🏈 Run blocking

[JoshB]

^^ Fluker is a beast... run behind him ala Shaun Alexander behind Chris Samuels...

 

[Joe]

It seems we have always had games where we have found it difficult to run since Coach Saban has been at Alabama. Remember the Ole Miss and Auburn games in the 2009 season.I have not seen much tweaking either. I think there are some things that can be done that can make it more difficult for a defense to defend against our offense. Three thoughts come to mind. First, I think that we should use the play action pass more often. When we do use play action, which is rare, the fake is not carried out very well. Second, I think we could benefit from having Richardson and Lacy in the backfield at the same time on occasion. Maybe from the pistol formation. This would keep defenses from keying on one back. Third, I think there needs to be more toss sweep type plays. One of the reasons that it is so hard to block up the middle is that teams stack the middle knowing we don't run outside that much. I watched plenty of toss sweeps work in some NFL games this weekend and there is no reason why it would not work in the SEC.

Overall, I really don't see our running game being that bad. I wish we would try a few things to try to make it better than it is.

P.S. This is going to shock some people but I am not so sure that Trent Richardson is our best RB.:shock: From what I have seen so far in the last 2 games Lacy is the better back. He should be used more often. Lacy is more elusive and sees the field better. That is the way it appears based on what I have seen in games. I think the stats show this as well.

 

[JoshB]

P.S. This is going to shock some people but I am not so sure that Trent Richardson is our best RB.:shock: From what I have seen so far in the last 2 games Lacy is the better back. He should be used more often. Lacy is more elusive and sees the field better. That is the way it appears based on what I have seen in games. I think the stats show this as well.

uhhhhh lord. yes Lacy broke off a big run at the end of the Penn State game...after Richardson had been beating on them for 3 quarters... also take into account they may be stacking the box when Richardson is in...backing off when Lacy is. to say Lacy is a better back than Richardson is beyond ridiculous imo. Lacy is great...but Richardson is Richardson. this is beyond hilarious, fans were sayin Richardson was better than Ingram...now its Lacy is better than Richardson... i guess now the backup Tailback is the most popular person in Alabama rather than the backup QB...

 

[bamatommy]

we are not playing like one of the top OLs in the SEC.

:word:

 

[TheChief]

It seems we have always had games where we have found it difficult to run since Coach Saban has been at Alabama. Remember the Ole Miss and Auburn games in the 2009 season.I have not seen much tweaking either. I think there are some things that can be done that can make it more difficult for a defense to defend against our offense. Three thoughts come to mind. First, I think that we should use the play action pass more often. When we do use play action, which is rare, the fake is not carried out very well. Second, I think we could benefit from having Richardson and Lacy in the backfield at the same time on occasion. Maybe from the pistol formation. This would keep defenses from keying on one back. Third, I think there needs to be more toss sweep type plays. One of the reasons that it is so hard to block up the middle is that teams stack the middle knowing we don't run outside that much. I watched plenty of toss sweeps work in some NFL games this weekend and there is no reason why it would not work in the SEC.

Overall, I really don't see our running game being that bad. I wish we would try a few things to try to make it better than it is.

P.S. This is going to shock some people but I am not so sure that Trent Richardson is our best RB.:shock: From what I have seen so far in the last 2 games Lacy is the better back. He should be used more often. Lacy is more elusive and sees the field better. That is the way it appears based on what I have seen in games. I think the stats show this as well.

One of the coaches that I used to be on staff with often said that one person could block one or two people on a play. A fake could block several.

Up to this point, our run game could stand to be tweaked.

 

[UAgrad93]

One of the coaches that I used to be on staff with often said that one person could block one or two people on a play. A fake could block several.

Up to this point, our run game could stand to be tweaked.

Coach Homer Smith was the master of teaching the fakes with his qbs. My freshman year, we worked on steps and footwork for 2 weeks before he ever told us what the plays were. We kidded about it being Homer Smith Dancing Lessons ala Fred Astaire!

 

[Joe]

uhhhhh lord. yes Lacy broke off a big run at the end of the Penn State game...after Richardson had been beating on them for 3 quarters... also take into account they may be stacking the box when Richardson is in...backing off when Lacy is. to say Lacy is a better back than Richardson is beyond ridiculous imo. Lacy is great...but Richardson is Richardson. this is beyond hilarious, fans were sayin Richardson was better than Ingram...now its Lacy is better than Richardson... i guess now the backup Tailback is the most popular person in Alabama rather than the backup QB...

Birdman, the kind of response you gave is what I expected. It's just an opinion. Let's see how things play out.

 

[Joe]

Coach Homer Smith was the master of teaching the fakes with his qbs. My freshman year, we worked on steps and footwork for 2 weeks before he ever told us what the plays were. We kidded about it being Homer Smith Dancing Lessons ala Fred Astaire!

Yes, I remember seeing those perfect fakes when Homer Smith was in charge of the offense. With the threats Alabama has at running back I would think this would be a detail Saban's staff would be working on but for some reason they don't think it is important.

Let me add that another problem with our offense is that our receivers do not "consistently" run fast pass routes. I am not just talking about this season. I have watched them run routes with little effort on some plays in the past few seasons. I think if the offensive staff would focus a little more on the details of the game then our offense would be more explosive. I don't see the kind of detail on offense that I see on defense. Just saying.

 

[TerryP]

I'm going to throw a twist ...

Our OL in 09 finished the last eight games without a penalty.

It takes time.

 

['65 Cobra]

Are we talking about the starting Center for the past three years? Seriously?

Yes, indeed, my friend. Vlachos may have started the last three years, but he has been the weak link the last two at least. I think Barrett Jones did better than he when he played, but we need Barrett at guard or tackle. Vlachos has been slow, and the guy that used to be know for his strength is getting pushed around all too much. Now, some of this may be due to getting used to who is next to him and in that regard, I would like to see the staff just go ahead and plug in Cyrus at LT, move Barrett back to RG and use the North Texas game as a warm-up. For arkansas, we can focus on running to the right behind Barrett and DJ while Cyrus gets his "sea legs."

 

[The Hog father]

Arkansas will present a challenge to the Alabama offensive line. We have a defensive front that rivals Alabama's and just might be capable of limiting the Alabama running game. If we do that, the Hogs win.

 

[Southern Bama]

Arkansas will present a challenge to the Alabama offensive line. We have a defensive front that rivals Alabama's and just might be capable of limiting the Alabama running game. If we do that, the Hogs win.

If Bama scores more points.....I think we win. :smile:

 

[bamatommy]

Arkansas will present a challenge to the Alabama offensive line. We have a defensive front that rivals Alabama's and just might be capable of limiting the Alabama running game. If we do that, the Hogs win.

There are many things that go on in a game that determine who wins. Yes, the line of scrimmage is huge. But there are numerous other factors.

The only way to guarantee you will beat a team is if you score more points, as another poster said.

 

[TerryP]

Arkansas will present a challenge to the Alabama offensive line. We have a defensive front that rivals Alabama's and just might be capable of limiting the Alabama running game. If we do that, the Hogs win.

Uh, no.

Bequette would start on our line. I'll give you that. However, he'd just be in our rotation on DE's. Wright? He's a two. Jones and Thomas both would be 3 and 4's. And, that's behind a guy who you would consider a basic walk-on in Nick Gentry.

To put this more clearly, outside of Jake, our two's would be starting in Fayetteville. Tenarius might be a 1A, 1B situation.

 

[shipley00]

Having gone back and watch the PSU game in detail (at least the first 3 Quarters), here are some observations regarding offensive blocking...

As an entire offensive unit, Alabama improved from Kent State.

We seemed to pass block well, with some mistakes...

PSU didn't stack the box all that often...

There were several running plays where the OL executed perfectly, and Alabama got big gains. There were also some glaring mistakes, such as...

Smelley was in the backfield and literally jumped, towards the line behind the left tackle and left guard. Result? The outside defender just waltzed past him and took the RB down right as he received the handoff.

Steen pulled several times. Once he went to the second level, his assignment to block a LB, but re ran past a non moving LB, whiffed at blocking him, and the LB made the play.

He pulled down the line to left and ran right past the defender without laying a hand on him

Steen got flat out whipped, to the point of falling down at least 4 times. Is he injured? He didn't seem to have much balance.

Vlachos appeared to play much, much better, but still got beat on a few plays. Some of it was there very good pass rusher, some of it not.

Several times, the OL slant blocked to the right, even though there was an extra defender on the right side (of the D line, left side of the OL)... result... Defender unabaited to the RB, a step after he gets the handoff. This happened quite a bit in the KSU game. Should we be checking out of this blocking scheme, especially if the RB is taking the handoff on the side where the extra defender is coming from? Why is this still happening?

Hopefully we can make some corrections, especially to the blocking calls. Hopefully can improve this week like we did last week.