Thoughts about our offense in '09 (merged)

[herri026]

We all know our defense is gonna be a dominant one in 2009. Until CNS is no longer around, we will field a top 5 defense nationally.

That being said, I believe our offense will change significantly next season. For starters, Coach McElwain has stated repeatedly that his play calling style is based on what talents he has at his disposal. I think this year's team was a great example of this. Go back and look at some of the preseason threads; no one thought our OL was gonna be that great at all--in fact, many were thinking it could again be a huge liability. However, Coach Pendry seemed to have coached them up a great deal, and some natural talent began to shine. But this whole "smash-mouthed Alabama team" came to be rather suddenly.

I believe that come next fall, many things will have changed for us offensively once again. I know Ingram and Richardson (hopefully) along with a healthy Upchurch will be studs in the running game for us. What will be different for us in 2009 is the run blocking ability of the linemen in front of these backs. Guys like Andre Smith and Antoine Caldwell are elite run blockers at their respective positions, even in the NFL. What do we do to counter this dropoff? I believe we will more fully adopt the offensive philosophy that many of us believed we would use coming into the '08 season and that we saw in last year's A-Day game. The quick dropback passing game with short routes, allowing playmakers to do what they do in the open field.

I also believe a lot of people are selling McElroy short based on his physical similarities to JPW. I'd be surprised if both GM and Star didn't both make some noise in spring camp. CNS has historically valued an offensive philosophy that is balanced and explosive, and you have to believe that recruiting and coaching are moving toward this ultimate goal.

 

[tusctider]

Re: thoughts about our offense in '09

We all know our defense is gonna be a dominant one in 2009. Until CNS is no longer around, we will field a top 5 defense nationally.

That being said, I believe our offense will change significantly next season. For starters, Coach McElwain has stated repeatedly that his play calling style is based on what talents he has at his disposal. I think this year's team was a great example of this. Go back and look at some of the preseason threads; no one thought our OL was gonna be that great at all--in fact, many were thinking it could again be a huge liability. However, Coach Pendry seemed to have coached them up a great deal, and some natural talent began to shine. But this whole "smash-mouthed Alabama team" came to be rather suddenly.

I believe that come next fall, many things will have changed for us offensively once again. I know Ingram and Richardson (hopefully) along with a healthy Upchurch will be studs in the running game for us. What will be different for us in 2009 is the run blocking ability of the linemen in front of these backs. Guys like Andre Smith and Antoine Caldwell are elite run blockers at their respective positions, even in the NFL. What do we do to counter this dropoff? I believe we will more fully adopt the offensive philosophy that many of us believed we would use coming into the '08 season and that we saw in last year's A-Day game. The quick dropback passing game with short routes, allowing playmakers to do what they do in the open field.

I also believe a lot of people are selling McElroy short based on his physical similarities to JPW. I'd be surprised if both GM and Star didn't both make some noise in spring camp. CNS has historically valued an offensive philosophy that is balanced and explosive, and you have to believe that recruiting and coaching are moving toward this ultimate goal.

You must have selective memory then. They also said JPW was heads above everyone on the depth chart. So naturally they'll do what you mention. Please, the offense will struggle for a while and eventually will come around. You don't just replace three OL, blocking TE and QB and not miss a beat.

 

[buzzincuzzin]

Re: thoughts about our offense in '09

QB FACTS: (1) If you can't run-block the SEC will eat you alive. (2) there is (1)one proven quality run-blocker on the ROSTER. That concludes my QB discussion.

 

[JAXFLBAMAFAN]

Offensive LIne is THE key to 09 success.

2008 proved that an excellent offensive line must be present in order to make to the SEC championship game on a consistent basis.

Quarterbacks are critical but you better have a Pat White scrambler behind center if you have an average offensive line.

I think the question for 2009 now is just how well the new offensive line will play?

 

[Jazzman]

Re: thoughts about our offense in '09

I DO think we'll see a better passing game this season, but balance is the key to success. Replacing so many starters on offense creates more questions than answers at this point, but my confidence is in the superb coaching staff to get the team ready. I think we'll be just fine and end up in the SECC game again. I can't wait for September!

 

[Really Big Bama Fan]

Re: Offensive LIne is THE key to 09 success.

Based on the number of offensive linemen in this years recruiting class, I expect depth to be improved next year. The loss of a lineman such as Andre Smith at any time would have affected most teams, but maybe next year removing only one person from the lineup will not cause the collapse of the entire offensive line.

 

[UAME]

I envision changes just like the original poster. We ran so much in 08 because we could run at any time on any body. It is a safe, efficient way to play football when you have the luxury of doing it.

I think there will be growing pains, not only on the offensive line but just breaking in so many critical positions (like QB, FS, etc.) To make up for that, I do think we will open up the offense and hope to generate more big plays.

Many on this board have questioned Pendry's strategy of playing the best 5 OL at all times (vs. establishing a depth chart at each position.) I trust Coach Pendry, but I do wonder if the widespread inexperience on the OL next year will limit how much shuffling he will be able to do. I would think that we need to make sure we've got guys at each position that can do it well before we can begin cross-training guards to play tackle and so forth.

 

[bamaslammer]

I'm telling you now we will still be able to run the ball, not like last year but we by no means are going to quit trying to maul the defensive line. I think we will be successful some and perhaps struggle at times in bigger games. But we are NOT going back to the way it was under Shula. We are bigger, stronger, and much better coached today than we were back then.

So much of what an offense can do is based on the specific strengths of the quarterback. What we didn't see from Wilson last year was accuracy. This really hurt the passing game. Wilson was never particular consistent at distribution and that hurt as well. If the QB can improve those two areas the OC has alot more to work with. Even if some mistakes are made and some lessons learned the offense could improve.

The problem is I don't know for a fact what the strengths of Gmac and Jackson are. This spring we will get a much better idea. I realize GMac played last spring but he normally went against the 2nd team D and last spring our second team D was pretty unremarkable (I'm being kind). We are just now getting to a place where the second team D has some actual ability.

 

[Bama323]

One thing that was not discussed much this year was our apparent weakness in Pass Blocking. I believe one reason why it was not discussed much is because our offensive staff did an excellent job in hiding it. We regularly kept backs in for protection, used TEs as additional blockers, and used offensive line blocking techniques to cover our weakness. Obviously, it got severly exposed in the Sugar Bowl because of suspensions and injuries, and also probably because Utah had a month to prepare for us and was able to take advantage. If we can find a way to get better pass blocking next year by our offensive line, I would imagine that could change our offensive philosophy significantly, because it will allow us to be more diverse.