After reading all the posts regarding the upcoming Clemson game, some of which are objective and some which are not, I have just been pondering the "why" part of this.
Why, at this point, would anyone expect Alabama to look any different than they have in the last few big games?
Some factors to consider:
1. Maybe Clemson isn't THAT good?! The best team they played was Auburn in retrospect. And that was a period of time where Auburn looked like they weren't sure what a football was. The rest of their schedule is lacking a bit. The ACC is a mess... If you look at who beat who... nothing makes much sense except that Clemson is just a notch or two better than the others. Outside of the loss to Syracuse, NC State challenged Clemson mightily. Syracuse and NCState are barely bowl-worthy at this point. BUT, they both challenged Clemson in the passing game as opposed to running. How will Clemson deal with getting punched in the mouth (if you can even call it that at this point when our RBs get 20 attempts total against our in-state rival) ? Obviously Clemson is a solid team, but as far as matchups go, BAma poses a challenge for them just hat on hat. Will it be enough to keep the game close?
2. Bama has been short several linebackers. How much does this matter? I'm not sure it matters that much as the points scored by Miss St and Auburn were still not astronomical by any means. I predicted Auburn to score in the mid 20's and they did. The problem wasn't on defense even though certainly getting off the field on 3rd down would have given our offense more possessions/snaps. But to do what with? Pass too much and ineffectively?
3. Clemson doesn't have Deshaun Watson. This is a big deal especially on 3rd down. The guy saved them countless times in last year's game and this year's Clemson team doesn't have that type of factor. Their QB is, however, a better runner. And if they can do anything offensively stylewise that the barn and miss st did then you have to think that they will put up some yards on the ground and move the ball. for this reason, I don't see Bama getting dramatically more offensive snaps than the prev 2 big SEC games unless the Bama offense can HOLD THE BALL. BIG IF there....
4. Bama's pass blocking has been mediocre in the last 2 SEC games.. particularly the barn game. There were times where Jalen had plenty of time but couldn't find anywhere to throw it and he seemed to get jumpy. Other times, the Barn was on him before he could hardly get his feet set. It struck me odd that Bama didn't really pick the right plays to offset/minimize the Barn's pass rush. Jalen running the ball is great, but 18 carries against Auburn many or which were not designed runs will not work out against Clemson. I like for Jalen to run when by design... especially the way Kiffin used him swinging wide with his RBs and other blockers in front of him. When did that play not work? Why do we not do what worked so well last year? *Baffled* ---- IMO the best way to deal with our pass blocking issue and Jalen's struggles in passing effeciency is to do it a lot less. Run the ball 30+ times. Pass "when you have to" on play action and go deep, baby. If not, stick with high percentage completion screens and such.... BAsically run Kiffin's offense.. lol
*****I don't think Bama matches up well against this team due to the failures in our passing game. If Jalen is hot and is throwing deep and connecting, we could win big, but I just don't have any reason to think that will occur given the nature of Clemson's front 7 and their ability to rush the passer. I think our best bet against them is to play ball control and run the ball like it is our job. If you get 2-3 first downs and punt it deep, great. Keep doing that, and bring the scoring down a bit.
Clemson probably puts up about the same number of points that Auburn and miss st did... mid to upper 20's i would say. I just don't see Alabama's offense pushing 30 points here if the offensive scheme doesn't change a bit. I hope I'm wrong. RTR
Why, at this point, would anyone expect Alabama to look any different than they have in the last few big games?
Some factors to consider:
1. Maybe Clemson isn't THAT good?! The best team they played was Auburn in retrospect. And that was a period of time where Auburn looked like they weren't sure what a football was. The rest of their schedule is lacking a bit. The ACC is a mess... If you look at who beat who... nothing makes much sense except that Clemson is just a notch or two better than the others. Outside of the loss to Syracuse, NC State challenged Clemson mightily. Syracuse and NCState are barely bowl-worthy at this point. BUT, they both challenged Clemson in the passing game as opposed to running. How will Clemson deal with getting punched in the mouth (if you can even call it that at this point when our RBs get 20 attempts total against our in-state rival) ? Obviously Clemson is a solid team, but as far as matchups go, BAma poses a challenge for them just hat on hat. Will it be enough to keep the game close?
2. Bama has been short several linebackers. How much does this matter? I'm not sure it matters that much as the points scored by Miss St and Auburn were still not astronomical by any means. I predicted Auburn to score in the mid 20's and they did. The problem wasn't on defense even though certainly getting off the field on 3rd down would have given our offense more possessions/snaps. But to do what with? Pass too much and ineffectively?
3. Clemson doesn't have Deshaun Watson. This is a big deal especially on 3rd down. The guy saved them countless times in last year's game and this year's Clemson team doesn't have that type of factor. Their QB is, however, a better runner. And if they can do anything offensively stylewise that the barn and miss st did then you have to think that they will put up some yards on the ground and move the ball. for this reason, I don't see Bama getting dramatically more offensive snaps than the prev 2 big SEC games unless the Bama offense can HOLD THE BALL. BIG IF there....
4. Bama's pass blocking has been mediocre in the last 2 SEC games.. particularly the barn game. There were times where Jalen had plenty of time but couldn't find anywhere to throw it and he seemed to get jumpy. Other times, the Barn was on him before he could hardly get his feet set. It struck me odd that Bama didn't really pick the right plays to offset/minimize the Barn's pass rush. Jalen running the ball is great, but 18 carries against Auburn many or which were not designed runs will not work out against Clemson. I like for Jalen to run when by design... especially the way Kiffin used him swinging wide with his RBs and other blockers in front of him. When did that play not work? Why do we not do what worked so well last year? *Baffled* ---- IMO the best way to deal with our pass blocking issue and Jalen's struggles in passing effeciency is to do it a lot less. Run the ball 30+ times. Pass "when you have to" on play action and go deep, baby. If not, stick with high percentage completion screens and such.... BAsically run Kiffin's offense.. lol
*****I don't think Bama matches up well against this team due to the failures in our passing game. If Jalen is hot and is throwing deep and connecting, we could win big, but I just don't have any reason to think that will occur given the nature of Clemson's front 7 and their ability to rush the passer. I think our best bet against them is to play ball control and run the ball like it is our job. If you get 2-3 first downs and punt it deep, great. Keep doing that, and bring the scoring down a bit.
Clemson probably puts up about the same number of points that Auburn and miss st did... mid to upper 20's i would say. I just don't see Alabama's offense pushing 30 points here if the offensive scheme doesn't change a bit. I hope I'm wrong. RTR
