Question: Offensive playcalling

[Bamabuzzard]

JH grew up relying on his athletic ability...it bailed him out time and again. He did not HAVE to learn to read a defense thoroughly to move his team. I am afraid that this is a little late in the game to change his modus operandi. He reads 1 throw and then takes off. If he ever does any more than that for any length of time, Coach Daboll will be Coach of the Year.

As for changing QB's -- I don't see it happening. Teams will play us with a spy on JH and we will run over the weaker one's and struggle with the stronger ones. My hope is that in the next 3 games he either proves me wrong or we try Tua.

I think he can learn to do it enough to be successful on the college level. I'm not sure about for the NFL. But I'm not worried about the NFL so that's not important. But he's a smart kid, he's having to add a component to his game that he's not had to access before, and that's reading a defense for longer than one read. But I have faith he has the tools upstairs to do so. It just takes a lot of work.

But (and I know I'm beating this drum very hard and very loud but I think it merits it) our play calling Saturday did JHurts ZERO favors. We've got three stud running backs about to come out of their shoes wanting to unleash their talents on the field and we do not commit to the run. When you've got a quarterback who is struggling (which let's be honest, he was) his best friend is those guys lined up behind him that are on scholarship to specifically run the ball, and we made no effort to do so until late in the second half. I was very, very surprised by this. Especially seeing one of the reasons for putting Kiffin on the road was because he didn't run the ball enough to Saban's liking. Yet on Saturday, outside of a few type of plays (Jet sweeps), the offense looked just like last year's. Saban's got A LOT to teach and coach on this week, so he should be very happy.

 

[oldtimetider]

I think the fact that our D is typically so strong it handcuffs our O a bit. Bear with me here....Our coaches know (and Jalen knows)..that there are very few teams that can score 20+ on us. If we are careful, don't turn the ball over, and get points in the red zone (even if it's a fg)....we will seldom lose. 4 scores are usually enough. So we don't take chances. We don't throw in tight windows. We don't take chances on 3rd and long. We take a sack instead of rolling the dice on a chancy throw. We don't usually even take chances on 1st and 10 from our end of the field. It's a formula for not getting beat...and it's danged effective. But, it does tend to limit our O...and Jalen is cautious. But he's also very capable of making those plays when needed. I'm betting he'll trust himself (and his receivers) more and more as the season progresses.

 

[Tidewater]

I was right there with you until I went back to look at the film. Great play design if Jalen decides to give Cam a chance...he's wide open.

But he'd already made up his mind to take off running if he got pressure, but Cam is....again...wide open.

Yes. Look where his eyes are (the helmet stripe gives a clue) he's looking at the pass rush to his right and looking for a lane to run into. His head is NOT turned to his left where his wide open receiver is.

This is one moment in one play, but Jalen has to get this figured out if Bama is going to be successful this year.

 

[Elefantman]

Yes. Look where his eyes are (the helmet stripe gives a clue) he's looking at the pass rush to his right and looking for a lane to run into. His head is NOT turned to his left where his wide open receiver is.

This is one moment in one play, but Jalen has to get this figured out if Bama is going to be successful this year.

I think the speed of FSU'd defense had JH's internal clock ticking faster than it should. He needs to be patient and open up his field on vision. Hopefully in the next weeks he will have more protection and be able to find the best receiver each play.

 

[AlBamaWagg]

The rusher from the right is being properly redirected around and behind. In fact, in this picture, all rushers are effectively being blocked. The left side rushers are pushing toward the inside, but that's where JH runs. It seems a roll to the left gives him room and vision to the crossing routes. But then, I'm looking at a picture and can't get hit.

 

[davefrat]

No turnovers and 24 points against a top-5 defense in the first game of a the year ain't bad...warts and all.

 

[RT27]

No turnovers and 24 points against a top-5 defense in the first game of a the year ain't bad...warts and all.

I agree, good hard fought win against a really good defense. I expect us to fine tune play calling with the next few games, against good but not great defenses. First game was against a really good team. Fine tune it all as we go, big win. Now we need to build on it and work out some kinks. Pass and run blocking was not top notch, maybe as FSU has a really good SEC style defense.

 

[B1GTide]

The only way to fix Jalen at this point is to tell him that he is not allowed to run except on read option plays. On any pass play, he has to stay in the pocket and find an open receiver. Take the hits and sacks. Stop pulling down the ball and running when you face a little bit of pressure. Even if he is forced to scramble, no running past the LOS.

Honestly, he is no better at this than he was last year and that is a shame. You can still win a championship with him at QB, but you will need to keep getting help from the defense to beat the best teams in the country when you get to November and beyond.

Your FG kicker is a hot mess. That means that you need to score TDs. Gotta get this fixed now, before you get to the tougher defenses on your schedule.

 

[mlh]

I think he can learn to do it enough to be successful on the college level. I'm not sure about for the NFL. But I'm not worried about the NFL so that's not important. But he's a smart kid, he's having to add a component to his game that he's not had to access before, and that's reading a defense for longer than one read. But I have faith he has the tools upstairs to do so. It just takes a lot of work.

But (and I know I'm beating this drum very hard and very loud but I think it merits it) our play calling Saturday did JHurts ZERO favors. We've got three stud running backs about to come out of their shoes wanting to unleash their talents on the field and we do not commit to the run. When you've got a quarterback who is struggling (which let's be honest, he was) his best friend is those guys lined up behind him that are on scholarship to specifically run the ball, and we made no effort to do so until late in the second half. I was very, very surprised by this. Especially seeing one of the reasons for putting Kiffin on the road was because he didn't run the ball enough to Saban's liking. Yet on Saturday, outside of a few type of plays (Jet sweeps), the offense looked just like last year's. Saban's got A LOT to teach and coach on this week, so he should be very happy.

I agree. I was expecting to see a power running game, play-action passes, maybe a few screen plays, and even some throws to the TE. Back to some good ole smash-mouth football. I hope we adopt that identity. But the gameplans are structured to attack the weakness of the opposing defense. Instead of "imposing our will on the defense," we "take what the defense gives us."

But this was the first game of the season and the first game with our new OC calling the plays. I expect to see improvement as the season progresses.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

I was not impressed with the offense. I don't know if it was the play calling, execution, or just playing an excellent defense. The talk all summer was FSU's weak defense and how Louisville shredded them. FSU looked pretty tough to me and gave us as much trouble as anyone we have played lately. Most likely a combination of all three things, I have confidence in CNS to adjust where necessary to makes things better. Must be patient.

Yes, we must be patient. I think Saturday was a conglomeration of multiple factors - FSU has a very good defense, it was Daboll's first game as OC, Hurts is still developing, we're having to find a replacement for Ardarius Stewart.....the game itself was huge


There's another thing maybe nobody here has thought of - Daboll is coming from a game where he had Tom Brady taking snaps so he called a BUNCH of pass plays start to finish; he isn't used to what CFB is, the old grind the ball out, the old 1960s NFL style that we play.

But if Belichick recommended him to Saban then that tells me all I need to know - he no doubt told him the guy is capable of adjusting.

 

[NationalTitles18]

Jalen has not developed a "feel" for the pocket so instead of using his eyes to find the open receiver he looks at what is going on around him and an avenue of escape. Part of this may be that he has not developed trust in the line. Another issue may be that he was coached last year to go ahead and use his athletic ability to make a play.

All mobile QB's struggle with this early on. Really, all QB's do to some extent.

In the play WMack posts above, if Jalen steps into the pocket and keeps his eyes up and downfield it's an easy completion and likely TD.

IOW, it's a good play if executed properly.

However, it's reasonable to question the call since it can be assumed that the same thing happens in practice. Should a run have been called? Perhaps a RPO?

First, it seems to me that the NFL mentality is to pass in this situation and it's not uncommon throughout all levels of football.

Second, part of the evolution of a QB - really, any player - is to learn from real game mistakes.

Also, we won the game so I'll mostly defer to the coaching staff in these situations and stress that players need to make plays. I reserve the right to change my mind later in the season with an important game in doubt since one of two things should happen going forward: 1. players develop their skills and the issue becomes moot or 2. development does not happen so we adjust play-calling to suit player abilities.

Nothing that happened cost us a game or shot at the Title, so all is good. For now. And here's to hoping it stays that way.

 

[bamanix]

first game, usually some problems. however, watching our offense reminded me of the Washington, Clemson game where defenses learned to stack the line and force Jalen to take a
quick look for one receiver, and either run or throw it away. our offensive line had its hands
full blocking 8 men most of the night. we had one receiver catch a ball ridley. there were many
open, but no action. I worry about our tight ends blocking as well. special teams really bailed us out. thank goodness, we have three games to get ready for the meat of the schedule.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

The only way to fix Jalen at this point is to tell him that he is not allowed to run except on read option plays. On any pass play, he has to stay in the pocket and find an open receiver. Take the hits and sacks. Stop pulling down the ball and running when you face a little bit of pressure. Even if he is forced to scramble, no running past the LOS.

Honestly, he is no better at this than he was last year and that is a shame. You can still win a championship with him at QB, but you will need to keep getting help from the defense to beat the best teams in the country when you get to November and beyond.

Your FG kicker is a hot mess. That means that you need to score TDs. Gotta get this fixed now, before you get to the tougher defenses on your schedule.

I don't know how long you've been watching us so fervently but the kicker thing boggles the minds of fans my age. It is absolutely insane.

I come from a time when the kicker was about the most automatic points we had. We once went nearly seven seasons without missing a PAT, through four kickers. Peter Kim, Van Tiffin, and Phillip Doyle were among the best kickers in all of CFB. Tiffin hit a 57-yarder against ATM, just missed a game-winning 61-yarder against Tennessee and - of course - nailed the 52-yarder into the wind to beat Auburn, all of these in 1985.

Doyle was an All-American in 1990.

We then had a turrible year (1991) of Hamp Greene and Matt Wethington........

But Michael Proctor really was the last good, consistent kicker we had at the time.

Since we got hit with probation in 1995, our kicking game has gone various shades of "minimally competent" to "absolute disaster" to "we can live with it." We've had kickers who have had great moments - Christensen in 05....and then he lost his job to Leigh Tiffin, who was okay but is best remembered for the 2006 Arky debacle (which is unfair)......and in 2013, we had a great kicking game right up until it mattered in the Iron Bowl.


I realize these are COLLEGE kids, my son's age. I GET that. But surely Alabama of all schools can scholarship or go get from somewhere a VERY good and competent kicker. Adam Griffith was not to blame for the infamous play in 2013 - but he made his rep worse with misses that defied logic. The guy who sat next to me last year - he always had to make some sort of harsh comment about AG's kicking - but I can't say he was wrong, either.


I disagree - slightly with you - on Jalen at this point. He was being rushed quickly, and I thought he actually took a bit more time than he did last year, he didn't just tuck and bolt. He DID manage the game. I'm hoping the next few weeks show some polish in the kid.

 

[B1GTide]

When Jalen scrambled out of the pocket he kept his eyes down field. When he felt pressure in the pocket, he did not. I will watch the game again tonight , but I do not remember a single time that he was pressured in the pocket and kept his eyes down field.

 

[JaxTider]

I was right there with you until I went back to look at the film. Great play design if Jalen decides to give Cam a chance...he's wide open.

But he'd already made up his mind to take off running if he got pressure, but Cam is....again...wide open.

Pictures don't lie. He had an open receiver for a TD. He tucked and ran. And the safety was spying him. This is on Jalen. And alot of it is on Jalen.

 

[JTBama]

I was right there with you until I went back to look at the film. Great play design if Jalen decides to give Cam a chance...he's wide open.

But he'd already made up his mind to take off running if he got pressure, but Cam is....again...wide open.

Pictures don't lie. He had an open receiver for a TD. He tucked and ran. And the safety was spying him. This is on Jalen. And alot of it is on Jalen.

Great catch, it gives me confidence that we actually had multiple receivers beating that secondary but on the other hand we can only hope his reads do improve

 

[BamaMoon]

Well, I'll be the first to ask, "How much of Tua do we see the next couple of games?"

I'll predict that Jalen will look MUCH better against Fresno St. and Colorado St, but the real question is how will he look against the next very good defense we see?

Until he does it against an elite defense we won't know. Basically, the last 3 games (Washington, Clemson and now FSU) he's laid an egg passing the football, especially 3rd downs.

 

[JaxTider]

Well, I'll be the first to ask, "How much of Tua do we see the next couple of games?"

I'll predict that Jalen will look MUCH better against Fresno St. and Colorado St, but the real question is how will he look against the next very good defense we see?

Until he does it against an elite defense we won't know. Basically, the last 3 games (Washington, Clemson and now FSU) he's laid an egg passing the football, especially 3rd downs.

This is the thing man. Does Jalen have that fast twitch brain? I'm not dissing his intelligence. I'm referring to that visual/mental/motor skill of super fast decision making. Above is an example of a QB that lacks that.

 

[CullmanTide]

Two things for me, it's about execution, and not missing Lane Kiffin one... bit.

 

[81usaf92]

This is the thing man. Does Jalen have that fast twitch brain? I'm not dissing his intelligence. I'm referring to that visual/mental/motor skill of super fast decision making. Above is an example of a QB that lacks that.

I could show you November 5th, 2011 and I bet you'd be the first to say " That quarterback in crimson lacks a fast twitch brain". if Tua possessed it then he would've played like you advocated all offseason, but he didn't. Unless you want Alabama to regress to that goat party that Florida and Michigan played the other day then just accept the fact that Jalen is our quarterback until he gets injured or does absolutely horrible. But I would bank on the former happening faster than the latter unless Arky or Tennessee have a legit defense because LSU is probably the next credible defense we play.