Now that "work on things" season is over, what can we expect offensively Saturday?

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what can we expect offensively Saturday?

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The discussion about what's changing with Alabama's offense continues three weeks into Brian Daboll's time in the headset.

The questions are well known at this point. Most centered on the use of second-year quarterback Jalen Hurts. As SEC play dawns, patterns are emerging as to how Daboll is using Hurts within a slightly retooled Crimson Tide offense.

His efficient night against Colorado State showed the balance within Hurts' game. A 167.65 passer rating ranks 22nd nationally while his 104.0-yard rushing average makes him the 28th best ball carrier in the nation.

Through three games, most of the passing plays have been short routes designed for one target with the option to take off. The jet sweep of the Lane Kiffin era is used more as a decoy than a quick pass.

The Colorado State performance had all the elements of the plan regarding Hurts. Seven of his 17 throws were screen passes. Two more completions were caught at the line of scrimmage.

Last week, Hurts said he favored the quick strikes.

"I think it allows you to catch a rhythm," he said.

There were a few big plays in the passing game with touchdowns going to Calvin Ridley and Robert Foster. The first, a 78-yarder to Ridley, was a fake read option with a throw 20 yards down the middle. Foster's traveled 10 yards to the sideline before the senior cut up the middle for a 52-yard touchdown.

Hurts threw where he looked first both times. Of his 11 runs, three appeared to be called passes where he dropped into the pocket, surveyed the field and ran. That's the advantage of having a quarterback who doesn't have to toss those balls into the crowd. The first of those three runs went 27 yards for a touchdown on the first possession. Another ended with an 11-yard run. Only once did he bail from the pocket, roll to the right and throw it away.

The final passing numbers included 12 completions on 17 throws with the two scores and 248 yards. The relatively safe throws kept interceptions out of the equations. Defenders are rarely in the passing lane with the throws designed and Hurts hasn't recorded an interception in six games.

It also helps with completion percentages. Hurts is 26th in the country at 67.9 percent after the last two games. He was 77.8 percent against Fresno State and 70.6 percent Saturday without the benefit of the jet sweep tosses that boosted his freshman number to 62.8 percent.

Of Hurts' five incompletions against Colorado State, three were deep balls safely over-thrown -- two to Ridley and another to Foster.

The running back screens aren't check downs either. That explains why Bo Scarbrough is the second-leading pass catcher with Damien Harris tied for third.

The notable exception to all of that came on Hurts' final throw of the night. Late in the third quarter, he dropped in the pocket, looked to multiple options before hitting DeVonta Smith coming across the middle on a well-thrown ball caught 18 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.

"Just going through my progressions," Hurts later described it, "high to low and try to make a nice ball."

The planned runs also fed off the passing game. Several times Hurts faked screen passes to freeze defenders for a planned run. A few could be run-pass options, though some were clearly fakes. The longest planned run was a 14-yard gain on his first carry, a read option.

It doesn't look like Daboll's offense is asking for Hurts to scan the field too often and make different reads. It's just more efficient to allow Hurts to run when the first option or two isn't open in the passing game...

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Almost none of the passes to running backs that they call screens are actually screen passes. Most of them were either swing routes to the back coming out or RPO passes off off of a rollout. We didn't do either one of those thing very much last season and IMO they're going to be highly effective all season.

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