They won't be.
Run the ball more effectively? I've heard that. Run the ball more? I've not seen, or heard, anything that suggests that's the direction they are going.
Is there any portion of Saban's offense that doesn't feature the backs?
🏈 🏈 FALL CAMP 2019 🏈 Tide preps for season opener
- Thread starter TerryP
- Start date
Run the ball more effectively? I've heard that. Run the ball more? I've not seen, or heard, anything that suggests that's the direction they are going.
Is there any portion of Saban's offense that doesn't feature the backs?
50+yeartidefan
Member
Not just a running but Najee. Special back
Tidestalker
Member
More Ball control = Better for defensive marathon....
At the same time, getting a quick lead is going to make for a mean pass rush. And I would be shocked if we didn't have a significantly better pass rush this season
Somewhere there's a sweet spot. RTR
By that I meant running the ball.
Passing the football out of multiple sets is a given. Running the football out of 10 personnel is also doable. The question is how do they want to get there from here? More play-action? More under center? Are we attacking teams out of the Pistol? We seem to be going to a full progression read offense. Tua often discusses that as well. So, is being a more physical team back in the recipe? Are we going to try and control the LOS more and control time of possession? In short, make their azz quit.
At the end of the year, there were 3 games that really went wrong for Alabama for some of the reasons I mentioned above, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Clemson. Superior talent and Jalen Hurts still being here we won 2 of the 3 anyway.
I think/fear/suspect you're judging Sark on ATL which, in my view, has no bearing on what he'll do at Bama. A more accurate representation would be his time as OC at USC.
Like you, I'm trying to wrap my head around where people are getting the notion Bama will be running the ball more this season. 60% of the time running is still what a lot would consider an imbalanced offense and that's exactly what we saw last season.
B
Bama News
BamaInsider - Alabama Crimson Tide practice observations
Alabama Crimson Tide practice observations
alabama.rivals.com
— The most realistic scenario is that Markail Benton and Jaylen Moody move up in the rotation. Benton got on the field some last year and is coming around, Moses had some positive things to say about him during SEC Media Days and Moody seems to be a rising star and we can’t forget about Ale Kaho who also continues to look good at practice.
If quality depth does become an issue for Pete Golding at the inside linebacker position, would Golding move any of the outside linebackers over? Chris Allen or… Ben Davis?
— I was able to watch a good bit of the offensive line yesterday and am just really impressed with Emil Ekiyor. Yesterday, as our team writer Tony Tsoukalas said in his report Ekiyor moved to the center position and I like this call from Kyle Flood.
— Starting out with the inside linebackers, I’m curious to see which linebacker rises up to get playing time alongside Dylan Moses with Joshua McMillon now out of the season. Shane Leeat 6-foot-0, 246 pounds looks the part, but he’s just a freshman. We’ve talked about his physic before, but what do we know about his on the field play? Well for starters, we know he arrived early and looked very good in spring and had an interception during A-Day, where it looked like he could play fullback.
B
Bama News
Alabama practice report: Notes on injured players
Alabama was back indoors Tuesday with temperatures in triple digits.
With a heat advisory in Tuscaloosa, it made sense that Alabama went indoors for its Tuesday afternoon practice. The feels-like temperature at 3:15 p.m. CT was 111 degrees.
A few notes from what we observed in the media viewing period:
-- Offensive lineman Matt Womack was back working in the drills after being spotted off to the side in the last few practices. He was working beside first-team right tackle Jedrick Wills.
-- The first wave of offensive lineman had Emil Ekiyor Jr., at center and Evan Neal at left guard next to Alex Leatherwood.
-- Freshman OL Pierce Quick was spotted in the hallway wearing a walking boot and was not on the field.
-- Tackle Tommy Brown, who was on the receiving end of Terrell Lewis’ first pass rush attempt Saturday, is totally fine. He was working as the second-team right tackle with FSU grad transfer Landon Dickerson next to him at guard. Dickerson had been running with the first group when Womack was injured.
-- It was difficult to see the defensive line but DJ Dale was again not spotted as he works back from a minor knee injury.
-- Chadarius Townsend was again working with the running backs. It’s safe to assume he’ll be there for the foreseeable future after Trey Sanders’ foot injury.
-- Radio announcer Eli Gold was watching the action from the sideline. From a brief conversation, it sounds like fellow broadcaster Chris Stewart is doing well after having bypass surgery Monday.
-- It’s also worth noting there’s a new field turf surface in the indoor practice facility this year. The new stuff looks considerably sturdier than that last batch, which is important in the injury prevention battle.
NickelDoubleDog
Member
NickelDoubleDog
Member
planomateo
Member
- Coach Nick Saban said four starters in the team's front seven didn't scrimmage today.
- Alabama played the first 55 plays of today's scrimmage like an actual game.
- Saban post-scrimmage: “Not where we want to be. Too many missed tackles. Not aggressive enough.::Too many turnovers.”
- "We had a significant number of guys who made strides ... but not where we want to be. I think we're still missing too many tackles on defense."
- We were better in this game, not as much anxiety,
- Mac (Jones) is way ahead of the other guys (at QB). (a few turnovers from him today)
- RB Jerome Ford suffered an injured ankle during today's scrimmage but should be back in about a week.
- they held a significant number of players out of the scrimmage, including four potential starters on the defensive front
- "Raekwon Davis has developed into a much better inside pass rusher and we want LaBryan Ray to get better as an inside pass rusher."
- "We've got some guys that certainly need to develop, but I think they have some opportunity to do that."
- Saban confirmed freshman Christian Harris got the start at Will linebacker today. (FWIW, that means the two guys starting inside at linebacker today were both from University Lab, Baton Rouge.)
- Saban on freshman LB Christian Harris who played with the first-team defense today: "He's a guy who made plays throughout fall camp."
- Saban: "Nobody's 100 percent. You gotta learn to give 100 percent of what you got."
- ... more coming from the presser
BamaFan334
Member
Pretty much...rolled it.
18Champs
Member
Nick Saban reviews scrimmage #2
The Tide held its second scrimmage of camp on Saturday at Bryant Denny Stadium. The scrimmage was closed to the media. Stats from the scrimmage were not released. Here are some of Coach Saban's post-scrimmage comments.
Opening comments
The first thing you ask is, the thing I asked the players after the last scrimmage and challenged them to do is, how much will you improve from the last scrimmage to this scrimmage? So that's going to happen by what you invest, what you commit to doing every day in practice so that you're focused on what's happening right now so that you can make that improvement. So I would say we had a significant number of guys that made strides. We were better in this (scrimmage). A lot less anxiety, especially for the young players. But not where we want to be. I think we're still not tackling well on defense. Too many missed tackles. Too many guys breaking down. Not aggressive enough. Give up a few too many big plays. On offense, last week we were really good in terms of turnovers and taking care of the ball. Today, we had the ball on the ground more than we'd like. Threw a couple of picks. We've got to do a better job of taking care of the ball. When you're playing against each other, if this guy is doing good and that guy playing against him, who is still on your team, may not be doing so good. So it really is hard to evaluate the over;all consistency in performance until you watch the film.
The scrimmage format today was a little bit different. We played the first 55 or 56 plays exactly like a game. Had the headsets . Had the coaches that's going to be in the box in the box. Had coaches that's going to be on the sideline on the sideline. Used communication for offense, defense, special teams. The first offense played against the second defense. First team defense played against the second offense. Then we did some situational stuff, which is good on good, which I think is a little more challenging to the players, especially when you have a significant number of players which were either held out of the scrimmage or were injured and didn't want to take a risk. For example, I think four guys in the front seven on defense didn't scrimmage today that we would consider starters. Then we limited the reps of some other guys. So it's great for the experience and development of those younger guys to be able to get in those situations. But it's also not totally realistic to see how that unit is developing. Same thing on the offensive line. We had a couple of guys out today in the offensive line. Some of them we held out. We held out (tight end) Miller Forristall. He's been practicing. We held out (outside linebacker) Terrell Lewis. He's been practicing. We started a freshman linebacker (Christian Harris) out there in Josh McMillon's place. So it's a work in progress. Our focus is still on improvement.
We still have several practices where we can make improvement before we start on preparation for the Duke game, which is the first game of the year, which is really important. The schedule is, we're giving the players tomorrow off completely. We will practice Monday night. We'll be back with one-a-days with school starting on Wednesday with one practice every afternoon.
(Running back) Jerome Ford is probably the only guy that got any kind of injury today. I would say he may be out a week. He got an ankle sprain. We don't think it's all that bad. Doc thinks it'll be a week. Did an MRI on it and thinks he's ok. DJ Dale will be back to practice. He's already practiced some. We didn't let him scrimmage today. LaBryan Ray has already practiced. We didn't let him scrimmage today. Matt Womack has been practicing. We didn't let him scrimmage today. We're trying to get our team sort of healthy. I think now with school starting we'll be able to get some of these guys back.
On changing the scrimmage format to avoid injuries
I just told you a half a dozen guys we didn't scrimmage today. We limited other guys' reps. Yes, we do. The question to me is, they practice a lot less in the NFL than they used to and they have just as many or more injuries. So how relative is all that? If you're going to play football, you're going to have to practice a certain way so that you don't get injured. Player safety is the number one thing we're always concerned about in terms of the way we practice and the things we do with our players. That's the number one thing. I don't think football is a dangerous game, but you have to do it correctly.
On Tua's performance today and if there is any separation between the backup QBs
Mac (Jones) is way ahead of the other guys. He's been here in the program for a couple of years. He knows the offense. He's really smart. He makes good decisions for the most part. The big thing we've been trying to get him to do is when he doesn't make a good play, don't hang on to it. Go to the next play. He's done a good job of that. He's been very productive in both scrimmages that we've had. He got some opportunities today. He got some (last scrimmage). We're happy with Tua's performance to this point. I think, offensively, we're good. We have more guys that have more experience. The only position we don't have experience at is tight end. Every other position you point to there's guys that have a significant amount of playing time, whether they were starters or not. Defense, we've got a lot more younger guys that have to grow up and learn how to play. We like these guys. I think they're going to develop and be able to contribute to our team. I think it's going to be really important to the success of our team that they do that.
On Christian Harris running with the ones at ILB
He did a good job. I'd like to watch the film. He's a football player. It's important to him. He runs and hits people. Is he where he needs to be in terms of what to do, how to do it, why it's important to do it that way? But when we've had guys like this in the past, whether it was CJ Mosley, Dont'a Hightoer playing as a freshman, Rolando McClain playing as a freshman, we just put them in there and played them and they had to get some on-the-job training. There's still competition at that position, but he's a guy that's made plays throughout fall camp so far that we hope will be able to continue to improve and develop and play like a starter.
On what Coach Saban seen in camp from the pass rush
The guys that can get after the quarterback didn't play today. 33 (Anfernee Jennings) has been a good pass rusher. 24 (Terrell Lewis) has been a good pass rusher. 99 (Raekwon Davis) has developed into a much better inside pass rusher. We want LaBryan Ray to develop as an inside pass rusher. He hasn't been out there enough to really evaluate that circumstance. Chris Allen can rush a little bit off the edge. I think King (Mwikuta), as a freshman, has the ability to rush. So we've got some guys to develop, but they have some opportunity to be able to do that.
On the performance of the tight ends today
Some good. Some bad. I don't think we're where we need to be at that position, but those guys are all working hard. It's important to them. They're making progress. They're all improving. They're making progress. That's all we can ask of them.
On Tua when he's under center
Look, he's a good quarterback. He makes good decisions when he's in the gun. He makes good decisions when he's under center. I think having a combination of those two things is probably a good thing. I think we have a little more diversity in the passing game than we had in the past, which is probably a good thing. And I certainly think we have more ways to utilize the skill players that we have, which is probably a good thing. I think he's comfortable with what's he's doing right now, whether it's under center or in the gun. I think the key to the drill in the Red Zone is that you've got to be able to run the ball. If you can't run the ball in the red area where the field shrinks, it gets really hard to throw it down there. The windows get small. You've got to get rid of the ball more quickly, make quicker decisions. Everything closes up faster. When you can run the ball and create favorable down and distances, you've got a better chance to keep defenses off balance. That's one area we want to improve in on both sides of the ball is red area efficiency.
The Tide held its second scrimmage of camp on Saturday at Bryant Denny Stadium. The scrimmage was closed to the media. Stats from the scrimmage were not released. Here are some of Coach Saban's post-scrimmage comments.
Opening comments
The first thing you ask is, the thing I asked the players after the last scrimmage and challenged them to do is, how much will you improve from the last scrimmage to this scrimmage? So that's going to happen by what you invest, what you commit to doing every day in practice so that you're focused on what's happening right now so that you can make that improvement. So I would say we had a significant number of guys that made strides. We were better in this (scrimmage). A lot less anxiety, especially for the young players. But not where we want to be. I think we're still not tackling well on defense. Too many missed tackles. Too many guys breaking down. Not aggressive enough. Give up a few too many big plays. On offense, last week we were really good in terms of turnovers and taking care of the ball. Today, we had the ball on the ground more than we'd like. Threw a couple of picks. We've got to do a better job of taking care of the ball. When you're playing against each other, if this guy is doing good and that guy playing against him, who is still on your team, may not be doing so good. So it really is hard to evaluate the over;all consistency in performance until you watch the film.
The scrimmage format today was a little bit different. We played the first 55 or 56 plays exactly like a game. Had the headsets . Had the coaches that's going to be in the box in the box. Had coaches that's going to be on the sideline on the sideline. Used communication for offense, defense, special teams. The first offense played against the second defense. First team defense played against the second offense. Then we did some situational stuff, which is good on good, which I think is a little more challenging to the players, especially when you have a significant number of players which were either held out of the scrimmage or were injured and didn't want to take a risk. For example, I think four guys in the front seven on defense didn't scrimmage today that we would consider starters. Then we limited the reps of some other guys. So it's great for the experience and development of those younger guys to be able to get in those situations. But it's also not totally realistic to see how that unit is developing. Same thing on the offensive line. We had a couple of guys out today in the offensive line. Some of them we held out. We held out (tight end) Miller Forristall. He's been practicing. We held out (outside linebacker) Terrell Lewis. He's been practicing. We started a freshman linebacker (Christian Harris) out there in Josh McMillon's place. So it's a work in progress. Our focus is still on improvement.
We still have several practices where we can make improvement before we start on preparation for the Duke game, which is the first game of the year, which is really important. The schedule is, we're giving the players tomorrow off completely. We will practice Monday night. We'll be back with one-a-days with school starting on Wednesday with one practice every afternoon.
(Running back) Jerome Ford is probably the only guy that got any kind of injury today. I would say he may be out a week. He got an ankle sprain. We don't think it's all that bad. Doc thinks it'll be a week. Did an MRI on it and thinks he's ok. DJ Dale will be back to practice. He's already practiced some. We didn't let him scrimmage today. LaBryan Ray has already practiced. We didn't let him scrimmage today. Matt Womack has been practicing. We didn't let him scrimmage today. We're trying to get our team sort of healthy. I think now with school starting we'll be able to get some of these guys back.
On changing the scrimmage format to avoid injuries
I just told you a half a dozen guys we didn't scrimmage today. We limited other guys' reps. Yes, we do. The question to me is, they practice a lot less in the NFL than they used to and they have just as many or more injuries. So how relative is all that? If you're going to play football, you're going to have to practice a certain way so that you don't get injured. Player safety is the number one thing we're always concerned about in terms of the way we practice and the things we do with our players. That's the number one thing. I don't think football is a dangerous game, but you have to do it correctly.
On Tua's performance today and if there is any separation between the backup QBs
Mac (Jones) is way ahead of the other guys. He's been here in the program for a couple of years. He knows the offense. He's really smart. He makes good decisions for the most part. The big thing we've been trying to get him to do is when he doesn't make a good play, don't hang on to it. Go to the next play. He's done a good job of that. He's been very productive in both scrimmages that we've had. He got some opportunities today. He got some (last scrimmage). We're happy with Tua's performance to this point. I think, offensively, we're good. We have more guys that have more experience. The only position we don't have experience at is tight end. Every other position you point to there's guys that have a significant amount of playing time, whether they were starters or not. Defense, we've got a lot more younger guys that have to grow up and learn how to play. We like these guys. I think they're going to develop and be able to contribute to our team. I think it's going to be really important to the success of our team that they do that.
On Christian Harris running with the ones at ILB
He did a good job. I'd like to watch the film. He's a football player. It's important to him. He runs and hits people. Is he where he needs to be in terms of what to do, how to do it, why it's important to do it that way? But when we've had guys like this in the past, whether it was CJ Mosley, Dont'a Hightoer playing as a freshman, Rolando McClain playing as a freshman, we just put them in there and played them and they had to get some on-the-job training. There's still competition at that position, but he's a guy that's made plays throughout fall camp so far that we hope will be able to continue to improve and develop and play like a starter.
On what Coach Saban seen in camp from the pass rush
The guys that can get after the quarterback didn't play today. 33 (Anfernee Jennings) has been a good pass rusher. 24 (Terrell Lewis) has been a good pass rusher. 99 (Raekwon Davis) has developed into a much better inside pass rusher. We want LaBryan Ray to develop as an inside pass rusher. He hasn't been out there enough to really evaluate that circumstance. Chris Allen can rush a little bit off the edge. I think King (Mwikuta), as a freshman, has the ability to rush. So we've got some guys to develop, but they have some opportunity to be able to do that.
On the performance of the tight ends today
Some good. Some bad. I don't think we're where we need to be at that position, but those guys are all working hard. It's important to them. They're making progress. They're all improving. They're making progress. That's all we can ask of them.
On Tua when he's under center
Look, he's a good quarterback. He makes good decisions when he's in the gun. He makes good decisions when he's under center. I think having a combination of those two things is probably a good thing. I think we have a little more diversity in the passing game than we had in the past, which is probably a good thing. And I certainly think we have more ways to utilize the skill players that we have, which is probably a good thing. I think he's comfortable with what's he's doing right now, whether it's under center or in the gun. I think the key to the drill in the Red Zone is that you've got to be able to run the ball. If you can't run the ball in the red area where the field shrinks, it gets really hard to throw it down there. The windows get small. You've got to get rid of the ball more quickly, make quicker decisions. Everything closes up faster. When you can run the ball and create favorable down and distances, you've got a better chance to keep defenses off balance. That's one area we want to improve in on both sides of the ball is red area efficiency.
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