****Bama Vs. OU Postgame Thread****

[rgw]

Yeah, I think Nussmeier doesn't handle being down in a game very well at all outside of the Georgia game where I think Saban basically handed down an ultimatum to get behind the run and don't stop at halftime after Nuss' tempo passing approach went poorly in the first half.

If we're not moving to 1-gap pressure philosophy, we need to start expecting needing to score in back and forth games in the years when the secondary isn't NFL-quality. Of course, NFL-quality DBs can't even consistently stop situations where 300lb linemen are never running down a QB buying time for a WR to shake loose.

 

[Rama Jama]

We played at their tempo, not ours. We tried to pass the ball instead of running consistently. If we establish the run early in the game which has been their weak point, games over. If we establish the run, those long passes are open later in the game once they adjust to stopping the run. Instead we tried to go long when it was obvious we could not protect long enough for those plays to develop.

The best defense against these teams is a dominant run oriented offense that keeps the ball away from their offense and wins the time of possession.

 

[day-day]

In 2013, our D gave up an avg of 286 yds per game, 13.9 pts per game and held opponents to 35% conversion on third down. Below is what teams that went up-tempo on us did:

aTm (2013) - 628 yds, 42 pts, 5/8 on third down (63%)
Ole Miss (2013) - 205 yds, 0 pts, 4/14 on third down (29%)
LSU (2013) - 284 yds, 17 pts, 7/12 on third down (58%)
Auburn (2013) - 393 yds, 34 pts, 8/15 on third down (53%)
Oklahoma (2013) - 429 yds, 45 pts, 6/12 on third down (50%)

The season averages include these games; so the discrepancy is even higher than it looks here. Ole Miss just doesn't have the talent to hang with Bama. LSU didn't go up tempo the entire game; and we played probably our best game of the season against them as well. But the other three did some serious damage to our D.

The problem is more than execution. There's no reason to abandon the philosophy that's gotten him to where he is; but there HAS to be some adjustments to the scheme against the up tempo teams.

Maybe up-tempo was the difference but these were also the better teams on the schedule so I would expect the numbers to be worse against them regardless of offensive style.

 

[trenda]

Maybe up-tempo was the difference but these were also the better teams on the schedule so I would expect the numbers to be worse against them regardless of offensive style.

Definitely a fair point; but I still hold firm to my belief that our defense struggles with up tempo offenses. It also then begs the question: were we just grossly overrated?

The SEC was definitely cumulatively stronger offensively this season than it has been in some time. Perfect storm of events (inexperience, injury, talent)???

 

[RTR91]

Saban said in his Wednesday press conference he liked where the team was mentally. That should end any talk of the players not being motivated or not wanting to be there. The media will use that excuse, which means other fans will think Bama fans think that. We shouldn't, though.

I believe if someone gave Coach Saban and Kirby two options (play the game or go with the result of holding Oklahoma to 81 yards rushing) they would have probably taken the 81 yards rushing because Oklahoma wasn't known for being a passing team. I don't recall hearing much about their passing game from coaches or the media. All I read or heard was about the zone-read game.

The play calling didn't have the flow it had in years past. However, it fits what we saw against Va Tech and Auburn - two teams that put pressure on AJ and the RBs. Had AJ had time to throw the ball, I believe we is able to connect on some of those throws. However, he had a swinging gate OL most of the night.

 

[TAKEPRIDE22]

Think about our last few losses, A&M, Auburn, this one. In every one of them we, in my opinion, went away from the run game way too quick and allowed the other team to have too many offensive possessions. We arent a passing team, we are a power running team.

Hitting the nail on the head. This is why I believe we lost...we went against what has helped us win those other BCS titles...IMO.

 

[JTH]

I think we are too business like sometimes. In some games you need that emotional high to play at the next level, and I haven't seen that in a while.

 

[CrimsonPride]

These are words to live by from the "real AJ".

@astarr193: You're never as good as you think you are when you win; and you're never as bad as you feel when you lose.

 

[Bryant Ave]

I believe our scope is fixated on 2 games, games that we could have won if not for terrible mistakes, a season's worth in 2 games. But with a little time we will pull back and see the bigger picture again, for the team and coaches. A program in great shape coming off a 11-2 season.

Maybe we were little overrated this year? Maybe it was not fun to be in the world our players were this year. We didn't even look like a top 5 team until the second half of the Ole Miss game Maybe losing your best players early to the draft each year can trump recruiting every 5th year? Maybe losing 3 NFL lineman and their coach is not something repairable in a season. Maybe this entire monkey took a toll on our coach this year? The whole fan thing might have been a result of the pressure cooker?

In both the Auburn and the Oklahoma games, we were on the verge of putting them down by double digits and we made mental mistakes. The person foul at the 1 yard line, the penalty on the made FG, the fumble in the red-zone. These seemed like mistakes from a mentally drained team.

My opinion is that Alabama has been overrated all year, and has had to play up to standards this team was not capable of achieving, and the end result was an uninspired season ending crash landing. You can nit pick mistakes, but they may all the result from having extreme pressure to be a championship team that maybe this team was never meant to be, but was taken for granted as being.

One big cause can be all the effect we have seen the past two days. So it may not be a dozen small problems but just mindset.

I do not believe this team needs anything other than a new beginning and some defensive tweaks, a HUHN base defense that you can stick with. Let the team find their own identity, take some of the pressure off, and watch the young players grow up. We were like a winding down wobbly gyroscope all year, time to take another spin.

 

[Bazza]

THREE National Championships in four years.......enough said!

 

[CrimsonNan]

THREE National Championships in four years.......enough said!

AMEN!!!

 

[Bamaro]

THREE National Championships in four years.......enough said!

Yup, but if it were 5, we would still want #6

 

[ReturnToGlory]

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.....this is what is great about sports, but college sports in general. You'll never really appreciate one without the other.

 

[TIDEnGA]

I think we are too business like sometimes. In some games you need that emotional high to play at the next level, and I haven't seen that in a while.

And I've brought this up numerous times, plenty of emotion vs. LSU. Never any against auburn. That's just wrong.

 

[TIDEnGA]

THIS!!! I hope the staff travels to Stanford in the off season and picks their brains about this. In life, you must adapt. Life doesn't stand still; sometimes change is inevitable and I'm hoping the renewed off season approach helps us in the future.

I agree but will Coach Saban do that? Any of that? Can he admit that change in his philosophy is needed and will he be able to concede to that change? I just don't know. I'm concerned.

 

[Bazza]

Yup, but if it were 5, we would still want #6

I respect that and wouldn't have it any other way!

 

[bamacon]

Maybe he is adapting and it just takes time for it to show. We keep harping on the secondary but there's no way fixing the secondary is going to be the "magic pill". It's more than that. The success OU had last night goes way beyond just fixing the secondary. Our DL'men aren't quick enough off the ball to cause any disruption in the backfield. They're too big. Our defensive mindset isn't to play on the edges but in a phone booth. We're built that way and once teams spread us out and force us out of the "phone booth" so to speak we are very vulnerable. No shutdown corner in the world can hold receivers very long in today's game without pressure from the DL. It's just unrealistic to think we are going to consistently find corners with this ability. Most of the DB's that will come through Alabama and all other programs will not be shutdown corners. So we can't hang out hats on a type player that in most years we won't have.

Yup. It's great to be big and strong but if there ain't nobody there to grab and manhandle it kinda defeats the purpose.

 

[CoastGhost]

I just wish CNS would stop watching all that film and spend his extra time reading this forum!

:eek2: