bamagrad03

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So wait, Bama fans are excited about this game too? All of the Bama fans I know in real life are downplaying the shite out of this game

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The ones who understand college football are. Bandwagoners probably not.

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On 24 attempts. Most of his completions were either behind the LOS or within 10 yards of the LOS. The energy Tua brought was awesome and his poise was epic but if you look at his mid-range passing results in that game it was pretty average.

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On 24 attempts when everyone knew he was throwing almost every play.

Here's all his plays vs UGA:
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Tua completed 7 passes that were either mid-range passes or bombs (3 on the first TD drive)
He completed 3 swing passes to RBs
He completed 4 WR screens

This year, his mid-range passing game has been as impressive as the deep ball.

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There would be no talk of this if they hadn't played high school defenses all year.

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Only by people who

1) Haven't watched Alabama this year
2) Were doing something else during the national title game last year

Tua will be the #1 overall draft pick in two years barring massive injury. He's the best QB in college football

After 6 starts this season, Bill Connelly took the last 10 Heisman winning QBs and compiled each of their /BEST/ 6 games and Tua smashed them all statistically. Those games include tons of garbage teams.

Tua's first 6 games as a starter were better than any combination of 6 games played by each of the last 10 Heisman winning QBs. But sure, he's terrible.

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that should help with the quick routes. Although you guys love running those wheel and deep corner routes.

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Another thing that's kind of been touched on here but not a lot, LSU has physical corners that can knock WRs off their routes. I think that's crucial and could be another key factor given how Tua operates on timing

cas4t

Another thing that Aranda does that Tua hasn't seen at all this year is dropping DEs in coverage. I think he'll throw that at Tua a good bit until Tua proves he can beat it.

I honestly can't think of a single team that dropped DEs this year against Alabama - and not because they couldn't but rather because it's not part of their scheme.

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Lol uh, no, he doesn't.

Bama has very fast WRs (but not unlike teams we've faced) and they've played a pool of the shittiest DBs (including A&M) in the country... That's how their WRs get open.

ETA: Also, Tua doesn't "throw dimes". His receivers are open enough to adjust to the ball while it's in the air. The thing Tua is good at is not over-throwing receivers, and I think that's because he doesn't have a strong arm, he puts everything he has into those throws, he doesn't have to place the throw, which is harder to do. I think he has enough time in the pocket to let the WR get to his throwing limit and he chunks it. He under-throws A LOT, you just can't tell because the receivers have enough room to adjust.

I'm honestly not near as impressed with Tua as I am their entire offense. I do not think Tua deserves any mention of the heisman.

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I don't post here a lot. And I'm not here to tell everyone this or that about Tua. But this is honestly one of the worst takes I've ever read on literally anything. And I've seen tweets from honest to goodness flat earthers.

There are reasonable criticisms of Alabama thus far. Suggesting Alabama's defensive opposition this year is weak is an entirely reasonable (and correct) observation. The fact that Tua hasn't played in a truly hostile environment is another absolutely good take that could impact his performance vs LSU.

But to suggest Tua doesn't throw WRs open and doesn't hit them in stride is the exact opposite of reality. I've been watching college football for 30 years, I've never seen a QB as good as Tua is at anticipation and hitting WRs in stride.

He has some negatives that teams haven't been able to expose yet but they're there - especially waiting too long for the hero shot. It'll bite him eventually. But he is literally the best QB at throwing open in CFB.

Citations for reference:
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This is one of the best examples. Look at where Ruggs is in his break compared to when the ball is released:
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Watch the WR's feet in relation to ball delivery, he never slows down and is actually able to slightly accelerate through the catch

LINK

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This is the least pro style offense LSU has had in years. Also I don't think we've attempted a middle screen this season.

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It's still a pro style offense. Your base offense is predominately two TE sets and throwing off of play action. You do more under center than any other team in the SEC. The only material change is some RPO/ZR concepts from the shotgun, but they're obligatory and almost always result in essentially a draw from the shotgun.

But that's also why your QB runs are so effective, literally nobody is expecting it.

And you ran two middle screens on the same /drive/ vs Florida. You probably don't remember them because they've not been wildly effective this year, but the Alabama defense is susceptible to screens of all kinds, and LSU staff will see that on film and try to exploit it. I think they'll have success with it.

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I agree with your assessment(s). I too think that the Bama ILB play for most of the first half of the season was terrible. But Wilson, and Moses have really improved in the last two games. They now seem to understand their assignments better, and are playing a lot faster. I attribute a lot of the coverage breakdowns we've seen to be a result of the ILBs being out of position, or missing their assignment. Didn't see nearly as much of that against UT. The bigger plays that UT made were back-shoulders against the Corners.

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Eh, Mack Wilson was out of position all day vs Tennessee. He gave up the bomb to Chandler down the sideline (which is admittedly a tough assignment) and gave up the wheel TD on the same drive.

He's 1st year Rueben Foster right now. Complete missle attacking the LOS, 2 steps behind on anything involving coverage.

Good attempt OP, few things of note:

1) Losing Diggs didn't force a freshman onto the field at corner. He was firmly entrenched as a starter. It brought back the original starter that got benched in the Ole Miss game (Savion Smith) who is kind of boom or bust, but still a solid corner

2) Damien Harris is the best RB in the SEC. Full stop. He doesn't lead the team in carries because 1 - Alabama has legitimately 3 NFL RBs and 2 - because of blowouts, he's not getting many 2nd half carries. He's better than Snell Jr.

3) Not having Devonta Smith out there is actually a significant blow to the Alabama offense. So much so that they were flexing a TE in 3 receiver looks instead of bringing in Waddle vs Tennessee. I think he's the best/most reliable WR on the team, but he's overlooked because of his size.

4) I think you oversold Alabama's front 7 a bit. MLBs have been a weakness and R Davis has been a bit of a no show this year. They're still very good, but susceptible to RBs and TEs in the passing game

5) Someone mentioned Alabama struggling in the run game vs A&M. Mond had a 54 yarder and a 33 yarder. He was 98 of their 130 rushing yards. Williams had 3.9 YPC and 31 yards.

The absolute best opportunity for success for LSU won't be the run or the passing game straight up. It will be:

- RPO keeps & designed runs for Burrow, who is the best running QB LSU has had in a while. And since they're more pro style than ever, him running generally catches the defense off guard
- Wheel routes to the RB (LSU doesn't do a lot), middle screens (LSU does do a lot)