Hope this article is not just
It does contain some stats that were interesting to me.
D.C. Reeves
TideSports.com Managing Editor
It seems backwards that in Game No. 14, Blake Sims would be reeled in from taking shots down the field. But whether by Ohio State's scheme, its defensive line's capability to bring pressure with just four lineman or a rough performance from Sims, Alabama had a dearth of deep shots in the passing game against the Buckeyes.
According to metrics compiled by TideSports.com, Sims' average pass attempt traveled 7.3 yards (in relation to the line of scrimmage) in the Sugar Bowl, which would rank 12th among Sims' 14 starts this season. But take out his two Hail Mary throws at the end of the game and that average plummets to 5.3 yards per attempt, which would be his lowest of the season.
"I was kind of anxious to see us take more shots down the field," Alabama coach Nick Saban said after the loss. "I don't think we, maybe, did that enough early in the game. And (Ohio State) did a nice job."
In raw terms, 25 of Sims' 36 pass attempts traveled six yards or less. Only four attempts went 15 yards or longer if you take away the two Hail Mary heaves.
Of Alabama's 13 pass attempts in the first half, one traveled 15 yards or more.
The numbers weren't much better when looking at where Alabama was completing passes downfield. Sims' average completion traveled only 4.3 yards; Just his start against Florida Atlantic in the second game of the year (2.3) was lower.
Understandably, Sims didn't stretch the field much in his first two starts as he settled into his first season as a starter, using short passes and screens to settle into games. But as the season progressed, Sims' average downfield throw increased gradually. He averaged at least eight yards per attempt in the final 10 games of the regular season. Against LSU and Auburn, Sims' pass attempts traveled an average of 10.1 and 9.8 yards, respectively. He also ranked among the nation's most efficient quarterbacks for much of the year.
Why so short on the throws? A few possibilities; It could have been a schematic decision by offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, it could have been the lack of execution on Sims or the receivers, meaning the deep shots were called, just not thrown. It could have been thanks to Ohio State's defensive front that managed to get good pressure with just four down lineman most of the night coupled with a strong defensive gameplan that keyed on keeping the Crimson Tide receivers in front.
The downturn in deeper throws actually started in the SEC Championship against Missouri (5.5 per attempt/4.7 per completion), which hints at the idea that perhaps the Tigers found a formula to keep top target Amari Cooper relatively in check (12 catches, 83 yards). If that was the case, Ohio State had almost a month to perfect it.
Cooper finished the game with nine catches for 71 yards, well below his season average. Sims' QBR (25.8) was his lowest in a single game this season.
Blake Sims' game-by-game average yards per attempt and completion
Highest yards traveled per attempt
1. Western Carolina - 11.8
2. at Tennessee - 10.5
3. Southern Miss - 10.3
4. at LSU - 10.2
5. Auburn - 9.8
6. at Arkansas - 9.6
7. Mississippi State - 9.3
8. Texas A&M - 8.6
9. Florida - 8.3
10. at Ole Miss - 8.1
11. West Virginia - 7.8
12. Ohio State - 7.3*13. Missouri - 5.5
14. Florida Atlantic - 5.4
*Sugar Bowl average drops to 5.3 without two Hail Mary throws in final seconds.
Highest yards traveled per completion: 1. Auburn - 9.0
2. at Tennessee - 8.8
3. Western Carolina - 8.3
4. Southern Miss - 7.7
5. Florida - 6.9
6. Mississippi State - 6.6
7. Texas A&M - 6.5
8. at Arkansas - 6.4
9. at Ole Miss - 6.0
10. LSU - 5.4
11. West Virginia - 5.4
12. Missouri - 4.7
13. Ohio State - 4.314. Florida Atlantic - 2.4
Second down woes
Alabama had no problems winning first down, but second down is where the offense failed all night long.
The Crimson Tide stayed ahead of the chains with solid gains on first downs just to be stopped or be pushed back on second down, turning seemingly advantageous situations into tougher third downs and, eventually, punts.
In the first 2½ quarters alone, Alabama enjoyed 10 second downs with five yards or less to go, an encouraging number that normally leads to not only first downs, but situations that keep the defense guessing and lend themselves to explosive plays. Of those 10, Alabama failed to convert and went to third down eight times. It punted five times.
Punting half the time you gain at least five yards on first down is a problem.
So how good was Alabama on first down - or how bad on second down?
Alabama averaged 5.3 yards to go on second down against Ohio State. The rest of the season, Alabama averaged 7.0 yards to gain on second down and in SEC play - against top competition - it averaged 7.2 to gain. So 5.3 against perhaps the best defense it faces all year is significantly better.
Alabama averaged a 5.9-yard gain on second down this season. Against OSU, Alabama gained 128 yards on 22 second-down plays, a 5.8 average.
About the same, right?
Here's the trouble: First, take away DeAndrew White's 51-yard catch on second down with Alabama down two scores late. That leaves 77 total yards on 21 second-down attempts, tumbling the average to 3.6 yards. (Sure, you could cherry pick plays to skew numbers all year long, but this play is particularly of low importance considering the down was irrelevant to Alabama at that point in the game. In other words, Alabama didn't care about down and distance or where it was relative to a first down, it wasn't going to punt and was trying to score as quickly as possible.)
Second, the offense being "ahead of the chains" compared to the rest of the year means should be in a position to beat its season average in yards gained. More second-and-shorts typically cause more issues for the defense and theoretically it opens up more options for big plays for the offense.
Run Game and third-down decisions
Alabama called passes on 43 of its 70 plays. Sims threw 36 passes and was sacked or scrambled seven times. That's 61.4 percent pass, 38.6 percent run, a distinct departure from what Kiffin called all year. Entering the Sugar Bowl, Kiffin's play calls were 51 percent run and 49 percent pass.
Still, there are a few things to consider here:
One, time and score play a significant role. Alabama was trailing the entire second half, and as it starts to mount a comeback late the passes can skew a small sample size. Of course Alabama will throw a lot to catch up; In fact, it threw on 12 of its final 13 plays. For comparison's sake, Alabama was exactly 50-50 on called passes and called runs (14 apiece) in the first half, right in line with Kiffin's body of work in 2014.
So what was the issue? Going to the pass in particular situations and sticking with the pass in situations where it wasn't working.
For example, leading 21-13 late in the first half after an Ohio State score, Alabama threw three times deep in its own territory before punting it back and leaving Ohio State ample time to score again. OSU did just that, cutting the game from 21-6 to 21-20 in less than three minutes. Alabama's defense got almost no rest after a 12-play, 71-yard scoring drive spanning 5:12 made it 21-13, then three passes, then back on the field.
There's also the Derrick Henry factor. In the first quarter, Henry ran the ball five times in a span of seven plays, gaining 55 yards. He wouldn't see another target or carry in the next 20 snaps until he ripped off a 21-yard gain on a toss play late in the third quarter as Alabama trailed 27-21.
"We didn't handle (Yeldon and Henry) well in running the football like we thought we might be able to when we spread them out and they did a good job on our perimeter screens and smokes," Saban said. "We made the blocks but they made the plays, and you've got give their players a lot of credit for the way they executed.
"But I think that we're certainly capable of playing a little better than we played, and I think everybody would say the same if you asked them that from player to coach.
And while we're on the topic of outside runs, Henry has been dominant on the perimeter this season and was again in New Orleans. Running up the middle this season, Henry has 71 carries for 342 yards, a 4.8 per-carry average. On runs off tackle and around the end, he averages 6.5 yards per carry.
Against OSU he had 13 carries for 95 yards. Seventy-five were gained on just six perimeter carries to the left side.
Lastly, Alabama stuck with Sims, who played one of his worst games of the year, to make plays on third down. To his credit, he's done it well all year long - think about all those third-down scrambles against Tennessee, Mississippi State and Auburn - but it wasn't working for him in New Orleans.
The calls and results of Alabama's third downs before it trailed by two scores in the fourth quarter:
First quarter
3-3, own 33: Incomplete pass to Cooper (overthrown)
3-5, own 17: Incomplete pass to Cooper (Sims pressured)
3-2, OSU 45: T.J. Yeldon run up middle for 9 yards (Goal Line formation)*
Second quarter
3-3, own 46: T.J. Yeldon run up middle for 1 yard (Shotgun three wide formation
3-1, OSU 6: T.J. Yeldon run for no gain (I Form 2 TE formation)*
3-2, own 18: Incomplete pass to DeAndrew White (dropped)
Third quarter
3-8, own 39: Blake Sims sacked (five blockers, four OSU rushers)
3-7, own 36: Blake Sims pass intercepted intended for Cooper (Sims didn't see dropping defender)
Fourth quarter
3-12, own 45: Blake Sims screen pass to Derrick Henry for 2 yards
3-6, OSU 40: Blake Sims QB draw for minus-3 yards
That's 1-for-10 on crucial third downs (six passes, four runs) including a dismal 1-for-7 showing in third-and-6 or less.
You can question some of the throws on third and short, but Sims was one of the most accurate third-down passers in the nation, so that's more the benefit of hindsight. The bottom line is that between protection issues, Sims' decision making and dropped passes, Alabama didn't get it done.
- See more at: https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1723373#sthash.Guu657uG.dpuf
It does contain some stats that were interesting to me.
D.C. Reeves
TideSports.com Managing Editor
It seems backwards that in Game No. 14, Blake Sims would be reeled in from taking shots down the field. But whether by Ohio State's scheme, its defensive line's capability to bring pressure with just four lineman or a rough performance from Sims, Alabama had a dearth of deep shots in the passing game against the Buckeyes.
According to metrics compiled by TideSports.com, Sims' average pass attempt traveled 7.3 yards (in relation to the line of scrimmage) in the Sugar Bowl, which would rank 12th among Sims' 14 starts this season. But take out his two Hail Mary throws at the end of the game and that average plummets to 5.3 yards per attempt, which would be his lowest of the season.
"I was kind of anxious to see us take more shots down the field," Alabama coach Nick Saban said after the loss. "I don't think we, maybe, did that enough early in the game. And (Ohio State) did a nice job."
In raw terms, 25 of Sims' 36 pass attempts traveled six yards or less. Only four attempts went 15 yards or longer if you take away the two Hail Mary heaves.
Of Alabama's 13 pass attempts in the first half, one traveled 15 yards or more.
The numbers weren't much better when looking at where Alabama was completing passes downfield. Sims' average completion traveled only 4.3 yards; Just his start against Florida Atlantic in the second game of the year (2.3) was lower.
Understandably, Sims didn't stretch the field much in his first two starts as he settled into his first season as a starter, using short passes and screens to settle into games. But as the season progressed, Sims' average downfield throw increased gradually. He averaged at least eight yards per attempt in the final 10 games of the regular season. Against LSU and Auburn, Sims' pass attempts traveled an average of 10.1 and 9.8 yards, respectively. He also ranked among the nation's most efficient quarterbacks for much of the year.
Why so short on the throws? A few possibilities; It could have been a schematic decision by offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, it could have been the lack of execution on Sims or the receivers, meaning the deep shots were called, just not thrown. It could have been thanks to Ohio State's defensive front that managed to get good pressure with just four down lineman most of the night coupled with a strong defensive gameplan that keyed on keeping the Crimson Tide receivers in front.
The downturn in deeper throws actually started in the SEC Championship against Missouri (5.5 per attempt/4.7 per completion), which hints at the idea that perhaps the Tigers found a formula to keep top target Amari Cooper relatively in check (12 catches, 83 yards). If that was the case, Ohio State had almost a month to perfect it.
Cooper finished the game with nine catches for 71 yards, well below his season average. Sims' QBR (25.8) was his lowest in a single game this season.
Blake Sims' game-by-game average yards per attempt and completion
Highest yards traveled per attempt
1. Western Carolina - 11.8
2. at Tennessee - 10.5
3. Southern Miss - 10.3
4. at LSU - 10.2
5. Auburn - 9.8
6. at Arkansas - 9.6
7. Mississippi State - 9.3
8. Texas A&M - 8.6
9. Florida - 8.3
10. at Ole Miss - 8.1
11. West Virginia - 7.8
12. Ohio State - 7.3*13. Missouri - 5.5
14. Florida Atlantic - 5.4
*Sugar Bowl average drops to 5.3 without two Hail Mary throws in final seconds.
Highest yards traveled per completion: 1. Auburn - 9.0
2. at Tennessee - 8.8
3. Western Carolina - 8.3
4. Southern Miss - 7.7
5. Florida - 6.9
6. Mississippi State - 6.6
7. Texas A&M - 6.5
8. at Arkansas - 6.4
9. at Ole Miss - 6.0
10. LSU - 5.4
11. West Virginia - 5.4
12. Missouri - 4.7
13. Ohio State - 4.314. Florida Atlantic - 2.4
Second down woes
Alabama had no problems winning first down, but second down is where the offense failed all night long.
The Crimson Tide stayed ahead of the chains with solid gains on first downs just to be stopped or be pushed back on second down, turning seemingly advantageous situations into tougher third downs and, eventually, punts.
In the first 2½ quarters alone, Alabama enjoyed 10 second downs with five yards or less to go, an encouraging number that normally leads to not only first downs, but situations that keep the defense guessing and lend themselves to explosive plays. Of those 10, Alabama failed to convert and went to third down eight times. It punted five times.
Punting half the time you gain at least five yards on first down is a problem.
So how good was Alabama on first down - or how bad on second down?
Alabama averaged 5.3 yards to go on second down against Ohio State. The rest of the season, Alabama averaged 7.0 yards to gain on second down and in SEC play - against top competition - it averaged 7.2 to gain. So 5.3 against perhaps the best defense it faces all year is significantly better.
Alabama averaged a 5.9-yard gain on second down this season. Against OSU, Alabama gained 128 yards on 22 second-down plays, a 5.8 average.
About the same, right?
Here's the trouble: First, take away DeAndrew White's 51-yard catch on second down with Alabama down two scores late. That leaves 77 total yards on 21 second-down attempts, tumbling the average to 3.6 yards. (Sure, you could cherry pick plays to skew numbers all year long, but this play is particularly of low importance considering the down was irrelevant to Alabama at that point in the game. In other words, Alabama didn't care about down and distance or where it was relative to a first down, it wasn't going to punt and was trying to score as quickly as possible.)
Second, the offense being "ahead of the chains" compared to the rest of the year means should be in a position to beat its season average in yards gained. More second-and-shorts typically cause more issues for the defense and theoretically it opens up more options for big plays for the offense.
Run Game and third-down decisions
Alabama called passes on 43 of its 70 plays. Sims threw 36 passes and was sacked or scrambled seven times. That's 61.4 percent pass, 38.6 percent run, a distinct departure from what Kiffin called all year. Entering the Sugar Bowl, Kiffin's play calls were 51 percent run and 49 percent pass.
Still, there are a few things to consider here:
One, time and score play a significant role. Alabama was trailing the entire second half, and as it starts to mount a comeback late the passes can skew a small sample size. Of course Alabama will throw a lot to catch up; In fact, it threw on 12 of its final 13 plays. For comparison's sake, Alabama was exactly 50-50 on called passes and called runs (14 apiece) in the first half, right in line with Kiffin's body of work in 2014.
So what was the issue? Going to the pass in particular situations and sticking with the pass in situations where it wasn't working.
For example, leading 21-13 late in the first half after an Ohio State score, Alabama threw three times deep in its own territory before punting it back and leaving Ohio State ample time to score again. OSU did just that, cutting the game from 21-6 to 21-20 in less than three minutes. Alabama's defense got almost no rest after a 12-play, 71-yard scoring drive spanning 5:12 made it 21-13, then three passes, then back on the field.
There's also the Derrick Henry factor. In the first quarter, Henry ran the ball five times in a span of seven plays, gaining 55 yards. He wouldn't see another target or carry in the next 20 snaps until he ripped off a 21-yard gain on a toss play late in the third quarter as Alabama trailed 27-21.
"We didn't handle (Yeldon and Henry) well in running the football like we thought we might be able to when we spread them out and they did a good job on our perimeter screens and smokes," Saban said. "We made the blocks but they made the plays, and you've got give their players a lot of credit for the way they executed.
"But I think that we're certainly capable of playing a little better than we played, and I think everybody would say the same if you asked them that from player to coach.
And while we're on the topic of outside runs, Henry has been dominant on the perimeter this season and was again in New Orleans. Running up the middle this season, Henry has 71 carries for 342 yards, a 4.8 per-carry average. On runs off tackle and around the end, he averages 6.5 yards per carry.
Against OSU he had 13 carries for 95 yards. Seventy-five were gained on just six perimeter carries to the left side.
Lastly, Alabama stuck with Sims, who played one of his worst games of the year, to make plays on third down. To his credit, he's done it well all year long - think about all those third-down scrambles against Tennessee, Mississippi State and Auburn - but it wasn't working for him in New Orleans.
The calls and results of Alabama's third downs before it trailed by two scores in the fourth quarter:
First quarter
3-3, own 33: Incomplete pass to Cooper (overthrown)
3-5, own 17: Incomplete pass to Cooper (Sims pressured)
3-2, OSU 45: T.J. Yeldon run up middle for 9 yards (Goal Line formation)*
Second quarter
3-3, own 46: T.J. Yeldon run up middle for 1 yard (Shotgun three wide formation
3-1, OSU 6: T.J. Yeldon run for no gain (I Form 2 TE formation)*
3-2, own 18: Incomplete pass to DeAndrew White (dropped)
Third quarter
3-8, own 39: Blake Sims sacked (five blockers, four OSU rushers)
3-7, own 36: Blake Sims pass intercepted intended for Cooper (Sims didn't see dropping defender)
Fourth quarter
3-12, own 45: Blake Sims screen pass to Derrick Henry for 2 yards
3-6, OSU 40: Blake Sims QB draw for minus-3 yards
That's 1-for-10 on crucial third downs (six passes, four runs) including a dismal 1-for-7 showing in third-and-6 or less.
You can question some of the throws on third and short, but Sims was one of the most accurate third-down passers in the nation, so that's more the benefit of hindsight. The bottom line is that between protection issues, Sims' decision making and dropped passes, Alabama didn't get it done.
- See more at: https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1723373#sthash.Guu657uG.dpuf
