Is bad O behind good D?

[quietfan 233]

I still think Bama has a pretty good defense, but I had no idea their opponents were this weak:

http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/mobilere...6660.xml&coll=3

TUSCALOOSA -- Would it be surprising to know Alabama's highly regarded defense played just one of the best 61 offenses in the nation in 2005?

Strange, but true.

In what was widely acknowledged as a slacker year for SEC offenses, the Crimson Tide faced only one unit -- Auburn -- that averaged more than 367 yards per game. The Tigers rank No. 27 nationally with 425.6 total yards per game.

Alabama's other 10 opponents all ranked in the bottom half of the NCAA in total offense, including four whose "offensive" units ranked 104th or worse out of 117 Division I-A teams.

This is what makes the prospect of facing high-flying Texas Tech -- No. 2 in the nation with 511 yards per game -- a little dicey for the Joe Kines-led Bama defense. The Tide hasn't seen anything comparable to the Red Raiders' shotgun-based, four- and five-wide attack this season. Not since the Hawaii games in 2002 and 2003 has Alabama taken on a five-alarm fire of an offense like this Mike Leach concoction run by the Red Raiders.

...

All of this begs the question: Did Alabama's defense post awesome numbers because it played a series of pedestrian offenses? Or was the raging Tide defense a major contributor in the tamped-down offensive numbers posted by its opponents?

There's a little bit of truth in both viewpoints.

...

The bald facts read like this. Alabama held every opponent it faced below its season average in total offense, and most fared well below their standard in total offense. The Tide limited offenses to more than 50 yards shy of their season average in seven of 11 games.

...

In fact, four Tide opponents managed 150 yards or more less than their season average when they played Alabama. Ironically, that group included powerful Auburn. Though the Tigers jumped all over the Tide in the first quarter, the scoring drives were relatively short, and in the end Auburn's 257 total yards were 169 yards less than its average.

...

In retrospect, Alabama's veteran defense benefited from the vast change in SEC leadership in 2005. The Tide played all four SEC teams that took on new head coaches this season, and three of those four had vastly reworked offenses.

South Carolina was in the infant stages of the Cock-N-Fire assault, its remodeling into the tried-and-true Steve Spurrier system. The Gamecocks posted just 307.6 yards per game during the regular season, and only 256 versus Bama in week three.

Florida might eventually use Urban Meyer's spread-option attack to punish SEC foes, but it wasn't a hit in 2005, averaging just 366.7 yards per game. That was the second-highest average among Alabama's opponents -- more than 40 yards per game better than the 326 yards the Gators posted at Alabama on Oct. 1 -- but it ranked only No. 62 in the country.

Ole Miss was an offensive mess with head coach Ed Orgeron heavy-handing coordinator Noel Mazzone's unit before eventually firing him. However, the Rebels managed to come closer to their total offense average against Alabama than any other Tide foe. Ole Miss scraped up 279 yards against Bama, only three yards short of its 282-yard season average.

Now, I expect most teams in the country would still love to have Bama's defense, but this certainly raises questions about their chances against a high powered offense like Texas Tech--first in the country in passing yards and (I think) second in total offense. Also makes Castille's absence on pass defense even more ominous.

[tgr4lfe 220]

One thing he doesn't say is that Auburn's short drives were a result of the inept bama punt team and that Auburn moved the ball easily on bama. Not to mention that CAB shut down the O in the second half, otherwise we could have rolled up 350 to 400 yards.

[rolltoomer 0]

One thing he doesn't say is that Auburn's short drives were a result of the inept bama punt team and that Auburn moved the ball easily on bama.  Not to mention that CAB shut down the O in the second half, otherwise we could have rolled up 350 to 400 yards.

207092[/snapback]

"Shut down the O"?

I'll have you know that Auburn threw the ball a whopping SIX times during the second half!

The uat posters were right when they said that "CTT would have run up the score, if only he could have".

[TrueBlue72 0]

No game was ever won or lost on how many yards were given up by the defense. The ONLY statistic that matters is points given up.

If you look at our five common opponents, AU gave up 1.2 points per game LESS than

Bammer's wonderful defense.

The Bammers can spin it any way they want, but I would take AU's 2005 defense over their 2005 defense any day.

[tgr4lfe 220]

One thing he doesn't say is that Auburn's short drives were a result of the inept bama punt team and that Auburn moved the ball easily on bama.  Not to mention that CAB shut down the O in the second half, otherwise we could have rolled up 350 to 400 yards.

207092[/snapback]

"Shut down the O"?

I'll have you know that Auburn threw the ball a whopping SIX times during the second half!

The uat posters were right when they said that "CTT would have run up the score, if only he could have".

207140[/snapback]

That's my point....they didn't shut us down, we shut it down to milk the clock. I truly believe we could have laid another 2 maybe 3 TDs on them in the second half IF we had kept to the 1st qtr gameplan of mixing the run and the pass. The uat posters were wrong CTT could have run up the score, but wouldn't!

[AUloggerhead 2,253]

I still think Bama has a pretty good defense, but I had no idea their opponents were this weak:

Now, I expect most teams in the country would still love to have Bama's defense, but this certainly raises questions about their chances against a high powered offense like Texas Tech--first in the country in passing yards and (I think) second in total offense.  Also makes Castille's absence on pass defense even more ominous.

207087[/snapback]

I know I'm not the only one ... but I've been saying uat's stats were puffed up against sorry-azz offenses almost the entire season.

Example

Agree. The overall bias was in favor of uat. I can't believe they never came out & said the obvious: uat's 9-0 record & stats were compiled against inferior competition. Our fans could be heard in the background chanting, "Over-Rated! {clap, clap, clap-clap-clap,} OVER-RATED!" As soon as uat faced some tough competition (i.e. LSU & AU) they folded like a cheap K-Mart deck chair. 

What's really amazing about that article is that it's written by a home state sportswriter who dared to question whether the almahty tahd's defense may not be all it's been touted. I think Texas Tech will expose them as frauds even more than AU & LSU did.