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re: Time to say goodbye to this thread - The season is here
Posted on 8/24/17 at 5:30 pm to bamasgot13
Posted on 8/24/17 at 5:30 pm to bamasgot13
I love the Croyles. Brodie was the first Bama football player I looked up to as a kid. When he hurt his knee, a friend of mine, my brother, and I all got together and each one of us made him a card and sent it to him. Then all of a sudden one day I get a package in the mail with 3 autographed pics of Brodie and a handwritten letter from Brodie's dad. Was one of the coolest things I've ever received.
Only bad thing is, my dad took the letter to my friends house to show him, and he took the letter from my dad and I never saw it again. Haven't seen my friend in years bc he moved but I know that he would let me see the letter again if I wanted it lol
Only bad thing is, my dad took the letter to my friends house to show him, and he took the letter from my dad and I never saw it again. Haven't seen my friend in years bc he moved but I know that he would let me see the letter again if I wanted it lol
1
Posted on 8/24/17 at 6:09 pm to Bamafan15
Saban just got through with his press conference. He said Jacobs is still out but making progress. He sort of hinted that Jacobs may not be ready for FSU.
He also said this:
He also said this:
quote:
Nick Saban: "I say sometimes to JK '55 yards is good enough. Don't have to kick it further than that.' He's driven to do better."
Posted on 8/24/17 at 7:20 pm to 251_Dreaux
quote:
Why is everybody forgetting about D. Harris?
Because he's played for 2 years and has yet to be a "wow" type of back. We're used to having backs that get a 1st round grade after their junior year.
The reason he "started" and had so much success last year is because of out read-option attack. We might not do that as much this year. Bo is our best downhill pro-style back, and Najee is our best receiver back.
Tbh I think people are sleeping on these dudes because everyone keeps harping on how Damien was our leading rusher. Damien is great. I'm glad he's on our team, but I'd be lying if I said seeing Bo out there doesn't get me more pumped. Bo, if he could stay healthy, and if we played more pro-style, could have a Derrick Henry type year. He has the natural ability.
This post was edited on 8/24/17 at 7:27 pm
Posted on 8/24/17 at 7:24 pm to SummerOfGeorge
I just got through watching the first half of FSU v Clemson from last year, and a few things stuck out to me as worth sharing. Fair warning, this will be long.
Keep in mind, however, that this arm-chair analysis is of FSU’s team last year. This year is obviously this year – things can and will be different – but I think there are some interesting takeaways still. Also, keep in mind that I only watched the first half, which is a fairly small sample size, and keep in mind the style of ball Clemson plays offensively. It's a bit different from us. Nonetheless, here goes.
FSU Offense:
Oline: The funny thing here is not that this unit is a sieve, but that they didn’t put together many plays where each man did his job. There just always seemed to be a bust somewhere. On so many plays, it looked like 4 guys did their job and one guy didn’t – consistency and communication seemed to be lacking. They also struggled mightily when Clemson brought pressure. And the narrative that their numbers in the run game were better because of Dalvin Cook is definitely true. He made prime rib out of potted meat several times. The Oline/TE group had 4 false starts in the first half, plus a holding call. I was unimpressed overall, particularly in the consistency dept.
Francois: Francois throws a pretty ball, and has a quick release. Despite the fact that he can run, he only did once in the first half, and only when the LBs completely vacated the middle. He moves very well. Just like Hurts, Francois was a freshman last year, but played with poise. I was impressed in that regard. Regarding his passing, I found it interesting that no matter the play – straight drop back, play-action, whatever – he seemed to always let it fly to his first read, whether it was open or not. I’m not saying he was throwing into coverage all half, but rather it seemed that FSUs OC was drawing up plays to try and isolate a matchup and Francois’ job was to let it fly – and he did. Sometimes plays were made and sometimes not, but I never saw him read the D and check to his 2nd or 3rd read. He just spun it to whomever the play was designed for. Sure, he rarely had time to do much more, but the point is that if a passing play was called, Francois was gonna pass it – in rhythm, pretty ball, to his first read - no matter what. I don’t know if this is because he was a freshman or if this is what FSU wanted, but it’s what he did. He does execute a pretty good play-action fake, but was often under immediate pressure thereafter. Honestly, I thought FSU’s oline blocked better on straight drop-back plays as opposed to play-action. It was strange.
TE: They’ve got a couple guys, both juniors – a white boy, Izzo, and a guy with more melanin, Saunders, who looked like they could both play. Saunders opened the game with a nice catch and run, and Izzo was involved in the gameplan quite a bit. Izzo false started at least once.
WR: In this first half, they had 3 WRs who did enough to be noticed, and 2 of them (Rudolph and Whitfield) don’t play for FSU anymore. The remaining guy was Murray, who had a couple of nice underneath catch and runs (although both were open and anyone could have done that), but on FSUs last drive he had a few nice plays. He’s got a bright future. Not a tall kid, but good body control, thickly built, and moves well. Not one other WR was worth noting. I can say that as a group, I noted them not being physical at the line of scrimmage. I also made note of a lot of missed blocks in the run game from this group. I felt like there was an all-around lack of physicality.
Overall on their O, I can compliment them on one thing – the kept playing. They kept their cool and kept battling, and got the score to 17-14 just before half. However, 4 of their 5 best plays were pass interference, and they had 4 or 5 false starts. I was not impressed with their route running, but Francois can spin it pretty good and definitely will. He can run, but rarely left the pocket. Oline is inconsistent and the offense as a whole struggled with pressure/blitz.
Keep in mind, however, that this arm-chair analysis is of FSU’s team last year. This year is obviously this year – things can and will be different – but I think there are some interesting takeaways still. Also, keep in mind that I only watched the first half, which is a fairly small sample size, and keep in mind the style of ball Clemson plays offensively. It's a bit different from us. Nonetheless, here goes.
FSU Offense:
Oline: The funny thing here is not that this unit is a sieve, but that they didn’t put together many plays where each man did his job. There just always seemed to be a bust somewhere. On so many plays, it looked like 4 guys did their job and one guy didn’t – consistency and communication seemed to be lacking. They also struggled mightily when Clemson brought pressure. And the narrative that their numbers in the run game were better because of Dalvin Cook is definitely true. He made prime rib out of potted meat several times. The Oline/TE group had 4 false starts in the first half, plus a holding call. I was unimpressed overall, particularly in the consistency dept.
Francois: Francois throws a pretty ball, and has a quick release. Despite the fact that he can run, he only did once in the first half, and only when the LBs completely vacated the middle. He moves very well. Just like Hurts, Francois was a freshman last year, but played with poise. I was impressed in that regard. Regarding his passing, I found it interesting that no matter the play – straight drop back, play-action, whatever – he seemed to always let it fly to his first read, whether it was open or not. I’m not saying he was throwing into coverage all half, but rather it seemed that FSUs OC was drawing up plays to try and isolate a matchup and Francois’ job was to let it fly – and he did. Sometimes plays were made and sometimes not, but I never saw him read the D and check to his 2nd or 3rd read. He just spun it to whomever the play was designed for. Sure, he rarely had time to do much more, but the point is that if a passing play was called, Francois was gonna pass it – in rhythm, pretty ball, to his first read - no matter what. I don’t know if this is because he was a freshman or if this is what FSU wanted, but it’s what he did. He does execute a pretty good play-action fake, but was often under immediate pressure thereafter. Honestly, I thought FSU’s oline blocked better on straight drop-back plays as opposed to play-action. It was strange.
TE: They’ve got a couple guys, both juniors – a white boy, Izzo, and a guy with more melanin, Saunders, who looked like they could both play. Saunders opened the game with a nice catch and run, and Izzo was involved in the gameplan quite a bit. Izzo false started at least once.
WR: In this first half, they had 3 WRs who did enough to be noticed, and 2 of them (Rudolph and Whitfield) don’t play for FSU anymore. The remaining guy was Murray, who had a couple of nice underneath catch and runs (although both were open and anyone could have done that), but on FSUs last drive he had a few nice plays. He’s got a bright future. Not a tall kid, but good body control, thickly built, and moves well. Not one other WR was worth noting. I can say that as a group, I noted them not being physical at the line of scrimmage. I also made note of a lot of missed blocks in the run game from this group. I felt like there was an all-around lack of physicality.
Overall on their O, I can compliment them on one thing – the kept playing. They kept their cool and kept battling, and got the score to 17-14 just before half. However, 4 of their 5 best plays were pass interference, and they had 4 or 5 false starts. I was not impressed with their route running, but Francois can spin it pretty good and definitely will. He can run, but rarely left the pocket. Oline is inconsistent and the offense as a whole struggled with pressure/blitz.
This post was edited on 8/24/17 at 9:16 pm
Posted on 8/24/17 at 7:25 pm to prevatt33
FSU Defense:
Apparently for this game, the dline had just gotten back healthy, but they were really hurt by injuries in the secondary. Not only missing Derwin James, but a few others as well. They were starting more than one backup in the secondary, so keep that in mind.
The thing I immediately noticed was that they really struggled with Clemson going tempo, not insomuch as they gave up big plays, but were frequently not lined up and ready on the snap. They also got caught a number of times trying to sub folks in and out and weren’t ready for the snap. This was particularly noticeable in the first half when Clemson was staying ahead of the chains. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bama went fast at every opportunity.
Dline: They played feisty in the middle, but were not a long group. No 6’5ish type guys. They really seemed to be focused on penetration, and were disruptive if they could get it. I also felt like they got blocked a fair amount as well. On the edge, they had a good bit more length. They, like us, would bring on a completely different rush package in obvious passing situations or basically any third down. Granted, when the team you are playing is shotgun 4-wide on 3rd and three, it makes sense. They really liked to bring pressure with this group, often with and extra LB. It was obvious pre-snap that the house was coming, but they brought it anyway and had success. However, the dline really struggled with the zone-read QB keeper. They stuffed the run reasonably well, but when Watson kept it, after riding the fake really well, he had a few big plays. Again, I hate the zone read because it reminds me of Malzhan’s wormy, snake-oil salesman, D2 offensive coordinator masquerading as a D1 head coach, over-rated joke, @ss, but it was effective. We might see it a good bit from Hurts and Co. It should be noted that I wish Malzahn would coach auburn forever. Dude’s in way over his head.
LB: I focused on the inside backers a good bit, and came away very, very unimpressed. One’s kinda stumpy and the other looks like a giant safety. Neither played well in space, and both would run themselves out of the play. Both struggled in defending the pass, particularly Stumpy. Both were healthy and will return as starters this year. I said their LBs were a weakness before, but I was still surprised. They just didn’t look good, and I know LB. I was an all-state LB myself in Alabama. (Not trying to make myself look good, just letting you know that I know the position.) I didn’t get a good look at the OLBs, but I can say that they looked good on the hoof.
Secondary: They were so banged up, I can’t say much, as I don’t know if it has any bearing on this year. However, Clemson did have folks open a good bit in the first, but FSU seemed to buckle down a bit in the 2nd. FSU did get a nice pick, but that guy graduated. However, much like the FSU’s offense, this unit just kept playing.
Punter: He did an ok job, but he will definitely shank-bob-willy that bad boy sideways every now and then. Overall, I wasn’t impressed.
Other things of note. There was a graphic put up on the screen that said that through 7 games last year, FSU was giving up an FBS-high 27.4 yards per punt return. I don’t know how that is even possible, but Bama will feast on that if it’s not shored up.
Overall, FSU keeps playing hard each play and doesn’t get intimidated. They obviously not only have a good offensive gameplan put together each week, but also do a good job of switching things up from drive to drive, giving the D more to think about. I was impressed with Francois overall, but he just let a lot of balls fly just because and rarely ran. I thought the Oline was inconsistent, and the WRs soft. Dalvin Cook was amazing, and no other RB played. TEs might be pretty good. Defensively, the dline was good, but nothing out of the ordinary for Bama to face. ILBs were bad, IMO. Secondary was banged up but played hard. If FSU doesn’t improve dramatically in a few places, I simply don’t think they are a playoff contender. Solid squad who keeps playing, lots of good looking talent in many places, but incomplete. Just my 2 cents. Roll tide.
Apparently for this game, the dline had just gotten back healthy, but they were really hurt by injuries in the secondary. Not only missing Derwin James, but a few others as well. They were starting more than one backup in the secondary, so keep that in mind.
The thing I immediately noticed was that they really struggled with Clemson going tempo, not insomuch as they gave up big plays, but were frequently not lined up and ready on the snap. They also got caught a number of times trying to sub folks in and out and weren’t ready for the snap. This was particularly noticeable in the first half when Clemson was staying ahead of the chains. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bama went fast at every opportunity.
Dline: They played feisty in the middle, but were not a long group. No 6’5ish type guys. They really seemed to be focused on penetration, and were disruptive if they could get it. I also felt like they got blocked a fair amount as well. On the edge, they had a good bit more length. They, like us, would bring on a completely different rush package in obvious passing situations or basically any third down. Granted, when the team you are playing is shotgun 4-wide on 3rd and three, it makes sense. They really liked to bring pressure with this group, often with and extra LB. It was obvious pre-snap that the house was coming, but they brought it anyway and had success. However, the dline really struggled with the zone-read QB keeper. They stuffed the run reasonably well, but when Watson kept it, after riding the fake really well, he had a few big plays. Again, I hate the zone read because it reminds me of Malzhan’s wormy, snake-oil salesman, D2 offensive coordinator masquerading as a D1 head coach, over-rated joke, @ss, but it was effective. We might see it a good bit from Hurts and Co. It should be noted that I wish Malzahn would coach auburn forever. Dude’s in way over his head.
LB: I focused on the inside backers a good bit, and came away very, very unimpressed. One’s kinda stumpy and the other looks like a giant safety. Neither played well in space, and both would run themselves out of the play. Both struggled in defending the pass, particularly Stumpy. Both were healthy and will return as starters this year. I said their LBs were a weakness before, but I was still surprised. They just didn’t look good, and I know LB. I was an all-state LB myself in Alabama. (Not trying to make myself look good, just letting you know that I know the position.) I didn’t get a good look at the OLBs, but I can say that they looked good on the hoof.
Secondary: They were so banged up, I can’t say much, as I don’t know if it has any bearing on this year. However, Clemson did have folks open a good bit in the first, but FSU seemed to buckle down a bit in the 2nd. FSU did get a nice pick, but that guy graduated. However, much like the FSU’s offense, this unit just kept playing.
Punter: He did an ok job, but he will definitely shank-bob-willy that bad boy sideways every now and then. Overall, I wasn’t impressed.
Other things of note. There was a graphic put up on the screen that said that through 7 games last year, FSU was giving up an FBS-high 27.4 yards per punt return. I don’t know how that is even possible, but Bama will feast on that if it’s not shored up.
Overall, FSU keeps playing hard each play and doesn’t get intimidated. They obviously not only have a good offensive gameplan put together each week, but also do a good job of switching things up from drive to drive, giving the D more to think about. I was impressed with Francois overall, but he just let a lot of balls fly just because and rarely ran. I thought the Oline was inconsistent, and the WRs soft. Dalvin Cook was amazing, and no other RB played. TEs might be pretty good. Defensively, the dline was good, but nothing out of the ordinary for Bama to face. ILBs were bad, IMO. Secondary was banged up but played hard. If FSU doesn’t improve dramatically in a few places, I simply don’t think they are a playoff contender. Solid squad who keeps playing, lots of good looking talent in many places, but incomplete. Just my 2 cents. Roll tide.
This post was edited on 8/24/17 at 9:15 pm
Posted on 8/24/17 at 7:31 pm to prevatt33
I think what we're gonna see is just how insanely dominant Alabama is when they're not facing Deshaun Watson. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if we took them to the woodshed
Posted on 8/24/17 at 7:37 pm to uofarolltide
I made a thread about this but Cecil Hurt posted this
quote:
Alabama AD @Greg_Byrne on "Dixieland Delight gives a non-commital "we are looking at that but we have a great game day atmosphere."
Posted on 8/24/17 at 7:46 pm to prevatt33
Sorry, one thing I forgot to mention about FSU in that first half was that their defensive front did a pretty good job of getting through the line at times, putting pressure on Watson, but as we know, Watson with Clemson's scheme gets it out so quickly that the rush didn't have time to get there. But they were able to get a rush is the point.
Posted on 8/24/17 at 8:51 pm to uofarolltide
quote:
Because he's played for 2 years and has yet to be a "wow" type of back. We're used to having backs that get a 1st round grade after their junior year. The reason he "started" and had so much success last year is because of out read-option attack. We might not do that as much this year. Bo is our best downhill pro-style back, and Najee is our best receiver back.
I swear. Damien Harris got more than 1,000 yards last year, while splitting time with Bo Scarborough and Joshua Jacobs. In fact, he was our leading rusher. He had the second-highest YPC average in the entire conference (7.17, behind only Derrius Guice's 7.58).
I honestly do not understand these folks who aren't thrilled by him.
And to say Najee Harris is our best receiving back is ludicrous. The guy hasn't played a down in college yet. If I had to give that honor to one of them, it'd be Jacobs ... but I'd also be quite happy to throw it to Damien.
Posted on 8/24/17 at 9:02 pm to Sauron
Count me in as a big Damien Harris fan as well. The dude has incredible vision. He's not as exciting as Scarbrough or, potentially N. Harris, but he is very effective as a runner and receiver. He and Bo should tear it up next year.
Posted on 8/24/17 at 9:05 pm to Sauron
I remember Bo being touted as a big time receiving threat also. I think all the RBs catch the ball very well.
The reason that Damien doesn't get the love that the other backs get is that he's not as flashy as the other guys. He's really good, but what's the most exciting play he made last year?
The reason that Damien doesn't get the love that the other backs get is that he's not as flashy as the other guys. He's really good, but what's the most exciting play he made last year?
Posted on 8/24/17 at 9:14 pm to SECSolomonGrundy
Didn't I hear that DHarris dropped a few pounds for this season as he felt like he had lost half a step with the added weight last season? I believe folks in spring said he looked very quick, very fast.
This post was edited on 8/24/17 at 9:31 pm
Posted on 8/24/17 at 9:55 pm to prevatt33
Bama fans that don't see Damien Harris's value are your typical "bammer" type.
Posted on 8/24/17 at 9:56 pm to prevatt33
He def lost weight he is chizzled now.
Posted on 8/24/17 at 9:57 pm to TizzyT4theUofA
quote:
If you want to go the NFL route, look no further than David Carr. That dude was sacked 249 times in his 5 years in Houston. Brodie was only sacked 26 times in 5 years. For comparison Brett Farve was sacked 525 times in 18 years. Dan Marino was only sacked 270 times in 17 years. I got all the stats from pro-football-reference.com.
Brodie started 10 games in his career in Kansas City. Six of those starts came in 2007. And he was sacked 17 times. That's a higher rate than Marino or Farve. A pretty similar rate with 18 career games and 26 sacks.
Regardless, Brodie took a pounding at the college and professional level.
Posted on 8/24/17 at 9:59 pm to CrimsonBoz
Also a note on Jacobs, they obviously don't want to rush him back. We have loads of depth and if you recall Dalvin Cook, if you push it, it will continue to nag you.
Posted on 8/24/17 at 10:30 pm to CrimsonBoz
For those interested, I got to watch the 3rd Q of FSU v Clemson before my better half got home, and noted a few things:
FSU's online got worse with time. Just an awful performance against the pass rush of Clemson. However, FSU had 2 big scoring plays, and it was the exact same play run once to the right and once to the left - blocked and executed beautifully both times with a millionaire at RB.
The play was a simple iso run off tackle with the opposite side guard pulling along with the H who was in said guard's hip pocket. Cook took it to the house both times. Beautiful play, and some evidence that FSU's online can block somewhat in the run game, at least when crashing down and pulling around.
Another thing of note was that FSU's defense played looser and faster in the 3rd quarter. They also widened the ILBs pre-snap - in the first half, both would be lined up in A or B gaps, but in the 3rd the widened to at least the C gap or more and maybe a step back. It seemed to help them fly around more.
The DC also seemed to go much more a straight 4-2-5 without trying to sub as much. The D overall was flying around pretty good. It's also notable how long the D is overall. Jimbo, much like Saban, puts a priority on height and length in recruiting, and it shows. FSU's D is generally long and athletic. Still not impressed at LB, though.
And lastly, FSU was getting pressure with their front 4, doing a good bit of crossing stunts. Our Oline better come prepared.
It's also worth mentioning that Watson did not have a great day against FSU through 3 quarters, throwing 2 BAD picks. If that Watson showed up against us in the championship game, we win by 3 TDs.
FSU's online got worse with time. Just an awful performance against the pass rush of Clemson. However, FSU had 2 big scoring plays, and it was the exact same play run once to the right and once to the left - blocked and executed beautifully both times with a millionaire at RB.
The play was a simple iso run off tackle with the opposite side guard pulling along with the H who was in said guard's hip pocket. Cook took it to the house both times. Beautiful play, and some evidence that FSU's online can block somewhat in the run game, at least when crashing down and pulling around.
Another thing of note was that FSU's defense played looser and faster in the 3rd quarter. They also widened the ILBs pre-snap - in the first half, both would be lined up in A or B gaps, but in the 3rd the widened to at least the C gap or more and maybe a step back. It seemed to help them fly around more.
The DC also seemed to go much more a straight 4-2-5 without trying to sub as much. The D overall was flying around pretty good. It's also notable how long the D is overall. Jimbo, much like Saban, puts a priority on height and length in recruiting, and it shows. FSU's D is generally long and athletic. Still not impressed at LB, though.
And lastly, FSU was getting pressure with their front 4, doing a good bit of crossing stunts. Our Oline better come prepared.
It's also worth mentioning that Watson did not have a great day against FSU through 3 quarters, throwing 2 BAD picks. If that Watson showed up against us in the championship game, we win by 3 TDs.
Posted on 8/25/17 at 8:02 am to prevatt33
Very nice summations so far. I started watching the FSU vs UNC game.
It almost mirrors the Clemson game in terms of OL and DL play.
I don't use the Louisville game because quite frankly I think FSU underestimated them and got torched because of it.
In regards to our OL, IMO from what I've seen in person, it is better than last year. We have a slight battle at RT which, is a good thing. But Jonah is a big upgrade from Cam. He just get's it and never jumps off sides.
Now with regards to our DL and their OL, they better pack a lunch. People have underestimated the talent of our DL and I'm telling you it's a mistake. We have some real players there. Not to mention our secondary aside from Diggs is all veterans and our ILB's are 1st or 2nd round draft picks.
If FSU plays there best game and we play ours, we win by 2 touchdowns. If we do the slow roll thing we sometimes do then this will be a tight game. If our running game gets going, and we start to jail break them, it might be a blow out.
It almost mirrors the Clemson game in terms of OL and DL play.
I don't use the Louisville game because quite frankly I think FSU underestimated them and got torched because of it.
In regards to our OL, IMO from what I've seen in person, it is better than last year. We have a slight battle at RT which, is a good thing. But Jonah is a big upgrade from Cam. He just get's it and never jumps off sides.
Now with regards to our DL and their OL, they better pack a lunch. People have underestimated the talent of our DL and I'm telling you it's a mistake. We have some real players there. Not to mention our secondary aside from Diggs is all veterans and our ILB's are 1st or 2nd round draft picks.
If FSU plays there best game and we play ours, we win by 2 touchdowns. If we do the slow roll thing we sometimes do then this will be a tight game. If our running game gets going, and we start to jail break them, it might be a blow out.
Posted on 8/25/17 at 8:13 am to CrimsonBoz
Well I, for one, am not at all worried about our D-line. Or the defense in general.
I'm just interested to see the "new" offense. I hated the Kiffin offense. I know, I know. It was effective. Usually.
I'm just interested to see the "new" offense. I hated the Kiffin offense. I know, I know. It was effective. Usually.
This post was edited on 8/25/17 at 8:14 am
Posted on 8/25/17 at 8:15 am to Teague
quote:
I'm just interested to see the "new" offense. I hated the Kiffin offense. I know, I know. It was effective. Usually.
The thought of it potentially clicking with Patriots-esque efficiency has me all like
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