Unconquered

SEC Championship Game

I watched both sides as I would watch one of our games because the SEC is at the top of College Football and with Pruitt and Sunseri joining our staff.

OL’s:

-I saw a little zone blocking, but mostly man blocking, especially from Bama.

-to a man, Bama isn’t better than us physically up front. They may be a little more cohesive, but their ability to run comes down to a solid OL, excellent TE play ( they usually have two or even three in the game at a time), big tough NFL backs that pile up YAC(yards after contact) and a coaching staff committed to being physical(much like UF) and pounding the ball.

-I believe Barrett Jones is an AA and is a smart OL, but I’d take Stork over him in all honesty. Jones basically just uses the defender’s momentum against them and then sets a pick on the NT away from the playside and the UGa interior players were far too undisciplined trying to gain penetration. This fuels a conversation we have had about our DT’s being too reactionary which reduces tfl’s.

-Bama did a ton of double teaming, especially inside or to the playside. When you line up double and triple tight(TE's), it allows you to do so.

-Bama’s bread and butter short yardage play was to have Fluker(RT) gap down and run off his backside. Once they even had 54(DT) in as a lead blocker crossing behind Fluker. It definitely looked different than us trying to run zone left 3rd and inches against a slanting DL.

-Warmack is good but didn’t exactly pitch a shut out and Bama still managed 350 yards on the ground. Our OL aren’t the only players that miss an occasional block or two. Bama’s OT’s are more consistent, but Watson and Cam are more athletic. I think you could make an argument for starting 2-3 of ours if you combined the two groups.

DL’s:

-Bama was very multiple, almost lining up in a 4-3 just as many times as they were in a 3-4. It could be a look into our future. Georgia was in the 3-4 all game, with 5 players on the LOS just about every snap.

-54 for Bama could get into our two deep rotation. He is a ball player and came back into the game and made plays with a bad knee. 6 for Georgia is a first round draft pick per most mock drafts and he was productive, but at times he was undisciplined and others he basically quit. Most likely he was exhausted. I’d be careful at the next level with him.

-Jarvis Jones was thought to be the #1 pick a few weeks ago. Having watched this game, I wouldn’t take him in the first half of the first round(maybe 12-13 in a 3-4 scheme as a situational pass rusher). He is too one dimensional and Brandon Jenkins is a better run defender by a fair margin. I would absolutely take a healthy Werner or Tank over Jones, even in a 3-4. Bama basically blocked him almost every play with just a TE. If teams tried that against Werner or Tank, both would have double digit tackles around the LOS.

-The talent Bama had on the edge was surprisingly average. 42 was a solid player that we recruited, as was 47. But I thought Stinson(wasn’t he committed to us for a
bit out of Miami) was below average and at about Newberry’s level, and in his Junior year.

-In summary, our team could actually look a lot like this Bama club if Jimbo decides he wants to be a nasty, physical team. We have the OL, especially if Watson comes back, our RB’s will be junior’s and we could have a game manager like McCarron or McElroy in Trickett. Now we just need NOL, Christo, Hicks and Haplea to step up. That being said, I understand why Jimbo wants so much offense(playbook) and balance. He thinks the fast paced Spread attacks are attracting the star player and help you outscore inferior opponents by running lots of plays, which makes sense. But at the same time, you have to be able to run the ball, especially in short yardage. That being said, it’s time to play to our strength’s and have an identity, which of course will depend on who wins the QB battle this spring and fall.

Defensively, we won’t have the game wreckers at DE that we had this year, but our talent should be comparable to 2012 Bama’s and our DT’s will be the most explosive in nation. The rest will come down to scheme and LB play and I’m confident that the new staff will make this a priority. We absolutely have the athletes to get it done.

Happy Holidays!!!