****Official Bama vs. Penn State Postgame Thread****

[Relayer]

I like and respect JoePa, but it's time to go Joe. He is hurting the Penn State program! Now, I'm glad he is the coach and he has never beaten Coach Saban (at MSU or Alabama), but a head coach needs to be able to be on the sideline to get in some faces when things are not going as expected by the coaching staff. It would be and is dangerous for that OLD-timer to be on the sideline.

Actually, Paterno beat Saban's MSU squad 3 of the 5 times they played. Saban's record vs JoePa now stands at 4-3.

 

[BEATtutorsee]

Our defense isn't exactly made for d-lineman to hit the QB. It sets up multiple looks and overloads with pressure coming from linebackers and DBs from all over the field.

Exactly. As long as they (the DL) are taking up blockers and in the process freeing up the LBs and DBs, they're pretty much doing their job when it comes to the pass rush. Of course it would obviously be nice to see one or more of them become a bona-fide pass rushing threat. That would take our defense to even a whole other level.

 

[runtheoption22]

Exactly. As long as they (the DL) are taking up blockers and in the process freeing up the LBs and DBs, they're pretty much doing their job when it comes to the pass rush. Of course it would obviously be nice to see one or more of them become a bona-fide pass rushing threat. That would take our defense to even a whole other level.

and to add to that, we are getting enough push to bat down balls at the line.....just an added bonus

 

[capnfrog]

I'm very happy that they did it, but I think it was a very BIG mistake for Penn State to ROTATE their QB's. There was NO continuity in their offense as a result of the way they rotated. If they had kept in their first QB, the game may have been a lot closer.

I noticed several teams on TV yesterday that have kickoff specialist who can put the ball in or beyond the end-zone. Bama needs this kind of kick-off to help prevent runbacks. It looked like all of our kickoffs were between the 5 and 10 yard lines. That gives the receiving team a GREAT chance to break a big run-back! It's great to have a former high school linebacker as a kick-off specialist, but I wish he could strengthen that leg so he can really put the ball at least 10 yards farther.

AJ McCarron? I was disappointed in the number of tipped passes in the backfield. I'm glad that none were intercepted and run back. Now, he did play with poise. But this can't keep happening. I know this was an OLine problem, but some of this was AJ's fault also!

Penn State looked like they had been in the weight room in the off-season determined to improve.

One other thought: I like and respect JoePa, but it's time to go Joe. He is hurting the Penn State program! Now, I'm glad he is the coach and he has never beaten Coach Saban (at MSU or Alabama), but a head coach needs to be able to be on the sideline to get in some faces when things are not going as expected by the coaching staff. It would be and is dangerous for that OLD-timer to be on the sideline.

One question: while in the press box yesterday, I did NOT see him put on his glasses until the close to the end of the game. Does he wear CONTACTS?

Roll Tide Roll!!!!!!!

Actually this was discussed on TV during the game. Coach Joe Pa only needs glasses for up close as he is far sighted.

 

[crimsonaudio]

 

[TIDEnGA]

Question for anyone that was there. I read about Dre' circling the field and waving or saluting our fans (or some sort of gesture). Did Coach Saban do anything as he left the field? I know a lot of times he does.

 

[CrimsonEyeshade]

Exactly. As long as they (the DL) are taking up blockers and in the process freeing up the LBs and DBs, they're pretty much doing their job when it comes to the pass rush. Of course it would obviously be nice to see one or more of them become a bona-fide pass rushing threat. That would take our defense to even a whole other level.

We'll be testing this theory in two weeks when we play a team that can really throw and catch the ball.

 

[CrimsonProf]

Felt like Jesse Williams was making a good push inside...I have to think that will bear fruit before it's over.

 

[Jessica4Bama]

Wow. That was a great vid of Rammer Jammer. Ya'll were loud. I was singing along at home, but it didn't sound that good on tv.

 

[CrimsonEyeshade]

Agreed.

 

[BEATtutorsee]

We'll be testing this theory in two weeks when we play a team that can really throw and catch the ball.

What "theory" would that be? Look, in a perfect world we'd have three guys who could line up along the DL hold their own against the run & be flat out stud pass rushers, but we don't live in a perfect world and players like that don't come around very often. If our DL can (as CNS would say) "affect" the QB they're more than doing their job in our system.

 

[crimsonaudio]

What "theory" would that be? Look, in a perfect world we'd have three guys who could line up along the DL hold their own against the run & be flat out stud pass rushers, but we don't live in a perfect world and players like that don't come around very often. If our DL can (as CNS would say) "affect" the QB they're more than doing their job in our system.

This.

QB pressure almost always means gaps and opening yourself off for draws and scrambles - I suspect that while we all love sacks, we'd be even more frustrated with the results of the over-pursuit that is part of the game of 'pinning your ears back trying to get the QB'.

I'd love more sacks, but am thrilled with the 'wall' our three and four-man fronts put up.

 

[FitToBeTide]

This.

QB pressure almost always means gaps and opening yourself off for draws and scrambles - I suspect that while we all love sacks, we'd be even more frustrated with the results of the over-pursuit that is part of the game of 'pinning your ears back trying to get the QB'.

I'd love more sacks, but am thrilled with the 'wall' our three and four-man fronts put up.

Agree, CA. Wish I had a nickel for every time over the decades that a team screen passed, ran a draw, or qb scrambled on us for yardage because of OVER-penetration by the dl. The trade off is as you said, less sacks, better containment.

 

[CrimsonEyeshade]

Guys, CNS himself said this team needed to put more pressure on the quarterback. We talked about this often in the pre-season. For a so-called top defense, we had a shockingly low number of plays for losses last year. And against a mediocre but big-shouldered opponent Saturday, our supposedly NFL-caliber defense did a so-so job of pressuring a not even so-so passing attack.

Arkansas brings the first real offense we'll face to Tuscaloosa in two weeks. New quarterback playing the biggest game of his life, sure, but he'll be throwing behind an experienced line and to the best group of receivers in the SEC. Which brings me to this: I thought our defense was overrated last year and I'm worried that it may be exposed, again, this year by the best teams on our schedule.

Given how CNS's defenses worked at LSU, I don't buy the notion that our lineman are supposed to hold ground and let other people make plays. It didn't work last year against South Carolina, LSU or Auburn because their quarterbacks and receivers and offensive lines were good enough to exploit the man coverage. Given the absence of Javy, our blitzing was far less effective. Saturday, PSU did a pretty good job handling our designated pass-rushers, though Courtney did get dinged.

In the first two weeks, we've answered most of the questions about our quarterback and running game. That leads us, well me at least, back to the defensive line. As good as our back seven are, they still need help -- particularly when the Mean Season begins.

 

[crimsonaudio]

Guys, CNS himself said this team needed to put more pressure on the quarterback.

No one is saying we don't need to pressure (affect) the QB - I'm simply saying measuring the effect the D-line has in terms of sacks isn't a good standard.

 

[CenLA Tiger]

You guys represented the SEC welllllllllll !!!!!!

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Guys, CNS himself said this team needed to put more pressure on the quarterback. We talked about this often in the pre-season. For a so-called top defense, we had a shockingly low number of plays for losses last year. And against a mediocre but big-shouldered opponent Saturday, our supposedly NFL-caliber defense did a so-so job of pressuring a not even so-so passing attack.

Arkansas brings the first real offense we'll face to Tuscaloosa in two weeks. New quarterback playing the biggest game of his life, sure, but he'll be throwing behind an experienced line and to the best group of receivers in the SEC. Which brings me to this: I thought our defense was overrated last year and I'm worried that it may be exposed, again, this year by the best teams on our schedule.

Given how CNS's defenses worked at LSU, I don't buy the notion that our lineman are supposed to hold ground and let other people make plays. It didn't work last year against South Carolina, LSU or Auburn because their quarterbacks and receivers and offensive lines were good enough to exploit the man coverage. Given the absence of Javy, our blitzing was far less effective. Saturday, PSU did a pretty good job handling our designated pass-rushers, though Courtney did get dinged.

In the first two weeks, we've answered most of the questions about our quarterback and running game. That leads us, well me at least, back to the defensive line. As good as our back seven are, they still need help -- particularly when the Mean Season begins.

I think we'll see more effective pressure when we need it, although we won't know until the league. Rewatching the game, I came to the conclusion that our defense was about as vanilla as our offense. I think that CNS/CKS just weren't that afraid of the damage that either PSU QB could do.

 

[CrimsonEyeshade]

CA, I agree. Sacks are a flawed measure. I was speaking of the defensive line playing a bigger role in blowing up plays -- whether it's the run or disrupting the QB and passing game. PSU wasn't good enough to beat our coverages. Arkansas presents a different problem.

No one is saying we don't need to pressure (affect) the QB - I'm simply saying measuring the effect the D-line has in terms of sacks isn't a good standard.

 

[CrimsonEyeshade]

I think we'll see more effective pressure when we need it, although we won't know until the league. Rewatching the game, I came to the conclusion that our defense was about as vanilla as our offense. I think that CNS/CKS just weren't that afraid of the damage that either PSU QB could do.

That's what I'm hoping. We pummeled Mallett all game long two years ago and pressured him into some key bad throws late in last year's game. We'll need to do the same against Miller.

 

[crimsonaudio]

That's what I'm hoping. We pummeled Mallett all game long two years ago and pressured him into some key bad throws late in last year's game. We'll need to do the same against Miller.

Yah, as we knew that worked against him.

Worth remembering this 'lack of QB pressure' haas been a complaint amongst Bama fans for several years now, including 2009.

AS TW is not a mobility threat, much like Mallet in that regard, I suspect we'll see more up-field pressure against Arky than we've seen thus far.