Question: What If ... Today's Bama played Today's A&M?

[b2v4ua]

All good points and I agree.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

So A&M had one missing DL, LB, CB and S. funny because Rice ran it straight up the gun and gashed them. It doesn't look good.

Answering my own earlier question, one of those DL was their starting NG and their starting DE, not to mention the missing LB. Depending on how much falloff there is from their ones to their twos, it makes it a hard comparison. You have to think those guys would have made a difference in Rice's running game...

 

[JBama_in_PCOLA]

Answering my own earlier question, one of those DL was their starting NG and their starting DE, not to mention the missing LB. Depending on how much falloff there is from their ones to their twos, it makes it a hard comparison. You have to think those guys would have made a difference in Rice's running game...

I didn't catch the NG.

 

[TexasBama]

Answering my own earlier question, one of those DL was their starting NG and their starting DE, not to mention the missing LB. Depending on how much falloff there is from their ones to their twos, it makes it a hard comparison. You have to think those guys would have made a difference in Rice's running game...

True, except we're talking Rice's running game

 

[bamaga]

AJ would have had to let Johnny borrow his boot, after the game.

......... Or at least let him sign it

 

[pigsinspace]

If, as some people are speculating, Sumlin is losing control of his team, it will work to Bama's advantage in two weeks. Let Johnny Football get snarky with his team when leadership is needed, and things could get ugly in a hurry as the rest of the team begins to turn on him. It could happen when we play them, or it could happen down the line when someone else is giving them fits, but it will be obvious when it happens.

 

[M.C. Swag]

The A&M team that Bama plays in 2 weeks will be nothing like the A&M team that played yesterday. It will be a competitive matchup.

 

[AgentAntiOrange]

If our OLine doesn't shape up during the bye week, A&M will just outscore us. That was a night and day different team on both sides of the ball once JFF returned. He's going to make some plays and they'll score some points. We scored 14 offensive points against a mediocre defense. A&M will in their place and, after reading their boards all summer, I'd say they want this game every bit as much as we do.

 

[3 tide tats]

Well since Rice dropped 500 yards on them???? Who knows


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[JBama_in_PCOLA]

Well since Rice dropped 500 yards on them???? Who knows


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500?! I didn't know it is like that. I know they left a lot of points on the field.

 

[Krymsonman]

Our O-Line did not perform well, (and we didn't seem to make many adjustments), and I'm sure we will get things fixed. Part of me wonders though, how motivated we were for this game. I say that because all I've been hearing for a month in the media is this was a no contest game, a blow out for BAMA, and the real test would be A&M. I'm not saying we weren't motivated, but it sure looked like it to me. Also, CNS said after the game that Tech ran a different offense than we prepared for, so maybe Tech did that on defense too. Doing that to a young line can make them look silly, plus they always seemed to have one more guy than we had blockers. Maybe Tech's defense is a lot better than people think. Hope we get this fixed quickly. Krymsonman

 

[JustNeedMe81]

I really don't know. The Alabama Defense was so good last night against VT, I don't see them allowing Johnny to run freely. I think they will force him to throw more than to run.... So, I think this game will be close for third quarters, but it'll over with 8 mins left.

 

[deliveryman35]

The A&M team that Bama plays in 2 weeks will be nothing like the A&M team that played yesterday. It will be a competitive matchup.

I tend to agree. This Bama fan is not buying the 'AM doesn't have a good D' rhetoric. You guys held us and our best 0-line in history to 24 pts last yr in our house. Granted, we play-call better inside the 5 yd line, the outcome might have been different that day, but in the end all that matters is the final score.

I think it's going to be a war...

 

[JTBama]

The A&M team that Bama plays in 2 weeks will be nothing like the A&M team that played yesterday. It will be a competitive matchup.

This is my feeling as well. Emotions were different, situations were different and teams are still figuring out lineups and making adjustments. I am not taking too much away from the Rice game as far as the A&M defense goes.

 

[ALA2262]

The same, and perhaps better, question could be asked of atm. What if atm had played VT? Me thinks they would have gotten their butt kicked.

 

[REBELZED]

We scored 14 offensive points against a mediocre defense.

I completely disagree with your assessment of VT's defense. I know I underestimated them and I think you are too. I said in the post game thread that I believe their D will be top 10, maybe top 5 by the end of the season. I watched a LOT of college football this weekend and the only D that I saw that looked as good as VT's was Bama's.

VT returned 9 starters and has NFL caliber playmakers at every level. Maddy on DL, Tyler at LB, and Fuller at DB, along with other very good players. Not to mention they have one of the premier DC's in college football. I don't think you're giving them near enough credit.

 

[teamplayer]

How would the two teams have matched up today? Part of me thinks we would have spent some time in the wood shed but looking back on the defensive effort from Bama today, I doubt Johnny Ballpoint would have been so cocky.

I think they would have picked us apart because their receivers probably wouldn't have dropped fifteen passes. I wasn't as impressed with our defense as many others seem to be. We looked great when they tried to run wide, but they were pushing us 3 and 4 yards down the field at times when they ran up the gut. Their line wasn't supposed to be much, yet they handled our defense better than our line handled theirs from what I saw. They had open receivers who were just absolutely terrible at catching the ball and should probably be playing DB. Both teams looked sloppy, which isn't unusual for a first game. I am glad, however, that it wasn't A&M's offense that we were up against. Of course, I don't think A&M's defense looked nearly as good as VT's, so we may have been much more successful on offense against them. I'm hoping to see a much more polished product in Aggieland in a few weeks; otherwise, we may have to start the excuse machine for why we lost to Johnny Autographed Football again. I'm hoping for one of those classic beat downs where we are all happy with every facet of the game, and we brag on every player and coach and secretary in the athletic office because of how fortunate we are to be Bama fans during this historic run. You know, one of those 42-10 type beatings where we control every aspect of the game. Of course, I'll settle for a one point win where we all come on here and talk about how many improvements still need to be made. . Roll Tide!

 

[KrAzY3]

We scored 14 offensive points against a mediocre defense.

Reality disagrees with that assessment.

Virginia Tech was the 18th ranked defense last year. Texas A&M was 57th by comparison (they were mediocre).
VT returned 9 starters on defense, A&M has 6 returning starters.

So, we have things to worry about, that's true. However, if you for one second believe that the VT defense wasn't very good, you just don't know very much about college football. The truth is Alabama's defense should have a much harder time, and Alabama's offense should have a much easier time. But, the notion that Alabama didn't play a very good defense is just flat out ill informed.

 

[B1GTide]

Reality disagrees with that assessment.

Virginia Tech was the 18th ranked defense last year. Texas A&M was 57th by comparison (they were mediocre).
VT returned 9 starters on defense, A&M has 6 returning starters.

So, we have things to worry about, that's true. However, if you for one second believe that the VT defense wasn't very good, you just don't know very much about college football. The truth is Alabama's defense should have a much harder time, and Alabama's offense should have a much easier time. But, the notion that Alabama didn't play a very good defense is just flat out ill informed.

Good post - also consider that VT has been preparing for the Alabama game for quite some time. They put in d-line schemes to disrupt your o-line that Saban said they had never used before and Steen said they had not seen on film. aTm will almost certainly see some of that in the film and try to mimic it, but they don't have Maddy or Tyler, both of whom will be playing on Sundays next year - and Alabama will be prepared for it when they see it again.

VT threw everything that they had at Alabama, as will aTm. You cannot prepare for Manziel. He is too good. But if you can take away everything else, he will not beat you by himself.

My real concern going into this game is Seals-Jones. They lost Swope, but Seals-Jones looks like a real threat.

 

[Perrett4Bama]

aTm doesn't really have a d-line to speak of - Rice was killing them on the ground and their QB had all day to throw (but he was horrible). I think that Alabama would have trounced aTm, especially with 2 TDs in the return game.

What he said.....^^^^^^^