So what is your opinion on āsecond string (and beyond) development?..We are going to have a āSwarmā defense.. That will mean the players will exhaust quickerā¦So what are they doing (other than good recruiting) to ensure our ānext men upā can be trusted..For years we depended too much on our starters.. When our starters went down the next man up was just grossly underpreparedā¦
The league has been allowed more players on the sidelines, during a season⦠So either a JV league is going to have to come⦠Or mandatory substitutions will have to be made during games.. theyāre gonna have to find a way to keep these players happy..
We will see a heavier rotation of players than we were used to seeing in the past under Saban... but both good and bad can come from that. There's a balance that has to be struck... where I see a more positive change taking place is we will likely see earlier subs in blowout wins... though I also caution that will lead to some fans fussing that the defense is giving up unnecessary points, especially from UA fans who have wagers on the games and find themselves on the wrong end of them come the 4th quarter. But, there's also a misconception IMO about some of the subbing that Saban's teams did on defense... there was always a pretty steady rotation along the D-Line... you have to have that. It was the off ball LB's and defensive backs that usually ate up big % numbers on the snap counts... that will change to a degree. But again, with it, will comes some mixed results at times⦠though in a lot of cases, itās worth it to get some guys more experience with in game reps.
Does this qualify as ābend-but-donāt-breakā? Iāve never really understood the details of that term, other than ākeeping the ball in front of you.ā
Yes, I DO think I am hearing ābend-but-donāt-break.ā
I wouldn't go that far, they aren't really purposely giving up underneath yardage, it's just the softest part of the defense. They'd rather give up an 11 play drive that results in a FG attempt from the 39, than a 3 play drive that results in a 68 yard post route for a TD.