All Things Alabama

[kmoose]

And Bama faces a better D than ND everyday in practice.

 

[gcashwell]

TideSports.com - Tide begins prep for Irish

This link touches on what I think is the main weakness of the Alabama team. That weakness is adjustments. Mentally, I don't think this defense is able to handle a varied offense. They just aren't mature enough. They should be better next year.

What is ND's main weakness?

 

[Irish To The Core]

I think that the ND defense will be sorely challenged by the Alabama offense, but I truly believe in the character of our guys. Earlier in the year I would be $hitting bricks at the prospect of Keivarae and Mathias starting in the secondary, but those guys are now battle hardened...they (and Jackson/Motta) were equal to the task of neutralizing USC's passing receivers and Alabama does not have receivers of that calibre.

As so many people have observed, Everett is the wild card here. I remember watching the film of him in highschool leading a comeback in the State Championship game against Clowney's team. The guy is without a doubt a big game player. 3 state championships as THE key guy is impressive. I think it is very possible that the Everett Golson we see on Jan. 7 will play at a level we have not seen thus far. I think it is quite possible that Alabama is preparing for the wrong qb. They are preparing for the qb that Everett Golson was. On Jan. 7 they are going to go face to face with the Everet Golson V. 2.

 

[BGIF]

...

What is ND's main weakness?

1. Punt Return Team - The return man, Neal is quick but rarely gets any protection from the gunners coming down field. ND is ranked around 86th in Field Position Advantage due primarily to the poor Punt Return game. Best hope for a return is a big kick that out kicks the coverage.

2. Red Zone TDs - RZ Scoring is good but not great. ND is ranked 75th with a .79 Scoring Rate. UA is ranked 15th at .89. ND converted 46 of 58 opportunities but 19 were FGs with only 27 TDs (19 Rushing/8 Passing). This was the primary reason for the number of close games this season. The Defense was DOMINANT in the Red Zone the Offense wasn't. ND has several big receivers but the End Zone Fade was not the money play it should have been to either of two BIG TEs or the WRs. They made some but the timing or touch with a rookie QB wasn't what you would have with a 3rd or 4th year QB. ND's passing game was more effective outside the Red Zone with more field to work with.

3. Youth.

A. Rookie QB never played a down before this season but he's 10-0 as a starter and has played in 11 games in his career. A long way from the experience level of A.J. McCarron. Golson's got a very strong arm, can make all the throws, and is very mobile. He's short at 6-0 behind a tall OLine. He struggled early in the season with reads, taking sacks versus the out of bounds throws, and going through progressions. But he improved in decision making as the season progressed. The additional 6 weeks between the last game and the NCG should benefit him more than anyone else. After 3 years McCarron has his reads, progressions, and timing about as good as it's going to get. The pre-bowl period was also half a season for Golson to get his head more in the game. His arm and feet were always there. His backup Jr QB Rees is 14-4 as a career starter, 2-0 this year. More experienced and quicker "read" on the field but lacks Golson's arm strength and isn't mobile at all. The additional 6 weeks should also give Golson time to get back in sync with WR Daniels who was injured for the last couple of games of the season but still posted the 3rd most receiving yds. Likewise the added time should help with the timing of the long ball to Fr WR Brown who is probably the fastest receiver and a true home run threat. Golson and Brown connected once for a 50+ yd play but missed closely on another 5 or 6 opportunities when Brown had his man beat. IF Golson and Brown are in sync and/or Golson gets in sync with the tall receivers in the Red Zone, look out! But much work needs to be done in those areas before Jan 7th.

B. Young Secondary playing before their time due to preseason injuries but have played well. Despite UA's OLine and RBs, I expect Saban to try to negate ND's Front Seven by using the experienced McCarron to go after ND's DBs. CB Russell is a true freshman. He arrived on campus as a RB but injuries to upperclassmen necessitated his move to corner. He will make mistakes but has excellent speed and recovers quickly. He can run people down from behind. So. Farley was also pressed into service due to injuries. He's also a first year player seeing duty last year only as a scout team WR. Backup CB Brown is a soph but saw his first action in college this season. Backup S Shumate is a true freshman and a big hitter and should see significant PT at Nickel.

C. First Year Place Kicker The record setting Sr. kicker went down for the season in the opening game. His soph replacement did exceedingly well for a first time kicker. He handled kickoffs last year but not place kicking. Some fans here will grumble about him as he's missed 8 kicks for the season but he's ranked 3rd in the nation in FGs and more importantly he's been money under pressure playing in OT twice and providing the margin of victory in 5 of ND's 12 games. He's also set ND records for Most FGs in a season, 23, Most FGs Attempts in a season, 31, and Most Points Scored by a kicker 95. His long for the season is 52 yds. He was 8-11 from 30-39 yds, 3-7 from 40-49 yds, and 1-1 from 50+. He was 8-11 from 30-39 yds, 3-7 from 40-49 yds, and 1-1 from 50+. His 74% accuracy rate is one of the best in ND history.

 

[Rocky2820]

Major reps BGIF, as per usual for you.

 

[phork]

Why are we still talking about this? Alabama has scheduled a pregame game with the Detroit Lions.

 

[chicago51]

Why are we still talking about this? Alabama has scheduled a pregame game with the Detroit Lions.

I heard next year Tim Tebow is going to get his grudge match with Nick Saban when the Jacksonville Jaguars visit Bryant Deny Stadium to take on the Tide.

 

[Irish#1]

I think that the ND defense will be sorely challenged by the Alabama offense, but I truly believe in the character of our guys. Earlier in the year I would be $hitting bricks at the prospect of Keivarae and Mathias starting in the secondary, but those guys are now battle hardened...they (and Jackson/Motta) were equal to the task of neutralizing USC's passing receivers and Alabama does not have receivers of that calibre.

As so many people have observed, Everett is the wild card here. I remember watching the film of him in highschool leading a comeback in the State Championship game against Clowney's team. The guy is without a doubt a big game player. 3 state championships as THE key guy is impressive. I think it is very possible that the Everett Golson we see on Jan. 7 will play at a level we have not seen thus far. I think it is quite possible that Alabama is preparing for the wrong qb. They are preparing for the qb that Everett Golson was. On Jan. 7 they are going to go face to face with the Everet Golson V. 2.

Herbstreet said some thing similar this morning on SportsCenter.

 

[chicago51]

Herbstreet said some thing similar this morning on SportsCenter.

Herbstreet despite not being a big Notre Dame supporter does have a certain loveaffair with mobile QBs as he himself was one.

 

[Irish#1]

Herbstreet despite not being a big Notre Dame supporter does have a certain loveaffair with mobile QBs as he himself was one.

He really started singing the praises of the Irish during the OU game. At that point he was convinced the Irish were legit.

 

[phork]

Is Golson NFL ready though?

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Is Golson NFL ready though?

He isn't NFL ready yet. Thanks Ty.....

 

[rolltide76]

Good Analysis

Good Analysis

I watched Trevor on SportsCenter this morning and he discussed a decent analysis on Bama's defense against a spread type offense. Not that ND is a spread team, but Kelly does a great job moving guys around to exploit mismatches while spreading the field at the same time. This definitely has hurt Bama in games where the teams game plan was to do so (i.e. A&M, LSU, and UGA). Our nickel is decent now that Geno Smith took the place of Sunseri at the Star position, but our dime is really bad as no one plays the Money position that well yet.

Do you think Kelly will try to do this more or line up and play "grown man" football?

 

[Rocky2820]

Herbstreet despite not being a big Notre Dame supporter does have a certain loveaffair with mobile QBs as he himself was one.

I think Herbstreit has been very fair toward ND. He has sung their praises the second half of this season for sure, and the comments that I recall pre-this year were not real off the mark or unfair given ND's on-field performance. Just my take.

 

[philipm31]

I watched Trevor on SportsCenter this morning and he discussed a decent analysis on Bama's defense against a spread type offense. Not that ND is a spread team, but Kelly does a great job moving guys around to exploit mismatches while spreading the field at the same time. This definitely has hurt Bama in games where the teams game plan was to do so (i.e. A&M, LSU, and UGA). Our nickel is decent now that Geno Smith took the place of Sunseri at the Star position, but our dime is really bad as no one plays the Money position that well yet.

Do you think Kelly will try to do this more or line up and play "grown man" football?

Given that the identity of this time is founded on running the ball while still lining up in formations that are meant to exploit certain mismatches, I would expect him to use a combination of the two ideas, but you never know how things will work out during the game.

In-game adjustments will be key and I think that both coaches are very good at it. Saban obviously gets more credit for it, but I think that Kelly's ability to adjust his gameplanning in-game has gotten much better this season.

 

[Irish Houstonian]

I don't think we have enough blocking TE's or the FB to play Stanford or Wisc. like "grown man" football. Not to mention it would involve overhauling the O a bit. Will probably just see a lot of zone reads and inside/outside zone in terms of the run-game.

 

[johnnykillz]

I don't think we have enough blocking TE's or the FB to play Stanford or Wisc. like "grown man" football. Not to mention it would involve overhauling the O a bit. Will probably just see a lot of zone reads and inside/outside zone in terms of the run-game.

I think we'll play our brand of football.

"Grown man" football?

We play to win.

We'll play grown man defense.

 

[rolltide76]

I think we'll play our brand of football.

"Grown man" football?

We play to win.

We'll play grown man defense.

The "grown man" comment was a joke from a statement made earlier this year by a Missouri defensive tackle. He made the off-hand comment prior to playing Georgia that they play "old man" football (i.e. pro-style with mainly a running attack to setup the play-action pass) while Missouri runs the spread attack. I meant to type "old man" football, but made a mistake.

 

[johnnykillz]

The "grown man" comment was a joke from a statement made earlier this year by a Missouri defensive tackle. He made the off-hand comment prior to playing Georgia that they play "old man" football (i.e. pro-style with mainly a running attack to setup the play-action pass) while Missouri runs the spread attack. I meant to type "old man" football, but made a mistake.

Roger, Roger.

 

[Who'saWildManNow]

Someone on TideFans.com dropped this and obviously got met with skepticism and frustration.. Could be a troll, could be legit, no way of knowing. ND is preparing for Barrett Jones at 100% either way. From a fan's perspective, I hope his is healthy and ready to play.. I know Big Lou has been looking forward to the battle. Ryan kelly is the RS Frosh back-up who was pretty highly recruited and has been taking the first team snaps thus far.

Re: Barrett Jones still on crutches and casted
Barrett will not play barring an absolute miracle from someone close to the team. Ryan is ready. Has been practicing hard and is game ready. We will be fine. So we beat em by 17 instead of 30. Roll Tide.

 

[rolltide76]

Fast Start

Fast Start

I didn't get to watch ND's games much this year (always seemed Bama was playing at the same time). How many times this year has ND started the game fast? What I mean is scored a minimum of a TD and FG on first two possessions of game.

 

[RuntheBall]

I didn't get to watch ND's games much this year (always seemed Bama was playing at the same time). How many times this year has ND started the game fast? What I mean is scored a minimum of a TD and FG on first two possessions of game.

I think looking at the most recent games gives a better barometer of what ND team will be im Miami so I'll work my way back.

USC- 10 points on first 2 poss, 13 in first three; drives of 67, 87 and 66.
Wake Forest- 21 points, 3 TD's to start game; Drives of 91, 52 and 78
BC- 7 points, 1 TD (and fumble on first 2 drives, fumble after 58 yrd drive); 21 points on 4 possessions; drives of 95, 58, 87 and 65.
PITT- 6 points, 2 FG; Drives of 60 and 89 yards. (stopped on 1 yard line in one case)
Oklahoma- 7 points, 1 TD (2nd drive). Drives of 9 and (2 play) 67 yards (the Wood run).
BYU- (Rees Starting) ) 0 Points, Missed FG. Drives of -5 and 56 yards. (TD on third drive)
Stanford- 0 Points, fumble. (started 2nd drive in own 1 yardline). Scored FG on 4th drive- first score of game with 15 sec left in 1st.

Somewhere around this point we aren't even looking at the same offense anymore so it becomes (almost) pointless.

Miami- 10 points, TD then FG. Drives of 88 then 75 (third drive for a fg, 65 yards).
Michigan- Interception, punt. (Golson pick on first play of game)
MichSt- Punt, TD (Goodman catch). 7 Points drives of 16 and 51.
Purdue- 0 points. Punt, Missed FG(40 ish yards). Drives of 17 and 69 yards.
Navy- 14 points on first 2 drives. 21 on first 3. Drives of 75, 70 and 80 yards.

So to answer your question 4/12 ties we score 10+ on the first to possessions.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

The "grown man" comment was a joke from a statement made earlier this year by a Missouri defensive tackle. He made the off-hand comment prior to playing Georgia that they play "old man" football (i.e. pro-style with mainly a running attack to setup the play-action pass) while Missouri runs the spread attack. I meant to type "old man" football, but made a mistake.

There was a point in the season when it looked like Bama and Oregon were on a collision course, and that matchup would have put the "old man" vs glitzy spread debate to bed. I got so tired of hearing how it would be "power vs speed," for, quite frankly, I think Bama is faster than Oregon as a whole also.

 

[koonja]

Someone on TideFans.com dropped this and obviously got met with skepticism and frustration.. Could be a troll, could be legit, no way of knowing. ND is preparing for Barrett Jones at 100% either way. From a fan's perspective, I hope his is healthy and ready to play.. I know Big Lou has been looking forward to the battle. Ryan kelly is the RS Frosh back-up who was pretty highly recruited and has been taking the first team snaps thus far.

Curious, did anyone comment after that with regards to Jones's health? Did anyone back this thought, or shoot it down?

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Curious, did anyone comment after that with regards to Jones's health? Did anyone back this thought, or shoot it down?

Did anyone get really angry and say "we still win by 30." ?

 

[RuntheBall]

Curious, did anyone comment after that with regards to Jones's health? Did anyone back this thought, or shoot it down?

Here is the link if you want to read the whole thing:

Barrett Jones still on crutches and casted - Page 8

The poster joined in Sept. 2012 and has 44 posts, if you value that kind of info.

Some other interesting viewpoints.

Before the quote brought up above.

I can see some of the concern. He was suppose to be ready after Christmas. Now he is suppose to be ready the week after Christmas. It doesn't sound like it is progressing like they expected on the surface. Again, I think it comes down to get him as close to 100% as possible and they don't want to risk reinjury in the game.

After the original quote.
Original poster responding to someone saying, "thats a bold statement. Source?"

Take it for what it's worth. It's pretty worthless I know, but personally I have absolutely full confidence in Ryan. He has explosive quickness and great size, but not a fat blob. 4 star recruit that has absolutely been coached up. We will be just fine.

I'd be really surprised if Barrett didn't play. This isn't like Bell, he didn't have to leave the game or even go rushing to the locker room after the game. Logically, it would seem it should only get better with treatment. So, unless there is some sort of regression in his condition he's extremely likely to play.

Having said that, if he doesn't his backup has experience and plenty of time to practice. But, Barrett didn't have surgery, so it's hard to see why his performance could be below that of his previous game (which was certainly good enough).

 

[Who'saWildManNow]

Curious, did anyone comment after that with regards to Jones's health? Did anyone back this thought, or shoot it down?

No one shot it down but no one really backed it up either. It seems they all expect him to play and CNS is playing it safe by resting him right now..

There is def smoke around the kid.. I'd like him to be 100% but even if he is this period of recovery will most assuredly affect his conditioning, at the very least. Also, I give him props for playing on it during the SECCG but he could very well have made it worse..

 

[IrishSteelhead]

No one shot it down but no one really backed it up either. It seems they all expect him to play and CNS is playing it safe by resting him right now..

There is def smoke around the kid.. I'd like him to be 100% but even if he is this period of recovery will most assuredly affect his conditioning, at the very least. Also, I give him props for playing on it during the SECCG but he could very well have made it worse..

He is a first round talent too, so I'm sure there are some people around him playing the "don't be a hero and think about your future" card, but on the other hand, CNS is probably playing the "cry me a river you fat fu-king baby, go fetch me a title boy!" card.

*If he chooses to play, God bless him, if he doesn't, I hope Bama fans realize how much he has done for them, and aren't critical of his choice.

 

[gcashwell]

Someone on TideFans.com dropped this and obviously got met with skepticism and frustration.. Could be a troll, could be legit, no way of knowing. ND is preparing for Barrett Jones at 100% either way. From a fan's perspective, I hope his is healthy and ready to play.. I know Big Lou has been looking forward to the battle. Ryan kelly is the RS Frosh back-up who was pretty highly recruited and has been taking the first team snaps thus far.

I know for sure he is not still in a cast. There are pics of him in a boot.

 

[Bishop2b5]

If he chooses to play, God bless him, if he doesn't, I hope Bama fans realize how much he has done for them, and aren't critical of his choice.

We're very aware and appreciative of all he's done for us. He'll leave here with a BS and MS in accounting with a 4.0 gpa, a 3 time All-American, a 4 time Academic All-American, won the Outland, Remington, Wuerffel, and Campbell trophies, been named the Capital One student/athlete of the year for football, and anchored a line that has won two NC's and possibly a third. Kids like him don't come along every day.

I think he'll almost certainly play next week, but if he doesn't, I'll completely support his choice.