Grubb to be next OC at Bama per ESPN

[Bamabuzzard]

He should have entered the draft last year.

Probably would have benefitted both parties more than him staying on.

YEP! You're exactly right. A buddy of mine and I were saying this exact same thing the other day. He should have declared for the draft last season when his iron was relatively "hot". Since the Senior Bowl there have been mock drafts come out and he's not in the first round of any of them now...

 

[some_al_fan]

On paper I believe last season's defense was the best since 2017.

In 2023, we were second in SEC in yds/game (behind Georgia):

2023 College Football Defense Total Team Stat Leaders - ESPN

ESPN is the place for NCAAF stats! Find a list of the Defense Total team stat leaders for the 2023 NCAAF Postseason.

www.espn.com

In 2024, we were 7th in SEC in yds / game :

2024 College Football Defense Total Team Stat Leaders - ESPN

ESPN is the place for NCAAF stats! Find a list of the Defense Total team stat leaders for the 2024 NCAAF Postseason.

www.espn.com

Overall, defensive numbers are higher in 2024 across the board, so a better comparison would be with the other teams in your conference in the same year

 

[NoNC4Tubs]

This has turned into a Sheridan discussion more than a Milroe discussion. Even though Milroe is still in the conversation, the main topic is Sheridan and I just think it is unfair to the guy to put the amount of blame some are on his shoulders with the limitations he was given.

Agree 100%!

There isn't an OC out there that could have done any better with the handicaps that he was working with...

 

[colbysullivan]

I can. If you'll indulge a bit of the absurd, let me paint a scenario that, while ridiculous on its face, is a metaphor for what we witnessed this year with Sheridan and Milroe.

For a bit of personal context, I had shoulder surgery 13 years ago, and as a result, I can't throw a football more than 30 yards. Now, let's say that I'm a starting QB (again, this is absurdism at its best, but go with me). I know my limitations, my OC is aware of them, and after watching film for 30 seconds, opponents can plainly see my deficiencies as well. Yet, during games, my OC is calling plays that "scheme guys open" by running fly routes 30-50 yards downfield.

To the bewilderment of fans and clueless pundits alike, I don't throw to these "open" receivers, despite the fact that opposing defenses are stacking the box, playing overlapping zones within 20 yards of the LOS, and letting my receivers run free deep in the secondary. The public sees my OC calling plays that result in open receivers and potential chunk-play gains, but the offense remains stagnant. Why don't I hit these receivers who have been "schemed" open, they ask? Because I can't make the throws.

So, my question is this: isn't the debacle that was UA's 2024 offense just as much on Sheridan as it was on Milroe? Calling plays that result in guys running open means absolutely nothing if the guy making the throws is incapable of anticipating windows, throwing guys open, or hell, even seeing guys that are running free. When defenses don't have to account for certain areas of the field or potential areas that could be exploited, it's paints the offense into a box. A strong OC sees that, adapts to the skillset of the trigger man, and makes the necessary adjustments. The fact that Milroe's raw stats and efficiency numbers were better under CTR (a guy that was excoriated by many on this board for "dumbing down the offense") is evidence to me that Nick Sheridan was as much, if not more of, the problem than Jalen Milroe.

No

 

[Bamabuzzard]

For crying out loud, guys, the QB in my example has MY physical limitations and is clearly NOT intended to be a perfect facsimile of Jalen Milroe. I did reference the absurdist nature of the example scenario twice. It's a metaphor because it's representative, not beat-for-beat applicable.



I didn't say it was all his fault, and I certainly don't disagree with the first sentence. I simply chalked up his inability to adjust to those limitations as just as much to blame as the limitations themselves.

Holy cow, people. Jalen Milroe was woefully bad this year. Full stop. And yet, the steadfastness with which some people maintain that him leaving the program was the only ingredient necessary for solving all our offensive ills is interesting, to say the least.

We'll never know for sure because Sheridan will not get the chance to call plays with next year's QB. So this debate will just remain in the realm of speculation and opinion.

 

[4Q Basket Case]

If you're an opposing DC, you know Milroe is almost comically inaccurate more than 10 yards downfield. And he's not much more accurate than that on short passes. And anyway, he holds the ball too long to make it to a second, let alone third read to an outlet TE or RB. He used to throw a good deep ball, but based on observations from knowledgeable posters here (and inside leaks), it appears that an injury took a lot of that away.

In short, you know that Milroe can't pass with anywhere near enough consistency to beat you. And that he can't handle heat.

The only way he can beat you is with his legs....assuming he can find a gap.

So you bring at least 7, often 8 men up, and cheat the other safety, effectively presenting an 8.5 or 9 man box. You bring heat every play, deny the run, plug up Milroe's escape routes, and just accept that, like a blind pig finding an acorn, he's going to hit the occasional (like 1 in every 4 or 5) pass on man coverage.

Normally, the weakness in that strategy is its vulnerability to quick hitters and short outlet routes that are either (1) uncovered, or (2) covered by CBs not used to matching up against a RB or TE with a full head of steam. But your QB simply can't execute that -- he can't make the read quickly enough. And even if he did make the right read, he's woefully inaccurate on those passes.

Unless they're just totally outclassed athletically, the opposing D wins by doing what UTe, OU and UM did (I thought the Vandy loss was on the D not being able to get off the field).

So if you're not happy with the OC's adjustments, what adjustment(s) would you like to have seen him make? Remember, it can't involve passing because your QB can't do that.

 

[NoNC4Tubs]

If you're an opposing DC, you know Milroe is almost comically inaccurate more than 10 yards downfield. And he's not much more accurate than that on short passes. And anyway, he holds the ball too long to make it to a second, let alone third read to an outlet TE or RB. He used to throw a good deep ball, but based on observations from knowledgeable posters here (and inside leaks), it appears that an injury took a lot of that away.

In short, you know that Milroe can't pass with anywhere with near enough consistency to beat you. And that he can't handle heat.

The only way he can beat you is with his legs....assuming he can find a gap.

So you bring at least 7, often 8 men up, and cheat the other safety up, effectively presenting an 8.5 or 9 man box. You bring heat every play, deny the run, plug up Milroe's escape routes, and just accept that, like a blind pig finding an acorn, he's going to hit the occasional (like 1 in every 4 or 5) pass on man coverage.

Normally, the weakness in that strategy is its vulnerability to quick hitters and short outlet routes that are either (1) uncovered, or (2) covered by CBs not used to matching up against a RB or TE with a full head of steam. But your QB simply can't execute that -- he can't make the read quickly enough. And even if he did make the right read, he's woefully inaccurate on those passes.

Unless they're just totally outclassed athletically, the opposing D wins by doing what UTe, OU and UM did (I thought the Vandy loss was on the D not being able to get off the field).

So if you're not happy with the OC's adjustments, what adjustment(s) would you like to have seen him make? Remember, it can't involve passing because your QB can't do that.

More importantly...Milroe was tipping the defense that it was a run or pass by his stance.

 

[Cruloc]

YEP! You're exactly right. A buddy of mine and I were saying this exact same thing the other day. He should have declared for the draft last season when his iron was relatively "hot". Since the Senior Bowl there have been mock drafts come out and he's not in the first round of any of them now...

If he hasn't dropped into the 3rd or 4th round, I'll be shocked. He should be lower than that, but then I read stuff like this little excerpt:

From an ESPN article:

"He's been doubted every year, and he constantly keeps proving the doubters wrong," a director of college scouting from a QB-needy team said. "You're going to have to go all-in on his skill set and build a scheme that just overwhelms. [It'd have to be a team] like Baltimore, but there's a pathway to success for him on the next level."

..........

The team that drafts Milroe must have patience and be willing to let him develop as an underneath passer. The second or third round was the consensus range from multiple scouts that I talked to in Mobile -- primarily due to his physical tools.

 

[Joefus]

Radio silence on huff since he was let go. Same thing happened with Grubb tho so maybe that’s a good sign.

 

[gtgilbert]

On paper I believe last season's defense was the best since 2017.

Yes, and it certainly ended that way, but early in the year that was not at all the case.

 

[cdub55]

For crying out loud, guys, the QB in my example has MY physical limitations and is clearly NOT intended to be a perfect facsimile of Jalen Milroe. I did reference the absurdist nature of the example scenario twice. It's a metaphor because it's representative, not beat-for-beat applicable.



I didn't say it was all his fault, and I certainly don't disagree with the first sentence. I simply chalked up his inability to adjust to those limitations as just as much to blame as the limitations themselves.

Holy cow, people. Jalen Milroe was woefully bad this year. Full stop. And yet, the steadfastness with which some people maintain that him leaving the program was the only ingredient necessary for solving all our offensive ills is interesting, to say the least.

If you have ever called an offense you would understand the impossibilities you are putting Sheridan in when saying things such as, "I simply chalked up his inability to adjust to those limitations". If a defense load's the box and has more defenders than you have blockers what adjustment are you suggesting that doesn't involve throwing the ball? Did you notice how many times we used our RB as a lead blocker this year? You know why we did that? It was because we had a negative box ratio and we needed at least one extra blocker. I've said before that Sheridan had his growing pains but to say he couldn't adjust is unfounded. You can't adjust a belt that is on it's last hole. It is time to get a new belt...

 

[gtgilbert]

For crying out loud, guys, the QB in my example has MY physical limitations and is clearly NOT intended to be a perfect facsimile of Jalen Milroe. I did reference the absurdist nature of the example scenario twice. It's a metaphor because it's representative, not beat-for-beat applicable.



I didn't say it was all his fault, and I certainly don't disagree with the first sentence. I simply chalked up his inability to adjust to those limitations as just as much to blame as the limitations themselves.

Holy cow, people. Jalen Milroe was woefully bad this year. Full stop. And yet, the steadfastness with which some people maintain that him leaving the program was the only ingredient necessary for solving all our offensive ills is interesting, to say the least.

I'll thread the middle. I don't think Nilroe being gone was the ONLY thing needed. I just can't honestly even assess the capabilities of all the other areas of the offense, whether that's the OL, the RBs, the WR/TEs or the playcaller, simply because that ONE position limited every other thing on the field so much.

It's just not possible to know how they might have done in a situation that was not so constrained.

OL looked bad, well, protections were being called wrong and sliding AWAY from the strength of the defense.

RBs didn't get a lot of yards, well the QB wasn't reading the D right and was keeping when he should have given and giving when he should have kept.

WRs not getting yards - they were open, a LOT.

Sheridan should adjust - to what? As others have asked when saying he should have made 'adjustments', exactly what should he have done differently, given what he was working with? CKD admitted that Nilroe couldn't run much of the playbook, so what were Sheridans options out of the small % that he could run, especially once the defenses knew what those were.

 

[gtgilbert]

If you have ever called an offense you would understand the impossibilities you are putting Sheridan in when saying things such as, "I simply chalked up his inability to adjust to those limitations". If a defense load's the box and has more defenders than you have blockers what adjustment are you suggesting that doesn't involve throwing the ball? Did you notice how many times we used our RB as a lead blocker this year? You know why we did that? It was because we had a negative box ratio and we needed at least one extra blocker. I've said before that Sheridan had his growing pains but to say he couldn't adjust is unfounded. You can't adjust a belt that is on it's last hole. It is time to get a new belt...

I might have chuckled so hard at that, that I lost some coffee.

 

[cdub55]

If you're an opposing DC, you know Milroe is almost comically inaccurate more than 10 yards downfield. And he's not much more accurate than that on short passes. And anyway, he holds the ball too long to make it to a second, let alone third read to an outlet TE or RB. He used to throw a good deep ball, but based on observations from knowledgeable posters here (and inside leaks), it appears that an injury took a lot of that away.

In short, you know that Milroe can't pass with anywhere with near enough consistency to beat you. And that he can't handle heat.

The only way he can beat you is with his legs....assuming he can find a gap.

So you bring at least 7, often 8 men up, and cheat the other safety up, effectively presenting an 8.5 or 9 man box. You bring heat every play, deny the run, plug up Milroe's escape routes, and just accept that, like a blind pig finding an acorn, he's going to hit the occasional (like 1 in every 4 or 5) pass on man coverage.

Normally, the weakness in that strategy is its vulnerability to quick hitters and short outlet routes that are either (1) uncovered, or (2) covered by CBs not used to matching up against a RB or TE with a full head of steam. But your QB simply can't execute that -- he can't make the read quickly enough. And even if he did make the right read, he's woefully inaccurate on those passes.

Unless they're just totally outclassed athletically, the opposing D wins by doing what UTe, OU and UM did (I thought the Vandy loss was on the D not being able to get off the field).

So if you're not happy with the OC's adjustments, what adjustment(s) would you like to have seen him make? Remember, it can't involve passing because your QB can't do that.

And don't forget you don't have to defend the slant which means you can play off coverage which negates the speed of RW and company.

 

[Cruloc]

I might have chuckled so hard at that, that I lost some coffee.

Meh, just make your own hole. LANK!!

 

[countrytider]

You're basically making the case (without realizing it) that Jalen Milroe was the root of the offensive struggles.

First off, open receivers WERE NOT only 30-50 yards downfield. That is simply not true. There were wr's in the 10-20 yard range running free all season long that Milroe missed. Go watch the most recent bowl game against Michigan and watch Bernard and Ryan Williams on intermediate routes running wide the frick open in frustration and Milroe (having time to throw) just sits and holds the ball. When the " he can't do that's" and "he can't make that throw" starts mounting up on the list of your QB then more it restricts the adjustment options the OC can do. That's just a fact. The things Milroe couldn't do put Rees and Sheridan in such a bind it restricted any adjustment options you can throw out there. Also, Milroe's numbers under Rees weren't materially better to even come close to saying Rees did a better job than Sheridan.


View attachment 48947

Once again, not talking about end of season OVERALL numbers. Talking about game by game, from a consistency standpoint.

It’s literally the reason we lost 3 games at least, and could argue 4.

Outputs of 3, 17, and 13 in losing efforts.

Sure games like Georgia and LSU help offset the OVERALL averages.

There is no argument whatsoever that Sheridan is a decent coordinator. The evidence is to the contrary. It really doesn’t make sense you guys going out of the way to defend him.

He’s terrible, and always has been as a play caller.

 

[Tidewater]

I'm hoping Huff is come also, even if someone has to be let go. Alabama offensive lines have been underachieving for quite a long time. respected players come to Alabama and somehow never live up to their billing. MacLaughlin is a recent example. Once away form Tuscaloosa, he blossomed and won the award for his position.

I was watching on old Start Trek Next Generation episode last night ("Thine Own Self," Season 7 Episode 16). Counsellor Troi wants to become a bridge officer (trained and capable of exercising command). She keep failing the engineering exam until she realizes that the only way to pass is to order a member of the crew to undertake repairs that will fix the ship but cause the crewmember to receive a fatal dose of radiation. To be a commander, you have to be willing to sacrifice and to order the sacrifice of some crew members. That is part of what it means to be an executive.

I hope a change of position coaching will cause Alabama offensive linemen to play up to their potential.

 

[bamaslammer]

"He's been doubted every year, and he constantly keeps proving the doubters wrong," a director of college scouting from a QB-needy team said. "You're going to have to go all-in on his skill set and build a scheme that just overwhelms. [It'd have to be a team] like Baltimore, but there's a pathway to success for him on the next level."

I think NFL guys need to be careful they don't buy into the idea that Alabama fans are "too critical". Alabama fans are like every other serious fan base. Just go read the message boards. Everybody knows crappy QB play when they see it.

I think the improvement curve for him might be larger than they realize. His mobility is only north south. He's hand down the worst pocket QB I can recall. I think possibly David Smith in 1988 was certainly no Michael Vick either but we are talking a walk-on QB that we had to play vs one of the nations best athletes. I don't really understand why. If they could figure that out and correct it, he certainly can make all the throws and I could see him succeeding. Personally I think it's a combination something mental and horrible footwork.

 

[countrytider]

In 2023, we were second in SEC in yds/game (behind Georgia):

2023 College Football Defense Total Team Stat Leaders - ESPN

ESPN is the place for NCAAF stats! Find a list of the Defense Total team stat leaders for the 2023 NCAAF Postseason.

www.espn.com

In 2024, we were 7th in SEC in yds / game :

2024 College Football Defense Total Team Stat Leaders - ESPN

ESPN is the place for NCAAF stats! Find a list of the Defense Total team stat leaders for the 2024 NCAAF Postseason.

www.espn.com

Overall, defensive numbers are higher in 2024 across the board, so a better comparison would be with the other teams in your conference in the same year

What about defensive points allowed? You know…the most important stat…

 

[Cruloc]

I'm hoping Huff is come also, even if someone has to be let go. Alabama offensive lines have been underachieving for quite a long time. respected players come to Alabama and somehow never live up to their billing. MacLaughlin is a recent example. Once away form Tuscaloosa, he blossomed and won the award for his position.

I was watching on old Start Trek Next Generation episode last night ("Thine Own Self," Season 7 Episode 16). Counsellor Troi wants to become a bridge officer (trained and capable of exercising command). She keep failing the engineering exam until she realizes that the only way to pass is to order a member of the crew to undertake repairs that will fix the ship but cause the crewmember to receive a fatal dose of radiation. To be a commander, you have to be willing to sacrifice and to order the sacrifice of some crew members. That is part of what it means to be an executive.

I hope a change of position coaching will cause Alabama offensive linemen to play up to their potential.

She had her own little Kobayashi Maru.....leaders face that all the time.