A couple of seasons ago, this tidbit would have generated a certain sense of dread in me.
Those practice reps are allowing Carter to feel more comfortable in dropping into coverage, something he didn’t do much in high school. Coaches are cross-training outside linebackers to pick up the concepts to allow them to play inside linebacker, defensive end or even free safety, Carter said.
Now? I just wanna see how it works out.
Get The Picture 
OLB’s at FS? Makes me nervous…but JP has the mind for D, so I’m trusting…for now.
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If it were Grantham doing it, we’d be making jokes about epic handwaving.
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If it were Grantham doing it, it would be all screwed up.
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If it were Grantham doing it he wouldn’t be able to get the players lined up in time for the play to start.
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I’m not sure about the safety bit but I do like the LBs learning how to both drop into coverage as well attack the QB or RB. Overall I’m more optimistic than I have been since watching the Auburn ’06 game knowing that things were coming together towards a very good team. After what Pruitt did last year with a pieced together secondary, I’m interested to see what happens.
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I think a good bit of it is simply cross-training so that everyone understands how the full defense works, and part of it, as someone says below, is the very rare occasion when we might pull out the super-double-secret formation against Auburn or Tech. Sometimes, as in Strong’s zone blitz that bumfuzzled us in Columbia in 2000, you simply have to take a strong offensive line out of its scheme. Doesn’t mean you’ll have Lorenzo Carter as an ongoing lockdown cover-guy.
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Thomas Davis safety to Pro linebacker. It can be done. Imagine the mind screwing effects on the opposing OC when your guys don’t know who is going to be where when the ball is snapped.
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Exactly with the varied looks offenses give today as well as direct snaps, dual threat QBs etc etc The LBs must be fast and smart part DL, part traditional LB, part DB. Pruitt gets this. LB play was critical when Bama was at the peak of dominance.
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Thomas Davis was a LB playing safety. Defending the deep pass was a struggle for him, ex 04 UT and Auburn games.
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That’s not something you’ll see vs. a pro style team. This would be something that they’d use against auburn, gt and the like.
Remember the spread oc who said words to this effect: ” there are 110 pussies playing free safety in division 1 football. I don’t worry about free safeties.”
Well you can check us off the list of “pussies.” What this will mean is that in certain plays the QB will not be staring down a 180 lb safety but a 250 lb. man beast with bad intentions.
Auburn’s qb might ask for some plays where he just stays in the pocket. “Gus, Im feeling a bit more like a tom Brady than a nick marshall today. At least then I’ll have tackles to block those guys. I’m not paid enough to have unblocked 250 lb free safeties taking shots.”
This is the sort of adjustment that puts Gus and co. at great risk of losing their places at the table. You want a qb to run around like a running back? Ok. Deal with this. #84 is going to come downhill 15 yards and hit your qb at full speed whether he has the ball or not.
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Not pretending to be a defensive guru here. I think it could work. It’s easy to agree with Pruitt though. 😉 Thomas Davis played both as a rush LB and played safety for the Dawgs. Davis at 6’2″ 232 with a 4.5 40 time is comparable to 6’5″ 337 Carter with a 4.65 40. At least that’s what the stats say. Thomas was drafted to play safety. Ended up at LB. Both are super athletes. Davis was the only player I ever heard of tearing their ACL three times and still playing in the NFL. Davis was a four sport letter man in HS. Played qb,rb, punter and returned kicks. Hines Ward kinda athlete. Ward fell in the draft because of a torn ACL. One that he tore in HS but played his entire college career with a healed but damaged ACL. Played in the pros too. Both DGD.
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I only remember one thing about Thomas Davis: he knocked the living shit out of people. A real pleasure to watch him play.
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I think the story goes that PornStache offered Davis a Georgia scholly after watching him play a pick up basketball game. You know how those stories grow. Like Dooley wanting Hershel “that ball ain’t heavy” Walker to play linebacker? Huh? I did read somewhere that CMR wanted Cam” that laptop ain’t heavy” Newton to play tight end. lol.
Davis Lays Some Wood
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#7 Carter is 6 6 245
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Are guys in Pruitt’s Dawg house sent to DL to “work” with Rocker, other guys are volunteering to go to Safety to get away from Rocker.
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Have you seen this? http://www.timesdaily.com/news/crime/alabama-football-player-jonathan-taylor-arrested-for-domestic-assault-saturday/article_bb299c3e-d5c5-11e4-91f7-fbb30b0cd47e.html?mode=jqm
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. | Alabama defensive lineman Jonathan Taylor, signed about six months after Georgia dismissed him following his arrest in a girlfriend’s assault, faces a new domestic violence charge, police said.
The 21-year-old Taylor was arrested Saturday evening after a woman reported her boyfriend assaulted her, a Tuscaloosa police news release said. Taylor has been charged with domestic violence third-degree assault and domestic violence third-degree criminal mischief, police said.
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