POUND, POUND,  POUND THE GROUND?

Is Jordan-Hare home advantage enough to beat the Tide

       Common wisdom is that Alabama is open up the Iron Bowl with a ground game. I keep thinking about the Alabama/LSU National Championship game where McCarron became a great quarterback. What was it that night - eight consecutive passes to open the game? Just the fact that we could do that is proof how balanced the Tide offense plays the game. I don't think Auburn can do that do. When the history of this Iron Bowl is written it may well be that Alabama's balance was the the difference. Here's the way I think the Tide can win. 

A.J. McCarron's Role:  If you watched the fourth quarter of the Auburn - Georgia game will  remember Aaron Murray taking those little three step drop back passes which dissected Auburn's defense like a sharp knife. I expect that Alabama will do the same. A.J. Will probably take what the defense allows. He's check out of plays and move the ball around to take advantage of Auburn's defense. Ellis Johnson is an old dog. He's going to put as many men in the box that he thinks he can get away with. Auburn believes that their corners believe they can handle Tide receivers one on one. I don't think they can. Too much big game experience for McCarron to fall prey to Jordan-Hare Stadium. Let's all remember the Ellis Johnson said it's not hard to stop the Tide on ground. The Tide will likely rise or fall on the play of A.J.McCarron. Could it be any better than that for Alabama?

 

The Defensive Lines' Role:  Alabama's defensive front needs to mind the gaps. Play physical and free up the line backers to make tackles. What they need to do is make Nick Marshall attempt to win the game. This Tide has great numbers when it comes to slowing down the run. Truthfully, the Tide has not played a game against anyone nearly as good on the ground as Auburn. What the line cannot do is to be consistently fooled by the Tiger's sophisticated blocking schemes. My bet is that Auburn is going to have some success. The Tide's defensive line just needs to slow down the inside run to force Marshall to keep the ball more than he'd like. If you assume that Marshall is going to throw more than usual then the line needs to put pressure on him. This is especially true when Marshall drops back to throw the long ball. Take away the long ball and the Tigers will have to work the intermediary routes. That will be tough, and he better be good a doing it. The line can make that work. If they can pressure Marshall without a lot of help the Tigers are dead.

 

The Offense Lines' Role:  First and foremost play physical from the start of game until the final  whistle. Play the way they played against LSU  Auburn is going to emotionally charged because they are playing at home. It is my personal belief that offensive line can do more to keep the crowd out of the game than any part of the team. Open some holes to let Yeldon and Drake run for a lot of yardage will make a lot of people get quiet. Protect A.J. so he can complete a some passes and things will quieten down.  Cause some things that let the team score a couple of early touchdowns, and you would be able to hear a pin drop. The line is going to have to stop making false start to make first downs more manageable. The offensive line is just as important as the defense in keeping the Tiger's offense off the field. Ryan Kelly being able to play would be nice but Chad Lindsey can hold his own.

The Linebackers' Role:  The linebackers may play more in this game than others. The Tiger's hurry up offense, or as Nick Saban calls  it "speed ball", will keep the Tide from utilizing their specialty packages. The question I've pondered all week it this - Is Alabama's base defense good enough to stop the Tigers? Since the Tigers like to run so much it may be better for Trey DePriest to be on the field much longer than usual. Adrian Hubbard and C.J. Mosley will have a busy afternoon. The outside linebackers have to not commit to stopping Mason so quickly. Marshall has made a living off keeping the ball off the option this season. That means that the outside linebackers and safeties need to play their positions exactly as Kirby Smart lays out. I'd personally hit Nick Marshall every time he runs the read option just to make sure. A little physicality never hurts.Denzal Devall and company will need to use speed to stop Marshall if the corners get sealed. They are all great when tackling. They are going to have an opportunity to make some open field tackles by themselves at time.

The Defensive Backfields Role:  The corner backs are going to be under the microscope. If Marshall throws the deep ball you have to hope the corners are not hanging around the line of scrimmage waiting for the run. Like the linebackers they are going to be called on for run support, and at the same play the pass. The safeties are going to have a busy day. Ha-Ha Clinton Dix and Landon Collins need to figure out when the deep ball is coming. And if it comes down to a final pass my money is on 'knock the ball down'. That's all the defensive backs have to do - tackle, go one on one, determine when when to run support every 20 seconds. That's how long it takes AU to run the next play after the end of previous play.  Are they going to make mistakes? Probably, but I bet the don't make any Georgia DB type played.

Special teams are fairly equal. Tide has the edge in punting. Tigers have the upperhand in kickoffs. Both teams have backs who can make your hair catch on fire. In the long run the Tide  is better at almost every position. I expect the Tide will wear them down little by little. But think for a minute this is a walk over. There are no walk overs in Jordan-Hare. The location alone will make this a barn burner.

Roll Tide by 31-21