re: Saban: It's virtually impossible to come up with a defensive scheme to stop RPOs

Saban is a breath of fresh air. In his interviews he actually gives some clues to the intricacy of football. And he shows that he THINKS about how even minor rules impact the game overall.

The issue with OL blocking downfield has not been fully developed. If the 3-yd rule is casually enforced, then you have what amounts to mass picks on a passing play. If a TE can go downfield and pick a safety, even a reasonably accurate passer can do a lot of damage.

In the NC game there were several Clemson plays that were pretty close to being picks...perhaps some for Alabama too. But downfield blocking on a pass play is definitely a problem that may not in fact have a solution.