Jumbo Package: Alabama and the Run Game… Just what is the problem??
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First up, we have our weekly press conferences from the Alabama coaching staff.
Ryan Grubb
On the message to the offensive line against Oklahoma’s defense, one of the best in the country:
“I think. Not, I think. I know that our communication has to be elite. That’s the one thing that we probably don’t talk about enough. Characteristic of a good offensive line, physically you want to have that, but the number one thing is communication. When you have problems in the interior gaps and you don’t take care of the interior gaps, whether it’s pass protection or run blocking, those problems happen quick. When we have problems on the inside, that’s when the TFLs and the sacks come from. The quarterback’s eyes will drop from pressure and people being in his face when it’s in between the tackles. If stuff happens outside the edge, typically you can deal with that. But interior issues are where all the, you get behind the chains. Whether it’s a 4-yard loss on an inside zone run or it’s a sack from a guy stepping right up the B gap, those where all your problems happen. To me, our guys, we’ve got to have a great week of communicating at the line of scrimmage. That’s the thing I really challenged the guys with. They’ll go after this and they’re gonna be excited about the process with Parker, everybody just listening to Parker, and what he says is what we’re doing, and stick together with one count. Because if you’re gonna be wrong, be wrong together. As simple as it sounds, if you’re wrong together, the problem’s gonna be outside, not inside, if we’re all moving in the same direction. We can’t have half the line doing one thing and the other half of the line doing another. If we stick to that, we’ll always have a chance. Whether we’re protecting Ty or running the football. We’ve got to do a great job of that this week, and certainly Oklahoma will challenge us on that.”
This was one of Grubb’s more open pressers in a while, and he had quite a few soundbites. He was, of course, asked multiple times about the run game in various forms of questions. I thought it was pretty funny that he immediately refuted Ty Simpson’s post game thoughts that the lack of run success was “mental”, instead pointing to “physical” issues and then elaborating on that after another question, talking a lot about the footwork and angles of the linemen. Aaaannnnddd then right after that he says: “What I told the guys is if we’re only focused on the outcome right now, I think that’s part of the problem is there’s too much noise right now, or they’re listening to the narrative of ‘We can’t do this, we can’t do that.’ We need to focus on what we can do. And there’s some things we’re really good at. And it’s not showing up right now, but it will.“
So I guess it is a little mental, too.
In any case, I highlighted his final quote of the day. When asked about what they needed to do to handle the Oklahoma defense, he immediately went into a diatribe about the OL having good communication and playing in sync. It’s one of those obvious things, of course, but I find it interesting that it’s the very first thing that came to his mind.
Kane Wommack
On having only one missed tackle vs. LSU, via Pro Football Focus?
“I think good defenses trend in the right direction from a tackling efficiency standpoint. As the season goes on, if you’re not efficient in tackling, it’s gonna show up. I think we’re getting better and better at that. I think structurally, the way we play more of a vision-style defense, there’s a lot more vise tackles. There’s not a lot of yards after catch or yards after contact. That structurally kind of helps us a little bit as well. But I think our players — go back to the point I made in the beginning — that was probably the fastest I have seen us play as a defense to this point in the season. One of the keys to our victory going in, because they were so dynamic in their receiving corps and their athletes was that we really had to swarm the ball. I think our players, they played hard and they played fast. When you do that, two things tend to be the case: you’re gonna do a good job of tackling, and limiting yards after contact and then you’re also going to create takeaways. Effort always creates takeaways.”
One thing I really appreciate about Kane Wommack is how he always relates everything back to his central messaging. Every time he talks, he’s trying relate scheme, teaching, and results back to the core of his team. Know the scheme, play with anticipation, play fast, get takeaways. It’s a great teaching method, and he’s always looking to show his players how a process leads to results. Dare I say, it’s very Saban-like?
Kalen DeBoer
Are you reminding players that Oklahoma wrecked the season last year?
“We have a lot of new players on the team, so there are players that didn’t experience that. The ones that did certainly better remember and understand that, more importantly, that you’re facing a really good program that obviously we went to their place and got beat up pretty good last year, and that’s who’s coming to town this week. And so, Coach Venable’s done an amazing job instilling a culture there, and we know that team is coming here hungry. They’re in the hunt for a lot of different things as far as reaching their goals.
“But for us, we do then try to make sure that we always are focused on really this team being what we’re centered on and us improving. And that’s the focus is, again, how did we get to this point this year to where we’ve had the success? What’s it gonna take to be our best on Saturday? And so, again, you try to hone in on that, but you can’t help but remember the past. And those questions that you asked just now were also asked a few weeks ago when we played Vanderbilt and so forth. And so, our guys should remember that, because our experiences help us be better the next time around.”
I like that they asked this question, and I liked how, at the end, Deboer threw in the comment about how they were answering the same questions ahead of the Vanderbilt game. It’s one of those little subtle digs that he’ll throw in there sometimes that really underscores his internal competitiveness.
The Sooners have had a bye week to prepare for Alabama and try to clean some things up from their win at Tennessee that kept their playoff dreams alive. The Vols provided plenty of help to the Sooners in that one in the form of three turnovers, and Oklahoma can’t expect the same from an Alabama team that’s among the best in the country at protecting the football, as quarterback Ty Simpson has thrown just one interception all season.
The big question is whether Simpson can continue to dominate through the air if Alabama’s rushing attack remains stuck in the mud. The Tide is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry this season and have failed to break 100 yards on the ground in their last two games. That hasn’t cost them a win yet, but it is the one real concern for this Alabama offense, especially against an Oklahoma defense that can really turn it up against a one-dimensional offense.
Even with the concerns with the running game, I just trust this Alabama team at home to get the job done. I think the defense can force John Mateer into some questionable decisions, and as long as Simpson continues protecting the football, over 60 minutes I trust the Tide to pull away here. PICK: Alabama 27-17 over Oklahoma
I think 27 points feels a little optimistic for Alabama in this one going by the Tide’s last two offensive outputs… But I do like Alabama’s defense against the Sooner offense. It’s likely going to be another low-scoring affair.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Alabama’s Parker Brailsford was named the Southeastern Conference’s Co-Offensive Lineman of the Week, the league office announced Monday morning.
The honor is the second of the 2025 campaign for Brailsford, who picked up identical honors following Alabama’s 30-14 win over then-No. 16/17 Vanderbilt on Oct. 4. The weekly distinction also raises Crimson Tide’s total to nine weekly awards this season.
Congrats to Brailsford for the recognition. For all of Alabama’s struggles along the offensive line, Brailsford has been the rock for two seasons now.
Finally, here’s Brooks Austin’s weekly video talking about Alabama, this time focusing on the one thing that has our whole fan base in a flutter: the run game. Definitely worth a watch for the film breakdown.
Roll Tide!
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