🏈 Bama Defense Is Still Great

[Crtuneman]

They played their hearts out tonight. They were on the field a lot and they were totally gassed, but they never quit. And it took an elite QB to beat this defense, and Deshaun Watson is an elite QB. He runs hard, has great escapability, threw pinpoint passes. He was every bit as good tonight as Cam or Manziel or RG3. But Bama's defense stayed with it. I'm proud of how they played against an extremely talented QB.

 

[Crtuneman]

Just checked the box score. Clemson ran 85 plays. Dabo Swinney (or his OC) called a great game.

 

[T&B]

Watson was amazing. I mean unbelievably good.

 

[BamaFan334]

I owe Watson and Clemson an apology as they shut me up and proved they were every bit of the #1 team they were. Play that game ten times and I say they win 4, maybe 5.

 

[Tidestalker]

Great defense for sure, but will not be remembered the same as the 2011 one is IMO. Granted Clemson has a really nice QB and offense, but they did get exposed to a certain extent... Especially that last drive. Still the best in the Nation this year tho... RTR

 

[Crtuneman]

Great defense for sure, but will not be remembered the same as the 2011 one is IMO. Granted Clemson has a really nice QB and offense, but they did get exposed to a certain extent... Especially that last drive. Still the best in the Nation this year tho... RTR

Not sure how the Clemson offense got exposed. They ran up 550 yds of offense against the number one defense in the country. And Watson was not throwing to wide open receivers. They were covered well. Also, Bama got pressure on him starting in the second half. Watson got hit numerous times and he got back up and kept balling. That was a Heisman performance there.

 

[RollTideRandy]

Play that game ten times and I say they win 4, maybe 5.

You really think they would fall for that on-side kick four or five more times? :headscratch:

 

[Tidestalker]

Not sure how the Clemson offense got exposed. They ran up 550 yds of offense against the number one defense in the country. And Watson was not throwing to wide open receivers. They were covered well. Also, Bama got pressure on him starting in the second half. Watson got hit numerous times and he got back up and kept balling. That was a Heisman performance there.

I must not have typed it clearly enough... OUR DEFENSE got exposed... Which is why this group won't be quite as fondly remembered as 2011 in my opinion

 

[JoshB]

I must not have typed it clearly enough... OUR DEFENSE got exposed... Which is why this group won't be quite as fondly remembered as 2011 in my opinion

Go away.

 

[Tidestalker]

Go away.

When you feel like stating an opinion and backing it up, like a big boy, I'll be here.

Giving up 40 while the head coach has to onside kick after a score to keep you off the field is a pretty good sign you're not that dominant.

 

[Crtuneman]

In an era where all the rules are geared toward protecting the offense; against an elite QB who had the game of his life; when nearly every team is running the ridiculous hurry up offense; when the defense came into the game ranked number one in nearly every category; I say this defense compares very favorably with the 92 and 2011 teams. The 2011 defense was great and deserves all of their accolades, but they never played a QB like Cam, Manziel, or Watson.

 

[PCRammer]

3rd stringers and 2nd team played huge last night. Hand, Evans, Pettway were awesome considering the starters were having trouble containing DW.

 

[jdpas29]

Pettway had a great game. Bama's offense had an average outing... much like an early game in the season with the exception of the use of OJ which was exciting to watch.

I had just told my friend that the way Clemson was playing us on D screamed that we should be passing to OJ and then he took over.

 

[Crtuneman]

Pettway had a great game. Bama's offense had an average outing... much like an early game in the season with the exception of the use of OJ which was exciting to watch.

I had just told my friend that the way Clemson was playing us on D screamed that we should be passing to OJ and then he took over.

Good call. Glad coach listened to you.

 

[ComeOnSon]

When you feel like stating an opinion and backing it up, like a big boy, I'll be here.

Giving up 40 while the head coach has to onside kick after a score to keep you off the field is a pretty good sign you're not that dominant.

I don't know how you can argue that the defense didn't get brought down to earth. They couldn't get off the field and I give Watson a ton of credit but some of the plays/throws he made should have been stopped/better defended. The second half was the worst tackling we've seen from the group all year. I think after they went up 38-24 they expected Clemson to pack it in like so many teams before and when it didn't happen it put them on their heels. Both Saban and Kirby acknowledged a less than stellar performance on defense. All of that said... there were some big plays (Harrison strip in the end zone, etc.) and they gutted it out. Roll Tide.

 

[ComeOnSon]

Just reread my previous post. I'm agreeing with TideStalker. Poorly written response on my part.

 

[We All Bleed Crimson]

Bottom line... We took their best shot and survived.

 

[Bammerboy321]

I about ripped all my hair out last night because of Watson and that #13. That kid is absolutely insane last night. Very Vince Young-esque. Kudos to Clemson and their team.

 

[JoshB]

When you feel like stating an opinion and backing it up, like a big boy, I'll be here.

Giving up 40 while the head coach has to onside kick after a score to keep you off the field is a pretty good sign you're not that dominant.

It happens, Clemson had their number for a number of reasons. #1 Deshaun Watson is a beast and is by far the best QB in the country. Second Foster struggled bad trying to "spy" him, Rashaan Evans played a hell of a lot better in that role. A lot of the game seemed like they were more worried about letting big plays get behind the defense and it worked in the sense of Clemson wasn't able to hit the big bombs down the field, but the 20+ yard plays killed the defense. They had us on our heels most of the night and it seemed like we weren't aggressive in the pass rush, likely trying to keep from getting hurt worse with Watson scrambles, but that hampered the defense even more as it put even more pressure on the secondary and linebackers to not only drop back in coverage but when Watson scrambles go corral him. Even with the yardage and the score they still forced Clemson to punt seven times and Eddie had the HUGE turnover.

So you can call it being "exposed" and try to diminish what the defense accomplished during the season and how good the defense truly is/was, but it is just another bullshit knee jerk reaction we see the media throw out there constantly. There were many times this year that the defense bailed the offense out and against Clemson the offense, defense, and special teams all had to come up big at different times to win. Thats why it is called a TEAM game tho... one of the many reasons Im proud as hell of this team.

 

[Tidestalker]

It happens, Clemson had their number for a number of reasons. #1 Deshaun Watson is a beast and is by far the best QB in the country. Second Foster struggled bad trying to "spy" him, Rashaan Evans played a hell of a lot better in that role. A lot of the game seemed like they were more worried about letting big plays get behind the defense and it worked in the sense of Clemson wasn't able to hit the big bombs down the field, but the 20+ yard plays killed the defense. They had us on our heels most of the night and it seemed like we weren't aggressive in the pass rush, likely trying to keep from getting hurt worse with Watson scrambles, but that hampered the defense even more as it put even more pressure on the secondary and linebackers to not only drop back in coverage but when Watson scrambles go corral him. Even with the yardage and the score they still forced Clemson to punt seven times and Eddie had the HUGE turnover.

So you can call it being "exposed" and try to diminish what the defense accomplished during the season and how good the defense truly is/was, but it is just another bullshit knee jerk reaction we see the media throw out there constantly. There were many times this year that the defense bailed the offense out and against Clemson the offense, defense, and special teams all had to come up big at different times to win. Thats why it is called a TEAM game tho... one of the many reasons Im proud as hell of this team.

I agree with all of that.... We just have different bottom lines.

You however are the one with the knee jerk reaction. In my first post I said this was a great defense. A great defense that happened to have a really bad game that exposed weaknesses. Do you disagree with that?

Pass rush wasn't getting there, the CB's (Minkah Fitz in particular) were giving up big plays, and generally couldn't contain the QB from scrambling... So what exactly did they do well? Aside from the nice INT by Eddie, not much at all.

You touched on it, but the scheme was off. Not having Evans on the field more was crazy. He was the only LB that could keep up with Watson and it wasn't close. The late blitzes were completely picked apart by Watson... He could see them coming from a mile away. Those calls almost always ended up in big plays for Clemson.

I think 2011 defense was the best I've ever seen at Alabama. No question the Clemson QB is special... But he had his way with these guys. So IMO, the 2011 D will go down as a better D which statistics will back up.

I can respect that you took the time to state an actual well thought out opinion. This is much more valuable for everyone than your previous comment.