Link: McCoy: Offensive line ready to rebound

[CapitalTider]

I don't think anyone is saying the D is a gimmick. I look at it simply in terms of match-up. Given the Texas offensive style, any team that can generate pressure with four is going to give us trouble. OU and Nebraska have awesome d-lines, the kind that can get pressure with 4. Colt, given his experience, is excellent at exploiting the blitz. If Bama has to blitz to get pressure, this is a much better match-up than OU or Nebraska.

I don't understand why the Longhonrs fans have such a hard time understanding this. The defense is a 3-4 look, but more often than not, one of the LBs will either have their hand down or be close to the LOS playing like a rush end/DE. Even if that is not the case we will typically bring 4 rushers. The difference between Saban's scheme and the typical 4-3 is you cannot be certain of the identity of the fourth rusher, it could be the LB/DE hybrid, another LB, a DB, etc. That is not "blitzing" that is a standard pass rush. Blitzing is when we bring 5 rushers or more, just like with a 4-3 alignment. I just don't understand why the UT fans keep getting hung up on sacks by the 3 DL. We WILL get pressure with the front 4, we have all year against equal or better OL. The 4th rusher's stats is just spread among several players. Dareus has done about the most damage though.

 

[REBELZED]

I think if Mack and co. are really trying to use this "poor us" strategy by telling their players that Bama is supposed to be the better team and that Texas has to prove they can beat them, it may very well backfire.

What happens if Texas goes 3 and out and Bama turns around and drives the length for a TD? Those boys in orange may start thinking, "Hey, maybe these guys ARE better than us..." And at that point, they've already lost the game, even though they're only down by a TD...

 

[tidefan39817]

I don't think anyone is saying the D is a gimmick. I look at it simply in terms of match-up. Given the Texas offensive style, any team that can generate pressure with four is going to give us trouble. OU and Nebraska have awesome d-lines, the kind that can get pressure with 4. Colt, given his experience, is excellent at exploiting the blitz. If Bama has to blitz to get pressure, this is a much better match-up than OU or Nebraska.

I think you are caught up in this 4 down lineman vs 3 down linemen argument and not looking at what happens in each situation. you are also caught up in this whole number of sacks and TFL with T. Cody. What Cody is, is a run stuffing NT that forces teams to go wide. trust me, if you want to try and live off the dive play or any run in between the offensive guards you are in for a long night. the best way to tell how effective a NT is in a 3-4 defense is to look at his number of tackles. if he has a high tackle number, then teams are running at him and do not consider him as a threat to stop the run on a regular basis. but if you look at a team that has a NT with a low amount of tackles and that same team has OLB's with a high amount of TFL or little gain the NT has effectively done his job. How many times has Florida ran the ball inside with that little dive option play against teams this year? how many times did they even try to run against Alabama in the SEC Championship game?

Before you start in saying that Bama has to blitz to get pressure on the QB you need to go back and study some game film. Four of the most hyped QB's at the start of the season were Ryan Mallet, Jeavon Snead, Tyrod Taylor and of course Tim Tebow. what do all four have in common? they were all made to look rather bad by a team that "Has" to blitz to get pressure on the QB.

The bigger question is this, if we have to blitz to get pressure on the QB, why has our defense not been just hammered this year by the great QB's like Ryan Mallet, Jeavon Snead, Tim Tebow and Tyrod Taylor? they were the most talked about QB's besides McCoy as the season started?

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Two words- CLOSING SPEED :biggrin:

The bigger question is this, if we have to blitz to get pressure on the QB, why has our defense not been just hammered this year by the great QB's like Ryan Mallet, Jeavon Snead, Tim Tebow and Tyrod Taylor? they were the most talked about QB's besides McCoy as the season started?

 

[Dallas4Bama]

The bigger question is this, if we have to blitz to get pressure on the QB, why has our defense not been just hammered this year by the great QB's like Ryan Mallet, Jeavon Snead, Tim Tebow and Tyrod Taylor? they were the most talked about QB's besides McCoy as the season started?

As Buzzard just pointed out we have excellent closing speed. We also have some real talent back there in coverage. Our defense does take chances and there are opportunities to be taken advantage of. The question is can they develop a plan to take advantage of those chances we take. There are times guys are isolated with no help and if Colt makes a good throw it can mean six. However; so far we've had the talent to keep that from happening.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

I'd started to answer '93 about an hour ago and got really busy, so, when I came back, I found out you guys had done a great job. I'd just add this summary - Bama doesn't blitz because it must. It blitzes because it can - and no QB has been able to make us pay for it yet. So, I will believe only when I see it...

 

[GMacFan]

While I agree with the overall premise, this is still football and footballs bounce in odd ways. An exam is cut and dry. Study the material, and answer the questions correctly.

An exam is spontaneous too. You never know what questions are going to be on the test, and you don't know how you are going to perform. I'm a freshman at Bama so I just got done with finals and they're not very "cut and dry" at all, they were pretty intense. Not to mention the ACT, that thing is a killer. Its much more difficult than "answer the questions correctly." Its not about studying what you're going to see, but acclimating yourself to responding quickly and efficiently regardless of whatever it is you see.

My point was that Texas OL has not looked that great all year, especially against great opponents. They also haven't shown that they can run the ball effectively once in the season. I don't think its possible for an offense with no run game and mediocre to bad OL play to put up many points on our defense. I also don't think its possible for them to pull it together in a month without facing actual opponents. They'll be practicing hard, no doubt, but IMO it will be too little too late. I would feel different if they had a single convincing victory against a great opponent, or at least a good opponent.

You can learn a lot about the future from the past, not everything, but a lot. Right now I'm feeling that the bit we don't know about the future isn't enough to overcome the bit we do know, because what we do know is pretty overwhelming. I'm not assuming we win, but I'm predicting we do and I have a lot of confidence in my prediction. I know Texas could win, but something truly irregular would have to happen. I mean think about it. A team with no running game scoring more points than our offense, considering what we've done to passing games and quarterbacks.

The main reason I think we win is because we've been in this situation before. We've faced better teams than Texas. Texas has faced nothing like us. Nothing close to the complete team we have become these last few games. We would truly have to lay an egg to lose this. Its possible but last time I checked elephants were viviparous.

 

[Ark-Tider]

Rest factor will be equal.

 

[GMacFan]

I think if Mack and co. are really trying to use this "poor us" strategy by telling their players that Bama is supposed to be the better team and that Texas has to prove they can beat them, it may very well backfire.

What happens if Texas goes 3 and out and Bama turns around and drives the length for a TD? Those boys in orange may start thinking, "Hey, maybe these guys ARE better than us..." And at that point, they've already lost the game, even though they're only down by a TD...

Honestly, I think Mack is actually making too much out of the underdog role, like secretly I think its his entire gameplan to use it to motivate his players. Using the underdog role is gimmicky in my opinion. The fact is Mack is making it an issue, just like the McCain campaign made Obama's race and "questionable" religion an issue. Not saying I like Obama but I hated McCain and his campaign was bogus and embarrassing for Republicans and he got what he deserved. I'm definately not saying what Mack is doing is morally wrong, just that its a cheap way to try to get a victory, or at least boost your chances.

My prediction is that Mack's plan, too, is totally gonna backfire. They'll expect to play a cocky team that expects the victory to be given to them, what they'll find is a team that plays every down like they're down by a couple of scores.

People talk about our players being unfocused and possibly getting surprised, but I think its Texas that is in for the real surprise. Only time will tell. Jan 7th can't come soon enough.

 

[jps1983]

Rest factor will be equal.

Yep; that's why I think it's unfair for UT fans to look at our tennessee game or even the au game (they had 2 weeks, we had a short week) or for us to look at their A&M or Nebraska games b/c of the number of consecutive weeks played. Both teams will be fresh in Jnauary and both will have an intimate knowledge of the other's tendencies/ schemes. It is all about the preparation we do now, the execution and adjustments on gameday. Assuming prep is equal, I have a lot of confidence in our ability to adjust.

 

[Boclive]

It's not about getting sacks, it's about getting pressure. Down and distance / field position dictate defensive scheme. Third and long = five or six defensive backs. Usually spare one from one side or the other side or up the middle to speed things along.

Texas is working pretty hard to get ready for this game. I believe I'll take the "over".

 

[Dallas4Bama]

its a cheap way to try to get a victory

Almost every coach that has ever coached the game has used the underdog role at one point to motivate his team. Coach Bryant used it, Coach Stallings used it, heck even Coach Wade used it in our first Rose Bowl. It's no more cheap than some of the tactics Coach Saban uses to motivate his team. You use whatever circumstances you're presented with to motivate your team.

 

[Paul Wesley]

A few responses reading this last page:

--McCoy's rushing totals are probably pretty well divided between designed runs and scrambles. I think you'd be surprised at how well he breaks tackles (even from D-linemen) and how consistently he is faster than the linebackers when he is trying to get to the edge.

Last year, we called a lot more designed runs for McCoy. I don't know why we've scaled back this year. Maybe because our schedule was easier and the coaches didn't want to get him hurt (just speculation)? I think that McCoy's rushing total vs. Bama will go a looooong way toward deciding this game. I hope the UT coaches go for broke and call his number a lot. It opens up all kinds of other things for our offense when there is at least the THREAT of the QB running. One of the BIG reasons that this year's UT offense isn't as potent as in 2008 is because we've stopped running McCoy.

--I know y'all think that folks in Austin are going out of their way to feel disrespected, but pretty much every day we get another article like this:

Scout.com: Cavalcade, Part 2 - Why Bama will win

Like every other analysis that I see, Texas gets ridiculed for our close games, but there is never a word mentioned about Bama needing a breakdown in the Tennesee kicking game to win a home game vs. a mediocre Vol squad, or needing a last-gasp drive to come from behind against a middling Auburn team. Instead, Bama (13-2 in your last 15) is painted as unstoppable, while Texas (winners of 19 straight) is depicted as marginal and no more worthy than TCU, Cincinnati, or Boise. Similarly, Saban is universally praised, while Brown is questioned. Look at that link above. Brown is actually LISTED AS ONE OF THE REASONS BAMA SHOULD WIN. It's absurd. He's the winningest coach of the decade, 8-2 in bowls at Texas, 3-0 in BCS bowls, 1-0 vs Saban in bowl games, yet number 5 on "why Bama will win" is "Mack Brown."

I'll just say this: Bama and Texas are very closely matched in terms of both talent and coaching. The winner of this game will be the team that plays harder and exectutes better on January 7.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Scout.com: Cavalcade, Part 2 - Why Bama will win

You do realize that Part 1 was ten reasons UT would win? And,BTW, reading that made me grit my teeth. This so-called writer has gone out of his way at every opportunity to diss Bama, Ingram, and Saban. Google him...

 

[Paul Wesley]

TIDE-HSV-- Yes, just realized that after I pressed "post."

I read his arguments for Texas. They're nearly as absurd.

Nevertheless, I'll stand by this point: Texas is getting scrutinized and dissected a LOT more than Bama. I've hardly read a single word about the Bama close calls in 2009, but the Texas close calls are the ONLY thing that the writers talk about.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

I think the consensus here is not your fans going out of their way to be disrespected but your coach going out of his way to be disrespected.

In today's college football you are only as good or only perceived as good as your last performance. You know that as well as I do. Like it or not that's how it is. So you should know exactly why Bama is being painted as "unstoppable" and Texas as "not having a chance". The media does this because they want ratings and because most of them are ignorant to evaluating football teams. They look at last performance and not the entire body of work.

We showed up against Florida with our A game and absolutely dismantled a team we were suppose to lose to. Your team on the other hand got physically dominated by a team you were suppose to beat by double digit figures and escaped with a win by the skin of your teeth. All the while appearing to the national viewing audience as offensively inept, and couple that with Alabama looking like an offensive juggernaut against the number one defense in the country, is where you get all the "disrespect".

These two teams are very good teams. Both are capable of blowing the other out if one decides to lay an egg. I just hope it ain't Alabama laying an egg...

--I know y'all think that folks in Austin are going out of their way to feel disrespected, but pretty much every day we get another article like this:


Like every other analysis that I see, Texas gets ridiculed for our close games, but there is never a word mentioned about Bama needing a breakdown in the Tennesee kicking game to win a home game vs. a mediocre Vol squad, or needing a last-gasp drive to come from behind against a middling Auburn team. Instead, Bama (13-2 in your last 15) is painted as unstoppable, while Texas (winners of 19 straight) is depicted as marginal and no more worthy than TCU, Cincinnati, or Boise. Similarly, Saban is universally praised, while Brown is questioned. Look at that link above. Brown is actually LISTED AS ONE OF THE REASONS BAMA SHOULD WIN. It's absurd. He's the winningest coach of the decade, 8-2 in bowls at Texas, 3-0 in BCS bowls, 1-0 vs Saban in bowl games, yet number 5 on "why Bama will win" is "Mack Brown."

 

[GMacFan]

Almost every coach that has ever coached the game has used the underdog role at one point to motivate his team. Coach Bryant used it, Coach Stallings used it, heck even Coach Wade used it in our first Rose Bowl. It's no more cheap than some of the tactics Coach Saban uses to motivate his team. You use whatever circumstances you're presented with to motivate your team.

When I say "cheap" I mean it won't be enough to "buy" them a victory. I feel like its "cheap" because it won't work against truly great teams that come to play on game day. And I wouldn't call anything Saban does "cheap," because my definition of cheap is something thats situational and not fundamental, in other words it won't work everytime. I think if you listen to what our guys are saying, Saban isn't giving them a fish. He's taught them how to fish. I think what Mack is doing is use a trick that will only be good for one go round, or in most cases it would. Not in this one though.

And I'd say the majority of the teams under Bryant won because they knew the fundamentals of winning, and it just seems like Mack is really taking his focus off the fundamentals and into this underdog gimmick, which I think most on this board agrees is not going to work. That's just the way I see it, you're free to disagree with me, but I think it'll show come Jan 7.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

There's allways "edit." I think it comes down to the way the teams finished. I think one reason that the UTe and AU games on Bama's behalf are taken more lightly is that both had two weeks to prepare and all knew we came off a short week including Thanksgiving to play. I think that the press looks at the AU game and sees the clutch drive to win the game. OTOH, no one even came close to putting up the kinds of numbers the Aggies put up on UT. I think all these factors come into play, but particularly the first one - the way Bama won it's CG, as opposed to the way UT had to. There's also the fact that UT is undeniably a one-dimensional team - nobody even contends otherwise. In fact, I've said that Bama should really be favored by about 7, but the betting power of the UT fans is holding it down. That doesn't mean, BTW, that I don't think UT can win. They can. I'm just pointing out some of the reasons for the attitude of the national press towards the game...

 

[tidefan39817]

Two words- CLOSING SPEED :biggrin:

thank you for finishing the remark. i didn't really do that good a job at it....

 

[TIDE-HSV]

I have compassion. It's a bad time of the season to still have OL worries. I remember last year, losing an Outland and another AA before the Sugar and convincing myself that we could patch one together...