- Aug 1, 2014
- 5,059
- 7,061
The offense was 2 predictable,tempo sucked, The TE/H BACK we're nonexistent. Sounds eerily similar to what we've been bi*ching about going on 3 yrs now. Dude has to be fired after the season if we're ever going to get this sh*t show turned around!
#ChompChomp
Alabama offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier left Tuscaloosa for Ann Arbor, Mich., on Wednesday, leaving the Crimson Tide to take the reins of the Wolverines.
In doing so, the path of Alabama football under Nick Saban might also be making a drastic change.
Many were surprised that Nussmeier left Alabama, especially given that the move was lateral. No one would have been shocked had Nussmeier left to take over his own program, the way Jim McElwain did two years ago when he assumed control of the Colorado State program. But the fact Nussmeier’s departure came abruptly after the Sugar Bowl, without a great deal of talk about his future, seems to suggest that his decision to leave was more mutual in nature than the mainstream sports media has yet to theorize.
Statistically, Alabama didn’t lose a beat after McElwain’s departure. Nussmeier’s offense continued to roll up gobs of yardage and points, and Alabama’s offense – from those aspects, at least – was never a problem in 2013, outside of perhaps a sleepy opener against Virginia Tech. But the nuances of the offense, the playcalling acumen and the way Nussmeier handled the flow of the game left a lot to be desired, particularly over the final month of the season.
Starting with the win in Starkville over Mississippi State, Alabama’s offense lost any semblance of mystery. Alabama put up good numbers against Auburn, although most teams put up good numbers against the Tigers, owing more to the fact that Auburn defensive football has been in a dumpster ever since Tommy Tuberville departed the plains.
Against Oklahoma, Alabama was too predictable for much of the game, and too stilted when it tried to go off script. The most damning analysis of the offense was in how Alabama largely ignored the tight end and H-back positions for both years of Nussmeier’s tenure. Given that arguably the most innovative offense in the country right now, that of Oklahoma State, has turned production at the H-back position into a signature, the fact Alabama essentially fielded two dead positions smacked of either a lack of imagination or an abundance of arrogance on someone’s part – and not necessarily Nussmeier’s.
Alabama is likely to move quickly to fill Nussmeier’s shoes. The games are over, and any coach looking to make the move to Tuscaloosa has no reason to wait. The question is not just who Alabama will hire, but what will that person’s strategy be?
Head coach Nick Saban has dropped hints throughout the year that he might be leaning toward changing, or at least modifying his trademark offensive strategy. Alabama’s offense is strictly pro-style in application and draws a lot from the old Erhardt-Perkins playbook as well as the current playbook in place with such teams as the New England Patriots. In regards to New England, the quarterback is a distributor of the football in the extreme, and does virtually no work with the ball in his own hands.
Given that the most experienced quarterback on the presumptive 2014 roster is dual-threat Blake Sims – not to mention the oft-rumored incoming transfer Jacob Coker, himself a dual-threat QB – Alabama could be getting ready to go a completely different direction.
It’s unlikely Alabama will swap to the hurry-up, no huddle (HUNH) system, or anything approaching it. It’s not out of the realm of possibility, however, that Alabama will quicken its tempo and make greater use of its dynamic playmakers at the skill positions, and/or bring spread elements into the base package.
But this will happen only if Saban takes the plunge. Several lists of prospective replacements were already circulating before Nussmeier decided to change jobs, and many of the names on those lists have resumes that far more closely approximate what Alabama had had in the past rather than the next great thing on the collegiate offensive horizon.
Still, Saban’s prior statements, coupled with the offensive changes brought into the SEC recently by not only Auburn, but also the infusion of Big 12 philosophy via the arrival of Texas A&M and Missouri, could be an indicator that new ideas are coming. But unless Saban gets onboard with the changes himself, Alabama will only get more of the same. Alabama already went down the spread road when it hired Major Applewhite in 2007, but friction between Applewhite’s spread background and Saban’s and Joe Pendry’s pro-style backgrounds have become the stuff of legend. For these reasons, the decision who to hire to replace Nussmeier could be the most important hire Nick Saban ever makes at Alabama
The rest is here:
https://news.tidefans.com/2014/01/09/replacement-for-nussmeier-could-be-sabans-biggest-hire-ever/
#ChompChomp
Alabama offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier left Tuscaloosa for Ann Arbor, Mich., on Wednesday, leaving the Crimson Tide to take the reins of the Wolverines.
In doing so, the path of Alabama football under Nick Saban might also be making a drastic change.
Many were surprised that Nussmeier left Alabama, especially given that the move was lateral. No one would have been shocked had Nussmeier left to take over his own program, the way Jim McElwain did two years ago when he assumed control of the Colorado State program. But the fact Nussmeier’s departure came abruptly after the Sugar Bowl, without a great deal of talk about his future, seems to suggest that his decision to leave was more mutual in nature than the mainstream sports media has yet to theorize.
Statistically, Alabama didn’t lose a beat after McElwain’s departure. Nussmeier’s offense continued to roll up gobs of yardage and points, and Alabama’s offense – from those aspects, at least – was never a problem in 2013, outside of perhaps a sleepy opener against Virginia Tech. But the nuances of the offense, the playcalling acumen and the way Nussmeier handled the flow of the game left a lot to be desired, particularly over the final month of the season.
Starting with the win in Starkville over Mississippi State, Alabama’s offense lost any semblance of mystery. Alabama put up good numbers against Auburn, although most teams put up good numbers against the Tigers, owing more to the fact that Auburn defensive football has been in a dumpster ever since Tommy Tuberville departed the plains.
Against Oklahoma, Alabama was too predictable for much of the game, and too stilted when it tried to go off script. The most damning analysis of the offense was in how Alabama largely ignored the tight end and H-back positions for both years of Nussmeier’s tenure. Given that arguably the most innovative offense in the country right now, that of Oklahoma State, has turned production at the H-back position into a signature, the fact Alabama essentially fielded two dead positions smacked of either a lack of imagination or an abundance of arrogance on someone’s part – and not necessarily Nussmeier’s.
Alabama is likely to move quickly to fill Nussmeier’s shoes. The games are over, and any coach looking to make the move to Tuscaloosa has no reason to wait. The question is not just who Alabama will hire, but what will that person’s strategy be?
Head coach Nick Saban has dropped hints throughout the year that he might be leaning toward changing, or at least modifying his trademark offensive strategy. Alabama’s offense is strictly pro-style in application and draws a lot from the old Erhardt-Perkins playbook as well as the current playbook in place with such teams as the New England Patriots. In regards to New England, the quarterback is a distributor of the football in the extreme, and does virtually no work with the ball in his own hands.
Given that the most experienced quarterback on the presumptive 2014 roster is dual-threat Blake Sims – not to mention the oft-rumored incoming transfer Jacob Coker, himself a dual-threat QB – Alabama could be getting ready to go a completely different direction.
It’s unlikely Alabama will swap to the hurry-up, no huddle (HUNH) system, or anything approaching it. It’s not out of the realm of possibility, however, that Alabama will quicken its tempo and make greater use of its dynamic playmakers at the skill positions, and/or bring spread elements into the base package.
But this will happen only if Saban takes the plunge. Several lists of prospective replacements were already circulating before Nussmeier decided to change jobs, and many of the names on those lists have resumes that far more closely approximate what Alabama had had in the past rather than the next great thing on the collegiate offensive horizon.
Still, Saban’s prior statements, coupled with the offensive changes brought into the SEC recently by not only Auburn, but also the infusion of Big 12 philosophy via the arrival of Texas A&M and Missouri, could be an indicator that new ideas are coming. But unless Saban gets onboard with the changes himself, Alabama will only get more of the same. Alabama already went down the spread road when it hired Major Applewhite in 2007, but friction between Applewhite’s spread background and Saban’s and Joe Pendry’s pro-style backgrounds have become the stuff of legend. For these reasons, the decision who to hire to replace Nussmeier could be the most important hire Nick Saban ever makes at Alabama
The rest is here:
https://news.tidefans.com/2014/01/09/replacement-for-nussmeier-could-be-sabans-biggest-hire-ever/
