If you've followed people talking about this game over the last several monthsāI know, :lance:āI'm sure you've noticed the same thing I have.
I've seen breakdowns of how the Bama defense will handle the Michigan offense. And, on the flip side, I've seen how the Alabama offense will attack the Michigan defense.
A few trends I've noticed.
When it comes to what the Alabama defense is going to do in this game, it's always a given. Alabama will, or the Tide has are phrases in every preview you see. The same can be said for the offense and what we'll see Saturday night.
There's one thing that jumped out to me the other day and I've looked for it specifically this entire week. I first noticed it on what I'd consider to be the most unusual place and immediately thought "why would you mention this when it has nothing to do with the subject at hand?"
The article, and I wish I could recall where it was located, was discussing how the Tide offense operates; tendency's, results, base sets, and other offensive related talking points. It wasn't the content of the article that caught my eye. It was the commentsāand that's something I ignore 99% of the time.
Most recently we saw the Michigan radio host talking about how boring Saban's offensive approach is and how he wins championships running the ball. In all the comments about the offense at Bama, I kept seeing this one common phrase.
If Denard.
I know. What the hell does Denard have to do with what we do on offense?
Understand. This isn't just limited to comments posted after readers finish commentaries. We've seen it here time and time again. If Denard can do this...if Denard can do that.
There's a HUGE part of those statements which has been missedāat least not mentioned.
#DenardCan't.
Is he a true threat running the ball? Sure. Has he connected on a few passes that resulted in big plays? Yes.
Everyone of those cautionary statements contain Denard being at the center of the play. Think about this for a minute. Have you seen any comments on what Michigan might do that didn't contain "If Denard?"
Half-heartedly people have mentioned "I'll be shocked if he makes it through the 3rd quarter." That statement makes me step back in time for just a few years.
Do you remember this phrase? "If Colt hadn't been hurt..."
Who knows how that game would have ended if Colt McCoy didn't get banged up early on in the 2009 BCSNC. But, the question isn't the correct question to ask. What needed to be asked was this.
"If the Texas staff hadn't made a decision to run an option type attack where Colt would be running and passing the ball, what might have happened?" His injury was a direct result of the game plan Texas brought into the game.
What points are Michigan hanging their hopes on? No, that's better said, "What point is Michigan hanging their hat on?"
Denard can not be the center of their game plan and be the focal point of their offense. He can not handle 40 or so plays that run directly through his talents.
He's just not built to take that kind of abuse.
He can't.
I've seen breakdowns of how the Bama defense will handle the Michigan offense. And, on the flip side, I've seen how the Alabama offense will attack the Michigan defense.
A few trends I've noticed.
When it comes to what the Alabama defense is going to do in this game, it's always a given. Alabama will, or the Tide has are phrases in every preview you see. The same can be said for the offense and what we'll see Saturday night.
There's one thing that jumped out to me the other day and I've looked for it specifically this entire week. I first noticed it on what I'd consider to be the most unusual place and immediately thought "why would you mention this when it has nothing to do with the subject at hand?"
The article, and I wish I could recall where it was located, was discussing how the Tide offense operates; tendency's, results, base sets, and other offensive related talking points. It wasn't the content of the article that caught my eye. It was the commentsāand that's something I ignore 99% of the time.
Most recently we saw the Michigan radio host talking about how boring Saban's offensive approach is and how he wins championships running the ball. In all the comments about the offense at Bama, I kept seeing this one common phrase.
If Denard.
I know. What the hell does Denard have to do with what we do on offense?
Understand. This isn't just limited to comments posted after readers finish commentaries. We've seen it here time and time again. If Denard can do this...if Denard can do that.
There's a HUGE part of those statements which has been missedāat least not mentioned.
#DenardCan't.
Is he a true threat running the ball? Sure. Has he connected on a few passes that resulted in big plays? Yes.
Everyone of those cautionary statements contain Denard being at the center of the play. Think about this for a minute. Have you seen any comments on what Michigan might do that didn't contain "If Denard?"
Half-heartedly people have mentioned "I'll be shocked if he makes it through the 3rd quarter." That statement makes me step back in time for just a few years.
Do you remember this phrase? "If Colt hadn't been hurt..."
Who knows how that game would have ended if Colt McCoy didn't get banged up early on in the 2009 BCSNC. But, the question isn't the correct question to ask. What needed to be asked was this.
"If the Texas staff hadn't made a decision to run an option type attack where Colt would be running and passing the ball, what might have happened?" His injury was a direct result of the game plan Texas brought into the game.
What points are Michigan hanging their hopes on? No, that's better said, "What point is Michigan hanging their hat on?"
Denard can not be the center of their game plan and be the focal point of their offense. He can not handle 40 or so plays that run directly through his talents.
He's just not built to take that kind of abuse.
He can't.
