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Posted on 4/16/19 at 9:36 am to tider04
quote:
I just hope our OL gets healthy and gels and Tua can take the next step as a QB
Staying healthy on defense as well as developing the 2nd unit defensively are much higher priorities for me than Oline or QB. Oline looks to be one of the strengths of the team (when healthy) and Tua's plenty good enough to win a title, even if he doesn't improve a single step.
In additiin to the defensive stuff I mentioned above, the other areas of concern above Oline and QB would definitely include Kicking, Punting, and both new coordinators. Hell, Saban's hip is above QB on my priority list.
Posted on 4/16/19 at 9:37 am to CrimsonBoz
quote:
Something to add on that. The defense knows just about everything the offense is about to run. Kind of helps obviously
Yes, Tua said that they only had 3 running plays available for use in the scrimmage, and the defense knows all 3.
Posted on 4/16/19 at 10:39 am to prevatt33
quote:
Staying healthy on defense as well as developing the 2nd unit defensively are much higher priorities for me than Oline or QB. Oline looks to be one of the strengths of the team (when healthy) and Tua's plenty good enough to win a title, even if he doesn't improve a single step.
Staying healthy goes without saying. That's key at almost every position with very few exceptions, as it is for most all teams. I was actually encouraged by what I saw from much of our 2nd team defense. I think guys like Barmore, Mathis, Wynn, Alfono and E, along with the new studs like Young are going to provide us with a deeper DL rotation than we've had since 2015 or 2016. I like what I see from some young LB's like Anoma, Lee and Moody. The fact that Shy Carter is running 2nd team is also pretty impressive. I feel much better across the board about our D than I have since 2016.
As to the OL being a strength of the team, the potential for that is certainly there but that possibility certainly remains to be seen.
quote:
In additiin to the defensive stuff I mentioned above, the other areas of concern above Oline and QB would definitely include Kicking, Punting, and both new coordinators. Hell, Saban's hip is above QB on my priority list.
Kicking is always a concern if you're an Alabama fan but DeLong looked like JK Scott out there booming 50+ yarders with ease. Reichart is more than capable as a punter as well should DeLong have another mental lapse like he did last year. Reichart was also banging all of his XPs right down the middle an nailed a 43 yard FG. Those are definitely reasons to feel positive about our kicking game heading into 2019. I do agree with the coordinator thing. I think Golding is going to blossom into a star at some point (he has a bit of a Kirby Smart type feel to me) but Sark really worries me. I've just never been impressed with the guy and A-Day didn't do anything to change my opinion on him.
Posted on 4/16/19 at 2:31 pm to tider04
The neverending Sark criticism continues to baffle me.
Let me take a look at the main 'arguments':
1. He screwed up the Clemson game
a) Sark was OC for one (1) WEEK and then lost the Clemson game. Conclusion: he was a full-blown disaster, a bust, a fiasco?
b) Locks was OC for one full YEAR, had an endless amount of offensive weapons, more than any OC ever had at his disposal in the Saban era (i.e. Tua, Hurts, Jeudy, Smith, Ruggs, Waddle, Irv Smith Jr. Damien Harris, Najee Harris and a possible Top 3 NFL draft pick in Josh Jacobs) and lost the Clemson game. Conclusion: great, fantastic OC, such a pity he left?
c) Sark's point total vs Clemson after 1 week of work: 31.
d) Lock's point total vs Clemson after a full season of work: 16.
Go figure.
2. The A-day game
What Saban said after the A-day game about game planning:
Yet Sark is considered a concern as OC, because of the A-day game...
3. He did terrible for the Falcons
He didn't. It was discussed in the coaching thread here that Sark actually did a decent job given the circumstances (key injuries at RB and O-line), with the stats and data to substantiate it. If your 1-week OC is hired by one of the best offenses in the NFL to be their OC that should be considered a positive sign.
Now do I think Sark will be a huge success as OC this season? I don't know. If the O-line stays healthy there seems to be no reason why he shouldn't.
Could he be a bust? Yep, the bar is set pretty high for him.
Am I ready to call him a bust or a risk just yet? Nope.
I say: Roll Tide.
Let me take a look at the main 'arguments':
1. He screwed up the Clemson game
a) Sark was OC for one (1) WEEK and then lost the Clemson game. Conclusion: he was a full-blown disaster, a bust, a fiasco?
b) Locks was OC for one full YEAR, had an endless amount of offensive weapons, more than any OC ever had at his disposal in the Saban era (i.e. Tua, Hurts, Jeudy, Smith, Ruggs, Waddle, Irv Smith Jr. Damien Harris, Najee Harris and a possible Top 3 NFL draft pick in Josh Jacobs) and lost the Clemson game. Conclusion: great, fantastic OC, such a pity he left?
c) Sark's point total vs Clemson after 1 week of work: 31.
d) Lock's point total vs Clemson after a full season of work: 16.
Go figure.
2. The A-day game
What Saban said after the A-day game about game planning:
quote:
ON A-DAY GAME PLAN
How do you evaluate Steve Sarkisian and the game plan he put together today?
“We didn’t have a game plan today. We had the simplest offense and the simplest defense that we could possibly have
Yet Sark is considered a concern as OC, because of the A-day game...
3. He did terrible for the Falcons
He didn't. It was discussed in the coaching thread here that Sark actually did a decent job given the circumstances (key injuries at RB and O-line), with the stats and data to substantiate it. If your 1-week OC is hired by one of the best offenses in the NFL to be their OC that should be considered a positive sign.
Now do I think Sark will be a huge success as OC this season? I don't know. If the O-line stays healthy there seems to be no reason why he shouldn't.
Could he be a bust? Yep, the bar is set pretty high for him.
Am I ready to call him a bust or a risk just yet? Nope.
I say: Roll Tide.
This post was edited on 4/16/19 at 2:34 pm
Posted on 4/16/19 at 2:37 pm to tider04
quote:
Sark really worries me. I've just never been impressed with the guy and A-Day didn't do anything to change my opinion on him.
Thanks for your great post.
Regarding the quoted portion above, I know that this sentiment is shared by many Bama fans, but I don't get it.
Granted, I totally get folks being apprehensive a few years ago about his drinking, but that seems to be far in his past.
Regarding his offensive coaching acumen, I don't get many Bama fans' nose-turned-up attitude toward Sark. Jim McElwain was an excellent OC for us, but his career outside of Tuscaloosa has been a dumpster fire. Nussmeier won a title at Bama, and his resume ain't that great. Lane Kiffin was a homerun OC for us (except the 2nd half of his last year) and his career had gone leprosy-level untouchable before we hired him. Locksley's career had 1 foot in the grave 4 years ago, and he did a bang up job last year.
And regarding Sark's lone game as our OC, I think he did a great job in a really tough spot. If Bo Scarborough doesn't break his leg, we win a Natty and everyone would LOVE Sark. He got criticized for not running with the other backup RBs, but if you go back and watch the film, he very much did try to run the ball the next 2 drives. We went nowhere - and one our Olinemen said postgame that Bo's injury shellshocked the Oline and they were lost for a couple series - and the film corroborates this.
In the following drives, I personally wish he hadn't gone hurry up, but the staff new that 1 TD iced the game, and sold out to get it. It backfired of course, but I'm suspicious that the command to go fast came from Saban himself, given his recent comments at the time. And if Saban had wanted Sark to eat clock instead of go fast, that's what would've happened. And so, I think regarding Sark's playcalling after Bo's injury, we need to really understand the context and understand that Saban is always calling the shots.
Simply put, both our coordinators have some proving to do, but I see no reason to be overly skeptical of Sark's offensive coaching abilities, particularly in the face of our coordinator history and how well he did overall in that championship game. Dude had 1 week to scheme and call a Natty, and had it in the bag until Bo broke his leg. That's just the truth.
Posted on 4/16/19 at 2:50 pm to prevatt33
Remember also, that when Bo broke his leg with a couple minutes left in the 3rd Q, Clemson had 14 points. They scored 21 points in the next 17 minutes of gametime. That wasn't Sark's fault - he wasn't the DC. And lastly, remember that year was the 2 bullshite pick plays for TDs that weren't called, which also wasn't Sark's fault.
I'm not saying he called a perfect game, but I'd give him a pretty darn good grade given the circumstances.
I'm not saying he called a perfect game, but I'd give him a pretty darn good grade given the circumstances.
Posted on 4/16/19 at 2:58 pm to prevatt33
quote:
remember that year was the 2 bullshite pick plays for TDs that weren't called, which also wasn't Sark's fault
I really understand this and hate that we got fricked twice on it... but the defense had coverage even then to deal with pick plays... they just didn't execute.
Posted on 4/16/19 at 3:08 pm to Tider95
quote:
I really understand this and hate that we got fricked twice on it... but the defense had coverage even then to deal with pick plays... they just didn't execute.
Yes, I know and I agree to a point. I never advocate blaming the refs - that's for lesser fanbases. But I thought it merited mentioning in the convo re: Sark.
What's really funny is that on the last pick play, the refs could've easily called Bama for pass interference or defensive holding, given how hard our guy tried to fight through the pick - he basically tackled the guy. The first one was the really egregious no call.
This post was edited on 4/16/19 at 3:16 pm
Posted on 4/16/19 at 3:38 pm to prevatt33
quote:
The first one was the really egregious no call.
100% agree with you there
Sark has some weaknesses in regards to how he schemed the redzone offense with ATL, but I don't see a world where we aren't moving up and down the field with him and can we really be worse in the redzone than we were in the NCG?
Posted on 4/16/19 at 4:03 pm to tider04
quote:
A-Day didn't do anything to change my opinion on him.
He did something that actually did impress me personally. We were walking back to the indoor facility after the game and Sark was walking behind us. Golf cart pulled up and asked if he needed a ride while we were waiting to cross at red light. He told them no and walked all the way back with us common folk. Met him later on and he seemed genuine. I know it has nothing to do with his OC abilities, just thought it was cool.
Posted on 4/16/19 at 4:14 pm to JJ27
quote:
Met him later on and he seemed genuine. I know it has nothing to do with his OC abilities, just thought it was cool.
Sark has always done well in the living room for this exact reason.
Posted on 4/16/19 at 4:20 pm to RollTide66
Inside the 2019 A-Day game TideSports.Com - By Terrin Waack - April 14, 2019 1:55 TideSports’ Terrin Waack was chosen to be media coach for the Crimson Team during yesterday’s A-Day game, and here’s video she compiled from some of the shots she got behind the scenes:
Posted on 4/16/19 at 4:23 pm to prevatt33
quote:when bo went down we couldn't buy a 3rd down conversion, game plan completely shifted. No idea why they didn't just run the bo plays that were working with Damien Harris or Jacobs. Both are great rbs. Can't put that collapse only in the d, the o put them in awful positions the rest of the game
They scored 21 points in the next 17 minutes of gametime. That wasn't Sark's fault - he wasn't the DC
Posted on 4/16/19 at 4:28 pm to RollTide66
CECIL HURT: Alabama football team already looking ahead TideSports.Com - By Cecil Hurt
quote:Continued...
As the Alabama football team left the field last Saturday after the A-Day Game, divided into a Crimson team and a White team, the annual reality of four months without college football set in. There will be some scrimmaging in August as preparations for the 2019 season enter their final phase, but the next time that UA takes the field with fans and bands, cheerleaders and sideline reporters and all the other accoutrements, it will be the final day of August, in Atlanta, against Duke.
That’s when I realized that I knew virtually nothing about Duke, aside from having Alabama alum and former Ole Miss head coach David Cutcliffe on the sidelines. (Many Alabama fans recognize him less for either of those career stops and more for a long tenure at Tennessee, when he was a Phil Fulmer assistant and Peyton Manning’s quarterback coach, or the other team way around if you prefer.) I know that they play in Wallace Wade Stadium. (Kentucky does not play in Bill Curry Stadium and Texas A&M certainly doesn’t play in Dennis Franchione Stadium so Wade certainly has the most success of any coach who expatriated himself out of Tuscaloosa.)
This post was edited on 4/16/19 at 4:35 pm
Posted on 4/16/19 at 4:28 pm to RollTide66
CECIL HURT: Alabama football team already looking ahead TideSports.Com - By Cecil Hurt
quote:Continued...
I vaguely recalled that Duke won last year’s Independence Bowl. (They routed Temple 56-27, poor Owls, to finish 8-5.) I know that last year’s Blue Devil quarterback, Daniel Jones, is considered one of the more intriguing prospects for the upcoming NFL Draft.
That’s why Cutcliffe will be rubbing elbows with the Nick Sabans, Dabo Swinneys and Lincoln Rileys at the draft festivities a week from Thursday — because the man can coach quarterbacks.
Duke also played Clemson to a 29-point decision, 35-6. Alabama did better, by a point, so there is no call for snarkiness.
But I couldn’t name a returning Duke player. I didn’t even know if Duke had an A-Day game, or a D-Day game which would probably carry too many military connotations connected with the heroic landing at Normandy Beach.
This post was edited on 4/16/19 at 4:37 pm
Posted on 4/16/19 at 4:28 pm to RollTide66
CECIL HURT: Alabama football team already looking ahead TideSports.Com - By Cecil Hurt
quote:
So I had two choices: Fill up the rest of the column with Duke basketball jokes (“Does Zion play for them?”) or go find out a few things, which I did courtesy of Evan Kollin of the Duke Chronicle.
Duke does have a practice-ending game (played on April 6), which it calls a Spring Showcase, a less ominous name than D-Day. The scrimmage lasted about 65 plays, a good bit shorter than Alabama’s four-quarter A-Day (around 105 plays, give or take the kicking.)
To no one’s surprise, Duke may have a good quarterback again. Quentin Harris rushed for 31 yards on six carries, with two touchdowns, while connecting on seven-of-11 passes, for 69 yards and another score. Without getting into predictions for August, one might think that mobility might be important if not downright life-saving against Alabama. (The offensive line did not earn rave reviews.) The receiving corps is apparently rebuilding around a possession receiver named Jake Bobo. The running backs are good.
The secondary was an issue last year. The Blue Devils were No. 36 in the NCAA in pass defense last year but that’s somewhat deceiving (they are Devils, after all) because teams could run the ball against them fairly successfully. Depth, always a concern in Durham, appears better, according to Cutcliffe, although 12 players sat out of the Spring Showcase.
There is a long wait until Alabama will see for itself what Duke has to offer but Saban has already started preparations so it’s never too early to look ahead
This post was edited on 4/16/19 at 4:39 pm
Posted on 4/16/19 at 4:30 pm to Tider95
You guys make solid points about Sark, and I will be thrilled to eat crow if he lights it up this year. I sure as heck am pulling for him. I just hope he remembers our run game, and the need for balance against the 2-3 truly elite teams we will face.
Posted on 4/16/19 at 4:46 pm to narddogg81
quote:
No idea why they didn't just run the bo plays that were working with Damien Harris or Jacobs. Both are great rbs
... The oline went to fricking shite after Bo went down. Missing blocks/not getting push. He did try those next two drives to keep up that game plan and the oline just utterly didnt respond.
Posted on 4/16/19 at 4:47 pm to tider04
During the 1st few games the only one of significance would be the USCe game in Columbia. But, I am looking at the fall camp and the 1st few games to be a learning experience for the new players and a time to come together for the team. I would hope the same thing would occur for the coaches, a learning experience for all of them to bring their games and mesh them with their compatriots. I worry as much about Golding as I do any of the others. While everyone says he has tremendous upside, I worry that he was calling the plays last year and ...well, enough said. Seems the ILB's played better on Saturday, but again, the offense they were facing was a simple plain vanilla O. (didnt prove squat). I do wonder what the O will look like in the Fall. Loved the Slot/Flanker option pass plays with Bolden and Waddle. Gave every opponent another play to game plan for in the fall. Will be very interesting... Exciting and scary at the same time.
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