Concerns about Assistant/Position Coaches.

[BamaSkins]

...sending coaches to seminars doesn't bother me one bit
...that's good thinking on our staff

...winning does concern me
...and we must start (this year) doing that on a 'regular basis'

...beating the barn is an 'absolute must' this year!
...aren't you sick of them beating us?
...aren't you sick of never beating them in our 'own house'?

...now is the time, this year, not some-down-the-road-tomorrowland

 

[TRU]

So Terry, do you think that unless Conn's hinge blocking strategy has a really successful year that we will be seeing him peddling his snake oil elsewhere in 2007? I hope so - the OL is the unit most in need of improvement IMHO. And as you have pointed out in the past, we have not seen improvement from year to year or even within seasons over the past three years. Has CMS made any commments indicating that he too feels that improved OL performance is a key metric this year and that a repeat of the previous three season's pattern will be unacceptable?

 

[GreatDanish]

Terry, were any of these really position changes?

Travis Sikes (SS), Javier Arenas (CB), Nick Walker (TE), Charles Hoke (TE), Theo Townsend (RB).

Where did Sikes start out? Arenas hasn't showed up yet, but wasn't he a CB in HS? Haven't Walker and Hoke always been TEs? Has Theo ever not been a RB? Perhaps Rashad Johnson who went from RB to S.

Have I missed something?

 

[stallingsstyle]

????

A few of the position changes that come to mind...


Marcel Stamps (LB), Ezekial Knight(DE), Travis Sikes (SS), Javier Arenas (CB), Nick Walker (TE), Charles Hoke (TE), Theo Townsend (RB).

TerryP,

I'm glad you did that. Can you remember why stamps got moved to defensive and do you think it was a wise move. I really thought zek was going to a big playmaker.
I like to think the offense has been forced to be one dimensional with injuries and lack of numbers. Do you feel it's the coaches fault for not having guys ready to step in or is it lack depth. Do feel the injuries we had last year should have got us down like they did.I would like to hear your take on all this. I don't remember the defensive having to play with the fourth string in certain positions so I'm not going to point any fingers.
I was thinking about huber, mccdaniel, and tatum on position changes.

 

[Crimsongator]

So Terry, do you think that unless Conn's hinge blocking strategy has a really successful year that we will be seeing him peddling his snake oil elsewhere in 2007? I hope so - the OL is the unit most in need of improvement IMHO. And as you have pointed out in the past, we have not seen improvement from year to year or even within seasons over the past three years. Has CMS made any commments indicating that he too feels that improved OL performance is a key metric this year and that a repeat of the previous three season's pattern will be unacceptable?

I can remember several of us not liking CJK's bend but don't break defense - sure am glad we ran that rascal off. No telling where our D would be if he had stayed in T-Town.

 

[crimsonaudio]

Not to stroke my own ego (which needs little inflation as it is) but I know a decent amount about football at the collegiate level and can guarantee you that someone in CMS's position will not take the fall for a sub-standard coach. If anyone needs to be replaced, I believe they will be, but it's more likely than not that CMS knows more about what's going on and the various issues that are or are not compromising various coaching positions than most anyone else here does.

I mean, do you really think CMS is not football-savvy enough to realize the O-line hasn't looked very good (ok, it's been awful) over the last few years?

I'll bet there's more to this than what we outsiders see...

 

[4Q Basket Case]

I mean, do you really think CMS is not football-savvy enough to realize the O-line hasn't looked very good (ok, it's been awful) over the last few years?

I'll bet there's more to this than what we outsiders see...

CA -- I agree that the two biggest problems have been the tackles. That's why we can't run wide, except on reverses and other mis-direction. That's why we lose pass protection at the corners. Then Closner went down in the middle, and we had essentially nobody to put in. No protection on the corners, and none up the middle leads to LSU and Auburn butt-whuppins. So I agree that none of that is Connelly's fault.

My problem is threefold:
First, we got manhandled on short yardage situations. When the Ole Miss DT literally shoved the OG so far into the backfield that our own OG made the tackle, and that happened on 4th and short, we were unmasked. The fact that Orgeron is a former OL coach himself (and a danged good one, regardless of what we might think of him as a HC) leads me to think he recognized the deficiency in strength and toughness. Don't even try to "dance" with us. Just bowl us over with a bullrush. Hooking and hinging, footwork and speed and a whole bunch of chalk talk mumbo jumbo are totally out of the equation if you're flat on your back with cleatmarks on your sternum

Ole Miss just about won using that tactic, and with vastly inferior talent. We know all too well what happens when teams with true talent do that...LSU or Auburn memories, anyone?

Second, and more important, we didn't get better as the year went on. No, we don't have Wesley Britt type talent, so I don't expect that level of performance. But regardless of where God-given talent lets you start, a good coach will make you better with time. That didn't happen.

Third, we've had three truly great coaches, and one very good one -- Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas, Paul Bryant and Gene Stallings. Can you imagine any of them embracing any use, let alone 100% use, of a blocking technique that takes, rather than delivers, the first blow? The first three must be spinning in their graves like pinwheels, and Gene must be shaking his head.

 

[TRU]

I agree. The major advantage the offense has over the defense is that the offense is proactive while the defense is reactive. Thus, the defense has to try to read a play and then react to what is coming, while the offense knows what is (suposedly) going to happen once the ball is snapped. The "hinge blocking" strategy nullifies this advantage for the OL. Here they are the ones reacting to the defensive rush, deducing the direction and intent of the incoming defensive palyer, and hitting him as he goes by to move him away from the play. This probably works in the pros where everyone is so fast off of the ball. But it requires an OL that is uniformly quick of their feet, to negate the loss of the advantage inherent to the offense as the proactive unit. And let's face it, Bama's line (and VERY few college OLS in general) contain a uniform talent level that approaches that seen in the NFL.

 

[formersoldier71]

Until the OL can run block and pass block, I will be concerned about CBC.