re: Cecil Hurt on what may be wrong with the defense this year

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We were much more ball control in 2016 and 2017 than we are in 2018. In just about every game in those seasons, we dominated time of possession.

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Thats because the coaches didn't trust Jalen's arm.

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The people using this excuse are pretty much clueless.

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Excellent I will send a letter asking for Saban to resign so you can step in since you are not clueless.

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We got gashed early and often.

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This seems to happen every year no matter who we have on D. Every team schemes to exploit us. OSU in the 1st CFB playoffs did as well and our D was freaking loaded. 14 guys on that D went in the 1st 4 rounds of the draft with at least 3 others drafted and what 3 other guys off that D that were not drafted currently on active rosters in the NFL.

Plain and simple we've been spoiled with elite MLB play since Saban arrived, and we don't have that this year. Wilson and Moses are above average players, but not on the level of McCkain, Hightowaer, Mosley, Foster, et al. Add to it some inexperience at safety, and they're struggling to mesh and communicate like in years past.

Sometimes our guy are lost on defense....it's a lack of experience.

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The bottom line is that the defense has more "wall clock" time to rest this year than last year. "Game clock" is irrelevant because incomplete passes and going out of bounds stops the clock.

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Except this is not the case in the first half. We are scoring so quick and moving the ball. Very seldom are we seeing incomplete passes from Tua and runs out of bounds. When our O gets the ball moves it down field and scores under a minute it means our D goes right back in. So it does not matter which clock you use.

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The point that is being lost is that time of possession is a useless stat. A run up the middle for a 1 yard loss will result in more time run off than a 20 yard sideline pass.

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Our 1st drive Saturday was 21 seconds 1 play and we score. Ark takes possession goes on a 9 play 3min 48 sec drive that resulted in a fumble. Our offense comes on the field scores in 2 plays in 55 seconds and the D goes right back out. That long drive by Ark was even longer in regards to the wall clock then the game clock because that almost 4 minute game clock drive only went 30 yards. So in real time I would that was a very long drive to be on the field to only go back out a few later because our O scored on 2 plays after the fumble recovery.

Id bite except they are giving up plays throughout the game and the starting defense isn’t out there for 77 plays.

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A 3-and-out offense is not a time-consuming one.

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Nor is an offense that scores quickly....on Saturday we had three drives in the first half, all resulting in TDs, that took a grand total of four plays: a 2-play drive and a couple of 1-play drives. That's awesome and I'm not complaining but, all totaled, that's about the same amount of rest for our D as one three and out...I think that's at least part of what Hurt was implying...

Anybody complaining about what is most likely the best offense in the history of college football is only putting a spotlight on their own stupidity.

As far as the defense. We certainly aren't as dominant as we've been the 2 previous years, but the good news is if we hold a team to a FG that's a 4 point spot off the first drive. If their first 3 drives are FG, punt, TD. Last year they'd be up 10-0 this year they will be down 21-10 or 17-10.

Just compare halftime scores from last year to this year to see how our MOV is going to expand against stronger competition this year because of how efficient this offense is. We may have a tired defense but they are going to have a 3 TD cushion late in the game.

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That drive isn't worth mentioning since our defense had not played yet.

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Yes and no. I agree in that reference directly but look at it this way. Take away that 21 seconds as mentioned the D has yet to play and take away our last drive of 30 seconds before the half since we went into the locker room before the D came back out. Our offense was on the field based on game clock less then 11 minutes in the first but our D was on for more then 18 minutes. Which put on D on the field for over 62% of the time in just the first half. Now I would have to rewatch the game and calculate out to be accurate here but based on the overall average of a half at 90 minutes that would equate to the D being on the field for almost 60 of those minutes in the 1st half alone.

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TideWarrior

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Thanks for the response. I pretty much agree. I'd forgotten that Morris was O.C. at Clemson.