quote:
Yeah, but he was a bit stifled against Clemson and they deserve the credit for not letting him plow through the center. Very few teams were able to accomplish that this season. We know what Henry does and we have seen him play better games but, many haven't. Most football fans have never heard of Henry or seen him play in any other game than this one. They aren't familiar with his style and Alabama's usual method of controlling the line. If it were my first time watching Alabama play, I too would have been frustrated and wondering why they continue to run up the middle.

I think some of you are misunderstanding my post. From what I saw in the game, Alabama could not be stopped on quick hitting, power runs.

What Clemson could stop consistently (and other teams who've played Alabama from what I remember) were slow developing run plays in which Henry (primarily at least):
1.) Does not immediately get the ball or
2.) Has to slow / stop at the point of exchange
3.) Runs wide

#3 is especially irritating. There were multiple plays in which Henry is running, by design, 7-10 yards laterally while being 6-8 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Henry's performance has been exception when running North/South. His performance when not running North/South has been mediocre. The Alabama running game has essentially been over the past several seasons.

I understand why you feed the running game. I like that Alabama has a commitment to the running game. I'm confused as to why, in keeping a commitment to the running game, those plays have been called with frequency. It does appear that Alabama started moving away from those plays to some degree in the Clemson game in middle of the 2nd quarter by design or coincidence. I haven't finished rewatching.

Through where I am now, they had 16 run plays. Six of the plays that I think don't make sense for a total of 5 yards with no play going more than 3. Ten of the plays that I thought were quick hitters. Six of those plays were for 7 or more yards. That's massive production.