Too Much on the QB? DeBoer’s One-Dimensional Offense Problem

[CrimsonTitles]

Also, let's look at Justice Haynes:
2024 Alabama: 448 yards, 5.7 avg
2025 Michigan: 857 yards, 7.1 avg (injured, out for the year)

I predicted he would do well at Michigan by the way. Why the disparity?

Haynes is very talented running back probably more than Miller but he was injured much of last year. Michigan also runs the ball about 60% of the time and has a quarterback that is basically a runner.

I am not sure Haynes would have fared any better this season than what we have. I expected Haynes to have a great year at Michigan too, but nothing to do with us. I just think that their offense is a much better fit for him than ours. I think Dear is the only back who truly fits what we want to run. But then again, we aren't even able to run the way we want yet, because of offensive line personnel.

 

[denver]

I am not sure Haynes would have fared any better this season than what we have. I expected Haynes to have a great year at Michigan too, but nothing to do with us. I just think that their offense is a much better fit for him than ours. I think Dear is the only back who truly fits what we want to run. But then again, we aren't even able to run the way we want yet, because of offensive line personnel.

Running against this opposition helps too

 

[KrAzY3]

Our oline is horrible, utterly horrible. An offensive philosophy doesn't produce this bad of an OL. Bad talent and/or bad coaching does. I dont know if our rbs are average, good or bad because the OL sucks so bad.

I see the two as being linked. The offensive philosophy dictates the coaching. I saw it covered earlier in the year how the offensive line is coached to focus on pass protection. Now we've seen how that fell apart, but there was a stretch earlier in the year where it was holding up well and Ty had more time.

Part of the issue there is once the defenses figure out there's no real running threat, and how one dimensional the offense is they ramped up doing things like overloading the line. That isn't to say the offensive line is good, or the coaching is good, but it's a product of the environment. If he wants to change either, it's not that difficult given the portal.

I decided to look at his OC stop in Indiana and I saw the same trend. 3.7 YPC, and 108 ranked rushing offense. The year before he arrived? 4.4 YPC.

To provide contrast, not once during Saban's tenure did a running team average less than 4 YPC. DeBoer had done it 3 of the last 7 seasons, different schools, different conferences, all regressed running the ball. All ranked outside of the top 100 in YPG and YPC. Either DeBoer is cursed, or it''s something about the system....

I am not sure Haynes would have fared any better this season than what we have. I expected Haynes to have a great year at Michigan too, but nothing to do with us. I just think that their offense is a much better fit for him than ours. I think Dear is the only back who truly fits what we want to run.

The way I see it that's a problem though. If you can't utilize an obviously great running back like Haynes, and if your system needs something so specific, then may be the system is the problem. Then again, as I've outlined there's never been a great DeBoer running team, so what's good for his system isn't necessarily good for running at all, which is the problem as I see it.

 

[CrimsonTitles]

I see the two as being linked. The offensive philosophy dictates the coaching. I saw it covered earlier in the year how the offensive line is coached to focus on pass protection. Now we've seen how that fell apart, but there was a stretch earlier in the year where it was holding up well and Ty had more time.

Part of the issue there is once the defenses figure out there's no real running threat, and how one dimensional the offense is they ramped up doing things like overloading the line. That isn't to say the offensive line is good, or the coaching is good, but it's a product of the environment.

I decided to look at his OC stop in Indiana and I saw the same trend. 3.7 YPC, and 108 ranked rushing offense. The year before he arrived? 4.4 YPC.

To provide contrast, not once during Saban's tenure did a running team average less than 4 YPC. DeBoer had done it 3 of the last 7 seasons, different schools, different conferences, all regressed running the ball. All ranked outside of the top 100 in YPG and YPC. Either DeBoer is cursed, or it''s something about the system....

The way I see it that's a problem though. If you can't utilize an obviously great running back like Haynes, and if your system needs something so specific, then may be the system is the problem. Then again, as I've outlined there's never been a great DeBoer running team, so what's good for his system isn't necessarily good for running at all, which is the problem as I see it.

That doesn't mean the system is a problem. It means Haynes' running style is not a fit for the system. He fits best in a power run scheme. That is what Michigan utilizes, and also what Saban preferred, but that's not how DeBoer likes to run it. We have been running a lot of duo this season due to our personnel, but that's not what we wanna do, and it's clearly not a strength.

 

[JDCrimson]

Mike Leach's teams couldn't run the ball very well in the SEC either. I just dont think the air raid philosophy is effective in the SEC. You have to be able to convert running when it's 3yds or less. These offenses dont demonstrate the ability to do that.

 

[KrAzY3]

That doesn't mean the system is a problem. It means Haynes' running style is not a fit for the system. He fits best in a power run scheme. That is what Michigan utilizes, and also what Saban preferred, but that's not how DeBoer likes to run it. We have been running a lot of duo this season due to our personnel, but that's not what we wanna do, and it's clearly not a strength.

DeBoer doesn't like to run it at all. That's why he only does it about 35% of the time. I've said it before, but I'll say it again. The first time DeBoer has a good running game will be his first.

Mind you, if you like the system and like this efficacy running the ball, then there's nothing to worry about. I don't though, and I am emphatically saying either the system needs to be tweaked or we'll see more of this.

So when I hear someone say he just needs a better fit for his system, honestly that's the problem. This is the SEC, this isn't the west coast. If you can't use a good running back then there's something wrong with what you're doing.

 

[JDCrimson]

EJ Crowell aint coming here to block fire blitzes 8 of 10 snaps...

If Im the AD i would make CKD have a film session with me watching Mike Leach MSU games. And see what reaction you get from CKD...

DeBoer doesn't like to run it at all. That's why he only does it about 35% of the time. I've said it before, but I'll say it again. The first time DeBoer has a good running team will be his first.

Mind you, if you like the system and like this efficacy running the ball, then there's nothing to worry about. I don't though, and I am emphatically saying either the system needs to be tweaked or we'll see more of this.

So when I hear someone say he just needs a better fit for his system, honestly that's the problem. This is the SEC, this isn't the west coast. If you can't use a good running back then there's something wrong with what you're doing.

 

[CrimsonTitles]

DeBoer doesn't like to run it at all. That's why he only does it about 35% of the time. I've said it before, but I'll say it again. The first time DeBoer has a good running game will be his first.

Mind you, if you like the system and like this efficacy running the ball, then there's nothing to worry about. I don't though, and I am emphatically saying either the system needs to be tweaked or we'll see more of this.

So when I hear someone say he just needs a better fit for his system, honestly that's the problem. This is the SEC, this isn't the west coast. If you can't use a good running back then there's something wrong with what you're doing.

The system doesn't need to be tweaked. It's year 2. It takes time to rebuild a roster the way you want to. You don't just start retooling everything because it doesn't work immediately. Gotta have some conviction. Just give the man some time to fully rebuild the roster in his image, and I promise, you will like the results.

 

[KrAzY3]

The system doesn't need to be tweaked. It's year 2. It takes time to rebuild a roster the way you want to. You don't just start retooling everything because it doesn't work immediately. Gotta have some conviction. Just give the man some time to fully rebuild the roster in his image, and I promise, you will like the results.

I hope it's true, I mean I really do. I honestly don't care what he does as long as it's successful, but right now it's like seeing someone trying to play on a bum knee. It just kind of hurts to watch.

I just wish I had something to point to where I could go there, that's what he's going for and it's amazing. His best offense, with 26 fifth and six year seniors and 10 NFL draft picks that year, was still held to 2.3 YPC in the championship game and a total of 13 points. That's the high point of his career and I guess I'm guilty of having Alabama level expectations but that's not something for me to look forward to.

 

[JDCrimson]

You cant run effectively in the SEC with 270# Center. I dont know enough about football but I'm willing to bet that affects the job of every other OL.

 

[CrimsonTheory]

I think Sam Pittman is a priority higher for Bama this off-season. Or if anybody on this site can think of another OL coach that would be a upgrade. The current OL Coach is not getting it done.

 

[TDBama78]

Georgia has now cleaned our clocks for 6 straight quarters going back to halftime of the 1st game this season. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results, OC

 

[PGDocBama]

My concern from the start about DeBoer never really had anything to do with his coaching ability. It had to do with compatibility. Can a west coast finesse approach translate to the SEC? I felt it was a potential mismatch, in terms of Alabama's talent and in terms of Alabama's competition. There's no doubt DeBoer could have a lot of success in the Pac-12, he did. He could do well in the Big 12 as well I'm sure. But, there is the question of can his style offense perform at a championship level within the SEC? To me the answer is a bit muddy, in part because he's doing it with an absolutely loaded team: https://247sports.com/season/2025-football/collegeteamtalentcomposite/

Will he encounter more success once he adapts the team more to his approach, or will it gradually stray from being able to compete at a top level in the SEC? I think the answer is that he can succeed, but he probably needs to adapt more to the SEC than the roster needs to adapt to him. This might sound like I'm trying to throw him under the bus, but in fact part of what I'm doing is trying to defend people like Grubb and Ty, who are trying to run DeBoer's system, and I think under enormous strain in doing so. For the record, I don't think Grubb or DeBoer needs to be fired, but I'm going to delve into the areas that I think they need to adapt.

Let's get Grubb out of the way. I said before he was hired what the offense would look like, and it's not really Grubb's doing, it's DeBoer's doing. DeBoer consistently uses the running backs around 35% of the time (even with Sheridan as OC). It varies slightly, on the broadcast they said they pass 70% of the time, that's not quite accurate, but it would be pretty accurate to say his offenses rely on the quarterback about two thirds of the time. I posted this stat prior to the season, it applies to this season, it's a tendency he has yet to break. As far as Grubb goes, while he's a disciple of DeBoer, he's not actually as rigid in his approach. For instance the year before DeBoer was the head coach at Fresno State (he retained Grubb), Grubb actually broke these tendencies. Fresno St. was hardly a great running team, but they were ranked 69th in rushing and averaged 4.9 per rush, with a nearly even run/pass average. The following year, with the same lead rusher, those numbers/ranks fell to the 108th ranked rushing team and an average of 3.4 per rush. That's the DeBoer effect, not the Grubb effect.

So, how does this look over the course of his career as a head coach?

2019: 69 rank, 4.9 avg (Grubb as OC before DeBoer was coach): Fresno State
2020: 108, 3.4: Fresno State
2021: 91, 4.1: Fresno State
2022: 69, 4.7: Washington
2023: 108, 4.3 (second leading rusher was a receiver): Washington
2024: 47, 4.6 (leading rusher was a quarterback): Alabama
2025 103, 3.7: Alabama

A few take aways, last years numbers were heavily skewed due to Milroe's running numbers. Those are generally scrambles though, not indicative of a "running game" in the traditional sense. This masked the low running back use and otherwise lack of a running game. The other thing to note is the downward trend.

You might not care about how the offense gets their yards, and that's relatable, but I am of the opinion this system relies too much on the QB and in doing so puts too much pressure on the QB. I'm not saying Milroe was a great QB, but I think this system did more to expose his flaws than a team that could run the ball effectively would for instance. Likewise, I believe Ty is being put in an extremely difficult position, playing teams that don't have to respect the run and he often has to try to do too much.

This system is not without it's advantages though. By relying heavily on the QB, I think you can limit the amount of things an offense has to do well in order to win. In doing this, it can raise the floor of the offense. The issue it it also ultimately lowers the ceiling. It asks so much of the quarterback, that it creates a fatal flaw. You stop the QB, affect him, you have a very high chance of success. These teams are just not built to win any other way.

This gets into the question I posed when DeBoer was hired. What is he like without Penix? Penix was a 5th and 6th year senior when he played for DeBoer at Washington, he was also a first round draft pick who has started several games in the NFL. This can't be your expected level of quarterback talent/experience. Here are the splits:

DeBoer with Penix: 25-3
DeBoer without Penix: 31-13 (Haener, Milroe, Simpson)

That's a 89% winning percentage vs a 70% winning percentage.

That's pretty noticeable. Mind you, 70% isn't that bad. True, but Brian Kelly had a 70% winning percentage at LSU and he got fired.

It's not just wins and losses though,the offense was ranked 10th on average with Penix, but only 27th without him. DeBoer wasn't hired to have the 27th ranked offense (Alabama is 26th this year, so in keeping with the trend).

I don't think Ty is the real problem here, I don't think Grubb is the real problem here, I think the system has a really serious flaw built into it. The good news though is that it can be changed. Some adjustments to the staff, some changes in approach, I think they can address the issues by bringing in people that know how to develop and utilize a more balanced offense. Part of what we saw in SECCG was the fish out of water approach of a system that never runs the ball well still trying to run the ball against a team playing the pass.

If real meaningful changes are made, if this issue is addressed I think there's a lot of potential here. The defense is performing well, it's outperformed the offense the past two seasons, which is surprisingly given he was hired as an offensive guru. The passing game to me isn't really the issue either. They just need to bring in the expertise to fix the running game, and I am making the unequivocal argument that it's not really a talent issue, it's a system issue that follows DeBoer. The system can adapt and I for one hope it does.

I like DeBoer and we should keep him and at least give him 2-3 more seasons. Unless, we could straight up trade him for Cignetti at this moment.

Otherwise, I think DeBoer is about as good as we can hope for. For now.

 

[KrAzY3]

I like DeBoer and we should keep him and at least give him 2-3 more seasons. Unless, we could straight up trade him for Cignetti at this moment.

Otherwise, I think DeBoer is about as good as we can hope for. For now.

Well, I didn't have Cignetti on my radar but honestly he seems like who Alabama thought they were getting when they hired DeBoer.

That aside... you can want a coach to improve on his weaknesses, that doesn't mean you want him gone. I see talk about the need for DeBoer to retooll this roster into a finesses one, devoid of power running backs to "fit" his system and I think that's a terrible idea. He needs to fit his system to the SEC in my opinion. If he does that, then he can have more consistency.

 

[CB4]

It’s such a novel idea that coaches look better with a competent quarterback.

the offensive line is atrocious, if they were even below average this season is much different.

We haven’t been able to run the ball consistently even against average defenses. Watch what Indiana and tOSU were doing at the LOS last night. They got push, played physical, and reestablished the LOS. And that was two teams with very good, some might say elite defenses. Whatever we have been doing the last two years isn’t working. Proctor is an absolute turnstile.
This is a very hard pill to swallow given our history of being one of the most physically dominant teams on both sides of the ball under CNS. I can handle losses. What I can’t stand is when we get whipped physically.

 

[SkullDuckery]

Kirby took DeBoer to school yesterday. Just hope DeBoer learned the lesson.

 

[AlexanderFan]

We haven’t been able to run the ball consistently even against average defenses. Watch what Indiana and tOSU were doing at the LOS last night. They got push, played physical, and reestablished the LOS. And that was two teams with very good, some might say elite defenses. Whatever we have been doing the last two years isn’t working. Proctor is an absolute turnstile.
This is a very hard pill to swallow given our history of being one of the most physically dominant teams on both sides of the ball under CNS. I can handle losses. What I can’t stand is when we get whipped physically.

It’s not been the last two years, this started a while back. There’s no hierarchy to establish the standard of what’s expected on the line of scrimmage.

DeBoer inherited a mess, and it doesnt isn’t appear he’s moved the needle in thee right direction very much.

 

[AlexanderFan]

On this we can agree, but one can argue DeBoer's offensive line has always needed improvement when it came to running the ball. The best second year numbers he's mustered are 4.3 per rush, that was still only good for the 63rd ranked YPC.

So, if we both agree that there's an issue there, then I think we can agree the solution is outside help. I think that's what's needed here. He needs to upgrade his system for the SEC and there are coaches out there that can do that.

The problem I have is that you point to DeBoer’s system and complain that it needs high end quarterback play to be successful. Can you name a system that doesn’t? Even GaTech needs high end quarterback play.

 

[81usaf92]

DeBoer doesn't like to run it at all. That's why he only does it about 35% of the time. I've said it before, but I'll say it again. The first time DeBoer has a good running game will be his first.

Mind you, if you like the system and like this efficacy running the ball, then there's nothing to worry about. I don't though, and I am emphatically saying either the system needs to be tweaked or we'll see more of this.

So when I hear someone say he just needs a better fit for his system, honestly that's the problem. This is the SEC, this isn't the west coast. If you can't use a good running back then there's something wrong with what you're doing.

Yet we have lost 2 SEC games this year …. If we want to be honest Georgia should have lost 5 (us, Florida, Tennessee, Auburn, and Ole Miss). The SEC isn’t the SEC anymore, it literally all boils down to scheduling. It is a miracle that both teams yesterday made it there with one conference loss but you probably got the two best teams in the SEC there anyways. Yet you still had the potential for two teams that played no one to sneak in.


DeBoer is 12-5 in SEC games through two years. The only 4 guys better in that time period were Sark, Kirby, Kiffin, and Elko. If you take the SECCG out of the equation he is tied with Kiffin. But do you honestly think Elko and Sark have better records than DeBoer if they traded schedules? Alabama and Georgia have both got royally screwed over with conference scheduling to the point Kirby himself is defending Alabama and calling out Sankey after the SECCG because he knows that could easily be him one of these days. So the idea that DeBoer’s system doesn’t work in the SEC is just incorrect. There really isn’t one style that works it’s luck and in game adjustments at this point.

But this ultimately goes back to over half of our fanbase believing that Saban left DeBoer some championship guaranteed team when 40 players transferred out before DeBoer coached a single down at Alabama. It’s like the same fans who believe Georgia is infinitely more talented than Alabama after that one class that he recruited better than Saban only to realize 23 players in that class transferred out. So again what is a SEC team anymore when over half of these great recruiting classes are transferring out before they even show their potential.

That doesn’t even address the fact that the offensive line is probably the trickiest unit to address. You need about 7-8 good ones that you can rely on to feel really good about your offense. We have probably only one we feel really confident in and that is DeBoer’s guy. We have a few that are developing, we have one that has nfl talent but always finds a way to surprise you in bad ways, and the rest range from bad to maybe can be something. Having 12 guys rotating in and out and you really only feel good about 2-3 of them really isn’t a good place to be. Last night Tom Brady with Derrick Henry as a running back would’ve had a rough night. We need an offensive line that suits DeBoer’s style of offense and that takes time.

You keep bringing up justice Haynes…. I think it’s like saying Saban whiffed on Kamara. Sometimes things don’t work out and weaker scheduling with better offensive styles to suit your talents helps development. Haynes sat behind Roydell, Mcclelan, and Jam Miller… that’s with Saban calling the shots. DeBoer’s two top targets once he came in were Downs and Haynes. He got one of them. Haynes never produced here and was consistently a liability. He wouldn’t have mattered yesterday even if you told us to run it 50 times. I seriously doubt he would have sniffed 100 yards. Yeah go ahead… quote me his rushing vs Oklahoma, and I’ll show you that our backup got 60 yards on that same Oklahoma team in a far more competitive game with DeBoer’s system.

I still see this is as a “he isn’t my choice” kinda thing because these threads never seem to come out after wins. Last year you were blasting Wommack and saying he wasn’t SEC caliber. This year you have been very quiet on him. But now that we finally get a quicksand game on offense you want to bring up this gripe on DeBoer you have had since the moment we hired him. So I guess the only fair thing to do is ask the question… “do you still want Dabo?”

I mean at some point you have to accept that the SEC is now a revolving door of talent in and out of programs and you need someone that can win that week. You really can’t prepare for a 13 game season anymore because everyone is so equal. As bad as Auburn is they easily could have been a 10-11 win team if you flipped a few plays. As good as Georgia was flip a few plays and they could have easily been a 5 loss team. So really the fact that we won 10 games with this offense and this schedule kinda points to we most likely got the right guy.

 

[bamamc1]

Yet we have lost 2 SEC games this year …. If we want to be honest Georgia should have lost 5 (us, Florida, Tennessee, Auburn, and Ole Miss). The SEC isn’t the SEC anymore, it literally all boils down to scheduling. It is a miracle that both teams yesterday made it there with one conference loss but you probably got the two best teams in the SEC there anyways. Yet you still had the potential for two teams that played no one to sneak in.


DeBoer is 12-5 in SEC games through two years. The only 4 guys better in that time period were Sark, Kirby, Kiffin, and Elko. If you take the SECCG out of the equation he is tied with Kiffin. But do you honestly think Elko and Sark have better records than DeBoer if they traded schedules? Alabama and Georgia have both got royally screwed over with conference scheduling to the point Kirby himself is defending Alabama and calling out Sankey after the SECCG because he knows that could easily be him one of these days. So the idea that DeBoer’s system doesn’t work in the SEC is just incorrect. There really isn’t one style that works it’s luck and in game adjustments at this point.

But this ultimately goes back to over half of our fanbase believing that Saban left DeBoer some championship guaranteed team when 40 players transferred out before DeBoer coached a single down at Alabama. It’s like the same fans who believe Georgia is infinitely more talented than Alabama after that one class that he recruited better than Saban only to realize 23 players in that class transferred out. So again what is a SEC team anymore when over half of these great recruiting classes are transferring out before they even show their potential.

That doesn’t even address the fact that the offensive line is probably the trickiest unit to address. You need about 7-8 good ones that you can rely on to feel really good about your offense. We have probably only one we feel really confident in and that is DeBoer’s guy. We have a few that are developing, we have one that has nfl talent but always finds a way to surprise you in bad ways, and the rest range from bad to maybe can be something. Having 12 guys rotating in and out and you really only feel good about 2-3 of them really isn’t a good place to be. Last night Tom Brady with Derrick Henry as a running back would’ve had a rough night. We need an offensive line that suits DeBoer’s style of offense and that takes time.

You keep bringing up justice Haynes…. I think it’s like saying Saban whiffed on Kamara. Sometimes things don’t work out and weaker scheduling with better offensive styles to suit your talents helps development. Haynes sat behind Roydell, Mcclelan, and Jam Miller… that’s with Saban calling the shots. DeBoer’s two top targets once he came in were Downs and Haynes. He got one of them. Haynes never produced here and was consistently a liability. He wouldn’t have mattered yesterday even if you told us to run it 50 times. I seriously doubt he would have sniffed 100 yards. Yeah go ahead… quote me his rushing vs Oklahoma, and I’ll show you that our backup got 60 yards on that same Oklahoma team in a far more competitive game with DeBoer’s system.

I still see this is as a “he isn’t my choice” kinda thing because these threads never seem to come out after wins. Last year you were blasting Wommack and saying he wasn’t SEC caliber. This year you have been very quiet on him. But now that we finally get a quicksand game on offense you want to bring up this gripe on DeBoer you have had since the moment we hired him. So I guess the only fair thing to do is ask the question… “do you still want Dabo?”

I mean at some point you have to accept that the SEC is now a revolving door of talent in and out of programs and you need someone that can win that week. You really can’t prepare for a 13 game season anymore because everyone is so equal. As bad as Auburn is they easily could have been a 10-11 win team if you flipped a few plays. As good as Georgia was flip a few plays and they could have easily been a 5 loss team. So really the fact that we won 10 games with this offense and this schedule kinda points to we most likely got the right guy.

I agree with scheduling being a huge part of this year. Take a look at what Florida faced the past two years. Napier didn’t have a chance.