🏈 2020 Fall Camp Thread (Final scrimmage of 2020: Saturday afternoon.)

[TerryP]

 

[TerryP]

1st scrimmage is set for tomorrow.

I'd bet we have no answers for every question that comes.

 

[TerryP]

 

[BamaFan334]

Scrimmage day boys! Ha, joking, but in these trying times I'll take anything.

 

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

too wet to plow today

 

[TerryP]

 

[SoCalPatrick]

Opening Statement
“I think today’s scrimmage was a lot of what we expected for the eighth practice of the year. I think it was a great opportunity to get players on the field (and) see what they know. A lot of the stuff was game-like but we also did a lot of situational things.”

Saban then said several players missed the scrimmage including freshman quarterback Bryce Young, who Saban expects back on the practice field Monday.

“We had some players who didn’t participate today. Hopefully, we’ll get them back soon,” Saban said. “We’re going to treat those players as if they are injured.”

Saban, per UA policy, did not say if any absentees had been diagnosed with COVID.

Other than Young, names weren’t given, but sources say the number of missing players was in double digits and some were projected starters.



On quarterback play
“Mac Jones was 21-for-36 today with three touchdowns. Mac did some good things. I think Mac’s got to play within himself, be confident, be positive, and not beat himself up.

“The other guys have got work to do. Pace of play. Speed of the game. I think those guys are going to improve.”



On conditioning
“I think the injuries have gone fairly well, knock on wood. This is an abnormal fall camp. We’ve practiced every other day. It’s a little different to judge where the team is. You’re used to seeing a different kind of grind. It’s challenging to the player mentally but it helps them to focus in adverse circumstances.

“I think they like the new strengrh and conditioning coaches and I like sports science aspect.”



On freshman Brian Branch at Star
“Brian Branch and Malachi Moore have played Star (the fifth defensive back) and both have shown the potential to play the position and play winning football. Patrick Surtain can play Star, but he’s just so valuable at corner.

“(Freshman defensive back) Marcus Banks and (junior) Josh Jobe made significant progress.”



On being back at Bryant-Denny and scrimmaging
“To go back into the stadium today was exciting. I’m excited for the players. It’s about them having an opportunity to create value for themselves. Every day we can go out there and work hard to get better its exciting for me. Every step we take makes it feel like we are playing.

“It has been a long time and it’s not been normal. There’s been a lot of uncertainty..”



On the outside linebackers
“I like Chris Allen and Ben Davis. They’ve done well and had experience. Freshmen Drew Sanders and Will Anderson are both guys I think who can contribute to the team.”



On the offensive line
“We feel good about three guys that can play center. Darrian (Dalcourt) is only playing center. Everyone else is moving around. Emil (Ekyor) is playing some at center. We need to develop depth in the offensive line. If we can stay healthy there we’re going to have a pretty good offensive line.”

(The other center candidate is senior Chris Owens, who iis said to be running first for now.)



On his leadership having to change with the times
“These are opportunities for you to grow. How do you do things to serve (the players)? You’ve got to bring people together. They've been pretty responsive. New challenges are also new opportunities. There’s a lot of things happening right now and that’s created opportunities for those of us in leadership positions about sending positive messages so we can create positive change and do it in a safe way.”



On the team’s planned march for social justice Monday
“The players have made these choices and decisions about what they want to do and how they want to be heard, and we want to support them.”

Saban said that topic was addressed to the team when players heard via ZOOM from speakers like Condoleezza Rice, Charles Barkley, Michael Jordan, Tony Dungy, Stephen A. Smith and Joey Galloway.

“They all did s phenomenal job explain to players how we can have a plan,” Saban said.

(The team is off Monday, but will also watch scrimmage film and “stretch and stride.”)

 

[Bama News]

Notes, intel from Alabama football scrimmage

Alabama had its first

www.al.com

Alabama had its first scrimmage of fall camp Saturday.

While the scrimmage was closed to the media, here are some notes on the scrimmage based on information gathered from AL.com sources:

Offense

— With Bryce Young out, Mac Jones and Paul Tyson were the only two scholarship quarterbacks out there for the Tide. As Nick Saban referenced after the scrimmage, Jones was 21 of 36 with three touchdowns. In addition, it sounds like he didn’t have any interceptions. Word is that Tyson struggled some.

— Freshmen running backs Roydell Williams and Jase McClellan both stood out at times.

—The two players competing for the third wide receiver job, John Metchie and Slade Bolden, both seemingly had solid days. Metchie had several catches. Bolden also had a few catches at receiver and then also scored on a touchdown run out of the Wildcat formation.

— Freshman wide receiver Javon Baker continues to impress. He had a catch that went for a big gain. There was also another freshman receiver with a big play. Thaiu Jones-Bell had a touchdown catch of around 60 yards against one of the reserve defensive units.

Defense

— Five-star freshman outside linebacker Will Anderson stood out and continues to look like someone capable of making an early impact, at the very least from a pass rushing standpoint. He had multiple sacks. There were also at least a few other outside linebackers with sacks, including reserve players such as Jarez Parks and Kevin Harris.

— Inside linebacker Ale Kaho, who missed some time with a knee injury, is back and took part in the scrimmage. In addition, it sounds like junior inside linebacker Jaylen Moody subbed in and got some reps with the first-team defense.

— Freshman Brian Branch was the first-team Star/nickel back. Fellow freshman Malachi Moore was the second-team Star. Sophomore DeMarcco Hellams was the first-team Money/dime back.

 

[RTB X Bot]

 

[mando]

Nice to see some reports. I would like to know more about this - Jones was 21 of 36. Are they working with Jones to throw more down the field, was there protection breakdown or other? Nice to have no interceptions but I would not think 58% would cut it. I know this is a scrimmage and the first at that just stuck out to me.

Also interesting to have freshman at Star...

No one ever stated why Bryce was out. Was this COVID related or something else?

 

[TerryP]

Nice to see some reports. I would like to know more about this - Jones was 21 of 36. Are they working with Jones to throw more down the field, was there protection breakdown or other? Nice to have no interceptions but I would not think 58% would cut it. I know this is a scrimmage and the first at that just stuck out to me.

Also interesting to have freshman at Star...

No one ever stated why Bryce was out. Was this COVID related or something else?

Unless the Young family decides to say why, we likely won't know anything from UA. Logic tells us it's likely a positive test. The last video we saw of Bryce was on the 21st. Monday will make 10 days which falls within the SEC guidelines.

A few long passes but most of the attention was on short and intermediate routes.

Make nothing of 21 for 36. Remember, the defense knows these plays and it's the reason we see "defense leads scrimmage" every year. 60 for 86 in his last four games ... and he's improved over the offseason.

You're not the only one who has jumped on numbers after Saban said "I think he was 21 of 36 with three TD's." Out of the half of a dozen or so reports I got yesterday just about everyone of them said "Mac stood out."

 

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

3 QB's is thin. Then again you can't keep 4 good QB's anymore.

 

[Tidestalker]

Thanks for the updates! If 1 thing stands out, it's that this Freshman class has some players! Both RB's, Will Anderson (we've heard Saban on Drew Sanders), Branch, 2 WR's (@TerryP has been warning us about Baker for a while now)...

Interesting to hear Moody getting some 1st team reps. Not shocking but with Moses, McMillon, and Harris all back I wasn't sure there would be much wiggle room. In scrimmage situations though you never know... Guys come in and out quite a bit. Regardless a good sign for him!

I'm not concerned about any Mac Jones stuff. I feel pretty confident we know exactly what we are getting there. His toughest jobs will be keeping all these WR's happy and avoiding bad INT's. Otherwise I'd expect the O to look really good all year, even if he can't throw the deep ball like we're accustomed to seeing with Tua.

 

[TerryP]

Otherwise I'd expect the O to look really good all year, even if he can't throw the deep ball like we're accustomed to seeing with Tua.

He hasn't shown the ability to hit guys in stride like Tua, but he's certainly got one hell of a deep ball. He struggled last season on throws that were within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage (roughly 60%.) There's a reason they were working on the short an intermediate routes. It's that number right there.

I don't want to fall into Tua vs Mac: apples and oranges, but I will for a second here.

Going back to the 0-10 yard range:

• Tagovailoa: 165-for-231 (71%), 2,147 yards, 26 TD, 3 INT, 9.3 yds/att, 11.0 AY/A, 94.0 QBR
• Jones: 26-for-44 (59%), 308 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, 7.0 yds/att, 5.9 AY/A, 26.1 QBR

11-20 yard range the numbers flip:

• Tagovailoa: 84-for-138 (61%), 1,775 yards, 19 TD, 4 INT, 12.9 yds/att, 14.3 AY/A, 96.0 QBR
• Jones: 21-for-29 (72%), 533 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT, 18.4 yds/att, 19.6 AY/A, 99.5 QBR

Now, we go over 20 yards and we're flipping again:

• Tagovailoa: 45-for-82 (55%), 1,793 yards, 23 TD, 2 INT, 21.9 yds/att, 26.4 AY/A, 99.9 QBR
• Jones: 7-for-17 (41%), 309 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT, 18.2 yds/att, 22.9 AY/A, 90.7 QBR

Apples and oranges with any quarterback here. A 99.9 QBR? That's why he's a first rounder. That's a number, even at 61%, that's in a category of itself.

But bro, 90.7? That's quality work.

 

[Tidestalker]

He hasn't shown the ability to hit guys in stride like Tua, but he's certainly got one hell of a deep ball. He struggled last season on throws that were within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage (roughly 60%.) There's a reason they were working on the short an intermediate routes. It's that number right there.

I don't want to fall into Tua vs Mac: apples and oranges, but I will for a second here.

Going back to the 0-10 yard range:

• Tagovailoa: 165-for-231 (71%), 2,147 yards, 26 TD, 3 INT, 9.3 yds/att, 11.0 AY/A, 94.0 QBR
• Jones: 26-for-44 (59%), 308 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, 7.0 yds/att, 5.9 AY/A, 26.1 QBR

11-20 yard range the numbers flip:

• Tagovailoa: 84-for-138 (61%), 1,775 yards, 19 TD, 4 INT, 12.9 yds/att, 14.3 AY/A, 96.0 QBR
• Jones: 21-for-29 (72%), 533 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT, 18.4 yds/att, 19.6 AY/A, 99.5 QBR

Now, we go over 20 yards and we're flipping again:

• Tagovailoa: 45-for-82 (55%), 1,793 yards, 23 TD, 2 INT, 21.9 yds/att, 26.4 AY/A, 99.9 QBR
• Jones: 7-for-17 (41%), 309 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT, 18.2 yds/att, 22.9 AY/A, 90.7 QBR

Apples and oranges with any quarterback here. A 99.9 QBR? That's why he's a first rounder. That's a number, even at 61%, that's in a category of itself.

But bro, 90.7? That's quality work.

Great stuff there! And it's not that I think Mac is a slouch... Just saying that Tua when it came to the deep ball Tua had a combo of anticipation, confidence, arm strength, and accuracy that is beyond rare in CF. I wouldn't expect Mac to make it look that easy on any of those levels. I do think Mac will do it well, but Tua just made it look effortless over and over again.

 

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

JMO but there will never be another Tua for The King. The kid was great from the get go. He got the deep ball off quickly with the receiver still trying to separate from the DB. It was great having him those 3 short but great years. I view Mack as near AJ. We'll see if he can be as good as AJ.

 

[TerryP]

JMO but there will never be another Tua for The King. The kid was great from the get go. He got the deep ball off quickly with the receiver still trying to separate from the DB. It was great having him those 3 short but great years. I view Mack as near AJ. We'll see if he can be as good as AJ.

How can you compare Mac to AJ when the two offenses are diametrically opposed?

 

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

How can you compare Mac to AJ when the two offenses are diametrically opposed?

I see Mack being used as a game manager this year much like they did with AJ even though AJ had a higher ceiling.

 

[Justneedme81]

Mac... Mack... we gotta show respect for Mac Jones by saying his name right.

I think Mac has showed that he can ball out in the games he has played and Mac will do his usual stuff and I don't think he will be quite a game manager because those days are long gone. with teams in SEC built to stop run game, we're gonna need Mac to ball out on several occassional

 

[TerryP]

I see Mack being used as a game manager this year much like they did with AJ even though AJ had a higher ceiling.

because those days are long gone.

That's it in a nutshell.

If we were in 2012, I'd agree with the game manager monicker.

Alabama doesn't run that offense any longer. It's as far gone as seeing a defense keep the top teams to 14 points a game. We're in a different era.

I do believe we'll see more balance with play calls this season and here's why I find the AJ comparison to be out of place. In 2011, as example, Bama ran right at 150 rushing plays than passing. In 2012 the disparity was even greater; around 250 more rushing plays than passing.

We started seeing the shift with Coker. Even though there were still around 200 more rushing plays called, we began to see the difference in total yards for both options: passing was right at +500 vs rushing.

2016 was a bit of an anomaly largely due to Hurts ability as a dual threat.

2017 was the breaking point. And from that day forward they (offensive staff) haven't looked back. We hit 2018 and we didn't see a back with over 1000 yards. In fact, I don't think we had one over 900 that season. Also, we were seeing right at two times the amount of yards gained through the air versus on the ground.

I've been beating this horse on both sides of the ball the last two years. Offenses have changed and if we want Bama to continue to compete for titles we'll see the team follow the trend they are on: an explosive offense.

While you say "game manager," I see Mac with around 3000 in the regular season. If he could play 15 games like Tua in 2018? I'd strongly consider the possibility he eclipses Tua's 3900+ in '18.