Thoughts on Iron Bowl win and what it means going forward. (ATL and potentially CFP)

[Crimsissippi]

In my mind it was not only a great win because it was an Iron Bowl win, but it prepared the team significantly for the coming games against Mizzou and potentially Oregon. They faced alot of adversity being down and Auburn was looking unstoppable at times. That's tough to come back from for anyone. Auburn's offensive style and speed is about as close to Mariota and co. as you can get, and Mizzou runs a similar no huddle/spread. If anything, tonight also showed that even when the defense doesn't have its best day against these offenses, with Lane Kiffin running the offense and the playmakers that are on the field, Alabama is capable of responding and outscoring anyone.

:BigA:

 

[81usaf92]

I'm not trying to be a downer but I fear if our defensive secondary doesn't somehow change then we are going to have to fully rely on our defensive line and lane kiffin to get us hardware back to Ttown. I love any iron bowl victory and I would take this win over last year's lost anyday of the week and twice on Sunday, but I think we have no answer to high tempo spread teams that can pass with a mobile qb. We heard all last two years on how CNS and Kirby were going to solve the Johnny football and then the Gus bus question, but the revenge games those teams actually did more against us than the previous games. Granted we won the revenge games, but gave up 40+ points and 600 yards in both. I think we will beat mizzou but it may be a close game for awhile, but I fear Oregon, tcu, and fsu might be shootouts

 

[bamamoss2]

Good points by all above. However, I believe in this team to be able to do what they need to do when they have to.

 

[theballguy]

... we have no answer to high tempo spread teams that can pass with a mobile qb ... but I fear Oregon, tcu, and fsu might be shootouts

HUH??? :eek2:

We had an answer last night and against a team that imo would beat any of the top 5 (except us of course). Maybe we watched two different Iron Bowls ... Look, I realize 55-44 win is not what we are used to but this is a new kind of football. We have adjusted very well and much better than some of the other SEC teams out there. A win is a win. And in my mind, there was no way the win last night was ugly. Malzahn is gonna Malzahn. We handled them all right. In my opinion, we handled the best at this. This should give our guys a ton of confidence going forward. Believe me... the other teams are saying, darn any game we get into against the Tide might be <shudder> a shootout. They will fear us. :cool2:

 

[81usaf92]

HUH??? :eek2:

We had an answer last night and against a team that imo would beat any of the top 5 (except us of course). Maybe we watched two different Iron Bowls ... Look, I realize 55-44 win is not what we are used to but this is a new kind of football. We have adjusted very well and much better than some of the other SEC teams out there. A win is a win. And in my mind, there was no way the win last night was ugly. Malzahn is gonna Malzahn. We handled them all right. In my opinion, we handled the best at this. This should give our guys a ton of confidence going forward. Believe me... the other teams are saying, darn any game we get into against the Tide might be <shudder> a shootout. They will fear us. :cool2:

I respect your opinion, but I disagree. Our defense played poorly for the majority of the game. I will give them credit for the goal line stops, but for marshall to throw for almost 500 yards is just plain out bad secondary play. Our secondary has only really made a huge stand in the MSU and aTm games, other than that Trickett,Marshall, and Wallace has showed us that we aren't a great pass defense if we don't rush. Our best defense is our offense. Game ball has to go to Lane Kiffin and amari Cooper because we Outscored Auburn and got a few stops in key places. Moving forward FSU and Oregon will be a huge challenge for our secondary.

 

[JustNeedMe81]

You didn't watch the game. We played like crap because our guys didn't do their job. We adjusted and we held them to 18 points in second half. Second quarter was the worst performance for defense. We made adjustment, moved people around and we played much better. How are you going to sit there and say we struggled against ttemp team.. did you not forget we played against Ole miss ( We should've won that game, but drake got hurt) Miss state, shoot all teams we faced plays uptempo offense except for LSU and Arkansas. Defense got better throughout the year and we played with authority. We killed Texas A and M. It's Auburn.. they're going to throw 400 plus yard against team... If we hadn't made mistakes ins second half, it would've been at least 300 yards... WE limited them to field goal kicks.. We just gave up big plays.. Dude, just relax and chill out. Just know Defense bailed us out several times this year... Any time we play against Auburn, expect a tight game.... There are a reason why we're no. 1 We will be fine against Missouri.

I respect your opinion, but I disagree. Our defense played poorly for the majority of the game. I will give them credit for the goal line stops, but for marshall to throw for almost 500 yards is just plain out bad secondary play. Our secondary has only really made a huge stand in the MSU and aTm games, other than that Trickett,Marshall, and Wallace has showed us that we aren't a great pass defense if we don't rush. Our best defense is our offense. Game ball has to go to Lane Kiffin and amari Cooper because we Outscored Auburn and got a few stops in key places. Moving forward FSU and Oregon will be a huge challenge for our secondary.

 

[81usaf92]

You didn't watch the game. We played like crap because our guys didn't do their job. We adjusted and we held them to 18 points in second half. Second quarter was the worst performance for defense. We made adjustment, moved people around and we played much better. How are you going to sit there and say we struggled against ttemp team.. did you not forget we played against Ole miss ( We should've won that game, but drake got hurt) Miss state, shoot all teams we faced plays uptempo offense except for LSU and Arkansas. Defense got better throughout the year and we played with authority. We killed Texas A and M. It's Auburn.. they're going to throw 400 plus yard against team... If we hadn't made mistakes ins second half, it would've been at least 300 yards... WE limited them to field goal kicks.. We just gave up big plays.. Dude, just relax and chill out. Just know Defense bailed us out several times this year... Any time we play against Auburn, expect a tight game.... There are a reason why we're no. 1 We will be fine against Missouri.

Our defense has bailed us out in games this year, and I have never said otherwise. I have never said our defense is an atrocity either. So either your not understanding what I type or you are just very excited about an iron bowl win, which I am too. I can understand both circumstances since typing doesn't do as well as talking and no one likes a party crasher. I'm giving my opinion, and yes I have seen the game and was at all of the home games and the 1st one in Atlanta as well.
My opinion is our secondary is weak against spread offenses with big wrs and better average mobile qbs ,and stats will back that statement. Marshall hasn't hit 300 all year and for him to go 450 on us proves our secondary isn't the greatest. The ATM and MSU games were two games that our secondary wasn't a concern, but wvu, ole miss, and auburn were. I do feel we have as good of a shot as anyone if not better that we bring the title home, but against fsu and Oregon we may have to hope that we have the ball last. Idk if we do it but I'm still hoping we pull it off. Rtr

 

[Loam]

I fear Baylor's offense more than Oregon's. I know that sounds crazy, but a lot of people do not discuss Baylor because they don't know a lot about them. Baylor goes faster than any team in the country. They put WR's in the back field at RB just so they don't have to substitute. They go faster than Auburn and Oregon and Baylor might have the best OVERALL WR core in the country. Tons of speed.

Baylor's only downfall is their defense. Its pretty bad, especially in the secondary.

 

[VirginiaTide57]

The truth is probably in the middle of both arguments. The HUNH struggles in the red zone; five field goals attest to that. Alabama enters every game with an X on its back; everyone wants to beat tradition and many teams end up playing the game of their lives. While you have to acknowledge that an offense that gives up 600+ yards is suspect, you have to look at the total picture. I think Auburn was held to 100 yards below its rushing average; their rushing playmakers were pretty well held in check. Bama was on the field for 92 snaps. Think about that number. And then throw throw in 3 interceptions, all on our side of the field. Alabama's defense wasn't perfect, but more importantly, it was good enough...

 

[BamaJama17]

Auburn got many of those yards between the 20's. The defense forced them into 5 FG's. Also Coates and Williams are the best WR's Alabama has faced and will face this year.

 

[trenda]

I'm not trying to be a downer but I fear if our defensive secondary doesn't somehow change then we are going to have to fully rely on our defensive line and lane kiffin to get us hardware back to Ttown. I love any iron bowl victory and I would take this win over last year's lost anyday of the week and twice on Sunday, but I think we have no answer to high tempo spread teams that can pass with a mobile qb. We heard all last two years on how CNS and Kirby were going to solve the Johnny football and then the Gus bus question, but the revenge games those teams actually did more against us than the previous games. Granted we won the revenge games, but gave up 40+ points and 600 yards in both. I think we will beat mizzou but it may be a close game for awhile, but I fear Oregon, tcu, and fsu might be shootouts

I felt the same way during the game Saturday night. However, we clamped down on them in the second half. The adjustments made need to be utilized from the start; and I think it mostly was due to personnel. Auburn showed (as if we didn't already know) that we are very vulnerable to the deep ball. However, if we can just keep a team from scoring off the deep ball, we seem to be okay. I hate trading FGs for TDs; but this season we have the offensive firepower to do just that. And if that's what wins us the trophy this year, then so be it. I love this team's resiliency.

 

[ChattTide]

Hate to point to Damielson in this situation, but he's absolutely right; to beat Alabama you've got to have a hot quarterback. Marshall was throwing dimes because he had 2 things going for him. 1) he was getting great protection in the 1st half from his line. From what I saw, and I could be way wrong, they were keeping the RB and TE in to block on most downfield plays because they knew they had the size and speed to do it. 2) safety's were up in run support most of the game leaving the CB's to play one on one outside against 2 big and fast receivers. The match up was not great and Coates and Williams had a field day. I will say this; Cyrus Jones played a good game. He was physical. Eddie Jackson just could not catch up with Coates and thus the change in strategy at the half. Sylve did a great job of blanketing his receiver when needed. He's improved so much and got a chance to show it Saturday night.

The best thing though that I noticed about the defense is that they made auburn, for the 2nd half especially, use the clock. They kept everything in front of them. It was almost like a prevent, bend, don't break in the first half. When we started getting pressure (putting in Evans and Williams) on the line, the demeanor of the game changed. Thank God college football is a game of 60 minutes and not 30 minutes. Halftime adjustments are made for a reason.

Roll Tide!!
ChattTide

 

[crimsonaudio]

Bama is 5-1 this season against teams that are known for up-tempo offenses. Twist that into doom-n-gloom if you will.

 

[dWarriors88]

I fear Baylor's offense more thanBaylor might have the best OVERALL WR core in the country. Tons of speed.

Baylor's only downfall is their defense. Its pretty bad, especially in the secondary.

That's because Baylor also has a traditional mid distance track powerhouse program. They have had some of the fastest 100m-400m; 220, 440 hiH runners, so it's fit to say Baylor and Speed are synonymous in this sense. That being said, football isn't a track meet. I think we can beat Baylor. Handily.

 

[dWarriors88]

Auburn got many of those yards between the 20's. The defense forced them into 5 FG's. Also Coates and Williams are the best WR's Alabama has faced and will face this year.

Im thinking what more could you ask from your defense?! They did their job imo. They also caused a few turnovers for us. Really, what more could we want from the defense in that scenario? Defense was outstanding in the red zone.

 

[trenda]

The best thing though that I noticed about the defense is that they made auburn, for the 2nd half especially, use the clock. They kept everything in front of them. It was almost like a prevent, bend, don't break in the first half.

Roll Tide!!
ChattTide

Same as we did to MSU a couple of weeks ago. It has cost us a couple of late, cheap TDs; but who cares as long as we win the game, right? Our ability to make to up-tempo teams burn up clock down the stretch when the game is on the line is mighty impressive.

 

[BamaJama17]

Im thinking what more could you ask from your defense?! They did their job imo. They also caused a few turnovers for us. Really, what more could we want from the defense in that scenario? Defense was outstanding in the red zone.

Yeah those three turnovers is what really hurt us.

 

[Nolan]

Bama gave up very few long completions all year until the IB. So I look at it like this - we were challenged deep and struggled but now have specific techniques to work on and film to study. I think it makes us better ultimately and there aren't another two WRs out there (that we are or could play) like Williams and Coates. JMHO.

 

[BamaFlum]

Auburn got many of those yards between the 20's. The defense forced them into 5 FG's. Also Coates and Williams are the best WR's Alabama has faced and will face this year.

This. We forced the barn into 5, count them-5 frikkin FG's! The defense gave up yardage and pts but did a good job in the red zone. Remember, we settled for FG's a few years ago and lost against Cam.

 

[JustNeedMe81]

Take away the 3 turnovers we had on offense.. it would've been long night for Auburn. I just don't understand why we're placing blame on secondary... I mean.. Its Duke and Coates... big tall physical receivers... Even Saban knew it would be long night. I wouldn't be suprised to see Cooper, Williams and Coates taken as 1-2-3 in NFL Draft. I mean we forced them to field goals.. we had a int and almost Int that should've been called..