Brandon Fanney

[LP-HSV]

You're right!

Very nice! If I recall, he either scored or it ended the game. I remember being very relieved.

 

[SaintDeuce]

I think we ran every defensive formation there is last year...5-2, 4-3, 3-4, 3-3-5, 3-2-6....

Our D's seemed to be disguised very well...If you watch the Auburn game especially it's really obvious how we change defenses from play to play.

Really great coaching and playcalling on Kines' part.

Gotta love Bama's D...It's reassuring to know that we won't be allowing 230+ yards a game through the air like we were consistently from 97-01...just so frustrating...Isn't it great for the pass D to be a bonafied strength??

 

[JessN]

I think you're thinking of a 3-4 alignment, where the outside linebackers are basically lightweight defensive ends.

The 3-3-5 looks like a result of the Brother Bill Oliver consultations this past offseason. This is a package we haven't run since he left. It was used heavily during the 1992 season in passing situations with the Bookends crushing the pocket and a tree trunk at noseguard holding the middle.

This is why I would expect us to use the defense only in passing situations or against spread offenses, because that's where we used it the last time it was implemented on campus...with spectacular results, I might add.

In other words, ole Coach Kines may have just added another devastating wrinkle to our already dadgum good defensive package.

Right scenario, wrong former Alabama coach (player). The consulting on the 3-3-5 was done by Mickey Andrews from FSU.

The whole "Oliver is consulting with our coaches" story is a whole lot more Internet rumor than fact. A lot of people, though, are going to continue to claim a "reliable source" saying Oliver is running things like a puppeteer. It's not true.

On the 3-3-5 subject, Alabama will still base out of the 4-3. Alabama has run the 4-3, the 4-4, the 3-3-5, the 4-2-5, the 3-2-6 and the 4-1-6 this fall camp. On the goal line, UA runs a modified 5-2. Our defense is officially described as "multiple" and that's what you'll see in the games.

Where the 3-3-5 comes in, is that it's an easy defense to disguise blitz coverages with. Like someone already posted, a lot of times the outer two in the middle "3" of the defense will come up as wide ends. A lot of what inspired Kines to start experimenting with this set probably has to do with some of the athletes at safety, specifically Jeffery Dukes and Chris Keys.

The basic philosophy of Kines' defense continues to be inside-out, where the play is purposefully strung out away from the middle of the field and allows UA to use its superior speed to make the plays out on the corner.

In regards to the 3-3-5, it's a defense Alabama will use situationally, albeit more frequently than last year. It's not a defense all teams can run, because you have to have a couple of safeties that have linebacker size, and you have to have actually more defensive linemen ready to play than in a 4-man front. Plus, the outer guys in the front "3" of the 3-3-5 have to be able to fight off double teams. It's not a great defense to use against power rushing teams, but I'll be interested to see how it fares against USM, Florida, Ole Miss and other finesse offenses.

 

[TexasTideFan]

In regards to the 3-3-5, it's a defense Alabama will use situationally, albeit more frequently than last year. It's not a defense all teams can run, because you have to have a couple of safeties that have linebacker size, and you have to have actually more defensive linemen ready to play than in a 4-man front. Plus, the outer guys in the front "3" of the 3-3-5 have to be able to fight off double teams. It's not a great defense to use against power rushing teams, but I'll be interested to see how it fares against USM, Florida, Ole Miss and other finesse offenses.

That about sums up the 3-3-5 Defense in a nutshell. It's a package that gives OC's alot of heartburn because of all the looks you can run out of it and the wide range of blitz's available. What makes it good for us is we meet all the basis requirements to run it, a solid rotation at DL because these guys take a beating from the OL in this package, big, durable Safties since they end up making a high percentage of the tackes on run plays, and speed to cover the outside and blitz. I'm really anxious to see how this package works against a Spurrier coached team.

 

[TideTiger2005]

Right scenario, wrong former Alabama coach (player). The consulting on the 3-3-5 was done by Mickey Andrews from FSU.

The whole "Oliver is consulting with our coaches" story is a whole lot more Internet rumor than fact.

If it's a rumor, it was reported by TideSports.com (here) and Tidefans.com's own TerryP (here).

Hard to think both the Tuscaloosa News and TerryP would spread internet rumors. Sounds like the facts are crossed in translation.

 

[PattheCatinSaudi]

Seems I recall that the "consulting" Oliver did was on disguising our secondary coverages, not on the 3-3-5.

 

[Vertical]

Right scenario, wrong former Alabama coach (player). The consulting on the 3-3-5 was done by Mickey Andrews from FSU.

The whole "Oliver is consulting with our coaches" story is a whole lot more Internet rumor than fact. A lot of people, though, are going to continue to claim a "reliable source" saying Oliver is running things like a puppeteer. It's not true.

I don't think TideTiger was saying Oliver is running things like a puppeteer, only that he was here in some consulting fashion which, according to TerryP and the Tuscaloosa News, he was. Or is that still under the umbrella of internet rumor?

Perhaps Oliver didn't specifically address the 3-3-5, but seems to have at least been a consultant on some other things.

 

[JessN]

Any "consulting" that is to be done has to be careful not to break an NCAA rule. Having Oliver as an official "consultant" would essentially be hiring another assistant, and there is a limit on assistants.

I'm not saying our coaches didn't talk to Oliver. But there are a lot of people under the impression that he spent a bunch of days (or even weeks) breaking down tape and teaching our coaches how to be better coaches, or completely changing UA's defensive approach. That simply did not happen. However, staffs do intermingle in the offseason. Such as how Kines and Andrews talked, or how Charlie Harbison was sent to swap ideas with Indianapolis Colts coaches last year.

And, a lot of people who still don't care for Joe Kines are going to bring this up if Alabama's defense has a banner year, and give all the credit to Oliver, who would not deserve it. The conversations between UA and Oliver, as well as UA and Andrews, were limited in scope. The basic defensive ideal of the current UA staff is still the inside-out containment theory that Kines brought to UA in 2003.

 

[TerryP]

I don't think TideTiger was saying Oliver is running things like a puppeteer, only that he was here in some consulting fashion which, according to TerryP and the Tuscaloosa News, he was. Or is that still under the umbrella of internet rumor?

Perhaps Oliver didn't specifically address the 3-3-5, but seems to have at least been a consultant on some other things.

We are talking semantics here, Vertical. I said Oliver had talked to the defensive staff and I probably used the word "consulted." That can be taken in many different ways. If you took what I said to imply "he was paid to consult with the staff" I should have been more clear on what I was saying. It's about like a "brain storming sesssion" you'll have in the business world. The staff and Oliver talked about a few things but not in an "official capacity." Like Jess mentioned, there is a huge difference between the two.

I didn't say he was brought in to work on the 3-3-5 (remember, we lined up in the 3-3-5 last season), but they spent time with him on ways to disguise blitzing situations and shared a few ideas on a particular team we'll face this season.

 

[TideTiger2005]

But there are a lot of people under the impression that he spent a bunch of days (or even weeks) breaking down tape and teaching our coaches how to be better coaches, or completely changing UA's defensive approach. That simply did not happen.

Thank you for making this distinction. I agree with you that some people may put too much emphasis on Oliver's interactions with the staff.

Joe Kines is an excellent Defensive Coordinator. And part of being an excellent defensive coordinator is forever studying and pefecting your craft. This includes injecting the ideas of others into your philosophy as you see necessary and relevant.

These consultations/interactions/whatever are just another example of the continued dedication of a great coach.

Who knows where the 3-3-5 came from...and who really cares?...as long as it is as effective as we think it could be at stopping the pass heavy offenses we will be facing this year.

Only 9 more days until the season kicks off! (I know the first game is in 7 days, but, if it ain't a Bama game, it don't count!)

Roll Tide!