Bama Game Thread: Official Postgame Thread - Bama vs. USF...

[BamaMoon]

I'm just a poster, my position has nothing to do with my opinion here.

Here's why I think it's different than Hurts - we now have TWO highly successful HCs who have made JM the starter and stuck with him. I can see it if one (CNS) was prone to gravitating toward seniority (which he was), but both of them are somehow making the same mistake? I don't see that. Combine that with the fact they see these guys every day, every rep, and they understand the intricacies of the sport at a far greater depth than anyone posting here on TF.com and it starts getting irritating.

I mean, CKD is obviously intelligent, has won everywhere he's been, is considered one of the premier offensive minds in CFB - and this is his career. He's making huge sums of money and feels pressure like none of us and he's chosen JM as the starter.

Part of what I dislike about the internet is that the 'give and take of opinions' (which I love) has given rise to people who think they know more than actual experts. It happens in all fields, but this one is particularly obvious.

There was a play where some people blasted JM for taking a sack in the game when he actually played it correctly, allowing the RB to pick up the LB blitz in the A-gap while sliding away from it, but the LT got beat so it appeared that he ran into the sack. That was 100% on the OL but JM got blamed. That kind of thing happened over and over this past weekend, yet 95% of the criticism was on the QB, despite the fact that the overall play lept up about 10 notches when the LT was replaced.

I want everyone to feel comfortable sharing their views/opinions here, but when we start having folks saying "player x has bamboozled two coaching staffs" and similar things, I just have to speak up. The sheer hubris to suggest that some random fan who sees these players for 60-80 snaps a week has more insight than the multiple experts who see everything they do throughout the week needs some pushback.

We all get fristrated when we feel the team isn't operating near peak efficiency, but man, we get it. Some of these guys blow up every thread and tread dangerously close to being overly harsh in their criticism of JM.

RTR

I feel ya, especially what I see on FB about certain topics!

You know, there might be two things going on here:

1. CNS and CKD see it, but they don't think "option 2" is a better option.

2. They both saw it, but didn't think the disruption to the team is worth it.

I think it's probably more #2 than #1 because the small amount of evidence we've seen of Ty seems to point to a person who would be capable of being more of a precision passer than JM.

Ultimately, I'll be willing to admit IDK for sure. I do know the last two years has been the most frustrating years I've experienced as a fan since the Mike years. I think it probably rest on the QB positon, but I also know BY, MJ and Tua aren't walking back thru the door either!

 

[AlexanderFan]

I though it may be a rolling pocket, but if thats the case , 56 has to at least chip the DT, you cant expect a 215lb RB to block a 290 lb DT , and he didnt, he slowed him . 52 was completely beat by the speed rush and the linebacker behind the crashing DT came as well. There was a play to be made , off screen top right a receiver was running an out and the DB was playing soft . Im thinking the inside slant was not there because the mid level backer in the throwing lane.

All that said, before the play, i saw no oline communication. Maybe it was a stunt rolling pocket so they didnt want to tip it off. I think the biggest issue was players not used to olaying in those positions.

Haynes did an amazing job in that regard, he stoned several guys that game.

He is the complete package at running back.

 

[bamaga]

The reason you're seeing it this way is because it looks like a slide protection was called to the right either by the quarterback, or the OC. The free rusher is the running back's responsibility to pick up once they slide to either side. Millroe, as the quarterback should absolutely know which side the back is having to pick up the rusher and therefore adjust accordingly and get the ball out of his hands quickly.

See my next post . No way you dont chip the DT with the guard . No way a RB can block a DT one on one without first slowing him down

 

[Tidewater]

Unless it's the second stringer. He's awesome.

One of the truisms of being an Alabama fan: the second string QB is the most popular guy on campus.
I can see some weaknesses in Milroe's game. No matter how many blockers Alabama has, send one more blitzer, especially up the middle. This will cause him problems, especially if you can disguise who that blitzer is. That does not mean he does not have strengths and assets.
That said, both Coach Saban and Coach DeBoer have looked at him in practice and decided he gives the team the best shot at winning. I have never seen the QBs in practice. I've never spoken to the QBs. I've never looked them in the eye during the pressure of a game. The coaches have, so I trust them. I hope Jalen Milroe wins the Heisman this year (because his on-field performance is so outstanding he earns it). I hope Alabama wins every game. Despite shortcomings (which everybody likes to comment on), there is a reason Milroe is the starter.

 

[BamaMoon]

Aaron Murray has another vid review of our offensive tendencies (see separate post).

He lays blame in 3 areas (not in any order):

1. Playcalling: in constantly harped on us continuing to run 4 verticles. Why we did this with the pressure they were bringing just doesn't make sense!

2. OL: He constantly shows them getting beat OR audibling into slide protection when they should have stayed in 5.0, which basically means you block the guy in front of you. BTW, if you want to know more about the LOS he drops a lot of insight in this video. Now, the question becomes, who called for the slide protection? Was it OL captain or JM???

3. JM: Biggest criticism (and we all know it already) is JM is LATE and/or INACCURATE on just about every throw. When the ball should be out of his hands, he's still holding it. Even on many of the completed passes, he's late or inaccurate but if he's on time or more accurate it's a house call in many cases. FWIW, I'm convinced this is something JM probably will never be able to change. It is what it is. If we are rolling with him this year, we might as well prepare for feast or famine.

One other thing I picked up on from the AM video that he doesn't mention: If you watch JM's eyes, you can tell he's in love with #2. It's like he's trying to find him on a verticle route with his first read. You can tell JM likes 4+2=6 thinking.

 

[ROCKEE]

One of the truisms of being an Alabama fan: the second string QB is the most popular guy on campus.
I can see some weaknesses in Milroe's game. No matter how many blockers Alabama has, send one more blitzer, especially up the middle. This will cause him problems, especially if you can disguise who that blitzer is. That does not mean he does not have strengths and assets.
That said, both Coach Saban and Coach DeBoer have looked at him in practice and decided he gives the team the best shot at winning. I have never seen the QBs in practice. I've never spoken to the QBs. I've never looked them in the eye during the pressure of a game. The coaches have, so I trust them. I hope Jalen Milroe wins the Heisman this year (because his on-field performance is so outstanding he earns it). I hope Alabama wins every game. Despite shortcomings (which everybody likes to comment on), there is a reason Milroe is the starter.

This why I read this board. I know that eventually common sense will rule.
THANKS Tidewater!

 

[bamaslammer]

It's hard to even evaluate the offence with the train wreck OL issues we've had so far. IF Proctor can return and I suspect we maybe should try Prittchett at RT and they jel this team could go far. I think the most concerning thing for me is that although Milro has improved in his game since last year It does seem like under pressure he returns to the same bad habits that got us beat last year. We need for him to be at his best when things are bad, because things will be bad against UGA.

 

[bamaga]

It's hard to even evaluate the offence with the train wreck OL issues we've had so far. IF Proctor can return and I suspect we maybe should try Prittchett at RT and they jel this team could go far. I think the most concerning thing for me is that although Milro has improved in his game since last year It does seem like under pressure he returns to the same bad habits that got us beat last year. We need for him to be at his best when things are bad, because things will be bad against UGA.

The three interior linemen should be rock solid . Roberts, Brailsford and Booker. With Proctor at L tackle and Pritchet at right tackle, that should be a really good Oline. I dont understand messing up the entire line if one guy is injured.

 

[RollTide_HTTR]

FWIW most teams probably couldn't beat UGA or Tennessee with their LG playing LT and a RT who holds on every play.

We need a healthy Proctor and Pritchett.

 

[BamaMoon]

FWIW most teams probably couldn't beat UGA or Tennessee with their LG playing LT and a RT who holds on every play.

We need a healthy Proctor and Pritchett.

Yep, and I think we will also see CKD gradually move to lighter, more athletic OL all the way across the line.

He's playing a bunch of guys now that he probably would never recruit (along with a QB he probably wouldn't recruit).

Ironically, the transfer center has not been a problem despite being 30 lbs lighter than everyone else.

 

[Tidewater]

At the snap 56 not aware of his assignment, disregards defensive tackle in front if himView attachment 45481
leaves running back to block a defensive tackle , four guys block 2 defenders , with basically 2 linemen blocking no one, meanwhile Jalen is running for his life. View attachment 45482
simulated pressure is real, eventually 6 come , but not until Jalen is chased out if the pocket and throws the ball away on 3rd and 5 . Typical offensive line issues going back at least 3 years now

I would love to have a chat with #56 and ask him, (calmly so he does not get defensive), "Who did you think was going to block the defensive tackle lined up on your left shoulder? Immediately after the snap, you were looking in at the Nose lined up on the center. Who was going to black the defensive tackle?"
If the blocking scheme was drawn up in such a way that the LG doubled the nose and left an unblocked DT for the running back to pick up, then we have a scheme problem.

 

[RollTide_HTTR]

This photo may be deceptive. It looks to me like he has a pocket to his right. If he would step up, then drift to the left, he would have time to find an open receiver rather than "running for his life."

But I'm probably wrong.

You're not really wrong. Milroe needed to be more subtle in his pocket movement. Its been one of his bigger struggles from day one. Although he has mostly improved with edge pressure and stepping up in the pocket he still really struggles with interior pressure. His tendency with interior pressure is to just bolt.

 

[Tidewater]

Ironically, the transfer center has not been a problem despite being 30 lbs lighter than everyone else.

Amen, brother.
With one replacement, the center-QB exchange problems seem a thing of the past (mostly).
I do not wish McLaughlin ill (do not wish ill on any man who man who wore crimson), but glad we now have Brailsford.

 

[RollTide_HTTR]

The biggest playcall I had an issue with was the Milroe fumble. Idk why he had him under center there it seemed crazy to me. Obviously Milroe has to handle the snap but it still seemed silly to put him under center there.

 

[graydogg85]

Aaron Murray has another vid review of our offensive tendencies (see separate post).

He lays blame in 3 areas (not in any order):

1. Playcalling: in constantly harped on us continuing to run 4 verticles. Why we did this with the pressure they were bringing just doesn't make sense!

2. OL: He constantly shows them getting beat OR audibling into slide protection when they should have stayed in 5.0, which basically means you block the guy in front of you. BTW, if you want to know more about the LOS he drops a lot of insight in this video. Now, the question becomes, who called for the slide protection? Was it OL captain or JM???

3. JM: Biggest criticism (and we all know it already) is JM is LATE and/or INACCURATE on just about every throw. When the ball should be out of his hands, he's still holding it. Even on many of the completed passes, he's late or inaccurate but if he's on time or more accurate it's a house call in many cases. FWIW, I'm convinced this is something JM probably will never be able to change. It is what it is. If we are rolling with him this year, we might as well prepare for feast or famine.

One other thing I picked up on from the AM video that he doesn't mention: If you watch JM's eyes, you can tell he's in love with #2. It's like he's trying to find him on a verticle route with his first read. You can tell JM likes 4+2=6 thinking.

I was about to link this same video. I watched it, and it's worth a look. I wondered the same thing myself during the game - and the only thing I can figure is that they are trying to zero in on what JM does well, which is the deep ball. I think Sheridan must have thought that the 3-4 vertical routes would clear out space and JM would either hit them, or escape the pocket and run for a decent gain. It's hard to do either of those things when the defense is rushing 6-8 guys on any given play though. I thought this was notable for all the folks saying "why doesn't JM check down and hit the short throw?" On a lot of those plays, there simply wasn't a short throw to be made because they weren't running any short routes. This is ultimately poor play design even though I think I understand the thought process. It's also notable that they got away from this later in the game and JM actually climbed the pocket and hit some short throws like the TD pass to Prentice. Murray also talked a lot about our offensive line sliding into protections that weren't the best for the play and the looks we were getting from the defense - the play where they slid into "Larry" protection when a straight 5-0 man-on-man would have worked better stood out to me. I think that's largely the result of a patchwork offensive line coupled with some really exotic fronts and pressures from USF. The other thing Murray harped on was that the receivers just weren't getting enough separation on the downfield routes - and you could routinely see it on the film. I'm not sure if USF's transfer portal-filled secondary is just that much better, or if our guys are still learning the offense but he was right - there were a lot of deep routes that were just really well-covered.

Murray's ultimate takeaway was that no, Milroe hadn't regressed - he just didn't get much help from the play design, receivers or offensive line. A lot of this is fixable and I think we'll see an immediate change as soon as we have our starting five OL healthy.

I'm not a total Milroe apologist - I know he has deficiencies and your point # 3 is indeed probably just something we have to live with. However, I do still believe he's our best chance to generate offense. All the folks that are so enamored with Ty seem to forget that he's still a very green player in terms of live fire, and that showed itself last week with the duck of an interception he threw that was only bailed out because of a penalty. The times we've seen him play, he's not much better about feeling pressure than JM is, and also has a tendency to look for the hero throw. I think Ty's a good player, but he's not Trevor Lawrence sitting in the wings.

 

[BamaMoon]

The biggest playcall I had an issue with was the Milroe fumble. Idk why he had him under center there it seemed crazy to me. Obviously Milroe has to handle the snap but it still seemed silly to put him under center there.

We were going to run the jet sweep to KLaw OR JM was going to fake it and do a QB bootleg.

But the snap was there, but JM's hands weren't! Replay clearly shows his hands weren't prepared for the snap.

 

[TideEngineer08]

I'm just going to remind everyone of something important.

Auburn lost to Cal. Cal-Berkeley, that is.

 

[BamaMoon]

I was about to link this same video. I watched it, and it's worth a look. I wondered the same thing myself during the game - and the only thing I can figure is that they are trying to zero in on what JM does well, which is the deep ball. I think Sheridan must have thought that the 3-4 vertical routes would clear out space and JM would either hit them, or escape the pocket and run for a decent gain. It's hard to do either of those things when the defense is rushing 6-8 guys on any given play though. I thought this was notable for all the folks saying "why doesn't JM check down and hit the short throw?" On a lot of those plays, there simply wasn't a short throw to be made because they weren't running any short routes. This is ultimately poor play design even though I think I understand the thought process. It's also notable that they got away from this later in the game and JM actually climbed the pocket and hit some short throws like the TD pass to Prentice. Murray also talked a lot about our offensive line sliding into protections that weren't the best for the play and the looks we were getting from the defense - the play where they slid into "Larry" protection when a straight 5-0 man-on-man would have worked better stood out to me. I think that's largely the result of a patchwork offensive line coupled with some really exotic fronts and pressures from USF. The other thing Murray harped on was that the receivers just weren't getting enough separation on the downfield routes - and you could routinely see it on the film. I'm not sure if USF's transfer portal-filled secondary is just that much better, or if our guys are still learning the offense but he was right - there were a lot of deep routes that were just really well-covered.

Murray's ultimate takeaway was that no, Milroe hadn't regressed - he just didn't get much help from the play design, receivers or offensive line. A lot of this is fixable and I think we'll see an immediate change as soon as we have our starting five OL healthy.

I'm not a total Milroe apologist - I know he has deficiencies and your point # 3 is indeed probably just something we have to live with. However, I do still believe he's our best chance to generate offense. All the folks that are so enamored with Ty seem to forget that he's still a very green player in terms of live fire, and that showed itself last week with the duck of an interception he threw that was only bailed out because of a penalty. The times we've seen him play, he's not much better about feeling pressure than JM is, and also has a tendency to look for the hero throw. I think Ty's a good player, but he's not Trevor Lawrence sitting in the wings.

Yeah, we're seeing a lot of the same things. But, there are plenty of other times when JM DOES have the check down and he's either still looking long OR by the time he decides to check down he's being wrapped up. Buzzard screenshotted several of those instances in a post.

 

[colbysullivan]

All the while he was drafted in the first round and started at cornerback for the Lions tonight. And you sit here whining about him. People on this site are sick of this.

You completely misunderstood what I meant. I used the quotes and that font because everyone gave credit to Terrion Arnold for creating LANK, when it was really Milroe as the driving force. I LOVE Terrion Arnold.

 

[colbysullivan]

I feel ya, especially what I see on FB about certain topics!

You know, there might be two things going on here:

1. CNS and CKD see it, but they don't think "option 2" is a better option.

2. They both saw it, but didn't think the disruption to the team is worth it.

I think it's probably more #2 than #1 because the small amount of evidence we've seen of Ty seems to point to a person who would be capable of being more of a precision passer than JM.

Ultimately, I'll be willing to admit IDK for sure. I do know the last two years has been the most frustrating years I've experienced as a fan since the Mike years. I think it probably rest on the QB positon, but I also know BY, MJ and Tua aren't walking back thru the door either!

IMO, it's has to be #2. We have seen what Ty can do. Let's just pretend like Milroe doesn't exist for a moment. Does anyone here seriously think Ty can't be as good as Coker or McCarron? That's all we need.