Tales from the Crypt intro (via jabberwookkee)

Hello, kiddies! It’s your old fiend the Crypt Keeper, here, with a preview of tonight’s foot (in the grave) ball game between the Alabama Grimson Tide and the Floridie Gators. It’s sure to be a spine-jerker! From Florida, we have the dread-inducing defensive hackfield consisting of Janoris Jenkins and Co. Whereas Alabama has the Undead Hightower, Jer-racula Harris, Mummy Upshaw, and Nico "Cut Off My" Johnson, all comprising what could be the scariest linebacker corpse in the nation!

On offense, John Brantley for Florida is the fresh meat thrown to the slaughter for Robert Fester and the rest of the Bama secondareus, including the murderous Dre Kirk-Ice-Pick. Alabama, on the other hand, brings an army of seasoned veteran ghouls, including Greg McKillroy at the helm, along with last year’s Heisghoul Sinner Mark Ingram.

In sum, on defense, poaching and sheer offensiveness, Alabama has the Scream Team, whereas the Gators are in for the fright of their lives!  The Gators’ Brantley and Burton will both be drowned in the Black Gorier River by the Alabama defense. Sorry, Flori-die-ans. No offense!

Your venerably vicious Crypt Keeper’s prediction:

Alabama – 100, Florida – Dead.

Troll Tide, Troll!

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!

We will always remember December 5th,

Where we had come from and who we were with,

Each and every one of us will swell with pride,

"That's Dixie's football pride, My Crimson Tide!"

 

We'll walk into the stadium like many times before,

And hear a colossal sound - a deafening roar,

But it's not just the people around us that scream,

It's the flame from inside us, fueled by a dream.

 

Remember the 1925 Rose Bowl squad,

That first brought the championship home to the Quad?

Remember the '61 Bear Bryant team,

Who fulfilled his promise that was once just a dream?

 

Now's the time for dreams of our own,

We'll light the flame and carry it into the end zone,

And up to the stratosphere and back again,

Our enemies won't know what hit them, my friends.

 

From the shoulders of giants we'll soar,

Some will doubt, and after, wonder, "What for?"

Because we won't relent until we make history,

No, we'll fight forever until victory.

That's what Coach Stallings said during the 1992 National Championship season up until that final victory. "We haven't won anything yet." We've gone 12-0 during the regular season for the second year in a row, but we haven't done anything yet. We did it last year, and we lost two right after.

That's not what we're here for. We're not here to glory in making it to the big stage again. The Gators don't care that we're undefeated, the nation doesn't care, and until we prove ourselves in The Game, I don't see why they should. All that matters is this game, from start to finish. Sixty minutes of fundamental football and relentless aggression. Sixty minutes of beating the guys on the other side of the line. Sixty minutes of putting, as Coach Bryant said, "a little extra" in to each and every play.

We've got class. Florida might be more talented than us, I really can't say for sure. But if we go out there and play like I know we can, it won't matter what they bring. We've been fighting for this for 17 years. Imagine what it will be like to have to wait until next September for the chance that's right in front of us right now. Now imagine what it will take to get through Florida, perhaps the best team out there. Is it worth it? Is every last bit of effort and preparation from our players, coaches and fans worth it for that win? It's time to make history. It's time to bring the SEC Championship back to Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Nation is behind you, guys, and this time the Tide won't be stopped. Let's get ready to roll.

After seeing Nico’s posts on Alabama’s running back success rates against opposing defenses, I decided to take a look at the other side in every individual game. I was hoping through my ridiculous amount of effort that I might learn something that I didn’t already know. But all I re-learned is we’re awesome. I used the same categories for success as Nico did, meaning: to succeed on 1st down, they would have to gain 40% of the distance needed; 2nd down: 60%; 3rd or 4th down: 100%. I also added negative and no-gain rush categories, as well as runs of 10 yards or more.

 

First,

 

Virginia Tech

Season Average: 4.6 YPC, 190 Yards per game

Vs. Alabama (including sacks): 31 Rushes, 64 Yards, 2.1 YPC

Negative Rushes (excluding sacks): 5/29 = 17%

No-Gain Rushes: 2/29 = 7%

Successful Rushes: 12/29 = 41%

Runs of 10 yards or more = 2/31 (16, 32) = 6%

1st Half Stats (Excluding Sacks): 17 rushes, 2 Yards, .1 per carry, 33% Success Rate

2nd Half Stats (Excluding Sacks): 12 rushes, 97 Yards, 8.1 per carry, 50% Success Rate

 

The defense made Tyrod Taylor a negative factor on the ground (-26 yards rushing), and only gave up one big run to Ryan Williams (32 yards), who was otherwise completely contained, for a TD in the second half. This has turned out to be the longest run of the year against our defense. 24% of VT’s running plays were no-gain plays or negative plays. Negative plays in particular are drive killers, which accounted for 17% of VT’s rushing plays. There was a very big difference between our 1st and 2nd half performance in this game on rush defense.

 

Florida International

Season Average: 2.5 YPC, 86 Yards per game

Vs. Alabama (including sacks): 26 rushes, 1 Yard, 0 YPC

Negative Rushes (excluding sacks): 4/21 =19%

No-Gain Rushes: 3/21 = 14%

Successful Rushes: 7/21 = 33%

Runs of 10 Yards or More: 0/26 = 0%

1st Half Stats (excluding sacks): 8 rushes, 12 Yards, 1.5 per carry, 38% Success Rate

2nd Half Stats (excluding sacks):14 rushes, 27 Yards, 1.9 per carry, 31% Success Rate

 

Alabama dominated Florida International’s run game, causing 33% of their rushing plays to go for negative or zero yards, equaling the percentage of successful rushes we allowed, none of which went for 10 yards or more. Darriet Perry, FIU’s main running back in the game, gained 5 yards on 9 carries.

 

North Texas

Season Average: 5.4 YPC, 198 Yards per game

Vs. Alabama (including sacks): 26 Rushes, 61 Yards, 2.3 YPC

Negative Rushes (excluding sacks): 2/26 = 7%

No-Gain Rushes: 7/26 = 27%

Successful Rushes: 7/26 = 27%

Runs of 10 Yards or More: 0/26 = 0%

1st Half Stats (excluding sacks): 9 Carries, 9 Yards, 1 YPC, Success Rate: 0%

2nd Half Stats (excluding sacks): 16 Carries, 51 Yards, 3.2 YPC, Success Rate: 44%

 

We dominated North Texas as well, holding them to no gain or a loss nine times. They had successful rushes only seven times in comparison, and once again none of them were ten or more yards long. Five out of the seven successful rushes for North Texas were on their final drive in garbage time. The first half was the only half of the year that we held a team to a 0% success rate.

 

Arkansas

Season Average: 4.7 YPC, 142 Yards per game

Vs. Alabama (including sacks): 26 Rushes, 63 Yards, 2.4 YPC

Negative Rushes (excluding sacks): 3/22 = 14%

No-Gain Rushes: 0 = 0%

Successful Rushes: 6/22 = 27%

Runs of 10 Yards or More: 2/22 = 9% (18, 12)

1st Half Stats (excluding sacks): 14 Rushes, 55 Yards, 3.9 YPC, 21% Success Rate

2nd Half Stats (excluding sacks):  8 Rushes, 36 Yards, 4.5 YPC, 38% Success Rate

 

Alabama’s first test against an SEC running unit was a big success. Only six successful rushes and we shut down Ryan Mallett. They had two rushes of ten yards or more, but the 18-yarder was on 3rd and 25, which counts as a failure.

 

Kentucky

Season Average: 4.6 YPC, 187 Yards per game

Vs. Alabama (including sacks): 38 rushes, 133 yards, 3.5 YPC

Negative Rushes (excluding sacks): 3/36 = 8%

No-Gain Rushes: 2/36 = 6%

Successful Rushes: 20/36 = 56%

Runs of 10 Yards or More: 4/36 = 11% (11, 11, 18, 15)

1st Half Stats (excluding sacks): 23 rushes, 81 yards, 3.5 YPC, 43% Success Rate

2nd Half Stats (excluding sacks): 13 rushes, 65 yards, 5 YPC, 77% Success Rate

 

The worst statistical game so far, we allowed Kentucky to succeed on 56% of their carries overall, and 77% in the second half. It was good that we created all the turnovers we did (particularly the fumble just before the half) so that they were forced to pass in the second half. And our offense performed pretty well.  Still, holding them to 3.5 YPC is not bad, just bad for us.

 

Mississippi

Season Average: 4.7 YPC, 176 Yards per game

Vs. Alabama (including sacks): 23 Rushes, 71 Yards, 3.1 YPC

Negative Rushes (excluding sacks): 5/23 = 22%

No-Gain Rushes: 4/23 = 17%

Successful Rushes: 5/23 = 22%

Runs of 10 Yards or More: 3/23 = 13% (15, 10, 18)

1st Half Stats (excluding sacks): 10 Rushes, 3 Yards, .3 YPC, 10% Success Rate

2nd Half Stats (excluding sacks): 13 Rushes, 68 Yards, 5.2 YPC, 31% Success Rate

 

This was an all-around great defensive performance in which Kareem Jackson looked like Antonio Langham for at least one play. We absolutely dominated Ole Miss in the first half, holding them to just three rushing yards. Negative and no-gain rushes accounted for 39% (nine) of their rushing plays, while they only had five successful rushes. Three of those went for ten yards or more, but Snead ran all of those and one of them was on 3rd and 13 for 10 yards and another was on 4th and 20 for 18 yards. Both were failures.

 

South Carolina

Season Average: 4.0 YPC, 129 Yards per game

Vs. Alabama (including sacks): 27 Rushes, 64 Yards, 2.4 YPC

Negative Rushes (excluding sacks): 3/22 = 14%

No-Gain Rushes: 3/22 = 14%

Successful Rushes: 8/22 = 36%

Runs of 10 Yards or More: 3/22 =14% (12, 21, 12)

1st Half Stats (excluding sacks): 10 Rushes, 54 Yards, 5.4 YPC, 40% Success Rate

2nd Half Stats (excluding sacks): 12 Rushes, 39 Yards, 3.3 YPC, 33% Success Rate

 

We had five sacks in another fine defensive performance. Also, 28% of South Carolina’s rushing plays went for negative or no yards. However, the three runs of 10 yards or more all came on the same drive that let South Carolina make it a one score game with a field goal just before halftime. If we had not allowed those plays, the game would not have been such a close one near the end. On the other hand, this is the only game where our rushing defense improved in the second half, and we did not let them score again.

 

Tennessee

Season Average: 4.6 YPC, 172 Yards per game

Vs. Alabama (including sacks): 35 Rushes, 76 Yards, 2.2 YPC

Negative Rushes (excluding sacks): 4/32 = 13%

No-Gain Rushes: 1/32 = 3%

Successful Rushes: 15/32 = 47%

Runs of 10 Yards or More: 1/32 = 3% (10)

1st Half Stats (excluding sacks): 12 rushes, 32 Yards, 2.7 YPC, 33% Success Rate

2nd Half Stats (excluding sacks): 20 Rushes, 63 Yards, 3.2 YPC, 50% Success Rate

 

Despite being on the field for 46 plays (Alabama’s offense had 19) and 20:33 in the second half, the defense was relentless, holding Tennessee to 3.2 YPC, and, when most teams would break, they continued fighting until the final play. There was not much of a drop off at all in rush defense from first to second half even under these extremely unfavorable circumstances. Our defense was amazing.

 

 

While we have allowed just 15 rushes of 10 + yards (long of 32, average: 15 yards), we have also accounted for 29 negative rushes and 22 no-gainers through eight games (and a total of only 533 yards). Overall, we hold opponents to 42% of their average rushing yardage, and we’ve never been outgained on the ground. However, in every game except one we’ve seen a decrease in effectiveness in the second half. Still, every time I see an opposing offense call a run play, I think, “Do you know who you’re playing? This is Alabama. You’re going nowhere.” Or as Marty Lyons yelled just before the Goal Line Stand, “You’d better pass!”

I believe the main difference between the Alabama that scored 30+ points per game and the offense we've seen in the last three games is a lack of early aggression. In the first part of the season, we, for the most part, struggled early with the run, which then led us to pass with a good amount of success in the first half, which in turn set up great success with the run against tired defenses in the second half to close out our games. Lately, however, we've become more run-based not just at the end but at the beginning of our games, and we've relied on dump off passes in the passing game. These dump off passes worked extremely well earlier in the year against less competent defenses, but not so much lately. And LSU, for sure, will be prepared for a run-based attack mixed with screens.

I am tired of our games coming down to the fourth quarter. So I propose that we come out aggressive, maybe even hyper-agressive, against LSU right at the beginning in order to put the game away at half time. If I were OC, I would start the game with a deep play-action pass to any of our receivers (maybe even Peek, if he's healthy) out of a run formation. Then, if it fails, I'd have us pass vertically again, and then again on third down. If it succeeds, I'd repeat the process. For the rest of the game, depending on the situation, I would probably continue an aggressive pass-based (but not run-excluding, of course: about 65-35% pass to rush) mentality until we have a 17+ point lead, and then I'd tone it down a lot or a little depending on how late in the game it is. In essence, I'd have us attack LSU the way Utah attacked us last year. So, what do you think? If you were an offensive coordinator, how would you call our game against LSU?