Greg McElroy and the Passing Game: Are we in the Bizarro World?
by outsidethesidelines on Nov 4, 2009 8:00 AM CST
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Perhaps I'm just reading too much into all of this, but the statements made by Greg McElroy the past ten days with regard to how well he played against Tennessee -- and more generally how well the passing game as a whole functioned -- have really struck me as very odd. Per various sources (click here, here, and here), McElroy was quoted with the following:
"I was back on my game. I was going through the reads quick. I was hitting the correct guy at the correct time."
"Statistics speak for them self but as far as execution in the passing game, we really did a good job."
"We had a good game against Tennessee."
"But I feel great about the way I played against Tennessee."
"I feel strongly about the performance I had against Tennessee."
"... I was really pleased with my performance."
And in many ways it wasn't just McElroy saying all of these things. Coach Saban himself largely endorsed McElroy's take earlier this week with the following quote:
"He had command of his pitches, if he was a baseball pitcher. He was throwing the ball in the right place. He was throwing on time. He did a good job of executing what he was supposed to do in the game. So we're pleased with that, very pleased with with it. I think that's how we want him to play."
And again, perhaps I am just being paranoid and reading entirely too much into all of this. But with that disclaimer out of the way, being brutally honest, all of this just strikes me as extremely odd.
Just as a refresher, we generated only 4.14 yards per passing attempt against Tennessee. We did not throw a touchdown pass, and the longest passing play from scrimmage was 19 yards. The best chance we had to knock the Vols out before halftime resulted in two incomplete passes. And of the four longest passing plays we had, two came on screen passes to Julio Jones, and the third came on a scramble by McElroy.
Now, admittedly, McElroy is right that we didn't necessarily beat ourselves in the passing game, as you can tell by the zero interceptions and the zero sacks allowed. Nevertheless, even with that in mind, we came within a hair of defeat because we could only muster 12 points, and easily the biggest reason for that lack of point production was that the passing game was, by and large, completely and totally incapable of moving the football consistently down the field and / or generating big plays. It's certainly good not to beat yourselves with mistakes, but at some point as an offense you have to do more than that and actually go out and make positive plays, something we clearly didn't do against Tennessee. There is far more to good offensive performance than merely avoiding the big negative plays.
Regardless, all that said, it certainly seems like both McElroy and Saban were pretty happy with how the passing game performed against Tennessee, and that just strikes me as really, really strange. Usually when we struggle under Saban, both the coaches and the players involved are pretty open about the need to correct the problems and perform at a higher level, yet in this case everyone is seemingly just walking around with a big smile like it's no big deal. That almost comes off as Shula-esque -- remember, we were the 2006 national practice champions -- and atypical of the modus operandi under Saban.
I'm not really criticizing anything here, mind you, but I do find all of this very interesting. One way or the other, though, we'll find out for certain soon. If Saban and McElroy's public comments are to be believed, we're going to take a lot more vertical shots against LSU this weekend, and Lord knows with all of the skill position talent the Bayou Bengals have, if you are struggling to throw the football they will certainly make you pay for it. Hopefully I'm just being paranoid.
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Well,
I agree with you: I’ve read those same quotes over the course of the last week, and had the same “WTF?” reaction you did.
I guess the alternative could have been for the kid to beat himself up over it and go completely into a shell…so maybe that’s the silver lining.
McElroy wasn't the best
But he did give a few players the ball in the right spot.
I can think of the ball to Hanks at the start that was a drop, even though I was told Berry just tipped it at the last second.
Still, we really weren’t a downfield threat that day.
Fumbles. It was always Fumbles
Or maybe he actually played well. The passing game’s job is not to generate yards or points. It’s to win the game. Sometimes it does that by throwing long passes. Sometimes it does that by just not screwing up.
As Coach Saban mentioned, we didn’t call the plays necessary to spread the field. It’s pretty tough to get on GMac for that.
No, they didn’t generate as many yards or points as you’d like, but that doesn’t mean that McElroy didn’t play well, which he pretty obviously did. No INTs, no fumbles, pretty good throws most of the day.
What you saw was play-calling that was probably designed to get his swagger back and get him some confidence going into a bye week and a huge game at LSU. Throwing a bunch of incomplete passes down-field wouldn’t have done that.
Unless you’ve got something other than yards per play or other play-calling-based stats to talk about with respect to GMac’s play, you’re really not addressing the issue in any meaningful way.
I'm wrong all the time.
what Pete said.
With his SoCar and UT performances in comparison, GMac did in fact have a great game. Like Pete said, our focus in the passing game against UT was not to stretch the field or take over the game, but to get some high percentage throws completed Whether or not the production was there was not a concern as the UT gameplan was almost entirely defensive, dare I say Tubby-esque.
As for this week, Coach says we will attack the middle of the field more. I say great. He says we will take more shots at explosive plays in the pass game. I say LSU is screwed.
Roll Tide! Beat L-S-SHOOOOOOOO!
He may not have the velocity
that JPW had, but he’s much more accurate. It will be a matter of the recievers not overrunning the ball.
I'm in no condition to drive...wait! I shouldn't listen to myself, I'm drunk.
by That Other Dave on Nov 4, 2009 11:48 AM CST up reply actions
Agreed.
In the first four games he definitely showed an ability to get the ball to WRs down the field, and with accuracy. Will he ever throw a 60 yard TD pass? Maybe not. However, if he can hit Marquis Maze in stride on a 25 yard throw with separation I like our chances of getting a TD.
"Behind every argument is someone's ignorance." - Louis Brandeis
by franchizeplaya on Nov 4, 2009 2:23 PM CST up reply actions
I agree with Pete
I never felt like McElroy was holding us back during the Tennessee game. If anything, the playcalling is the thing that needs to improve the most during the off week (and I believe it will). Tennessee was undoubtedly trying to take away the big plays, and they succeeded. McElroy was most likely taking what the defense (and playcalling) gave him.
by HarveyBirdmanAAL on Nov 4, 2009 8:32 AM CST reply actions
when saban said:
“He had command of his pitches, if he was a baseball pitcher. He was throwing the ball in the right place. He was throwing on time. He did a good job of executing what he was supposed to do in the game. So we’re pleased with that, very pleased with with it. I think that’s how we want him to play.”/blockquote>
…I thought he was referring to the practice after the game and not the Tenn. game. I’m prob wrong…
He played
better against UT than USC and I think he is just trying to set a positve tone going forward.
If we had lost he would have came out and admitted he did not do enough.
There were some dropped balls and the passes to Julio in the end zone could have been either caught or called PI.
It was not a great game for Greg, but there was something there. And, we did get the ball to Julio.
I hate the NCAA more than UT & AU combined. At least with UT & AU you got a fighting chance.
I agree pretty much with everyone..
And yes Pete too…
Look at the USC game and then look at the UT game.
USC: He was 10-20 for only 92 yards(50%), 4.6 yards per attempt, 2 int’s and a fumble. We did score a late TD but that was all Ingram…
UT: he was 18 of 29 (62%) for 120 yards, 4.1 yards per attempt, no INT’s and no fumbles…No TD’s. Sure one reason the game was close was our offenses inability to score TD’s but the REASON UT was able to score that late TD was Ingrams fumble.
Sure the numbers aren’t crazy better in the UT game but the tell tell stat is the TO’s. GMac was rattled in the USC game and it was obvious from the start. In the UT game, though he didn’t look that much more confident, the fact that he completed a higher number of passes and didn’t turn the ball over is a confidence booster for him. Lets just hope he goes out against LSU and continues to improve…
Scoring against Alabama will be like birthing a child: rare, painful, and messy. - The Ghost of Jay Cutler
greg mcelroy's passer rating has been steadily declining as Bama plays tougher competition
when Bama plays weaker competition, his passer rating is likely going to improve.
Bama 12 nationaly in sacks allowed.
LSU 91st nationally in sacks forced.
it is what it is...
by Captain_Obvious on Nov 4, 2009 9:31 AM CST reply actions
Sorry guys, but it started around the time of the Ole miss game...
He caught it from Jevan Snead. Yall knew that was contagious right??
Good luck against LSUx
If that's the case
Snead must have caught it back on the way to auburn. He can keep it.
I'm in no condition to drive...wait! I shouldn't listen to myself, I'm drunk.
by That Other Dave on Nov 4, 2009 11:50 AM CST up reply actions
Your analysis is exaggerated here OTS . . .
especially when you say, “completely and totally incapable of moving the football consistently down the field.” We moved the ball very well in the first half using the short throws to Julio and a couple of others. I share your frustration about scoring points, especially the fiasco inside the 5, but it’s just wrong to say that the passing game didn’t help us move the ball well. The wildcat and other running plays would not have worked so well if we had not also been able to generate some yardage with the short passes.
by M. Johnson Defender on Nov 4, 2009 9:51 AM CST reply actions
I think it was
More if them trying to get Mac out of the funk he was in. He did take on shot down field to Julio in the UT game and barely over threw him. His prblem was forcing balls to Julio and I think part of that came from people saying that Julio wasn’t getting the ball enough. We all seen the USC game when he threw the ball to Julio with 3 defenders around him and Maze was standng all by himself in the middle of the field. If he doesn’t force things, he’s fine. What might help is more play action. Everybody knows Bama can run the ball and I think play action could open some passing lanes for Mac to hit these guys downfield.
He bleeds Garnet and Gold, She bleeds Crimson and White. AND THEY BOTH HATE ORANGE! GO NOLES!! ROLL TIDE!!
by gonolesrolltide on Nov 4, 2009 10:02 AM CST reply actions
I think we should teach GMac...
the pump fake. Pump fake it to a triple-covered Julio, then BAM to the open receiver.
The pump fake
can be deadly to a safety that’s already leaning that direction. That would be a great call.
When was the
last time you saw GMac in the pocket long enough to pump fake? We have been very conservative with the pass play calling. I think they keep it short cause he just cant sling the rock. He is accurate and smart, but he lacks arm strength…
The Party Line
My impression of the game was as OTS expressed – but if CNS says that it was a good passing game, then it must have been a good passing game.
I write software for a living (and nobody pays me $4M to do that) – if Coach Saban said “We should open new TCP sockets for every request/response pair in an extended HTTP session” I would say “Gee, I think he’s wrong”. But I"m not about to second-guess his analysis of Alabama football; nor am I going to question his honesty or motives.
In the1992 National Championship Game Bama had 18 yards passing.
Defense wins championships and Bama has a nasty one.
Your temper brings dishonor to my happy mooshu palace.
Barker had 18 passing attempts that game. He was 10 of 18 for 154 yards and 1 td no int.
Interesting to look at his stats that year only 63 yds and 2 int against auburn, 54 yds against ut, 114 yds against lsu, and 69 yds vs sc and 73 vs tulane (those two were blowouts he only played some of the game.
36-0
"If wanting to win is a fault, as some of my critics seem to insist, then I plead guilty. I like to win. I know no other way. It's in my blood."- The Bear
by Bham03UAgrad on Nov 4, 2009 11:20 AM CST up reply actions
and he and his coach were immensely sadded by it all...
Roll 'Bama Roll: The Champagne of 'Bama Blogs.
These stats...
…are not correct.
"High standards come from passion within...." --Coach Nick Saban
by NiceLittleSaturday on Nov 4, 2009 10:19 PM CST up reply actions
Jay Barker was 4 for 13, 18 yards, with 2 interceptions in the Sugar Bowl.
We won that game on the ground and with the best defense in the nation.
by crimsontsunami on Nov 5, 2009 1:14 AM CST up reply actions
Against Tennessee Bama didn't throw the ball down the field........
want to know why? Tennessee plays with two deep at safety. One of those guys is Eric Berry. The deep pass against Tenn would’ve been a huge gamble. If not intercepted then incomplete. Very low percentage at best.
Your temper brings dishonor to my happy mooshu palace.
You are excatly right.
We were trying to keep Berry out of the game.
LSU has got a good DB too in Peterson although I think he is a corner.
Bama will take what they give us. If instead of 4 FG’s we had gotten 4 TD’s everyone would be fired up about our O. We need better play calling in red zone.
I hate the NCAA more than UT & AU combined. At least with UT & AU you got a fighting chance.
Quarterback Stuart Smalley
“I deserve good things. I am entitled to my share of happiness. I refuse to beat myself up. I am attractive person. I am fun to be with. "
“Because I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and, doggonit, people like me!”
You do have to remember that Tennessee’s defense is no sham, our secondary has played very, very well throughout the year. All that said, I don’t think McElroy played very well. True, he didn’t do anything to lose the game, but he didn’t really do that much to help win it, either, and if Tennessee had hit that last field goal then everyone would have been pointing fingers at McElroy and the passing game as the reason why.
He had some balls misfired badly, at least one on third down that went straight in the dirt, a horrible read on fourth down that resulted in a turnover on downs, and a few of his passes were a bit lazy, from what I saw, which gave time for a Tennessee defender to get in position to either knock the ball away or make a hit on the receiver.
McElroy played “average”, not “good”, in this fan’s opinion.
Tennessee Fans: We win at teh Internet!
clearly a different color jersey would have made the difference.
Roll 'Bama Roll: The Champagne of 'Bama Blogs.
Not what I saw . . .
. . . He threw one ball badly on 3rd down of the 2nd drive, just before we turned it over on downs. It was a pass thrown wide to Maze. I did see Smelley drop a 3rd down pass that the defender did not touch and I saw Julio drop a pass in the end zone after being hit by the defender. I won’t go into the mauling of Julio in the end zone on the next play. Another throw appeared to be Gmac’s fault but it may have been that freshman TE Williams ran the wrong route. In any event, Williams was not where Gmac though he would be. I also saw 2 very good defensive plays by TN defenders, one by Berry and the other by #41. When I first saw those two plays, I complained that Gmac was a fraction too slow in delivery, but after a 2nd and 3rd viewing, those were 2 very well thrown balls that Berry and # 41 made exceptionally good plays on. Sometimes the other player makes the play. Everything else in the first half was completed.
In the second half, Gmac was 5 for 6 for 32 yards. That’s mainly because we were very conservative in our play calling and we couldn’t get the damn TN offense off the field.
I’m going to have to defend Gmac. He is not a superstar, never has been and never will be. But he played a pretty good game. The lack of down field success may be partly his fault, having something to do with the fact that sometimes he does not hold on to the ball long enough. And that should be addressed. But this tendency has an upside: we are the least sacked team in the SEC. (Having witnessed JPW take numerous sacks because he held on to the ball far too long, I prefer the quick decision). But the fact that he had so few opportunities to throw down field was not his fault.
by M. Johnson Defender on Nov 4, 2009 9:57 PM CST up reply actions
McElroy didn't make any particularly bad throws,
and many of his passes were very accurate. He just wasn’t tested much when it came to passing downfield. He has the ability to do it, and everybody watching this Saturday who’s forgotten the early part of the season will find that out once again.
by crimsontsunami on Nov 5, 2009 1:23 AM CST up reply actions
As for the idea of Shula-esque being bad in this respect,
Steve Sarkisian in Washington brings a positive attitude to everything when it comes to his players. He tries to make it fun, and he’s had success with that. I also think our successful coach is almost always positive about individual players, and when he thinks there’s something to improve upon, he’ll say it. So really, Shula-esque is a fine esque to be when it comes to attitude. As an aside, I believe McElroy has the tools to do anything. All we have to do is give him a few opportunities a game to let it fly, and he’ll make good things happen.
I disagree.
Shula buried his head in the sand every time something was wrong. “I just think we played our best, and gosh darn it, we’ve gotta work harder. But really, everything is gee golly swell.” Look at some of his press conferences compared to those after games in CNS’s first two years. It’s like night and day. What I’m more interested in, though, is what has brought on CNS’s good attitude this year. He’s been upbeat after almost every game, even when we don’t play particularly well. Either he knows something about this team that we don’t, or he’s on antidepressants.
I'm not saying he was a successful coach...
He wasn’t. But none of his problems were attitude-based, at least as far as I can tell. If he had had the same amount of success Coach Saban has been having, we’d be thinking far differently about his attitude. Anyway, Nick Saban is way better – actually the best coach in all of football in my view – and I prefer his serious intense press conferences to Shula’s by far. Really, I just don’t like it when people add “esque” to the end of people’s names in a pejorative way, especially good people like Mike Shula.
by crimsontsunami on Nov 5, 2009 4:02 PM CST up reply actions
The Passing Game . . .
. . . has issues and some of those issues are related to things that Gmac is doing and/or not doing. However, some of those issues are related to play calling, dropped passes, and the inability of receivers to get separation. So Gmac is doing some things well and other things he could improve upon but it’s not all on him. And further, the problems that the passing game has are things that could be fixed relatively easily. So give Greg, the coaches, and the receivers a little time to improve in this area. I think they will beginning Saturday.
by M. Johnson Defender on Nov 5, 2009 1:17 PM CST reply actions
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