Disappointing Defense Must Drive Resurgence
by outsidethesidelines on Oct 28, 2010 9:43 AM CDT
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To the extent that the revamped defense was expected to reload and not rebuild, that expectation has simply not come to fruition over the course of the first two months of the 2010 season. As I've written in entirely far too many Initial Impressions pieces this year, we really haven't done anything consistently well on the defensive side of the ball, whether that be stopping the run, rushing the passer, or defending on the back-end. We've done bits and pieces of that at times in 2010, but never with the degree of totality and consistency that we need, and after eight weeks the "strength" of our defense, in so much it can be one, is our ability (or good fortunes, however you want to look at it) to generate timely turnovers in the red zone.
And I know some will chime in that if you look at our defensive rankings nationally they are quite good. Admittedly, the raw statistical rankings look great -- 3rd in scoring defense, 12th in total defense, 5th in pass efficiency defense, and 21st in run defense -- but those rankings have in many ways been somewhat of a statistical mirage, largely driven by facing a slew of bad offenses. For example, through eight games, the Alabama defense has faced only one team ranked in the top 40 in total offense (Arkansas), while it has faced four teams ranked lower than 80th nationally in total offense (Duke, Penn State, Florida, and Tennessee). Those four bottom-feeders have averaged less than a touchdown per game against the Tide, and in the end that has had the effect of inflating 'Bama's standing in the defensive rankings.
Statistics notwithstanding, struggles have been everywhere, and some legitimate complaint can be made of the performance of nearly every single defensive contributor to date. Josh Chapman has been solid, but certainly no Terrence Cody, and Damion Square has not been able to fill the shoes of Brandon Deaderick. It took Dont'a Hightower eight games to record a single tackle for loss, and Courtney Upshaw has spent more time on the training room tables than in opposing offense's backfields. Jerrell Harris struggled at Will before being moved to Sam and then to the bench. Nico Johnson was nowhere to be found for the first month, and we've relied heavily on true freshman C.J. Mosley in recent weeks. Dre Kirkpatrick has been soft and somewhat inconsistent in coverage, and while DeMarcus Milliner has played well by true freshmen standards, opposing defensive coordinators clearly love seeing him in the game. Only God knows how DeQuan Menzie has held up physically, and when not making key interceptions Robert Lester spends his time either taking terrible angles or disappearing for quarters at a time. Phelon Jones did not play a meaningful snap until we went to Knoxville, and the much ballyhooed Burton Scott still has not.
Even the two bona fide stars of the defense, Marcell Dareus and Mark Barron, have had issues of their own. Dareus, of course, missed the first two games of the season after being suspended for his role in the Agentgate scandal, and upon returning has fought through a variety of nagging injuries. Barron has played well for the most part, but he has struggled when isolated in man coverage against the better skill position players, and was the culprit of several key breakdowns in Columbia.
All told, it just hasn't come together like we had hoped. In hindsight, perhaps we were all a bit naive to think that we could make such a smooth transition with nine new starters. While it may be easy to casually assume that teams with bushels of highly-recruited players can reload at will, the defensive struggles we have had this season, not to mention the general struggles of fellow powerhouses Texas and Florida, point to that simply not being the case. It seems safe to say now that we should probably re-think that notion moving forward.
Nevertheless, despite some of the defensive issues to date, in the middle of the off week we find ourselves 7-1, in control of our own destiny in the SEC, and only two key losses from some teams of questionable quality away from once again controlling our own destiny in the national championship race. In other words, defensive struggles or not, we find ourselves in a pretty envious position.
The question for now turns on just how good you want to be and just how far you want to go. Even with a total collapse an 8-4 season is guaranteed, and even with some struggles it is hard to see us not getting to at least 9-3. If the issues that have plagued us to date persist in the final month, the odds still seem good of likely finishing up either 10-2 or 9-3. And if that's good enough, well, so be it.
If we want to go further, though, defensive improvement will be required. Say what you will about the quarterback problems of LSU, but their skill talent on the outside will likely prove disastrous for us if we cannot somehow find a way to rush the quarterback; we won't be able to cover them on the back end without assistance from up front. Likewise, if the issues with the interior run defense continue, Stevan Ridley will probably have a career day. And even if you can assume we'll do enough to get by Mississippi State, we're going to have to improve in almost every single way in order to slow down Auburn's prolific attack.
It's unlikely that we can get there with offense alone. Prior to the Tennessee game, our offense was averaging 22 points per game in conference play, a good result no doubt but in some ways further proof that they would not be enough of a juggernaut to put the entire team on its back and overcome any and all defensive issues to carry us to victory. That seems to be the case moving forward, and the truth is that if we find ourselves needing 24+ points down the stretch in order to win, that's going to be a losing proposition each and every time. The raw talent is there defensively, and for Alabama to take down LSU and Auburn, the Alabama defense must live up to that potential in the final month of the season.
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Good writeup.
I think the most important part of the defense for the remaining schedule in November is run support. That is what the 3 conference teams remaining do best and that according to that stats above is suprisingly what our defense does not do good at. I do think we stop the run we put ourselves in great position to win at least 2 of the 3. Simply because I can’t picture Lee, Jefferson, and/or Relf beating us with their arms.
Additionally, you mention Lester’s terrible angles in pursuit which is exactly what I pictured on Auburn’s last TD against LSU on McAleb’s little dash up the sideline.
LSU managed 17 points against AU's defense
so what makes you think they will shred our defense? I know that it is your MO to talk about our problems and everyone knows we have them on defense. However, I find it unlikely that an offense like LSU will suddenly come to life just as you find it unlikely that our defense will suddenly come to life. That said, LSU will be an extremely tough game for us. However, if we win that one I believe we are in extremely great shape with the rest of our games at BDS. I think we will handle Miss State which could potentially set up one of the biggest games in the history of the Iron Bowl. That said, Auburn has not played all that well on the road so what makes you think that they will suddenly play well on the road coming into that atmosphere? Granted we have problems but it seems as though every top tier team does as well. I am relatively new this year, but I am curious as to how you wrote about the team last year and their march to win it all. I know as a fan, I did not feel completely confident about the team until after the UF game and even then I thought we would have our hands full with Texas.
Roll Tide!
While AU’s secondary is atrocious (bordering on non-existant), the have been able to pretty consistently get pressure with just their front 4. We, obviously, have not. It’s not just a matter of that offense coming to life. If we can’t get in Jefferson/Lee’s faces, they stand to do better.
"Shave your head, get a wet sponge, and flip the switch, 'cause you're about to get a Truthocution!" -Stephen Colbert
by Slice of Life on Oct 28, 2010 10:25 AM CDT up reply actions
AUs pass defense is atrocious and LSU could not exploit it
All I am saying is that I am more interested in how we match up with the teams left on our schedule then anything else at this point. We may have problems but so do the teams left on our schedule. It’s going into November and I think we have a good shot to run the table in the SEC. I’m not thinking of NC at this point.
Roll Tide!
by mobilematt12 on Oct 28, 2010 10:35 AM CDT up reply actions
They couldn't exploit it
because Fairley was up in their QBs grill every play. We don’t have that luxury.
I don’t disagree with your assessment of our chances of winning the SEC, however.
"Shave your head, get a wet sponge, and flip the switch, 'cause you're about to get a Truthocution!" -Stephen Colbert
by Slice of Life on Oct 28, 2010 11:30 AM CDT up reply actions
This^^^^
Say what you will about the barn’s defensive secondary (and I submit that they are no better or worse than ours), but the pressure they get from their front seven FAR exceeds the complete lack of penetration that we get from our D line and LB’s……If we cannot in some way find a way to get our defensive guys in the backfield from here on out, we are going to have a big problem…….Like OTS said, LSU’s skill players are good enough to make us pay if we cannot get some disruption to Jefferson……..and I shudder to think what Cam Newton will do to us if we do not 1) get some pressure on him and 2) learn to tackle much, much better than we have thus far…….Newton thrives on people over pursuing allowing him to cut back against the grain…….and believe me, the surest way to turn a 5 yd Cam Newton run into a backbreaking 70 yd touchdown run is for our safety to take a bad angle on him……..If people think we can continue to play this sloppily on defense and beat auburn, they are going to be awfully disappointed on Nov 26…….
Along those lines, another thing that worries me about the barn is the way we tend to relax and lose focus on defense – last drive of second half for UT anybody? – the thing is, one drive where we lose focus even for a second against auburn WILL result in them scoring a touchdown……..we have got to get focused big time……..Imagine the joy of not only beating auburn to derail their NC hopes, but beating them on the way to winning one ourselves………that, my friends, is the stuff that Crimson dreams are made of………
That is easy to say...
LSU managed 17 points against AU’s defense so what makes you think they will shred our defense? I know that it is your MO to talk about our problems and everyone knows we have them on defense. However, I find it unlikely that an offense like LSU will suddenly come to life just as you find it unlikely that our defense will suddenly come to life.
It’s easy to say that Auburn has a terrible defense, but how did their stops of LSU come about? Simple, they dominated at the line of scrimmage with the defensive front seven. Nick Fairley had 6 tackles, including 3.5 TFL’s and 2 sacks. Behind him, Josh Bynes and Craig Stephens had 18 tackles, a couple of TFL’s, a sack, a QB hurry, and a pass broken up. So, again, Auburn stopped LSU by dominating at the point of attack.
Now, can we do that? Or, better yet, exactly when have we done that this season? It’s easy, we haven’t, and in fact with the exception of the Florida game we haven’t even come close. Take Tennessee, for example, who has arguably the worst offensive line in the country and more issues up front than LSU can dream of, what happened there? They stonewalled our pass rush all night long, and fought their way to a 100+ yard rusher despite getting only 14 carries.
And that’s the problem. Sure we can shut down the LSU attack if we are dominant at the point of attack, just like Auburn did. But can we do that? If we play like we did for most of the first two months of the season, that’s simply not going to happen. That’s my point of the entire article, the defense will have to play better than it did in the first two months if we are to get through both LSU and Auburn.
"Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself." -- Milton Friedman
by outsidethesidelines on Oct 28, 2010 11:39 AM CDT up reply actions
Auburn does have a terrible D
But I don’t disagree with your assesment of how they shut down LSU. LSU’s offense is just worse than Auburn’s defense. At least on that day it was.
by HarveyBirdmanAAL on Oct 28, 2010 11:43 AM CDT up reply actions
OTS your analysis always very good
but you have a habit of selecting data and then omitting other data to make your argument. The 100 yard rusher got 56 of those yards on one play. I realize that counts but you will often take something that Bama does like that and call it an aberration and dismiss it as such. Granted we have not had a great defensive push from the front 7 all year and there is no reason to believe it will suddenly appear. My point is that LSU was stopped by a defense that gave up 34 to Kentucky, and 42 to Arkansas. Where were the stops in those games? I don’t disagree with the basis of your article that we need to play better to win out. I think that is a given. But I am not sure it is as much of an uphill climb as your articel suggests or at least my take on your article. At this point, I don’t care about playing to the standard or the process; from this point out it is just win baby. And each of those 3 teams we play all have their own problems that we can exploit. LSU is the game that bothers me the most because it is on the road. If we get by them, I like our chances at home.
Roll Tide!
by mobilematt12 on Oct 28, 2010 11:57 AM CDT up reply actions
At this point, I don’t care about playing to the standard or the process
You, sir, have crossed the line.
/shun
"Shave your head, get a wet sponge, and flip the switch, 'cause you're about to get a Truthocution!" -Stephen Colbert
by Slice of Life on Oct 28, 2010 12:55 PM CDT up reply actions
The pressure is getting to me
and I momentarily lost my senses!
Roll Tide!
by mobilematt12 on Oct 28, 2010 12:59 PM CDT up reply actions
"defense that gave up 34 to Kentucky and 42 to Arkansas"
while I agree with your sentiments about just win baby, LSU is a totally different animal than either Kentucky or Arkansas……..Kentucky and especially Arkansas are able to neutralize a team that can dominate the line of scrimmage somewhat due to their ability to throw the ball down the field very effectively…….To wit, it didn’t matter how good Nick Fairley was against Arkansas b/c by the time he got there, the QB had gotten rid of the ball…….because of this, Arkansas and Kentucky were able to exploit what is the weak point of auburn’s defense, the secondary……….LSU goes about things a totally different way……..their idea is to run the ball down your throat all game long and occasionally hit you with play action passes (and run zone/option plays when they want to mix things up)……..in order to do it, they have to win the battle at the line of scrimmage……….this played right into auburn’s hands, and the auburn front seven flat out destroyed the LSU offensive line……….it is for that reason that the LSU offense could only score 17 points on auburn’s defense………
We have to get better at the point of attack in order to similarly shut down LSU’s offense……….and we have been nothing short of pathetic at getting penetration/TFL/sacks all season long………….
Another metric to view, though RE: scoring defense
is our performance vs. scoring offenses:
*For instance, we did absolutely nothing right against SC and it showed: the ’cocks average about 30 ppg, and we allowed 35;
*against OM (31.4ppg) we allowed 10;
*Ark (34.8 ppg), we gave up 20…and 17 in the first quarter;
*PSU (20.3), allowed 3
*UT (21.7), allowed 13
*UF (27.6), allowed 6
*Duke (22.7), gave up 13
*SJSU (10), permitted 3
The point of this is to say, while hell yes we have been inconsistent in every phase of the game, there is something very consistent that appears: Teams are scoring below their average (usually well below their average) against us. The scoring defense numbers aren’t a fluke or the product of the bottom elements elevating our overall performance. It’s a young team, it shows. But, it’s still a physical team that makes scoring a bit difficult, and, 88% of the time (this season, so far), no matter how well or poorly teams have performed against our defense, it still isn’t enough.
Anyway, just an expanded look at the category that counts most: Points.
"Orators are most vehement when their cause is weak" Marcus Tullius Cicero
by Stuck in the Plains on Oct 28, 2010 10:43 AM CDT reply actions
This is a fair point
With the exception of South Carolina, we have done one thing very well: we have given up a total of 3 td’s against 6 medicore offenses, and another 2 td’s to Arkansas.
What are the stats on red zone defense? We have to be near the top.
What are the stats on red zone defense? We have to be near the top.
We’re right at the top. In terms of percentage of opponent red zone possessions that result in points, we are sixth in the country. In terms of overall points allowed in the red zone and percentage of opponent red zone possessions resulting in touchdowns, we’re second nationally in both categories behind only TCU, and we lead all BCS programs.
Not surprisingly, when we lost in Columbia, the red zone defense fell apart. Four red zone possessions, four touchdowns.
"Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself." -- Milton Friedman
by outsidethesidelines on Oct 28, 2010 11:43 AM CDT up reply actions
It's actually looked a bit shaky since Columbia too...
Maybe because the emphasis is on playing better, every down, than magically trying to get better inside the 20? Maybe because teams have had 1/2 season of game tape to see what we’re trying to do? Who knows.
"Orators are most vehement when their cause is weak" Marcus Tullius Cicero
by Stuck in the Plains on Oct 28, 2010 12:59 PM CDT up reply actions
Yeah and I don't think that
is a very good way to determine if your defense is good……..I’ve always thought that the way you play on the rest of the field is the way you play in the red zone………If you are weak on defense until they get to the 20, you are weak on defense inside the 20………..we have been extremely fortunate to get a lot of turnovers in the red zone – and credit must be given to our guys for getting those turnovers……..but the problem I have with this whole “bend but don’t break” thing is that if you give a good offense multiple chances to get in the red zone, they are going to make you pay for it ie South Carolina……….I promise you that if we give Cam Newton a bunch of chances in the red zone he is going to EFF us up……..
well atleast
Lsu and Miss st have qbs that can run fairly well to help prepare us for the Iron bowl against cam newton.
IF WE DONT FIRE THRUSTERS NOW
WE WONT BE ABLE TO ESCAPE THE DERP HORIZON AND BE SUCKED INTO THE DERP SINGULARITY!!!~~Kleph
Unfortunately
our defense isn’t going to see anything quite like Newton before the Iron Bowl. I think the offense will have to play its best game of the year to win that game. They don’t necessarily have to score 40 points, but they have to control the ball. LSU did a good job at times controlling the ball against Auburn, but in the second half they started going three-and-out despite having good field position for most of the half. It put too much pressure on their defense to stop Newton who is going to make plays if given the opportunity.
by Mitchell Smilie on Oct 28, 2010 11:25 AM CDT up reply actions
To beat AU, we'll need to display the one thing we've lacked all year on D - discipline.
Last year’s D could bring pressure from DBs because we had sufficient discipline among the other players to cover zones without a ton of breakdowns. While our raw talent level may in fact be higher, we don’t have enough discipline (or experience) to do that with the current crop of rookies and recover against the likes of Newton. His de-pantsing of Peterson on the long TD run last weekend should be the signature play of his season and a warning to all of their opponents so long as he’s on the Plains.
I don’t think we have anyone on D who matches up to Newton. Our playmakers – imo Hightower, Mosley, Upshaw, Barron – give up size, speed or both to Newton. We’ll only succeed against the zone-read/option by playing assignment football (cliche, I know) and gang-tackling since one man won’t usually bring him down.
LSU concerns me because they’re rich in talent, even if it’s poorly led. MSU concerns me since there’s a risk we don’t take them seriously. Auburn concerns me because they might be a better team this year, and that’s something I didn’t think I’d be saying in 2010.
Also RE: averaging 22 PPG in pre-UT conference play
of the teams we played,
Arkie gives up 23, we scored 24
Florida gives up 18, we scored 30
SC gives up 18, we scored 21
OM gives up 32…well, we won’t talk about this one (boo on you erratic mofos)
UT (I know it’s not included, but) 29, we scored 41.
The point of this is, it’s a low-scoring conference, and we’re still (OM excepted) exceeding other teams’ median performance against conference foes. It’s not pretty to behold at times, but if you combine exceeding what their defenses normally allow, with holding offenses to well below what they usually score, you get wins.
I’m not trying to be Cap’n obvious or be condescending, but the nature of this league is close games, and, if we keep them down by 6-7 points, and score more than most teams by 5-7 points, you get comfortable (although closer) games in the 10-13 point range MOV.
Another 2 cents
"Orators are most vehement when their cause is weak" Marcus Tullius Cicero
by Stuck in the Plains on Oct 28, 2010 10:53 AM CDT reply actions
This explains our No. 2 ranking in Sagarin's Predictor formula
He uses these sorts of scoring margins in his formula. As SITP demonstrates, we are ahead of our SEC brethren in margins of victory.
This doesn’t diminish OTS’s analysis. It only shows that we have out performed everyone else in the SEC on the scoreboard. And since our standard is not “everyone else in the SEC,” OTS is quite correct to point out our inconsistencies on both sides of the ball.
The biggest surprise for me has been...
the lack of playing time by Nico Johnson. He came in last year and filled in admirably for Donte…yet, this year he has been sidelined. It seems to me with all the inexperience we have on defense we’d need/want someone who got a lot of experience last year playing. It’s crazy having Milliner and Mosely both starting as true freshman. Other than the obvious, (Moseley is playing better…etc.) does anyone have any insight on why Nico is limited? I noticed a rather large bandage around his elbow against UT. Also, Tana Patrick and J. Harris both have to be dissappointed seeing Moseley starting.
Nico is the starter in the
base defense, Mosley is the starter in the nickel, and we play the nickel most the time.
Auburn fans are like slinkys... not really good for anything but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs.
Yep...
and that happens when 5 of the first 8 teams you play are wholly spread, and the other two (SC, and to a lesser extent, Ark) incorporate it heavily into their offense.
"Orators are most vehement when their cause is weak" Marcus Tullius Cicero
by Stuck in the Plains on Oct 28, 2010 1:01 PM CDT up reply actions
It all starts with the D and O line..........
On offense, we were imposing our will on other teams because our O line was pushing them off the ball. We pound them into exhaustion and it opens up other possiblities in the passing game. (I will not get into gmac debate here)
On defense, if we are pushing our way into the backfield and disrupting the qb, then better things happen in the defensive backfield, see Defense 101. We aren’t even sniffing of a pass rush this year.
Both of these areas must improve if we are to even begin to have a chance at finishing strong and winning the last 4 games. If not, Atlanta here we come for the Chick-fil-a Bowl and NOT the SECCG. Plain and simple.
I don't mind bad news, and I don't mind good news, but I can't stand surprises! Coach Nick Saban
While the D needs improvement
At least in relation to last year’s unit, what concerns me more is our offensive line’s on again off again ability to open up viable lanes for the running game.
Of course these problems may simply stem from the fact that every freaking team we play has 2 weeks to figure out how to stop it, but we need to figure out some way to bring some consistent big play opportunities for the backs, rather than have them fight for 3-4 yards because there’s a traffic jam at the lines.
I understand that we’ve had to rely on the pass a bit more because the D is softer this season, but it kills me we aren’t focusing on the abilities of Mark & Trent to grind out yardage and keep opposing offenses off the field.
I had a parrot. The parrot talked, but it did not say "I'm hungry," so it died.
-Mitch Hedberg
by clarence on Oct 28, 2010 11:28 AM CDT via mobile reply actions
Our defense will not get tested till the Barn.
LSU and MSU can’t throw the ball. I think getting healthy will be the most important factor in the rest of our season both offensively and defensively.
LSU has athletes.
They can still burn us with some big plays on offense. One is enough in a close game; think about punt returns, too…
I’m not expecting massive changes from our D in strategy this next game. It wouldn’t surprise me to see some different faces in the rotation, though, after the open week.
LSU’s defensive line is good, but I’m told a bit undersized. Our O-line should be able to move them, especially in the 2nd half.
I think Julio agrees with this sentence
. One is enough in a close game
LSU-UA 2009
"Orators are most vehement when their cause is weak" Marcus Tullius Cicero
by Stuck in the Plains on Oct 28, 2010 1:02 PM CDT up reply actions
Y'all can debate and discuss all you want...
it is clear to me the reason for our struggles…we’re sandbaggin’ ! :)
"It's not the size of the cat in the fight, it's size of the fight in the cat"
"Pep talks... only work when they touch that ember of truth learned the hardest possible way on the field.-Kleph
Man, the latest two articles make it sound like we suck...
Yes, both excellent in information, that’s what we do during a bye-week… reflect and obviously we reflect well. However, there’s a negativity that comes about with these two articles back to back. How about a touch of football humor in between to liven things up. Still, I do love everyone’s forthrightness in their critic but we need a little ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!
"There are going to be days when you think you've got no more to give and then you're going to give plenty more. You are going to have pride and class. You are going to be very special. You are going to win the national championship for the University of Alabama." - Coach Paul Bear Bryant
Rooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooollllllllllllllllllllllll Tide Rolllllllll
Hold my beer and watch this.
HEELL YEAH!
"There are going to be days when you think you've got no more to give and then you're going to give plenty more. You are going to have pride and class. You are going to be very special. You are going to win the national championship for the University of Alabama." - Coach Paul Bear Bryant
Most of OTS's analysis . . .
. . . assumes that opponents are going to play at the top of their game. This means that whatever weaknesses we have, if not addressed, will most likely be fully exploited by the opponent.
SC played against us about as well as they can play. And Arkansas played very well against us for most of a game. OTS’s analysis prior to both those games rang true and insightful.
While it is true that very few teams play at the top of their game more than 2 or 3 games in a year, we should expect to get the best that an opponent has to offer because 1) it’s good to prepare for the worst, even if you’re just a fan trying to enjoy the game, 2) SEC teams often play their best games against us, and 3) we face 6 SEC teams this year with 2 weeks to prepare.
We may be able to win when we don’t play our best, and sometimes you can even win a NC (see LSU, most of 2007), but there’s nothing like winning at the top of your game (see Bama in SECCG 2009). All these problems we have can be addressed before the LSU game, and if they are, we will probably romp all over the Tigers. But if not, and LSU plays at the top of their game, we’re in trouble.
One variable we must consider
LSU, MSU, AU – Each one of these teams has their own problems. While we look at our teams problems sometimes we forget their’s and assume they’ll play perfect and expose us.
Hold my beer and watch this.
I will say this just one more time
I don’t know why people think LSU and AU can play with our big boys ,we have not seen anything what we think they can do when there so menny thing we have not seen out of this team, we will seen a lot more in this game buyt still not all.
by gburges3 on Oct 28, 2010 1:33 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Problems and all........
Inconsistencies and all, even with the loss to SC, I do indeed think we find ourselves in an enviable position.
You can't win. You can't break even. You can't get out of the game.
After 8 games ...
I find myself much more disappointed with the offense. I’d say that the defense is about what I expected. The pass rush is really bad and I didn’t expect that. The backfield has been surprising solid. Most of the blown coverages seem to come from the linebackers.
The offense, however, has been really bad (compared to our expectations for this season). The offense has been in a shell for half of the season, especially in those games where we struggled and got behind big. We cannot expect the defense to save us from 4 straight 3 & outs and the like. Hopefully we learned a little something in the second half last week.
Be nice if we came out with both Mark and Trent lined up in the I.
We don’t ever use them as a combo on the field play wise.But I aint the coach,just a fan.
The Tide has just begun to take your fuckin life!
its happened a whopping one time...
where they have both been on the field. result? MI fumbled snap
by CrimsonTide229 on Oct 28, 2010 8:28 PM CDT up reply actions
Great write up OTS.
I agree with all of what you said.
Right now the whole focus has to be LSU. We need to stop worrying about how we are going to stop Newton. Lose to LSU it won’t matter that much will it? And, if our players get worried about Newton right now, well we are going to lose the next two.
No doubt the key for us winning against LSU is defense. Our offense will be a little better against a pretty good LSU D because I do think GMac is going to go down field some which will open up the run. I think Julio can have another big day if they will throw it his way, especially if he is not being covered by Patterson. If they play Patterson on him the whole game I think we go to Hanks and Mays often. If they double Julio we will be able to go deep to Maze in the slot. I think Trent can perhaps bust a long one on them like Auburn did. He is a more explosive runner, more likely to take it 60 yards, than Ingram. I like Ingram in the game, especially late, but Richardson is emerging as the bigger homerun threat. I think we can put 21 on LSU with offense, and maybe even 28-30.
But the key is our defense. What can we do on defense to get to some pretty shaky LSU qb’s? And, more importantly, how can we stop the run to make those shaky qb’s beat us?
I think stopping the run comes back to our linebackers. First, I’m hoping Upshaw gets healthier this week. Secondly, I’m hoping Hightower comes out a little more inspired than he has been most of this season…just a little bit would help us. But, for me the key has got to be Nico Johnson. He may not be an All American, and he may not be an NFL backer (although he may still emerge as one), but for us to beat LSU he has to play up to the level he is capable of playing. That is all. He just has to play up to what he is capable of doing. If he does that I think our average D can still hold LSU to the 17 they got from Auburn. I just think their offense is very suspect. I mean UT did shut them down at home and I think our D is better than UT anyway. Our young secondary will not be the liability they were against Arky & SC. LSU is going to run it, and we can stop them.
Do that and we win 21-17. I’d be thrilled with that kind of result.
But…this game could go either way. But, at least we have 2 weeks to heal up and prepare for them. I know they got 2 weeks too, but everyone has had that on us so what is the big deal for them.
As much as I hate Auburn I hate Tenn. that much more.
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