As I have so many times before (and I mean so, so many times) I took a few minutes this week to talk ball with Brent Taylor from our SB Nation sister site, Roll Bama Roll. Brent brought me up to speed on how the Crimson Tide have developed since we saw them up close in September, key matchups for this afternoon, and commiserated with me on our shared opinion that Auburn sucks.
As always Brent has some great insights about the Tide, and delivers a unique perspective on the game. Enjoy.
MD: Back in September I asked how much of a difference getting Jam Miller back would make against Georgia (turns out not as much as pristine 3rd down execution). So….assuming he’s out does that make any real difference in Atlanta?
Brent: I’ve spent most of this season after our matchup with UGA saying that Miller was not the answer at RB. His vision has been terrible, balance subpar, and his supposed pass-blocking ability has been debunked. Now, granted, none of Alabama’s other RBs have really shown much of anything better. Miller did suddenly have a couple of really good runs against Auburn (who knows where that came from), but then went out with injury.
I don’t think it makes any difference. He’s interchangeable with Daniel Hill, who’s a little better at falling forward for 3 yards instead of 0 anyway. And there’s a small chance that it means freshman AK Dear actually gets some snaps. I know he’s supposedly “not ready”, or whatever that means. But he’s also the only guy who’s had any breakaway runs this season, even if they were against L.A. Monroe.
MD: Ty Simpson’s game against Georgia in September helped vault him into the thick of the Heisman conversation. Since then he’s had some great games (Vandy, Mizzou, Tennessee) and some more pedestrian efforts (South Carolina, LSU, Auburn). Which Ty Simpson do you think shows up against Georgia, and what’s been the difference for him between lighting it up and just doing enough to win?
Brent: Simpson is still who he is. I think the only difference is that the last three SEC games, the opponents have had enough tape to know where OC Ryan Grubb wants to go with the football (hint – it’s the 20 yard digs, sails, and switch routes), and that Alabama’s offense doesn’t have any other counter punches. There’s also the fact that Simpson relies heavily on pre-snap adjustments. This worked early in the season when he could change plays to his benefit. Now, Oklahoma and Auburn caught on. They intentionally showed looks to get Simpson to make checks, then bailed at the snap into different coverages. Combine that with a total disregard from the run game and sending all-out blitzes, and we had a QB trying to hard to think his way into 25-yard balls under pressure, rather than just something like a quick slant or a screen that requires no thinking.
MD: By my count Ryan Williams was on the field for 38 of Alabama’s 73 offensive snaps against the Aubbies. However he didn’t log a catch, and unless I missed it wasn’t even targeted. Kalen DeBoer said afterward that there’s nothing to read into this, that they just never got to him in the progressions. Do you believe him, or is there something more going on there? Bonus question: Over or under 4.9 catches and 69.9 yards against Georgia for the youngest sophomore in college football history (TM)?
Brent: I do agree with DeBoer here. Williams has been nursing nagging injuries all season (concussion and hamstring), so it’s limited his playing time early on and he never really seemed to get in sync with Simpson. His skillset is also better for quick screens or deep shots, and Ryan Grubb refuses to call the first while Simpson and the OL struggle to make the second happen. With that, Germie Bernard and Isaiah Horton have been much more consistent, so you can’t take either of them off the field for Williams. So, Williams has played in the slot all season, which, honestly, was never his natural position. So he’s splitting time with freshman Lotzier Brooks.
I’ll take the under on catches and yards for him. I don’t see any reason to think his current production trend changes.
MD: I think when we talked back in September I admitted I was probably more worried about Germie Bernard than the other Tide receivers (the fact that he scored the Tide’s first touchdown seven minutes into the game didn’t make me feel much better). How has that unit evolved as the season’s progressed?
Brent: Germie has been Alabama’s best receiver for two seasons. He just does everything well, really. Isaiah Horton has also come up big on and off. He’s not a YAC guy by any means, but he’s big and a slippery route-runner. The main development this season has been Lotzier Brooks – a freshman that has pretty much played so well that he’s cut the snaps for Ryan Williams and put all the other guys like Rico Scott, Cole Adams, and Jalen Hale (all of whom have previous starts for Alabama to their name) on the bench. Brooks has had some issues with drops, but he’s made some pretty amazing plays with the ball in his hands.
I also want to point out that Alabama’s second-best receiver behind Germie Bernard has been TE Josh Cuevas, who has been Simpson’s true 3rd down security blanket all season. He missed the last two weeks, and will miss this week as well. His absence doesn’t get talked about much, but I think it’s been a bigger problem for the Alabama offense as a whole than many would think.
MD: Bama gave up 227 yards on the ground to Georgia in the last matchup. Since then the Tide haven’t given up more than 163 rushing yards to any opponent, and haven’t allowed any team that didn’t include Ahmad Hardy or Diego Pavia to rush for more than 4.30 yards per attempt. Did something just click with the Alabama run defense since Bulldog fans last saw it?
Brent: They struggled a bit early in the year with outside contain, and cornerback Domani Jackson blew nearly all of the big plays vs UGA. He’s been benched in favor of Dijon Lee, a 5-star freshman cornerback that’s a 6’4″ behemoth. Even then, the issues were never really personnel losing reps – it was just guys out of position on the edge. That’s pretty much been corrected by this point. The defense as a whole still struggles a bit with a rushing QB threat, but outside of that, they’ve been absolutely nails ever since the Tennessee game.
MD: For Bulldog fans who haven’t been paying close attention to the Tide since September, what is the biggest difference in this team from week four?
Brent: Honestly, I think this is still the same team. They’ve got a solid defense and a QB that can do some real NFL-level stuff. They also have no balance or counterpuches on offense and are pretty much a 1-dimensional attack at this point. They’re great at draining clock and turning every single game into a 20-25 point slug fest, no matter who the opponent is. Simpson, and the team as a whole, seem to play lights out when it’s do-or-die for them. Game’s tied and it’s a 4th and 5? They’ll pull something off. On the other hand, they are absolutely allergic to success. Almost every game follows the same pattern: They jump out to an early lead, then go into full struggle fest until the opponent ties it up or takes a lead, then they kick it into gear at the end to pull off a win. It’s not a particularly sustainable way to play an entire season (we learned that at Oklahoma), but you can’t deny the “clutch” gene they’ve had.
MD: Every Q&A has to have one, and this one’s no different: what’s your score prediction?
Brent: 28-24 UGA. Alabama makes every single game around this score, and UGA has generally done the same. I think UGA is a better team, but Alabama has a bit of a schematic advantage. Tie breaker goes to the former loser in the rematch. I don’t know what the psychology is there, but it sure seems consistent in college football. I can almost guarantee it’s going to be an ugly game, both fan bases are going to be mad, and the winner walks out more relieved than jubilant.
MD: No really, just how much does Auburn suck?
Brent: Like that top-of-the-line Dyson you just bought for Black Friday! I’ll give them credit for having an impressive defensive front 7. But man that offense is atrocious. I find it absolutely hilarious that they fired Gus Malzahn for being good and have been languishing in failure ever since. I would happily cede Lee County to the state of Georgia if yall would take it.
Thanks once again to Brent. Remember to head on over to Roll Bama Roll for all of your Gump-related sports needs.
Go ‘Dawgs!!!
