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Question: Offensive playcalling

Saban said all week in lead up that mistakes would define the outcome of the FSU game. Alabama called a gameplan that sought to mitigate critical mistake opportunities. If we were playing '12 Michigan on Saturday night, Jalen Hurts would've been in this week's Heisman favorite articles. Instead we played a team that can run and hit like some of the best LSU squads we've played against under Saban...and the results on offense looked as such.

Still, if his teammate didn't make mistakes (or defender smartly deciding to DPI) on three big time passes then we're looking at a 200+ yard day with 3 TDs were Hurts looked like money on the deep pass. He was accurate and safe underneath. He missed some open guys but he was often running for his life due to the pass protectors getting whooped.

Everything is fine for now. They made a C+ against an elite defense in game 1. I imagine we're gonna torch the next 7 teams we face then there is the mid-term against LSU's defense.
 
bamaslammer said:
I think Dabull just got his rear handed to him by one of the better college teams out there. He's been in pro football a while and he probably didn't expect the level of failure on the OL but this sort of thing happens at the college level. I think his track record indicates he's fairly smart, I'm assuming he will live at the office until he devises some backup plans to his backup plans that obviously didn't work, either that or he'll be standing outside the Moore Building with a cardboard box full of his stuff. He said it in his interview, he was given expectations and expected to meet them.

Having said all that, When we got the four turnovers in the 3rd the game was over and he rightfully just gave them a nose full of Bo to eat the clock. Some of the fault has to go to Jalen as well, he's still bailing too early from the pocket. He's got to become a QB instead of a running back who occasionally throws.
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Which is what I wished he would have done in the first half with BOTH Harris and Bo. It would have taken some of the pressure off of Hurts and at least given some body blows to that Fla St defense. Even if we would have gone three and out on consecutive series. Pounding the ball early has it's advantages as the game goes on. We let Fla St's defense "stay fast" too long. But like you said, Daboll seems like a smart guy and has worked for two perfectionist. He knows what's expected of him. My guess is he lives in the film room this week.
 
I would theorize that the gameplan was built under the assumption that the offensive line would hold up better against the edge rush. I would've liked to see us adjust the playcalling to that reality, but the bottom line is we didn't have to.

Our offensive line looking shaky to open the season seems to be more the rule than the exception, and they usually gel by the 3rd or 4th week. What I was very glad to see is that Jalen looked more accurate overall (including the one called back for penalty and the dropped pass), our receivers can clearly get open, and our stable of RBs are as good if not better than anybody's.
 
My issue with the play calling is that we did not run the ball on back to back plays with one of our RB's until the fourth quarter. Also Damien seemed to have the better feel for the defense and where the holes were and we did not get him the ball enough. He only got 9 carries and should have had double that amount.
 
Ok, I just have to say I can't believe some of what I'm reading in this thread.

Tell Hurts he can't run on a pass play? Are you serious? What if we had a Blake Barnett or a similar QB Saturday night instead of Jalen? Would he have been a better passer? Maybe, but he would have been sacked multiple times and thrown multiple interceptions. Hurts did neither. Be glad we have a QB that can get out of trouble. He saved us many times Saturday night and turned plays that should have been losses into gains.

Go back and watch the game. Hurts was running for his life most of the time. You guys pick out one or two plays where he should have thrown instead of running. That's a very small part of the game.

Someone said we need to get this figured out before Alabama plays a better defense. Huh? Was I watching a different game Saturday night? The Fl St D was really good. I seriously doubt we will play a defense as good as Florida State's defense in the regular season.

It seems like people always want what they don't have. If we had a strict non-mobile drop back passer instead of Hurts, everyone would be complaining about the interceptions and sacks.

I'm fired up about Hurts. He played a damn good game. He made some great throws, great runs, and didn't commit any turnovers against a team that was good enough that we would likely be seeing them again at the end of the year if they hadn't just lost their starting QB.
 
I can see how some might think the O play calls on Saturday night were bland and unimaginative at times, but frankly I think that was more because of the opponent we were facing and Jalen's execution( or lack thereof) than anything else. Daboll seemed to be taking what their D was giving us and that's what you have to do against a top shelf opponent like FSU. Overall I would rate his playcalling so far as a B+.
 
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We can all talk about open receivers missed down field and pulling the ball down and running it but none of us on here were being chased by Mr. James in the other school's colors all night long. Our o line got pushed around a lot on Saturday. We played against a D line that is every bit as good and talented as our own and we know how our D line can make good QBs look silly at times.
We are definitely a spoiled fan base (for good reason, mind you) but sometimes we need to pull off the crimson colored glasses and just appreciate a hard fought win and move on to the next game.
JH appears to be a good leader and seems to not let his few mistakes affect him the rest of the game, etc.
As far as play calling goes, I'll admit I was scratching my head at times but I'm not so sure that a lot of our play calling wasn't due to the physicality and talent level of the team we played.
 
I understand everyone's concerns regarding the Offensive playcalling and Jalen Hurts. We just need to be patient and let it unfold this season. 1 game is not enough to measure the success and failure of the development of the offense and players associated with it.
 
squeally dan said:
Ok, I just have to say I can't believe some of what I'm reading in this thread.

Tell Hurts he can't run on a pass play? Are you serious? What if we had a Blake Barnett or a similar QB Saturday night instead of Jalen? Would he have been a better passer? Maybe, but he would have been sacked multiple times and thrown multiple interceptions. Hurts did neither. Be glad we have a QB that can get out of trouble. He saved us many times Saturday night and turned plays that should have been losses into gains.

Go back and watch the game. Hurts was running for his life most of the time. You guys pick out one or two plays where he should have thrown instead of running. That's a very small part of the game.

Someone said we need to get this figured out before Alabama plays a better defense. Huh? Was I watching a different game Saturday night? The Fl St D was really good. I seriously doubt we will play a defense as good as Florida State's defense in the regular season.

It seems like people always want what they don't have. If we had a strict non-mobile drop back passer instead of Hurts, everyone would be complaining about the interceptions and sacks.

I'm fired up about Hurts. He played a damn good game. He made some great throws, great runs, and didn't commit any turnovers against a team that was good enough that we would likely be seeing them again at the end of the year if they hadn't just lost their starting QB.
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Amen and Amen!
 
squeally dan said:
Ok, I just have to say I can't believe some of what I'm reading in this thread.

Tell Hurts he can't run on a pass play? Are you serious? What if we had a Blake Barnett or a similar QB Saturday night instead of Jalen? Would he have been a better passer? Maybe, but he would have been sacked multiple times and thrown multiple interceptions. Hurts did neither. Be glad we have a QB that can get out of trouble. He saved us many times Saturday night and turned plays that should have been losses into gains.

Go back and watch the game. Hurts was running for his life most of the time. You guys pick out one or two plays where he should have thrown instead of running. That's a very small part of the game.

Someone said we need to get this figured out before Alabama plays a better defense. Huh? Was I watching a different game Saturday night? The Fl St D was really good. I seriously doubt we will play a defense as good as Florida State's defense in the regular season.

It seems like people always want what they don't have. If we had a strict non-mobile drop back passer instead of Hurts, everyone would be complaining about the interceptions and sacks.

I'm fired up about Hurts. He played a damn good game. He made some great throws, great runs, and didn't commit any turnovers against a team that was good enough that we would likely be seeing them again at the end of the year if they hadn't just lost their starting QB.
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THIS^^^^
 
Sitting here and watching the replay of the game. What a heck of a play by JH on the 2 point conversion. He strung it out about as far as he could and hit Ridley in the ez for the conversion with 3 FSU defenders close by.
 
BamaInCummingGA said:
Sitting here and watching the replay of the game. What a heck of a play by JH on the 2 point conversion. He strung it out about as far as he could and hit Ridley in the ez for the conversion with 3 FSU defenders close by.
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Since there is very little at risk if throwing an interception deep in the end zone on a 2-point conversion attempt, there is less pressure on the QB to let the ball go. Maintaining possession of the ball is no longer a factor. This may have come into play in the decision making by Hurts. He has thrown a few passes like this in the past and will hopefully start to feel more comfortable even when there is more at risk during the play.
 
I thought this was a typical first game offense for Alabama.

1. The first couple of series seemed to be mostly nerves and time to gel for the offense, and it seems many of our games it take the offense 1-3 drives to shake off rust/figure out the defense.

2. FSU's Defense was VERY stout and for the time of the year relatively VERY GOOD, especially the Defensive Ends who disrupted many pass plays. I think FSU's defense will make many offenses look just plain bad.

3. Jalen did hurry up his runs, and I don't blame him after several early sacks/near sacks. I think the effectiveness of the FSU defense in the first half really set his feet moving just a tad early for a few plays. However, this is not the worst thing, as Jalen has many times gotten several yards that most of our previous quarterbacks would not get after a defense has broken into the pocket.

4. I disagree some with some posters on abandoning the pass game. You have to stick with some kind of passing game and also work on the passing game you want to develop. Maybe we should have run the ball a little more, but maybe that's exactly what FSU was lining up and waiting for. I can't really tell real time. How many times did we move from a passing play to a running play at the line?

5. As many have said, Jalen has had 3 coordinators in the last 3 games. I feel like it's going to take the better part of this year for him to really gel with Daboll, his receivers, his offensive line, and the plays if gelling even happens.

6. It's well known that Coach Saban prefers practicing plays until they "can't get it wrong", vs. coming in with a huge but sloppy playbook. I don't know what plays were in the playbook for this game, but surely there's only so many plays the team practices, and they can't just make up a bunch of new plays in the middle of a game and expect them to work. I imagine even with a summer to practice, there's only so many plays available that were considered likely to work against FSU. Who knows how many plays were not run seeing the speed of FSU's defense or how their players matched up against ours. Additionally, as many have posted in the past, you don't use every play you have in a game unless you absolutely have to use them to win.

Overall, it's a decent offensive outing, considering the FSU defense was expected to have a better defensive line than our offensive line. I'm quite sure there will be a ton of film study this week to understand and correct what we all saw from Jalen's too fast tuck and run, Daboll's interesting play calls (many of which we don't know what he had planned when Jalen pulled the ball down and ran), the offensive line's lack of ability to keep a strong pocket for some of the game, and the addition of new plays. And finally, that two point conversion was magic! How many times has Alabama gone for two in the past and not converted?!?
 
mlh said:
Before the game I thought 3 or 4 plays would decide the outcome. I think that was the case - the non-call of Tony Brown's pass interference in the endzone, the blocked field goal, the blocked punt, and the fumbled kickoff. Those were the plays that gave us the momentum and allowed us to seal the deal.

Offensively, I think we did okay, considering it was the first game of the season and the first game with a new OC. But we need to develop a passing attack. We had less than 100 yards passing, and more than half of those yards came on one play. I'm a big fan of Hurts, but he needs to learn to be more patient. I think if I was Daboll I'd tell him that the next time he tucks it and runs, instead of avoiding the rush and looking for an open receiver downfield, he's benched. If he won't do that, then maybe it's time to give Tua a look. I know that the pass blocking by the OL was not great, but on the few times Hurts did look downfield instead of just running out of the pocket, he found an open receiver. He depends too much on his running ability. I hope Daboll can teach him to only run as a last resort.
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I think once Jalen gains some trust in his pass protection he will settle down and start to look at the field. Fight or flight is basic human instinct. If you don't trust your protection it's understandable that he is still a little flighty. I guarantee if he wouldn't have took off as many times as he did he would have probably been sacked a dozen times. There's still some work to be done on the whole offensive chemistry standpoint. They'll get it together..


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squeally dan said:
Ok, I just have to say I can't believe some of what I'm reading in this thread.

Tell Hurts he can't run on a pass play? Are you serious? What if we had a Blake Barnett or a similar QB Saturday night instead of Jalen? Would he have been a better passer? Maybe, but he would have been sacked multiple times and thrown multiple interceptions. Hurts did neither. Be glad we have a QB that can get out of trouble. He saved us many times Saturday night and turned plays that should have been losses into gains.

Go back and watch the game. Hurts was running for his life most of the time. You guys pick out one or two plays where he should have thrown instead of running. That's a very small part of the game.

Someone said we need to get this figured out before Alabama plays a better defense. Huh? Was I watching a different game Saturday night? The Fl St D was really good. I seriously doubt we will play a defense as good as Florida State's defense in the regular season.

It seems like people always want what they don't have. If we had a strict non-mobile drop back passer instead of Hurts, everyone would be complaining about the interceptions and sacks.

I'm fired up about Hurts. He played a damn good game. He made some great throws, great runs, and didn't commit any turnovers against a team that was good enough that we would likely be seeing them again at the end of the year if they hadn't just lost their starting QB.
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So much truth here. It'd be a whole different conversation if Jalen would have been sacked a dozen times and thrown three picks. There has to be a level of trust between the QB and his line before he's gonna stand there in a crumbling pocket. I hear people saying he wasn't seeing open receivers well guess what you don't see them either lying on your back looking up at the retractable ceiling of Mercedes Benz Stadium.


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3rd_and_long said:
So much truth here. It'd be a whole different conversation if Jalen would have been sacked a dozen times and thrown three picks. There has to be a level of trust between the QB and his line before he's gonna stand there in a crumbling pocket. I hear people saying he wasn't seeing open receivers well guess what you don't see them either lying on your back looking up at the retractable ceiling of Mercedes Benz Stadium.


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OTOH, Francois did complete some passes when he was practically on his back and he did it until very late in the game and he did it by hanging in under pressure and going through his progressions. Admittedly, he doesn't have Hurts' wheels, so it may be somewhat of necessity. But I do believe that there was somewhat of a contrast that's in the back of everyone's mind...
 
TIDE-HSV said:
OTOH, Francois did complete some passes when he was practically on his back and he did it until very late in the game and he did it by hanging in under pressure and going through his progressions. Admittedly, he doesn't have Hurts' wheels, so it may be somewhat of necessity. But I do believe that there was somewhat of a contrast that's in the back of everyone's mind...
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Yeah but FSU probably has the best secondary in football. Our best weapon was our only option. OTOH a common issue on defense since 2013 has been our secondary. So the matchup is probably much different.
 
BamaInCummingGA said:
Sitting here and watching the replay of the game. What a heck of a play by JH on the 2 point conversion. He strung it out about as far as he could and hit Ridley in the ez for the conversion with 3 FSU defenders close by.
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Agree that it was a really good play by JH. When I saw the play on TV live and in the replay, it looked like he was throwing to the TE and CR reacted quicker and snatched it. Good/good all around regardless.
 
TIDE-HSV said:
OTOH, Francois did complete some passes when he was practically on his back and he did it until very late in the game and he did it by hanging in under pressure and going through his progressions. Admittedly, he doesn't have Hurts' wheels, so it may be somewhat of necessity. But I do believe that there was somewhat of a contrast that's in the back of everyone's mind...
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Agreed - I rewatched the game last night, and there were a lot of plays where Jalen bailed out way earlier than he needed to. Many would have been safe, easy throws for pretty big plays. A couple of times Ridley was signalling him before the snap to just lay the ball out there b/c he knew it was man coverage and he'd be wide open for a particular route based on the DBs alignment. jalen has the arm strength to get the ball there, and I'm sure the staff has already reviewed all the film with him.

Another thing I noticed was that we abandoned the quick seams again. They were there early in the game with Forristal and Hentges, but they were never targeted, and then we just stopped running those routes in the second half...
 
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