BAMANEWSBOT
Staff
If you can't beat them, join them. But is that the right way to go?
Alabama has had success against all types of defenses, even spread, no-huddle ones. But some losses over the past few years have come to teams running a fast-paced attack, including Texas A&M in 2012 and Auburn in 2013.
With the jump in spread offenses, Alabama head coach Nick Saban said he's changed the way he teaches defense in practice.
Now, he's spending more time on pace of play instead of fundamentals.
"Until recently, we always emphasized the fundamentals," Saban said Friday in the SEC Championship press conference. "We didn't play very well when the pace of play was faster. This year we tried to put more emphasis on pace of play, and I do think there is a bit of a downside in terms of fundamentals.
Entire Nick Saban Press Conference before SEC ChampionshipThe entire Nick Saban press conference before the SEC Championship game between Alabama and Missouri.
"Tackling is one of the most critical fundamentals of playing defense because the ultimate objective is tackle the guy with the ball."
When teams huddled, Saban said, there was time to correct a defensive player after a mistake. Not anymore. Even in practice, there isn't time to correct a quick mistake anymore.
"Now I start to run over there to tell a guy that, they're ready to start the next play, they're about ready to run over me," Saban said. "As (wife) Terry said, stay out of there (laughter)."
Now, as Saban said, there has to be a balance with teaching players how to tackle with the correct fundamentals while also reacting quickly to the opposing offense's pace.
Alabama is third in the SEC in total defense (312 yards per game allowed), but gave up a season-high 630 against Auburn in last week's 55-44 win.
"And I do think that spreading out defensive players, used to be they had two backs in the backfield, two tight ends, a wideout," Saban said. "There were nine guys in close proximity to the ball, so there was not as much space created.
"These plays we see now, there is a lot of space created from horizontal and vertical, all right, which is going to stress the defensive player athletically to be able to make the play in space."
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Alabama has had success against all types of defenses, even spread, no-huddle ones. But some losses over the past few years have come to teams running a fast-paced attack, including Texas A&M in 2012 and Auburn in 2013.
With the jump in spread offenses, Alabama head coach Nick Saban said he's changed the way he teaches defense in practice.
Now, he's spending more time on pace of play instead of fundamentals.
"Until recently, we always emphasized the fundamentals," Saban said Friday in the SEC Championship press conference. "We didn't play very well when the pace of play was faster. This year we tried to put more emphasis on pace of play, and I do think there is a bit of a downside in terms of fundamentals.
Entire Nick Saban Press Conference before SEC ChampionshipThe entire Nick Saban press conference before the SEC Championship game between Alabama and Missouri.
"Tackling is one of the most critical fundamentals of playing defense because the ultimate objective is tackle the guy with the ball."
When teams huddled, Saban said, there was time to correct a defensive player after a mistake. Not anymore. Even in practice, there isn't time to correct a quick mistake anymore.
"Now I start to run over there to tell a guy that, they're ready to start the next play, they're about ready to run over me," Saban said. "As (wife) Terry said, stay out of there (laughter)."
Now, as Saban said, there has to be a balance with teaching players how to tackle with the correct fundamentals while also reacting quickly to the opposing offense's pace.
Alabama is third in the SEC in total defense (312 yards per game allowed), but gave up a season-high 630 against Auburn in last week's 55-44 win.
"And I do think that spreading out defensive players, used to be they had two backs in the backfield, two tight ends, a wideout," Saban said. "There were nine guys in close proximity to the ball, so there was not as much space created.
"These plays we see now, there is a lot of space created from horizontal and vertical, all right, which is going to stress the defensive player athletically to be able to make the play in space."
Continue reading...
