Nick Saban expresses the contrarian approach to Alabama’s offensive philosophy:
“We’ve kind of gotten antiquated, and now we’re all of a sudden back. Everybody used to run the ball like we run it. Now people have a hard time stopping us, because they don’t play against teams that run the ball like we runs it. These used to be the basic plays that everybody ran.”
In the land of the spread, the power I-formation attack is king.
Get The Picture 
A UGA alum with a special place in my heart once said, “Run the ball, play defense, knock the hell out of the other guy.”
He was right.
(Pat Dye)
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I’m just an idiot, but I’ve been saying for a few years that the spread of the spread, and the prevalence of smaller, faster D-linemen and linebackers in response, would leave those defenses vulnerable to traditional power running attacks behind big offensive lines.
Validation from the likes of Nick Saban is somewhat unsettling, actually.
The question is… is Bobo two steps ahead of the rest, or two steps behind? I suppose at this point it doesn’t matter. 🙂
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Bobo’s decision to add some spread formations this off season is a real head scratcher.
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Especially when you have a bruiser like Figgins at FB.
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I believe he’s one step ahead…and behind. Balance my friend.
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Quite possibly the best comment I’ve ever read at GTP. Outstanding.
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teh awesome
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+1
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Great comment!
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Very funny, and oh so true.
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I have a suspicion if Saban ran the wishbone he would do it nearly perfectly.
For leaving the floor of Florida Field littered with blood, bits of bone and hanks of hair he is, currently, my hero. Anything Nick says carries great weight.
This year especially. 🙂
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I hope that by about 5pm eastern you are equally enamored with Lester miles & co.
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You are correct sir! You have to recruit the Jimmys and Joes but coaching ’em up is the difference. Bust tail over the summer in the weightroom, run ’em til their tongues hang out in August, then instill in them the confidence that they WILL win every week. That is what we saw on Saturday night in the Swamp after the smoke cleared. Just wonder if Georgia can ever get there…
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I know you guys are probably tired of hearing this…but scheduling is part of how that is done. Open up with a cupcake at home as the first game. When you play a very difficult opponent first, particularly on the road, and lose it has a negative effect on the confidence of the team which is made up, after all, of kids.
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I’d normally agree with you Mayor. But that approach got us 1-4 last year. A team still has to be prepared to play every week, no matter how easy the first game is.
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“I have a suspicion if Saban ran the wishbone he would do it nearly perfectly.”
Agree. Got to respect a well-coached team – option or I-formation, 3-4 or 4-3, etc.
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BOBO is inflicted with “PARALYSIS BY ANALYSIS”. I just hope MURRAY is not catching it or he’s cooked for life.
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Mike Bobo: too predictable running pro style, behind the curve running no huddle spread. Perhaps we should try out the oopty oop.
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There’s a reason every NFL team runs a balance between power and spread football. I become more convinced every year that QBs with an eye toward the League aren’t going to want to play for Urban Meyer, Dan Mullen, Chip Kelly, etc. They want to run a real pro-style system where they are both under center and in the spread. They want to make the reads necessary to get a team into the right play and to make the right throw. They want to show they can throw the deep out rather than the one yard bubble screen. They don’t want their bodies to take the pounding associated with 15 rushes between the tackles every game. Tebow’s college stats especially for total TDs were spectacular, but anyone could see that he wasn’t going to be a franchise QB in the NFL stacked up next to Matthew Stafford and Sam Bradford.
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Of course they do. That’s why we got Stafford instead of any of those schools in Texas.
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Yep. I can’t believe that Mack Brown didn’t say to Stafford that he would do whatever was necessary to get him to Austin.
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What goes around comes around.
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The spread is the spread. The power I is old, but is the new offense in the West SEC, and therefore is “the” offense, today..
Some just do not look at the facts.
How many of those national champions from the SEC the past few years ran the power I. Do not recall Florida or Auburn doing that. UGA ran the power I or at least that is the consensus, but not sure they actually did.
I will await the answer. Some at UGA just can not get by this. That is fine, but why keep
If the power I is tghe “deal” why are more teams, if not all, doing so. Put Murray under center, a FB, a RB, and see how many DCs jam the recievers, blitz a QB with his back to the LOS, and stack the LOS, and close the few running lanes.
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