Red eye I shouldn't have said it in text like that...it comes off harsh. You are partially correct, but it is more to do with the offensive advances within the SEc/NCAA. Bama has the best front 7 with rotational depth as well that they have ever had, and they are the best defense in the NCAA this year even with an average secondary. Any defense, I repeat any defense will give up more yards and points when they are put in high demand positions post turnovers/on the field for extended periods in the heat and humidity.
saying all of this, I am not down or a hater of the SEC.. I like the conference and watch a lot of the games...and I see a lot of programs that are on the rise here.. I know a lot in here have knocked the Pac 12 for these types of games.. Now you know the stress the defenses out here and what they have to deal with.. And I'm not saying the Pac 12 is as good as the SEC , just making a reasonable comparison..
Alabama had 100 plays and only punted twice. Ole Miss had 65 plays........Turnovers Alabama 5, Ole Miss 0, 24 points off turnover and a toss in a fluke TD.......you will lose virtually every time. Take away the latter and Alabama was controlling the ball and likely would have been ahead rather than behind in a good situation.
Hats off to Ole Miss. Alabama has no identity and will lose 2-3 more games. The Over was easy in this one.....anyone who watched the 1st two Bama games should have known that this would be a shootout.
Hats off to Ole Miss. Alabama has no identity and will lose 2-3 more games. The Over was easy in this one.....anyone who watched the 1st two Bama games should have known that this would be a shootout.
Agreed. I've been saying for the past 3 yrs now, the Bama OL is way down from past teams they've had as evident by the lack of a consistent/explosive run game and the number of HITS their QB's have taken.
Folks will tell you their front 7 (or 14 as they like to boast) is the best however they are big and fat and still cannot cover spread teams that can get to the corner OR cover backs out of the backfield.
The Bama secondary the past 3 years has been a joke. For as great as they recruit, if the SEC had better QB play, this would be more evident. I agree with you that they have the potential to lose 2-3 more games (UGA, TAMU, maybe LSU). I just wish people would quit giving Bama/Saban a pass by consistently putting them in the top 3 of polls every year with unproven talent. No other team gets this luxury from the media
Bama was not ready for the speed of the game. That seemed apparent. They seemed a step slow on coverage and it was evident that they could not get to the corner offensively. Ole Miss was just as big, but much faster that Bama. To be the man, you got to beat the man. Saturday night Miss beat the man (in the SEC).
i will add this regarding Bama...defensively they looked good running down hill tackling. But that vaunted LB core does not seem to be able to drop into coverage and defend. They are too big and way to stiff for that. I could see them having trouble with UGa and TAMU and what's funny is Ole Miss did not speed them up much. Ole Miss ran about 65 plays, to Bama running 100!!! Also, getting back to my statements earlier about Bama missing WR Cooper, Ole Miss averaged 9.4 yards per pass (Explosive plays) as compared to Bama at 4.7 yards per pass (very pedestrian).
I'm sorry if this sounds like I'm attacking you with this response, but it is so far off in my opinion I have to comment. The offensive line, while young and still gelling, is very talented and pushed ole miss around in the second half when we ran the ball. Remember that they were going up against arguably the second best defensive line in the SEC. Your comments about the big plays given up in the passing game disregards the fact that a majority of the yards were on two fluke plays...a tipped ball and a read option pass with linemen 5 yards downfield(illegal). Remember in this area as well that ole miss definitely has the best wide receiver core in the SEC. Ragland was out in the second half with a stinger as well. Our defense actually played amazingly if you note the 5 TO's on our side of the field and the extra high stress/pressure minutes they had to play especially early in the game. You are correct that 2/3 of our defensive backfield is weak and yes, we have had issues in the secondary for a while.
And this is not a homer response I said we would lose, I bet huge on ole miss...but our issues are QB, special teams, and play calling...not the majority of what you mentioned.
And this is not a homer response I said we would lose, I bet huge on ole miss...but our issues are QB, special teams, and play calling...not the majority of what you mentioned.
Poor defense?
Take away the fluke plays, and place a turnover on the other end of the field and you've got a 23-17 slugfest controlled by Bama's running game. The fact they had to abandon the run in the 2H drove the score way up. Neither team has a real solid QB at this point in their careers.
Thats my takeaway at least.
Take away the fluke plays, and place a turnover on the other end of the field and you've got a 23-17 slugfest controlled by Bama's running game. The fact they had to abandon the run in the 2H drove the score way up. Neither team has a real solid QB at this point in their careers.
Thats my takeaway at least.
Swalker ~ not taking your comment that way at all. I appreciate the thoughtful response. With the 5 T0's how do you account for the 421 yards that they accumulated? That's moving the ball (TO's or not) against your defense. They only ran 65 plays to rack up those numbers. Defensively, they did what they wanted to do against Bama, they made you work for those 37 points (Bama ran 100 plays). The read option thing is just something that every defense complains about (see bama v auburn from last 2 years). That's on the refs but you didn't stop them much at all.
Win...thanks for having this respectful conversation with me...I do believe I addressed the numbers. Take away 160 yards on those two fluke plays and you have an exhausted defense playing extremely well and only giving up ~260 yards in a game. We abandoned the run at times because of poor play calling/thought that the score/time dictated we had to pass. We slammed the ball down ole miss' throat every time we ran the ball and if I was calling the plays with 2:50 left down 6 we would not all be having this talk today. They would have had a steady dose of Henry. I agree with the fact that our QB play is horrible 3picks and 3 more thrown into the chest of ole miss defenders...it actually should have been worse.
Bet good points and great respect here shown on this thread which I know we all appreciate. When I look back on that game I see Alabama playing a pretty good game everywhere except the turnover category. That's odd, they normally win that battle. Ole miss is nasty defensively, and it took Bama 100 plays to get 500+ yards, so I think the offense is good, but it's not consistent in terms of the production vs amount of plays ran..... Just my thought there.
I will ill say this tho, I don't think ole miss has the best WR Corp in the sec. I believe the Aggies do, in fact I think it's the best in the nation. A lot of very talented pass catchers with huge height advantages. Arkansas and Bama will really struggle to contain A&M in my opinion.... And the Aggies run tempo too, you have to be scared of that if you're Kirby smart
I will ill say this tho, I don't think ole miss has the best WR Corp in the sec. I believe the Aggies do, in fact I think it's the best in the nation. A lot of very talented pass catchers with huge height advantages. Arkansas and Bama will really struggle to contain A&M in my opinion.... And the Aggies run tempo too, you have to be scared of that if you're Kirby smart
My final thought on the matter for today...I love A&M this year, really improved on defense. But, I truly believe that we will win every game the rest of the year except for Georgia...remember, I am the only Alabama alumni that I know of that stated ole miss would win and why and bet against my team before the game. I say this to highlight both my knowledge of my team and my ability to call a loss and bet on it when it is probable.
My pleasure. I try to always be respectful of others opinions. I try to give respect until it's not warranted. It's a good conversation. And I completely understand. I'm about to watch it again to see if I can discover some hidden jewel on the offenses or defenses. Jumping inside the head of Saban/Kiffin my guess is they started Bateman because of a lack of faith in the OL. A decision that if they could do over they might go the other way. I think it cost them momentum. Coker played well in the 2nd half.
Interesting point. Been reading a lot on the read option pass play that is almost impossible to defend. Look for a rule change in the next couple years regarding lineman down field. If you saw a screen shot of the play in the game, miss had a lineman 8 yards down field. The 1 yard cushion down field will change that play dramatically.....like it was put in place in the nfl. Funny they reviewed that play, and the ref had to see it. I know they can't call it at that point, but it could have made a difference.
