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Alabama Football head coach Nick Saban has had a busy week. Between the NFL combine, Pro Day, gearing up for spring practice and putting it down for Reuben Foster Saban didnāt have time to beat around the bush about how Bamaās offense will look in 2017.
He got straight to the point.
I think we wanted to go from pro-style to be a little bit more spread and maybe we got too far to the right on the spread part and now we need to develop our quarterbacks to go back and be a little more pro-style. I think having a guy like this, (offensive coordinator Brian Daboll) that knows pro-style football will help us.
Sabanās preference for more pro style play next season isnāt surprising given the hiring of former New England Patriotās tight end coach Brian (read: RUN DABOLL) Daboll as Alabama Footballās offensive coordinator. Brain Daboll brings 5 super bowl rings and 6 years of NFL coordinator experience with him to Tuscaloosa.
The question is ā what does that mean for the dual threat quarterbacks on the roster and the weapons recruited for them to use in a spread heavy attack?
For all the calls of āRUN DA BAWLā led by Funnymaine and chanted by the Bama fan base (and, full disclosure, I started the petition to get Brian Dabollās name changed to āRUNā Daboll) Alabamaās offense starting the first freshman quarterback in 30 years put up big numbers in 2016.
Bama scored 582 points this season with dual threat Jalen Hurts scrambling from the pocket and tossing to Lane Kiffin built spread heavy offensive targets. In contrast, Bama scored 449 in 2009 with Greg Mcelroy dropping back to pass in a pro style attack and handing off to Heisman trophy winner Mark Ingram.
Subtract the 24 points scored in the additional 2016 playoff game against the Huskies and the difference is 109 points. 77 of those 2016 points were scored on 11 non offensive touchdowns in 2016 but remember Javier Arenas was setting records for punt returns in 2009 too.
Bama scored more than a half hundred on USC, Mississippi State and Florida last year and 48 points on Ole Miss, Kent State, Arkansas and Tennessee.
Nick Saban went on to say that Jalen Hurts ability to scramble and make plays was a weapon he wanted to use but he tempered his statement by adding, āWe want him to do those things, but only after he goes through his progressionsā.
That makes sense for a team that dominated up until the last second of the last game. There are a thousand differences between the 2009 and 2016 Bama teams that could be factored into the earlier numbers but they are all in large part due to a common denominator ā Nick Sabanās talent for retooling in Tuscaloosa.
Nick Sabanās ability to adapt and keep Alabama Football ahead of the constantly evolving curve in college football is his most underrated ability as a head coach. Saban went from speaking out against the speed of spread offenses in 2014 as a safety issue to hurting teams with his own high-powered attack two years later.
Lane Kiffinās abrupt exit from Tuscaloosa wasnāt half as surprising as his arrival on campus. The media and fans were against it until Kiffin started throwing his hands up to signal touchdown before the quarterback ever let go of the ball.
Kiffin made some great play calls and Saban made the call on Kiffin. Heās making another one now and you can bet that Bama will be better for it. Donāt expect to see a three-step drop every down this season but do expect more pro style play from Jalen Hurts.
That last part is an aspect to this story that hasnāt been discussed by the media. Sabanās statements would lead most to believe that, despite rumblings of true freshman Tua Tagovailoa coming on strong and incoming Mac Jones being the more pro style passer that Brian Daboll is accustomed to coaching, Jalen Hurts will in fact be the starting quarterback in 2017.
Although thatās not a surprise given Jalenās unprecedented freshman year performance, itās still worth noting given that the position battles on both sides of the ball are heating right along with the weather this spring.
Alabama Football head coach Nick Saban has had a busy week. Between the NFL combine, Pro Day, gearing up for spring practice and putting it down for Reuben Foster Saban didnāt have time to beat around the bush about how Bamaās offense will look in 2017.
He got straight to the point.
I think we wanted to go from pro-style to be a little bit more spread and maybe we got too far to the right on the spread part and now we need to develop our quarterbacks to go back and be a little more pro-style. I think having a guy like this, (offensive coordinator Brian Daboll) that knows pro-style football will help us.
Sabanās preference for more pro style play next season isnāt surprising given the hiring of former New England Patriotās tight end coach Brian (read: RUN DABOLL) Daboll as Alabama Footballās offensive coordinator. Brain Daboll brings 5 super bowl rings and 6 years of NFL coordinator experience with him to Tuscaloosa.
The question is ā what does that mean for the dual threat quarterbacks on the roster and the weapons recruited for them to use in a spread heavy attack?
For all the calls of āRUN DA BAWLā led by Funnymaine and chanted by the Bama fan base (and, full disclosure, I started the petition to get Brian Dabollās name changed to āRUNā Daboll) Alabamaās offense starting the first freshman quarterback in 30 years put up big numbers in 2016.
Bama scored 582 points this season with dual threat Jalen Hurts scrambling from the pocket and tossing to Lane Kiffin built spread heavy offensive targets. In contrast, Bama scored 449 in 2009 with Greg Mcelroy dropping back to pass in a pro style attack and handing off to Heisman trophy winner Mark Ingram.
Subtract the 24 points scored in the additional 2016 playoff game against the Huskies and the difference is 109 points. 77 of those 2016 points were scored on 11 non offensive touchdowns in 2016 but remember Javier Arenas was setting records for punt returns in 2009 too.
Bama scored more than a half hundred on USC, Mississippi State and Florida last year and 48 points on Ole Miss, Kent State, Arkansas and Tennessee.
Nick Saban went on to say that Jalen Hurts ability to scramble and make plays was a weapon he wanted to use but he tempered his statement by adding, āWe want him to do those things, but only after he goes through his progressionsā.
That makes sense for a team that dominated up until the last second of the last game. There are a thousand differences between the 2009 and 2016 Bama teams that could be factored into the earlier numbers but they are all in large part due to a common denominator ā Nick Sabanās talent for retooling in Tuscaloosa.
Nick Sabanās ability to adapt and keep Alabama Football ahead of the constantly evolving curve in college football is his most underrated ability as a head coach. Saban went from speaking out against the speed of spread offenses in 2014 as a safety issue to hurting teams with his own high-powered attack two years later.
Lane Kiffinās abrupt exit from Tuscaloosa wasnāt half as surprising as his arrival on campus. The media and fans were against it until Kiffin started throwing his hands up to signal touchdown before the quarterback ever let go of the ball.
Kiffin made some great play calls and Saban made the call on Kiffin. Heās making another one now and you can bet that Bama will be better for it. Donāt expect to see a three-step drop every down this season but do expect more pro style play from Jalen Hurts.
That last part is an aspect to this story that hasnāt been discussed by the media. Sabanās statements would lead most to believe that, despite rumblings of true freshman Tua Tagovailoa coming on strong and incoming Mac Jones being the more pro style passer that Brian Daboll is accustomed to coaching, Jalen Hurts will in fact be the starting quarterback in 2017.
Although thatās not a surprise given Jalenās unprecedented freshman year performance, itās still worth noting given that the position battles on both sides of the ball are heating right along with the weather this spring.
