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What would you love to see "cleaned up" after a bye

Posted on 10/28/25 at 6:52 am
Posted by Diego Ricardo
Alabama
Member since Dec 2020
10842 posts
Posted on 10/28/25 at 6:52 am
The bye week is an opportunity to recover physically and mentally but also an opportunity for the coaching staff to self-scout and pick areas of focus for improvement. What do you think should be a point of focus?

Here's mine:

Find two complimentary run plays that feature your best linemen and shed most of the rest

We aren't a great inside/outside zone and counter team - which is what I think DeBoer would like us to be - but we do have a bunch of linemen built for gap scheme running. Anything that involves running left and following the block created by which way Proctor moves his guy is probably the right idea for our "base run play." Brailsford is really our only lineman that can move well enough to consistently get to his best pickup option on a pull block. It's tough to be pulling your center a ton but I think that's gotta be our main option for getting something going off tackle or using to get the defense to flow to the edge for cutbacks inside the tackle.

Execution in the Middle Eight

In the 5 game stretch, Alabama had 3 2-for-1 opportunities and didn't succeed on the 3rd quarter side of the exchange. Also, besides a drive that ended in a FG v. Vanderbilt, Alabama has been abysmal in their first possessions out of halftime. Ultimately, I think this ties into my first point where we don't run for effective yards consistently. After half, we are likely seeing some new coverages or slight tweaks, and our pass heavy attack needs to see these adjustments to get into optimal pass concepts. Grubb seems to want to Establish It in these drives - while sniffing out what they're doing differently - and it just ain't happening.
Posted by SECSolomonGrundy
Slaughter Swamp
Member since Jun 2012
17968 posts
Posted on 10/28/25 at 7:12 am to
Im pretty happy with the play calling. Some fantastic play designs to win us the game against SC. Half the teams in football are copying our game winning play against UGA. Wide open TD to beat Mizzou.

I think Grubb is doing much better than any message board posters can do.

Sure it would be great if we could run the ball better. But i also realize we just finished the meat grinder part of the schedule.
Posted by Night Vision
Member since Feb 2018
18265 posts
Posted on 10/28/25 at 7:16 am to
Ban the word complimentary and have very few series where we run up the middle twice and then throw a low % pass.

Posted by Diego Ricardo
Alabama
Member since Dec 2020
10842 posts
Posted on 10/28/25 at 7:29 am to
quote:

I think Grubb is doing much better than any message board posters can do.


I agree with this and really my points mostly come down to player execution not play calling. Grubb hasn’t called these plays with linemen missing their assignment baked into the call. It is hard to have a run game when it seems like someone at the guard positions has failed to get someone at the second level or just gets humiliated by the DT.
Posted by SECSolomonGrundy
Slaughter Swamp
Member since Jun 2012
17968 posts
Posted on 10/28/25 at 7:57 am to
Totally agree about the guard play. Grubb isnt the one getting thrown into the RB by a 3-tech.
Posted by BFANLC
The Beach
Member since Oct 2007
22166 posts
Posted on 10/28/25 at 8:11 am to
Have the defense somewhat prepared for the other team's 1st drive of the game.
Posted by TideSaint
Hill Country
Member since Sep 2008
82517 posts
Posted on 10/28/25 at 8:20 am to
quote:

Totally agree about the guard play. Grubb isnt the one getting thrown into the RB by a 3-tech.


It's not just the guards.

We had one run play on Saturday where Proctor ended the play 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage. How is that even physically possible?
Posted by Diego Ricardo
Alabama
Member since Dec 2020
10842 posts
Posted on 10/28/25 at 8:47 am to
You know thereabout when that happened? I'd like to go see whats up with that.

For all Proctor's faults in 2025 he's seem to be reliable for no worse than a stalemate with my armchair, live-game eyes.
Posted by NATidefan
Two hours North of Birmingham
Member since Dec 2008
36743 posts
Posted on 10/28/25 at 8:49 am to
quote:

Have the defense somewhat prepared for the other team's 1st drive of the game.


That's tough, every team scripts the first drive specifically to attack the weaknesses of the opposing defense and give it looks it hasn't seen before.

Hard to "prepare" for that really. Just have to come out ready to dominate and adjust quickly. I think we've done that better and better each week on D.
This post was edited on 10/28/25 at 8:49 am
Posted by Kcstills17
Member since Nov 2017
12178 posts
Posted on 10/28/25 at 8:56 am to
Idk tbh. Offensive struggles are mostly because our o line just isn’t a great fit for our scheme given the personnel. They’re too slow to block this run scheme and always leads to poor run plays. Some possessions we seem super effective and then others we looked lost. So just to be more consistent offensively. Call more screens and quick outs. Would love to see at least 1 deep ball but this is probably the best secondary we’ve played coming up.
Posted by Amarillo Tide
Amarillo, TX
Member since Aug 2023
1411 posts
Posted on 10/28/25 at 8:57 am to
I’d like to see a focus on fundamentals, better blocking, better tackling (especially open field) and consistency catching passes. We have some great receivers but there are still too many drops with very catchable passes.

I’d add better blocking by the punt return team to give Adams more return opportunities. I feel like the guys over the gunners have been really inconsistent.
Posted by Diego Ricardo
Alabama
Member since Dec 2020
10842 posts
Posted on 10/28/25 at 9:08 am to
Bernard had his first drop of the season against SCAR.

Basically everyone else has had a number of drops acceptable given their number of targets. At least by my gut feel without running back full-game tapes obsessively.

Well, everyone other than our most athletically gifted receiver, Ryan Williams. At this juncture I don't think it is anything but mental. He's got to trust his hands and keep his feet on the ground unless leaping for the catch is required. When he stabs the ball with his hands instead of his body or during a needless leap, he has sticky hands. He's starting to remind me of the Los Angeles Chargers receiver Quentin Johnston. Elite physical ability but undermined by some mental blocks that turn him into a stone-handed receiver too often to be a trusted target for his QB. There is a reason we spent the entire second half @SCAR trying to force the ball to Bernard one way or another. When we're in a crunch and need plays, he's the guy you can trust.
This post was edited on 10/28/25 at 9:09 am
Posted by BFANLC
The Beach
Member since Oct 2007
22166 posts
Posted on 10/28/25 at 9:47 am to
quote:

Offensive struggles


Kinda feel like our game plan was purposely vanilla for this game. Until Grubb saw we weren't going win unless we got creative.
Posted by Caesar74
Member since Oct 2025
22 posts
Posted on 10/28/25 at 9:54 am to
I would like to see:

1. Sanders moved into the LG role
2. Carroll take over at RT
3. Figure out a way to get Dear involved with HIll.. less Jam
4. Figure out how to get 3-5 snaps a game from Mboumou
5. Get QB Reese a few snaps a game at MLB
6. Get Lewis back at TE because he's the only one who can block
7. More shots down the field.. I love the ball control but some nice easy scores would be nice here and there to pressure the defense
8
Posted by TideSaint
Hill Country
Member since Sep 2008
82517 posts
Posted on 10/28/25 at 10:22 am to
quote:

You know thereabout when that happened? I'd like to go see whats up with that.


I believe it was the 3rd down play right before the Ryan Williams drop on 4th down. Daniel Hill got stuffed on 3rd and 1.
Posted by tide06
Member since Oct 2011
19810 posts
Posted on 10/28/25 at 11:54 am to
quote:

Im pretty happy with the play calling. Some fantastic play designs to win us the game against SC. Half the teams in football are copying our game winning play against UGA. Wide open TD to beat Mizzou.

Grubb is the best OC in the nation.

That said we have some Lane Kiffin stuff going on where its brilliance mixed with a lot of wasted plays on run calls that don't really have a chance to work given our level of competency with interior run blocking against elite DL's.

What characterized the UW DeBoer/Grubb/Penix offense to me was a lot of downfield passing looks that I'm not seeing us execute or even attempt until USCe. I don't know if its not something they think Ty can consistently execute as he hasn't been very accurate with his deep looks, but to me that is as important to opening up the run game by forcing back the safeties as anything we want to do with run blocking adjustments.

To me the path to a NC lies through running the ball. But to run the ball we will have to pass vertically. So IMO the deep passing game is the key that unlocks the path to a conference and a NC because I simply don't think the running game can fix itself as an independent variable.
Posted by scottydoesntknow
Member since Nov 2023
9433 posts
Posted on 10/28/25 at 12:10 pm to
quote:

Have the defense somewhat prepared for the other team's 1st drive of the game.


I wouldnt know how to prepare for this. You really just need individuals to make stellar plays. Other teams are gonna use things that arent on tape so its not simple to prepare for
Posted by scottydoesntknow
Member since Nov 2023
9433 posts
Posted on 10/28/25 at 12:20 pm to
quote:

That said we have some Lane Kiffin stuff going on where its brilliance mixed with a lot of wasted plays on run calls that don't really have a chance to work given our level of competency with interior run blocking against elite DL's.


I think having those plays on tape is very important. Teams gotta know that you will run the ball. Yes passing is the strength...but you need just a little hesitation from the pass rushers. The RBs have been awful. Theres no way to sugar coat it. Sometimes you need a RB to make a play that isnt obviously there. The RBs have just been bearing straight ahead into blockers, no broken tackles, no great cutbacks. They are giving a struggling O-line nothing extra
Posted by tide06
Member since Oct 2011
19810 posts
Posted on 10/28/25 at 1:58 pm to
quote:

I think having those plays on tape is very important.

I agree that showing that you’ll run the ball is important.

I don’t think that repeatedly running A gap into 93 who’d been blowing us off the ball all day is beneficial.
Posted by Che Boludo
Member since May 2009
21566 posts
Posted on 10/28/25 at 2:55 pm to
I find it frustrating that Bama continues to struggle with the run and their ability to run.

A WR and an OL shouldn't be the best weapons in the backfield. Somewhat hyberbolic, but not really.
This post was edited on 10/28/25 at 2:56 pm
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