🏈 A look at Offensive statistics 2008 through 2014

[Bamabww]

Offensively..... I think we have gotten away from our formula too much the past couple of seasons. It could be by design or necessity but either way I think the stats bear it out.

It is easy to look at overall raw numbers. And it is easy to let the Blake Sims scrambles skew this year's rushing stats. But what I did was go back and add up the total number of offensive plays versus the number of carries our top 2 RBs have received in each season. The stats are very interesting to me.

The three seasons which have produced the most frustration for Tide fans coincidentally coincide with our top 2 RBs receiving the lowest percentage of carries relative to overall offensive plays ran.

2008 - 41.69%
2009 - 43.93%
2010 - 32.57%
2011 - 43.7%
2012 - 42.2%
2013 - 40.6%
2014 - 35.9%

Furthermore, the three seasons which saw our top 2 RBs receive the highest percentage of carries all produced BCS titles. I think it is probably no coincidence that those are statistically the best three defenses produced by Saban at Bama. This season for example, we ran more offensive plays than we have ever ran at Alabama. However, without looking it up I can almost guarantee you this defense probably gave up more yards per game than any defense under Saban during this timeframe. Even with the increased number of offensive plays I don't think we had the time of possession advantage that we had in previous years. Again, I have not taken the time to look that up.

But just looking at these stats I'd surmise if we want to win titles we have to be able to turn around and hand it off to our top 2 RB options at least 42% of the total offensive snaps.

Worthy of note: the two seasons with the lowest percentages of carries for our top 2 RBs was in part due to injury but I believe even more it was the mindset that we didn't feel we could run the ball as physically as we have in the past.

I don't care about # of snaps or tempo. I care about being physical. If we want to win championships we have to be the most physical football team on the field. We weren't this year in more games than I can recall in any season since Saban has been here.

https://alabama.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=427&tid=208943544&mid=208943544&sid=885&style=2

 

[bamaupsman]

A lot of the problems we've had with the running game these past 2 seasons had a lot to do with Drake. In '13 he was in the doghouse and prone to put the ball on the ground. This year he gets hurt. I think if he had been healthy this season, we could have done better, and we didn't do bad. I think he could have made a difference.

 

[mrchase]

Not having Yeldon at 100% against Ohio State was a major factor..... Take nothing away from the performance of Henry, but since Saban has been here the running game has been a 2 headed monster. 2 different backs with two different running styles. In my option Yeldon hits the hole a lot quicker than Henry.

 

[We All Bleed Crimson]

Yeldon wasn't 100%, but Henry was over 7 ypc and only handled it 13 times. (If I remember correctly.)
That still bothers me....

 

[psychojoe]

Interesting stat. The years are really pretty close to each other, as such things go, except for 2010 and 2014.

In 2010 we had Mark Ingram dealing with a lot of nagging injuries and thus getting fewer snap. A better comparison might be the total number of running plays versus total offensive plays. In 2010, Besides Ingram and Richardson we used Eddie Lacy, Jalston Fowler and Demetrius Goode as running backs, and Eddie got a significant number of carries as I recall. In 2014 the number of carries for 1 and 2 were down again, but once more this seems to be due to injury issues rather than a change in approach. I say this even though I am definitely in the camp of those who thought we should have battered OSU with Henry until they stopped him.

This set of stats seems to be one which was put together to make a particular point.

 

[mrchase]

That's what I wanted to see....just like against UGA in the SEC championship game

 

[Bamabww]

This set of stats seems to be one which was put together to make a particular point.

Yeah, he was also in the camp of we should have run the ball more and used these stats to "prove" we do better when we run the ball. And at this point in time, easily proved with the benefit of hindsight. I'm in the camp that believes when it's working, whatever it is, keep doing it until it ain't working anymore.

 

[psychojoe]

I went back and dug through the stats for 2008-2014 from the perspective of how many runs versus how many passes.

percentage of runs to total plays per year, excluding kicks-

1. 2008 - 61.7
2. 2009 - 63.5
3. 2010- 56.3
4. 2011- 58.7
5. 2012- 68.4
6. 2013- 55.3
7. 2014 56.1

Assuming 70 offensive plays for games that are runs or passes,

our heaviest percentage of runs, 2012, we would run the ball about 48 plays per game, while 2013, the low year, resulted in about 39 runs per game. The great 2012 team would run the ball 9 times more per game than the 2013 team, around 20 percent more per game. Yet 2013, in spite of the disappointing way that it ended, was a few false starts and a 'kick six' away from playing for the NC again

I love for us to pound the running game behind an offensive line composed of future NFL starters, but you have to play to the skills of the players that you have. The only way that I will agree with the premise of the writer of the Rivals article is that I believe that we should have run the ball more, specifically with Henry, against Ohio State.

 

[UAgrad93]

I thought Henry should have been saddled up and ridden ALOT more. OSU was struggling with Henry, specifically running to the left. He had 2 runs of 20+ and we only ran him that direction 6 more times. 13 carries and the kid wasn't lathered up yet! I feel that we should play to our skill set as well, but OSU was taking the quick screens away to Cooper and White. Yeldon was limited but Henry and Jones should've gotten more totes!

 

[It Takes Eleven]

Offensively..... I think we have gotten away from our formula too much the past couple of seasons. It could be by design or necessity but either way I think the stats bear it out.

It is easy to look at overall raw numbers. And it is easy to let the Blake Sims scrambles skew this year's rushing stats. But what I did was go back and add up the total number of offensive plays versus the number of carries our top 2 RBs have received in each season. The stats are very interesting to me.

The three seasons which have produced the most frustration for Tide fans coincidentally coincide with our top 2 RBs receiving the lowest percentage of carries relative to overall offensive plays ran.

2008 - 41.69%
2009 - 43.93%
2010 - 32.57%
2011 - 43.7%
2012 - 42.2%
2013 - 40.6%
2014 - 35.9%

Furthermore, the three seasons which saw our top 2 RBs receive the highest percentage of carries all produced BCS titles. I think it is probably no coincidence that those are statistically the best three defenses produced by Saban at Bama. This season for example, we ran more offensive plays than we have ever ran at Alabama. However, without looking it up I can almost guarantee you this defense probably gave up more yards per game than any defense under Saban during this timeframe. Even with the increased number of offensive plays I don't think we had the time of possession advantage that we had in previous years. Again, I have not taken the time to look that up.

But just looking at these stats I'd surmise if we want to win titles we have to be able to turn around and hand it off to our top 2 RB options at least 42% of the total offensive snaps.

Worthy of note: the two seasons with the lowest percentages of carries for our top 2 RBs was in part due to injury but I believe even more it was the mindset that we didn't feel we could run the ball as physically as we have in the past.

I don't care about # of snaps or tempo. I care about being physical. If we want to win championships we have to be the most physical football team on the field. We weren't this year in more games than I can recall in any season since Saban has been here.

https://alabama.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=427&tid=208943544&mid=208943544&sid=885&style=2

Good stuff. I believe some of this relates to the number of games we played from behind and having to pass a little more, along with your previously noted injury issue. Yeldon had no carries against WCU, and just 7 and 9 against So. Miss and Arkansas. Henry had single digit carries against FAU (5), Arkansas (7), LSU (8) and aubrun (5). Sims took a portion of the carries, too. His 350 or so yards (net) rushing (around 475 positive) is the most of a Bama QB in some time, perhaps since Tyler Watts in 2001.

RTR,

Tim