Consider your D line and our D line as the same, both good against the run and good at pressuring the QB.

How does you O handle the situation? What do you guys do when you can't run the ball consistently (remember hypothetical) and need to throw. Who do you go to, what routes, how long do the plays take to develop? etc...

I haven't seen much of you guys outside espn highlights, so if you think that question is absurd save the roll eyes and *sigh* please and give me a break lol.

We'll adjust by going 4 wide, and throwing underneath. That's CJM's M.O. anyway. Sound familiar?

 

[rgw]

Ok so here is a thought
Consider your D line and our D line as the same, both good against the run and good at pressuring the QB.

How does you O handle the situation? What do you guys do when you can't run the ball consistently (remember hypothetical) and need to throw. Who do you go to, what routes, how long do the plays take to develop? etc...

I haven't seen much of you guys outside espn highlights, so if you think that question is absurd save the roll eyes and *sigh* please and give me a break lol.

We had troubles around midseason in pass protection, but they made some adjustments in playcalling and perhaps protection schemes in the bye week and handled the pressure pretty well the rest of the season. Auburn's Coleman was really the only guy to have any success after that bye week.