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http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/11/a_fast-paced_alabama_offense_m.html
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- By Nick Saban's standards, the sentences were uttered in a relatively obscure setting. At a different time or a different place, his words might have gone viral.
A little more than two months ago, Alabama faced a familiar challenge. Ole Miss, much like more than half the teams on the Crimson Tide's 2013 schedule, preferred to pick up the pace on offense and limit the Alabama defense's ability to substitute.
As Saban said that night and many others, this sort of offense -- one that Auburn runs as well as any in the country -- is designed to "take the defensive coaches out of the game." It's clearly not the defensive-minded coach's preference, but he confessed he had no choice but to adjust.
"There's some tremendous advantages to it," Saban said. "The only reason we haven't done it to this point is we've played pretty well without doing it and our players have played better without doing it."
And then, Saban's version of a bombshell revelation.
"I think the time is coming where we'll probably do it, too," he said.
Some perspective is required to appreciate this sort of admission from Saban, who, in a similar setting one month later, seemed downright giddy at the prospect of facing an old-school, hard-nosed offense such as LSU's.
In October 2012, a few days removed from facing -- of all teams -- Ole Miss, Saban seemingly drew his line in the sand with fast-paced, no-huddle offenses when he rhetorically asked, "is this what we want football to be?"
"I think that's something that can be looked at," Saban said, citing potential player safety risks posed by uptempo offenses. "It's obviously created a tremendous advantage for the offense when teams are scoring 70 points and we're averaging 49.5 points a game ... More and more people are going to do it."
To counter the effects long-term, Alabama has made the necessary adjustments on the recruiting trail by amping up its demand for speedy, fast-twitch pass rushers. Jonathan Allen and Tim Williams fit the bill in last year's class and commitments from five-star recruits Da'Shawn Hand and Christian Miller have Alabama on the right path in 2014.
In the short-term, Alabama simply elevated its importance on the practice fields. Rather than simply running through "fastball" defense on weeks in which it faced an uptempo team, Alabama essentially made it a daily fixture. It became such a constant that Alabama considered its preparations for Arkansas, which runs a traditional run-heavy offense, to be a major adjustment.
The positive effects haven't just been felt by the defense, which Saban said has "responded better" to uptempo offenses in 2013. The members of Alabama's offense who have helped the defense play better when it's forced to adjust on the fly have picked up a thing or two from practicing it so much.
"Even though they're showing us a look of what a lot of teams do, they're getting themselves better, too, especially the O-line because they're big guys and have to get lined up, too," linebacker C.J. Mosley said. "It's practice for both of us. We've been doing it all summer and all the way in the spring and it's showing good looks for us."
Alabama's rarely picked up the pace in a 2013 season where it's once again preferred to milk the clock for lengthy, back-breaking possessions to wear down opposing defenses the old fashioned way. The Crimson Tide ranks 18th in the nation in average time of possession (32:22) and averages a little more than 63 plays per game. Auburn averages 71.
Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron said he asked Saban if the offense could test out its two-minute package during Saturday's rout of Chattanooga. He said Saban agreed, but the situation never presented itself.
"I think we play our best as an offense when we're fast paced," McCarron said. "I just personally think we play better when we go fast-paced."
When Saban admitted that Alabama might kick up its offensive pace some time in the near future, he followed with a few lingering reservations.
"Who still wins the championships relative to what they do? And can you really play good defense if you have that kind of offense?" he asked. "How does it affect your overall program in terms of developing players?"
For now, the hurry-up, no-huddle version of Alabama's offense primarily remains behind the closed gates of the Thomas-Drew Practice Facility. For how long is up to Saban.
"Even though we don't choose to do it as a team that much, I think we are capable to do it if we wanted or needed to," Saban said. "It has been our approach, how we practice, how our offense practices against us. All those things have helped.
"I think our offense could go out and do that same thing."
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- By Nick Saban's standards, the sentences were uttered in a relatively obscure setting. At a different time or a different place, his words might have gone viral.
A little more than two months ago, Alabama faced a familiar challenge. Ole Miss, much like more than half the teams on the Crimson Tide's 2013 schedule, preferred to pick up the pace on offense and limit the Alabama defense's ability to substitute.
As Saban said that night and many others, this sort of offense -- one that Auburn runs as well as any in the country -- is designed to "take the defensive coaches out of the game." It's clearly not the defensive-minded coach's preference, but he confessed he had no choice but to adjust.
"There's some tremendous advantages to it," Saban said. "The only reason we haven't done it to this point is we've played pretty well without doing it and our players have played better without doing it."
And then, Saban's version of a bombshell revelation.
"I think the time is coming where we'll probably do it, too," he said.
Some perspective is required to appreciate this sort of admission from Saban, who, in a similar setting one month later, seemed downright giddy at the prospect of facing an old-school, hard-nosed offense such as LSU's.
In October 2012, a few days removed from facing -- of all teams -- Ole Miss, Saban seemingly drew his line in the sand with fast-paced, no-huddle offenses when he rhetorically asked, "is this what we want football to be?"
"I think that's something that can be looked at," Saban said, citing potential player safety risks posed by uptempo offenses. "It's obviously created a tremendous advantage for the offense when teams are scoring 70 points and we're averaging 49.5 points a game ... More and more people are going to do it."
To counter the effects long-term, Alabama has made the necessary adjustments on the recruiting trail by amping up its demand for speedy, fast-twitch pass rushers. Jonathan Allen and Tim Williams fit the bill in last year's class and commitments from five-star recruits Da'Shawn Hand and Christian Miller have Alabama on the right path in 2014.
In the short-term, Alabama simply elevated its importance on the practice fields. Rather than simply running through "fastball" defense on weeks in which it faced an uptempo team, Alabama essentially made it a daily fixture. It became such a constant that Alabama considered its preparations for Arkansas, which runs a traditional run-heavy offense, to be a major adjustment.
The positive effects haven't just been felt by the defense, which Saban said has "responded better" to uptempo offenses in 2013. The members of Alabama's offense who have helped the defense play better when it's forced to adjust on the fly have picked up a thing or two from practicing it so much.
"Even though they're showing us a look of what a lot of teams do, they're getting themselves better, too, especially the O-line because they're big guys and have to get lined up, too," linebacker C.J. Mosley said. "It's practice for both of us. We've been doing it all summer and all the way in the spring and it's showing good looks for us."
Alabama's rarely picked up the pace in a 2013 season where it's once again preferred to milk the clock for lengthy, back-breaking possessions to wear down opposing defenses the old fashioned way. The Crimson Tide ranks 18th in the nation in average time of possession (32:22) and averages a little more than 63 plays per game. Auburn averages 71.
Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron said he asked Saban if the offense could test out its two-minute package during Saturday's rout of Chattanooga. He said Saban agreed, but the situation never presented itself.
"I think we play our best as an offense when we're fast paced," McCarron said. "I just personally think we play better when we go fast-paced."
When Saban admitted that Alabama might kick up its offensive pace some time in the near future, he followed with a few lingering reservations.
"Who still wins the championships relative to what they do? And can you really play good defense if you have that kind of offense?" he asked. "How does it affect your overall program in terms of developing players?"
For now, the hurry-up, no-huddle version of Alabama's offense primarily remains behind the closed gates of the Thomas-Drew Practice Facility. For how long is up to Saban.
"Even though we don't choose to do it as a team that much, I think we are capable to do it if we wanted or needed to," Saban said. "It has been our approach, how we practice, how our offense practices against us. All those things have helped.
"I think our offense could go out and do that same thing."
