I wouldnt call us light in the middle Nevis goes 300 and Brockers is 300 plus, Levingston is 285. But you are right, we are light in the azz on the ends. I think its to our advantage against Umeth, not so much against Ugump.
i was too lazy to correct it. specifically the edges. this sam montgomery thing came at a bad time. he was becoming pretty dominant. kendrick adams does return though i believe. also, is lonergan healthy? if hes not 100% that could get ugly.
Yes, this is so. Bama's up front seven, completely imposed their will on the offensive line of Florida, who we had heard leading up to this contest, was arguably, best in the league. Not only did Bama completely shut down the running game, they broke up 8 passes and had three interceptions, when the gators tried to throw their way out of it. Big and fast is better, than big or fast.
It was one of those games where the stat line doesn't tell the whole story. Florida couldn't hardly move on offense, and Bama was able to dominate early TOP and field position. They had enough success running the football, just enough to sustain drives and get some points. No, they didn't plow the field for 350+ rush yards. They didn't have to. And hopefully, neither will we. We have such a huge edge on special teams and return game, I am convinced if our defense can keep Florida's offense stuck in 2nd gear, and force 3-n-outs and punts, we can win the field position battle, keep them pinned down in their own red zone, and we can manipulate the field to our advantage to get field goals, maybe a touchdown on a short field. We lose the battle, though, the second we give up a big play (ie, allowing Demps or Burton to rip off a 40 yard run). Gotta stop the big play.
Think we can have success running Ridley off-tackle then, particularly over the left side (we seem to favor that side better?)
I agree, sometimes, you need misdirection and disguise in your formation with maybe some motion to succeed in the running game. But if we have a match-up we can exploit (and I'm not convinced that, pound for pound, man for man, Florida is so beastly in their front 7 that they will dominate us every time) we should just run right at that. At some point in this game, Barksdale, Dworaczyck, Lonergan, Hebert, Williford, et. al, are going to have to man up and put the guy in front of them flat on his back five yards down the field for us to win this game. Yeah, yeah, I know, easier said than done, and Florida's got some big, bad uglies up front too. Do you want it more than them or not?
We have to run it up the gut to keep linemen at home. Passing will help loosen them too. Bama only had 103 yds passing against them with 170 yds rushing. I think our passing game is on par with Bama with that type of production.
