🏈 Nick Saban explains thinking behind offensive play calls that frustrates some fans

  • Thread starter Thread starter Michael Casagrande |
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Perimeter runs are at the least, attempts at rushing the ball. We listen to this stuff every week. Saban is committed, I get it. When we had to watch the entire gameplan against W Kentucky as Jalen worked on his passing game, Saban dutifully tried to help Bama nation understand that they were loading the box and gee we couldn't run it. I laughed, thanks coach for the head's up. We come out against the barners and we are chunking again, showing that versatility and trying to outsmart the front four of the tigers. If the barners owned some semblance of an offense we also could have been looking at another ole miss start instead of watching the Daniel Carlson telethon. I would submit that the number of plays we are running and defensive fatigue that teams are experiencing has as much to do with this crazy good defense we keep showing up with as jet sweeps and bubble screens. When we keep turning the ball over, they just say no. When we keep punting the ball, 4 plays later we are back on offense.
 
Bama's offense reminds me of the blind squirrel finding so many nuts because the ground is covered with them. Unbelievable the number of opportunities they get to find points with all of the three and outs by their opponents.

Case in point. Auburn had the ball less than 20 minutes and ran 45 plays. Bama had the ball over 40 minutes and ran 81 plays.
 
Bama's offense reminds me of the blind squirrel finding so many nuts because the ground is covered with them. Unbelievable the number of opportunities they get to find points with all of the three and outs by their opponents.

Case in point. Auburn had the ball less than 20 minutes and ran 45 plays. Bama had the ball over 40 minutes and ran 81 plays.

To be fair, for about 10 minutes we were just running clock and not really trying to score... so that imbalanced the TOP a bit since au couldn't do anything to stop Bo.

Oh the perimeter plays, I was fine with them during the game and said it was the execution that was the issue. Looking at au Defensive alignments, they were 100% decided to not let the middle runs beat them, which was/is most likely their only real chance at winning... forcing the play to the perimeter. The difference was that we can and do have play makers on the perimeter too. The game plan for both teams was pretty obvious, and since the score didn't dictate a change in game plan... you saw the basic same principles for the entire game until we need to run clock and then just pounded up the middle with Bo.

I've actually been very happy with most of the play calling this year, except for the cup-cake with the FCS team before au... I don't understand running with you only QB against them and risking injury...
 
I can't understand for the life of me why some still argue this. We've seen it in most games for 2+ years when we face a decent DL. I don't know why people complain, we are on a 24 game streak and competing for our 3rd straight SEC title for fuck's sake. Everyone always thinks Saban chews ass at halftime and only then do we run the ball downhill. I think its been stated many many many times that this is the game plan. Wear down the lack of depth in the 1st half, pound them with HTWDH or Bo in the 2nd. WHY IS THIS STILL A TOPIC OF FRUSTRATION FOR SOME!
I wish Saban wouldn't address this anymore and for the "fans" that can't see the forest for the trees...well just let them be mad at LK, and Danielson/Verne.
 
To me, it's not so much the running wide and making them defend...I'm all for that. My frustration is: if you're recruiting studs at RB, why not let them run the wide plays as well. How many RB sweeps have been run this year compared to the jet sweeps. What's the avg yards per carry when the RBs run the sweep? I don't know the anwer myself...but it seems that when Bo and the others run the sweep, the yards are there.
 
To me, it's not so much the running wide and making them defend...I'm all for that. My frustration is: if you're recruiting studs at RB, why not let them run the wide plays as well. How many RB sweeps have been run this year compared to the jet sweeps. What's the avg yards per carry when the RBs run the sweep? I don't know the anwer myself...but it seems that when Bo and the others run the sweep, the yards are there.

Because on jet sweeps, screens, and tap passes, the sweeping WR is already in full sprint at the snap, giving an extra half a second or more. This stands a much greater chance for positive yardage than a RB receiving a handoff from a stand still.
 
OK, I can understand that concept. Could be I'm just too old to believe that a stud RB on a toss sweep can't make as much hay, on average, as a receiver...

Defenses are so much faster on the edges now that a toss sweep to a 220lb back will be swallowed up almost every single time. A WR at 195lbs and sprinting wide open on the snap has a better shot of hitting a crease.
 
Because on jet sweeps, screens, and tap passes, the sweeping WR is already in full sprint at the snap, giving an extra half a second or more. This stands a much greater chance for positive yardage than a RB receiving a handoff from a stand still.

Also, running a Jet Sweep forces to still defend the middle run with the RB until they figure out who has the ball. Running a RB sweep is pretty easy to tell who has the ball and where to defend. and most LB's will be able to cover it well... the Jet holds that LB for a second and that puts the WR on the edge with a DB or Safety that has to make the tackle. Unless, they are cheating the LB to the edge and then in that case your pop them up the gut on the Fly Motion...
 
Also, running a Jet Sweep forces to still defend the middle run with the RB until they figure out who has the ball. Running a RB sweep is pretty easy to tell who has the ball and where to defend. and most LB's will be able to cover it well... the Jet holds that LB for a second and that puts the WR on the edge with a DB or Safety that has to make the tackle. Unless, they are cheating the LB to the edge and then in that case your pop them up the gut on the Fly Motion...
Exactly
 
Yeah, consider me one of the frustrated majority. I understand the full head of steam from the receiver and the bubble routes, but how many times have those come close to turnovers, how many times have our backs been strung out, and how many missed blocks/good defensive plays kill our drives? I agree with some of the others that we have the backs to cram it down your throat without wearing them down on the perimeter. Derrick Henry showed us just last year we can do it 25-35 times a game and smoke folks. Sure, keeping the defense running sideline to sideline helped Henry as he outran and threw down gassed defenders, but I think Harris, Jacobs, and Scarborough are plenty enough to feed and continue drives. Hell, they're averaging almost 6 yards per carry EACH, and Hurts is 5.5! That's freaking amazing. I just don't see why we get away from it when we need a drive and we go three and out with a 1-2 yard jet sweep, bubble route, and an incompletion or so? Call me an idiot for not reading into this article more than I did, but that's just how I feel watching the games.
 
Yeah, consider me one of the frustrated majority. I understand the full head of steam from the receiver and the bubble routes, but how many times have those come close to turnovers, how many times have our backs been strung out, and how many missed blocks/good defensive plays kill our drives? I agree with some of the others that we have the backs to cram it down your throat without wearing them down on the perimeter. Derrick Henry showed us just last year we can do it 25-35 times a game and smoke folks. Sure, keeping the defense running sideline to sideline helped Henry as he outran and threw down gassed defenders, but I think Harris, Jacobs, and Scarborough are plenty enough to feed and continue drives. Hell, they're averaging almost 6 yards per carry EACH, and Hurts is 5.5! That's freaking amazing. I just don't see why we get away from it when we need a drive and we go three and out with a 1-2 yard jet sweep, bubble route, and an incompletion or so? Call me an idiot for not reading into this article more than I did, but that's just how I feel watching the games.

I played it in HS, walked on at Bama, coached HS for 15 years. It doesn't mean I don't get frustrated either.
 
Yeah, consider me one of the frustrated majority. I understand the full head of steam from the receiver and the bubble routes, but how many times have those come close to turnovers, how many times have our backs been strung out, and how many missed blocks/good defensive plays kill our drives? I agree with some of the others that we have the backs to cram it down your throat without wearing them down on the perimeter. Derrick Henry showed us just last year we can do it 25-35 times a game and smoke folks. Sure, keeping the defense running sideline to sideline helped Henry as he outran and threw down gassed defenders, but I think Harris, Jacobs, and Scarborough are plenty enough to feed and continue drives. Hell, they're averaging almost 6 yards per carry EACH, and Hurts is 5.5! That's freaking amazing. I just don't see why we get away from it when we need a drive and we go three and out with a 1-2 yard jet sweep, bubble route, and an incompletion or so? Call me an idiot for not reading into this article more than I did, but that's just how I feel watching the games.

We ran those tap passes a lot in the first half last year too, to loosen up the D.

Henry got most of his yardage in chunks in the 2nd half of most games last year
 
Defenses are so much faster on the edges now that a toss sweep to a 220lb back will be swallowed up almost every single time. A WR at 195lbs and sprinting wide open on the snap has a better shot of hitting a crease.
Like I said, I'm old...I kinda like the idea of not being a finesse offense. Could the speed possibly be countered with scheme. I know it's not a sexy offense anymore, but the Double wing sure did stress defenses back in the day. Not saying it would work, I'm just using that as an example. Any opinions?
 
Like I said, I'm old...I kinda like the idea of not being a finesse offense. Could the speed possibly be countered with scheme. I know it's not a sexy offense anymore, but the Double wing sure did stress defenses back in the day. Not saying it would work, I'm just using that as an example. Any opinions?


Double wing? Wow! That is old. LOL

I think many, myself included, do get frustrated because we do see the jet sweep and the quick passes to the side and complain loudly when they do not work well. I have to keep telling myself that every play is designed to score if all 11 players carry out their assignment. I do not see any team scoring every play, not just Bama.
 
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