Offensive Gameplan for So. Miss

[wahpuh]

The passing game is a work in progress. I believe we will see another conservative gameplan this week. I look for So. Miss to be a little tougher against the run than UK. This will mean that Spencer will be asked to put it in the air 16-22 times. Barring interceptions that should be enough to keep the Eagles honest and to pick up some key first downs. Look for several screens, some sprint draws, a couple of deep throws to stretch the defense, and plenty of carries from Darby, Castille, and company. Absent Ray I think will see more runs between the tackles in an attempt to wear the D down and take advantage of Darby and Castille's bruising styles. Assuming Bama commits less than 10 penalties, and has 2 turnovers or less I see 24 points or more for the Tide. RTR!!

 

[mlh]

Gameplan for So Miss...see gameplan for UK...with about 5 more pass attempts...and, hopefully, 5 more completions.

 

[The Tide]

Why stop running when no one can stop us?

 

[Tsunami_RTR]

Why stop running when no one can stop us?

Because we need to build a confident passing attack to keep our "big name" future opponents guessing.

:BigA:

 

[Bama Lee]

I say misdirection and power running game with an occasional sprinkle of the play action pass. Nothing fancy.... Maybe a short pass or two (WR screens, FB Dump, TE Flare, and/or RB screen/flare). Maybe just a dash of the long bomb to keep S Miss DB's honest

 

[HitURStride]

Remember last year's USM game?

We could probably just dust off the 2003 USM game plan.

 

[markenk]

I say misdirection and power running game with an occasional sprinkle of the play action pass. Nothing fancy.... Maybe a short pass or two (WR screens, FB Dump, TE Flare, and/or RB screen/flare). Maybe just a dash of the long bomb to keep S Miss DB's honest

Misdirection and power run plays never work against 8-9 men in the box. It just does not add up in numbers. The defense has more men vs our blockers. What we need is exactly what we did in the first half vs Kentucky - that is inside traps and offtackle with pulling guards and center.

If you watch the KY game, our running game was so successful mainly because KY is a poorly coached team. I saw a lot of arm tackles and poor pursuit angles from Kentucky. Their D-line was horrible at filling the holes and allowed our pulling guards to put their bodies on their linebackers. They are just fundamentally not sound, period.

This week we are facing a better prepared D. It will be harder for us to run when they stack the line with 9 men. We will be forced to make a few 3rd downs by throwing the ball. It's all up to the players stepping up and making the plays. No dropped passes, no holding calls, and mostly importantly no INTs.

Anytime you lose a playmaker, it hurts your offense. Unfortunately we've lost our top two playmakers on our offense. If you think there is going to be no drop off in productions in our running game after losing Hudson, you are dead wrong. Our offense will see the effects of not having him out there. That's what happens when your top playmaker goes down. Others around him must step up to fill his hole to make up that gap, or this running game might suffer. We will see how Darby and Castille responds to the challenge.

 

[briancm]

S. Miss Game Plan...

Win!

 

[Crimson Hawk]

I would love to see more play action, but for some reason we don't seem to use it very much. Maybe some of you more knowledgeable could expound on this. Looks like our running game would naturally set this up?

 

[markenk]

I would love to see more play action, but for some reason we don't seem to use it very much. Maybe some of you more knowledgeable could expound on this. Looks like our running game would naturally set this up?

Play action passes are something that this team will try to do more for sure. It all depends on the situation and how comfortable Spencer is in the pocket. Against KY, we didn't really do much of PA passes because we were just so successful running the ball. For example, it's 3rd and 3. Do you choose to go with PA or just run the ball for first down? KY hasn't been able to stop the run the whole day, so why bother throwing the ball when we know we can make the first down by running the ball?

If So. Miss can stop our running game to some degree, then we will try to mix up some play action passes to take advantage of their aggresiveness. Otherwise, there is no need to throw the ball.

 

[DiamondDust]

Student body left, right, and up the middle.

 

[TommyMac]

I'm anxious to see Aaron Johns running behind the #1 O-Line. I know that he likely won't get a lot of touches, but just maybe he'll get a chance to bust one.

 

[TiderinVA]

I'm guessing that it'll be pretty vanilla

that it'll be similar to Kentucky and a fairly low scoring affair. I'm thinking that the QB philosophy will be kind of like it was when Jay Barker was a freshman: just don't hurt the team with turnovers. If Spencer can pass for about 100 yds and NO INTS, and the RBs can rack up at least 200 yds, I see the Tide winning this one.

Of course, the D has to step up and play hard. I'd force USM to pass and I don't think their #2 can consistently make middle or deep routes.

Finally, I hope and pray that there are at least a few new wrinkles for the Tennessee game to throw the Vols off balance.

 

[bamadude12]

I say we go back to the Mal Moore Playbook.
Mal Moore Right, Mal Moore Left, Run up the middle, Punt.

Seriously, I would like us to use a lot more play action passing, with an occasional shovel pass on downs other than third and long.
Pass on first or second down several times, just to throw the defense a curve and keep them honest. Get the tight ends involved more with slant passes or short out patterns.
I'm with TommyMac, also, that I can't wait to see Aaron Johns run behind the O-Line starters.
Roll Tide Roll!!!

 

[bamafan216]

Win!

DITTO!!! :BigA:

 

[Nate Harris]

Their star linebacker Michael Boley is a monster, without a doubt the best single defender we've faced all year. First and foremost, you have to account for him and not allow him to make game-changing plays. He's one of those rare defenders who can really shift the entire course of a game with his spectacular defensive playmaking. I'll be very interested to see how we deal with him.

 

[Bama Lee]

MarkenK.... O' Contrair Mon Fraer (mispelled French :biggrin2: ).... During the Arkansas, South Carolina, and Kentucky games, we reguraly witnessed their respective defenses cheat up safties into the 'box'. Alabama still averaged well over 4 YPC in each of those games. If a defense is extremely quick (and your offensive line is as monstrous as Bama's), power running and misdirection will work!!!