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re: KDB quietly rebuilding a defense centered team
Posted on 7/22/26 at 10:37 pm to crimsoncoded94
Posted on 7/22/26 at 10:37 pm to crimsoncoded94
I agree for sure. The biggest thing though is that the personnel on the DL actually fits the scheme now. They were essentially playing an Odd Front the majority of the season with an Even Front (4-2-5) 1-gap players who don’t possess the size to play between the Tackles….thats why Keenan and Simmons were on the field together so often despite both playing the same position.
Guys like Keeley, Smith, Renaud, K. Collins, etc were essentially unplayable in the bigger front CKW transitioned to…that’s why they were all processed and replaced with much bigger bodies in the offseason.
It’s remarkable to me how consistent the defense was week in and week out when you consider the overall lack of NFL talent and a Dline that needed L.Simmons to play so much as a TF bc the DL had 1/2 a dozen guys that weighed 275lbs last year.
The roster is in the best place it’s been in so long on both sides of the ball. This team is light years ahead of last years team.
Guys like Keeley, Smith, Renaud, K. Collins, etc were essentially unplayable in the bigger front CKW transitioned to…that’s why they were all processed and replaced with much bigger bodies in the offseason.
It’s remarkable to me how consistent the defense was week in and week out when you consider the overall lack of NFL talent and a Dline that needed L.Simmons to play so much as a TF bc the DL had 1/2 a dozen guys that weighed 275lbs last year.
The roster is in the best place it’s been in so long on both sides of the ball. This team is light years ahead of last years team.
This post was edited on 7/23/26 at 6:26 am
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Posted on 7/22/26 at 10:38 pm to Cover1Key
quote:
S/S: Bray Hubbard (Jireh Edwards will play a lot situationally; best Safety/Nickel since Minkah/X. McKinney)
Could this be a situation where Edwards is in a lot in 6 DB situations?
Posted on 7/22/26 at 10:43 pm to Diego Ricardo
Yes, as well as Ivan Taylor, especially in obvious passing situations where Hubbard moves down to LB will put Jireh on the field ahead of Dre Jr. Jireh is an absolute animal. Ivan Taylor may take Sabb’s spot in the starting lineup from what I’ve been told. Extremely good ball skills, awareness and tackles much more consistently than Sabb does.
The Secondary is the best and deepest in the SEC and it’s not debatable imo
The Secondary is the best and deepest in the SEC and it’s not debatable imo
This post was edited on 7/22/26 at 10:45 pm
Posted on 7/22/26 at 10:47 pm to Cover1Key
Yeah, Sabb is mostly solid but he’s had some tackling and angle problems I’ve noticed on TV but was unsure what the coach’s tape showed. If you want to bend but don’t break, you gotta have great back seven tacklers.
Posted on 7/22/26 at 10:51 pm to Diego Ricardo
Obvious passing situations:
Edge: Y. Pierre
Edge: Justin Hill (breakout season)
Nose: Simmons
4-tech Thompkins (Only if 4-down, CKW has incorporated several 3-down pressures that are well-designed)
LB: Woodson (former Safety)
LB: Hubbard
Nickel: Red Morgan
F/S: Ivan Taylor/ Sabb
W/S: Jireh Edwards
CB: Z Brown
CB: D Lee
Dime (when 3-down): Zay Mincey
- The roster is starting to look more like a CNS roster:
- Y. Pierre (Should go in the 1st round)
- Simmons (impact interior DL as a TF)
- Thompkins (reminds me a lot of Da’shawn Hand, I think that’s a good comp)
- Terrance Green (a better version of 2022-2023 version of Jaheim Oatis without the weight and attitude issues. A 2-gap player that fits an Odd Front extremely well.
- Justin Hill (extreme upside/ played 3 positions as a TF)
- X. Griffin (Alpha LB that Bama hasn’t had in a LONG time/ I get the Jihad Cambell comps bc of his frame and ability to rush the passer but Griffin plays sideline to sideline and is more physical Jihad ever was. CJ Moseley is a much more accurate comp imo)
- QB Reese/Woodson (I like them as a WLB)
- Secondary: Jireh Edwards, Dijon Lee, Ivan Taylor, Bray Hubbard, Jordan Edmonds, Zabian Brown, Red Morgan and Zay Mincey are on par with CNS’s elite Secondaries. These are all guys CNS would’ve loved to have at any point during his time at Alabama.
Edge: Y. Pierre
Edge: Justin Hill (breakout season)
Nose: Simmons
4-tech Thompkins (Only if 4-down, CKW has incorporated several 3-down pressures that are well-designed)
LB: Woodson (former Safety)
LB: Hubbard
Nickel: Red Morgan
F/S: Ivan Taylor/ Sabb
W/S: Jireh Edwards
CB: Z Brown
CB: D Lee
Dime (when 3-down): Zay Mincey
- The roster is starting to look more like a CNS roster:
- Y. Pierre (Should go in the 1st round)
- Simmons (impact interior DL as a TF)
- Thompkins (reminds me a lot of Da’shawn Hand, I think that’s a good comp)
- Terrance Green (a better version of 2022-2023 version of Jaheim Oatis without the weight and attitude issues. A 2-gap player that fits an Odd Front extremely well.
- Justin Hill (extreme upside/ played 3 positions as a TF)
- X. Griffin (Alpha LB that Bama hasn’t had in a LONG time/ I get the Jihad Cambell comps bc of his frame and ability to rush the passer but Griffin plays sideline to sideline and is more physical Jihad ever was. CJ Moseley is a much more accurate comp imo)
- QB Reese/Woodson (I like them as a WLB)
- Secondary: Jireh Edwards, Dijon Lee, Ivan Taylor, Bray Hubbard, Jordan Edmonds, Zabian Brown, Red Morgan and Zay Mincey are on par with CNS’s elite Secondaries. These are all guys CNS would’ve loved to have at any point during his time at Alabama.
This post was edited on 7/23/26 at 7:06 am
Posted on 7/23/26 at 12:56 am to Cover1Key
quote:
Guys like Keeley, Smith, Renaud, K. Collins, etc were essentially unplayable in the bigger front CKW transitioned to…that’s why they were all processed and replaced with much bigger bodies in the offseason.
Did Saban not recruit all of these guys to play in an… odd front?
Posted on 7/23/26 at 4:54 am to Cover1Key
quote:
Ivan Taylor
Ive been hearing good things about him since the spring. Word is he will be hard to keep off the field.
Posted on 7/23/26 at 5:58 am to Hawaiian Punch
Nope…Nickel was what CNS based out of with an “Even Front” exclusively (3 and a shade/2i) except for the rare exception when offenses only had 2 WR’s or less on the field, then you would see Keenan and Jaheim Oatis on the field together along with a true 5-tech instead of Chris Braswell.
CKW also has 5 DB’s on the field often, which is “Nickel” (although CKW used Justin Hill as a “Big Nickel” a lot vs 11 and 20 Personnel as opposed to a 5th DB) , but CKW plays an Odd Front (Under) when in Nickel the large majority of the time with a true 0/tight Shade-4-4i and also would stem to a Shade-5-9 vs a true TE (love that Front/look defensively) with a BS 4i.
Very different body types. Also, who out of the guys they got rid of from last year’s DL in the Portal would’ve seen the field from 2008-2022?
CKW also has 5 DB’s on the field often, which is “Nickel” (although CKW used Justin Hill as a “Big Nickel” a lot vs 11 and 20 Personnel as opposed to a 5th DB) , but CKW plays an Odd Front (Under) when in Nickel the large majority of the time with a true 0/tight Shade-4-4i and also would stem to a Shade-5-9 vs a true TE (love that Front/look defensively) with a BS 4i.
Very different body types. Also, who out of the guys they got rid of from last year’s DL in the Portal would’ve seen the field from 2008-2022?
This post was edited on 7/23/26 at 7:33 am
Posted on 7/23/26 at 7:23 am to NWLA_Bama
That is just not accurate (with all due respect). Bama was in the same look they were in all season, and Indiana ran the same exact offense they ran all season. Hill-Green on a podcast said they got wore out, didn’t finish the game with the intensity they normally played with, and gave a lot of credit to Indiana’s group of RB’s…..he went as far as saying in his 5 year career that is was the best group of RB’s he ever faced.
Bama was certainly on the smaller side on the DL to be in an Odd Front, and they had more missed tackles in that game than they did in any other since CKW has been here…Indiana averaged 5ypc AFTER contact in that game. It is a VERY vanilla offensive scheme that simply tries to out-physical you while using RPO’s to throw the ball far more than dropping back to throw it. Bama actually had 2-3 sacks on dropback passes (I believe Pierre had 2 off them). It was the OL play and the ability of the RB’s to pickup yards after contact that made them so good.
You really need the capability to control the ball offensively by sustaining drives to keep Indiana’s collection of RB’s and that OL from wearing you down defensively….Bama going 3 (or 4) and-out 8 times certainly did not do the defense any favors.
Again, it should’ve been a 10-0/13-0 game heading into the 3rd quarter if not for the ridiculous decision to go for it on 4th and 5 from near their own redzone right before halftime that broke the game open. Also, that was an offense that dropped 56 points on Oregon and Lanning mid-way through the 3rd quarter the following week.
Bama was certainly on the smaller side on the DL to be in an Odd Front, and they had more missed tackles in that game than they did in any other since CKW has been here…Indiana averaged 5ypc AFTER contact in that game. It is a VERY vanilla offensive scheme that simply tries to out-physical you while using RPO’s to throw the ball far more than dropping back to throw it. Bama actually had 2-3 sacks on dropback passes (I believe Pierre had 2 off them). It was the OL play and the ability of the RB’s to pickup yards after contact that made them so good.
You really need the capability to control the ball offensively by sustaining drives to keep Indiana’s collection of RB’s and that OL from wearing you down defensively….Bama going 3 (or 4) and-out 8 times certainly did not do the defense any favors.
Again, it should’ve been a 10-0/13-0 game heading into the 3rd quarter if not for the ridiculous decision to go for it on 4th and 5 from near their own redzone right before halftime that broke the game open. Also, that was an offense that dropped 56 points on Oregon and Lanning mid-way through the 3rd quarter the following week.
This post was edited on 7/23/26 at 7:32 am
Posted on 7/23/26 at 8:36 am to Cover1Key
What in the world happened in that OU game two years ago, when we absolutely got shoved as they ran pretty much exclusively, and we couldn’t stop them for anything?
Posted on 7/23/26 at 8:50 am to LovetheLord
They allowed 270 yards and 17 points defensively. The option principles OU installed that they hadn’t shown the entire season: midline 3 different ways, true outside Veer, “pull-pitch” where you read the 1st DL and pitch off the 2nd, QB designed runs between the tackles and getting burned by being too far upfield on the 3 shovel passes gave them fits in the 1st half, but it was literally just 10-0 at halftime. A 10-point deficit should not be that big of an uphill climb like it felt.
In the second half, CKW adjusted extremely well by going to a Shade-5-9 with the Ends forcing a “give read” for the QB when being read. They held OU to 68 yards in the 2nd half and OU scored off a pick-6 and another INT returned back to the 12 yard line.
I thought it was a tremendous adjustment on the fly at halftime by the defense. Usually it takes all week of practice to prepare for an option-based offense and they did not anticipate OU installing it (I believe OU was coming off a Bye week if I’m not mistaken).
Clearly those option principles and shovel passes didn’t go over too well for Vandy and OU this past season….
In the second half, CKW adjusted extremely well by going to a Shade-5-9 with the Ends forcing a “give read” for the QB when being read. They held OU to 68 yards in the 2nd half and OU scored off a pick-6 and another INT returned back to the 12 yard line.
I thought it was a tremendous adjustment on the fly at halftime by the defense. Usually it takes all week of practice to prepare for an option-based offense and they did not anticipate OU installing it (I believe OU was coming off a Bye week if I’m not mistaken).
Clearly those option principles and shovel passes didn’t go over too well for Vandy and OU this past season….
This post was edited on 7/23/26 at 8:54 am
Posted on 7/23/26 at 10:54 am to Cover1Key
You are correct, OU was coming off of a bye week.
Posted on 7/23/26 at 12:06 pm to Cover1Key
Whoever downvoted this, out of sheer curiosity, would you explain what you disagree with?
I explained in very specific detail the difference between a 3-4 Under compared to a 4-Down Over Front (3/shade).
Do you disagree with the alignment? I’m genuinely curious.
Thanks in advance
I explained in very specific detail the difference between a 3-4 Under compared to a 4-Down Over Front (3/shade).
Do you disagree with the alignment? I’m genuinely curious.
Thanks in advance
Posted on 7/23/26 at 12:16 pm to Cover1Key
I thought so. It would not have been possible to install that many option principles in a week’s time. They did a good job getting in (and executing it well) in two weeks.
It was a good idea with the WRs they had injured. I think they only attempted a dozen passes or so the entire game. Again. CKW did a great job adjusting in the 2nd half and gave the offense every opportunity to overcome a 10-0 deficit.l.
It was a good idea with the WRs they had injured. I think they only attempted a dozen passes or so the entire game. Again. CKW did a great job adjusting in the 2nd half and gave the offense every opportunity to overcome a 10-0 deficit.l.
This post was edited on 7/23/26 at 12:17 pm
Posted on 7/23/26 at 12:21 pm to Cover1Key
Thanks for all of the great info you give us in all of your posts. For me anyway, it’s a great education.
Just one adjustment. It was 4th and 1, down 3-0, when Alabama went for the 4th down conversion. It was following another bad judgment by Ty on 3rd down where he had the 1st down easily if he had continued running with the ball but he hesitated and got caught just short of the first down at the 36. I remember being frustrated because as well as he usually played he made several bad judgments on whether to run or throw and who to throw to throughout the year. It really killed Alabama vs FSU, but that was his first game. In the IU game, I remember thinking that I wished Alabama would go for it on 4th down because of the frustration of Ty’s mistake. But then I was surprised that he did it.
I was not angry that he went for but felt it was Alabama’s only chance to “get something going”. Indiana was tightening their vice grip on the game, IMO, even though it was only 3-0. Alabama could hardly breathe by that time.
Just one adjustment. It was 4th and 1, down 3-0, when Alabama went for the 4th down conversion. It was following another bad judgment by Ty on 3rd down where he had the 1st down easily if he had continued running with the ball but he hesitated and got caught just short of the first down at the 36. I remember being frustrated because as well as he usually played he made several bad judgments on whether to run or throw and who to throw to throughout the year. It really killed Alabama vs FSU, but that was his first game. In the IU game, I remember thinking that I wished Alabama would go for it on 4th down because of the frustration of Ty’s mistake. But then I was surprised that he did it.
I was not angry that he went for but felt it was Alabama’s only chance to “get something going”. Indiana was tightening their vice grip on the game, IMO, even though it was only 3-0. Alabama could hardly breathe by that time.
Posted on 7/23/26 at 12:27 pm to Cover1Key
quote:
Whoever downvoted this, out of sheer curiosity, would you explain what you disagree with?
Expecting some functionally illiterate coonass swamp trash to explain itself is an exercise in futility.
Posted on 7/23/26 at 12:34 pm to Cover1Key
quote:
Whoever downvoted this
There's always some dumbass on here who downvotes every post. Don't take it personally buddy. I really enjoy your deep dives into the x's & o's, please keep bringing them.
Posted on 7/23/26 at 12:46 pm to tattoo
I appreciate the kind words, and certainly understand the logic behind you wanting them to go for it on that 4th down, and “yes” Ty had an easy 1st down that would've avoided them being put in that predicament.
However, Ty was playing poorly (as you pointed out), and Indiana had controlled the game completely, but Bama was hanging in there. I think going in the locker room only down 10-0 or even 13-0, with the offense doing absolutely nothing the entire half is a major “win”.
Bama was getting the ball to start the 2nd half, and they actually pit a drive together that ultimately ended with Ty’s fumble.
At the end of the day, I thought it was just too big of a risk when the offense had been manhandled to risk going down 3 scores….going to halftime and regroup offensively and see if you can’t put a drive together to start the 2nd half and make it a13-7 game.
Once Ty failed to convert the 4th down at the -23 yd line, the game was a wrap. That’s a lot to risk on a single play, especially with your QB playing poorly imo
However, Ty was playing poorly (as you pointed out), and Indiana had controlled the game completely, but Bama was hanging in there. I think going in the locker room only down 10-0 or even 13-0, with the offense doing absolutely nothing the entire half is a major “win”.
Bama was getting the ball to start the 2nd half, and they actually pit a drive together that ultimately ended with Ty’s fumble.
At the end of the day, I thought it was just too big of a risk when the offense had been manhandled to risk going down 3 scores….going to halftime and regroup offensively and see if you can’t put a drive together to start the 2nd half and make it a13-7 game.
Once Ty failed to convert the 4th down at the -23 yd line, the game was a wrap. That’s a lot to risk on a single play, especially with your QB playing poorly imo
This post was edited on 7/23/26 at 4:07 pm
Posted on 7/23/26 at 12:56 pm to Chris ALL Capps
quote:
There's always some dumbass on here who downvotes every post. Don't take it personally buddy. I really enjoy your deep dives into the x's & o's, please keep bringing them.
I have two downvotes for saying that the freshman WR Morgan has a top end NFL comp to Mike Evans. Mike Evans is a borderline first ballot HoF imo. He will almost certainly make it to Canton.
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