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Week 2, 2023: Texas @ Alabama


Wulaw Horn

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"Spy" also doesn't mean someone just sitting 3-5 yards off the LOS. It really means "chain puller" someone that forces Milroe to make a decision and quick.  Typically that will be an off the ball player that lets traffic clear, and/or allows Milroe to make a move eliminating a side/option. Then it is downhill from there.

 

Point being, Ant, and whoever else, can and will be playing an attacking upfield role as a "spy."

 

Additionally, I suspect we will play a decent amount of zone - eyes on the QB and presents challenges of timing and accuracy for a QB who isn't know to excel at either.

Edited by Fico
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Alex Dunlap's deep dig on the defense against Rice. Defense only had 3 total missed tackles and 2 of them came on would-be sacks (Hill and Burke)

Spoiler

As always, we'll give some quick analysis along with the tiered rankings (Now through Week 1 of 2023) and are derived via a proprietary scoring formula, and based on the following advanced charting statistics (please note the distinctions in how tackles, etc. are counted and why these stats will always differ from the official university stats):

Click Images to Enlarge

DEEP DIG DEFENSIVE LEGEND

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***Also, Please note: -1 point has been added for any defensive penalty outside of defensive pass interference which is always considered a coverage burn and is not double-counted. Also, please note that missed tackles that result in blown contains are counted as blown contains (-1) and are not double-counted as both a blown contain and a missed tackle. Also, please note that exact snap-count numbers may differ from other sources at times, as the Deep Dig does not count plays as defensive player snaps that are blown dead due to penalty, punts, extra points or other plays where the player is not technically playing on defense***

Defensive Participation Log: Rice

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Defensive Snap Counts By Week and Percentage of Total Defensive Snaps Played Through Week 1
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Defensive Productivity Market-Share Percentages and Snaps per Production Caused Metrics Through Week 1 (snaps per disruption caused is colored coded from blue/best to white/median to red/worst):
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Quick Hits and Thoughts

- T'Vondre Sweat is the King of the Mountain to start - and he's a mountain of a man, for sure. We will get started on the offensive side of the Deep Dig once this column hits Orangebloods, but he was the best player on the defense and possibly the best player to put on a Texas uniform against the Owls. Sweat did what everyone on defense should have done: dominated a crappy opponent and took full advantage. Alfred Collins gets all the buzz about his potential as an interior rusher while Sweat is the one who is actually already good in this area. Against Rice, on top of his tackles, getting in on one TFL and stuffing one run ... he tacked on three QB hits and one separate QB pressure, with one of the QB hits leading directly to an interception. Sweat, somehow, did not start the game, but was in on the first series and looks to be the defensive lineman that plays the most snaps due to his versatility. He can play DT next to Byron Murphy, and nose tackle next to anyone else.

- Anthony Hill is just getting started - Anthony Hill is being utilized as a third LB in a specialty, passing down role (presumably the one that he was in a bit of a battle with Morice Blackwell to win) and after one game, he has taken advantage of both Blackwell's absence and his own excellent athleticism and instincts. Frustratingly, Hill missed a tackle on a would-be sack (one of only three missed tackles on the day by the defense -- two of them coming on would-be sacks; one by Hill and one by Ethan Burke) but he was still clearly a factor in affecting the QB on that play. He also had one QB hit that greatly aided in causing an interception -- just like T'Vondre Sweat. On 23 total snaps, he was able to generate one QB hit and two separate pressures. While Jett Bush appears to be the primary third LB option when the team goes to heavy sets tailored to stop the run, Hill could be working his way toward a stranglehold on the more impactful outside LB role in passing situations as an edge-rusher and a joker of sorts in coverage up the seam and to the flats. It's good news that he's emerging as this sort of edge presence because ...

- The EDGE depth behind Ethan Burke is still a major, major issue - It stinks. The staff has moved Justice Finkley back over there to back up Burke after throwing all but the kitchen sink at the issue all through camp -- from the Billy Walton stuff to the J'Mond Tapp stuff and who knows what else -- and apparently coming up snake eyes. Finkley's first step upfield, when watching on .25X speed, is shocking when comparing when he gets off the line compared to his interior DL counterparts, and he simply doesn't have the bend, length, or natural flexion through the ankles and hips you'd like to see from the BUCK spot. He needs to play on the other side, and he will likely go back over there once Colin Simmons gets to town next year and Colton Vasek puts on a few more pounds. The future of that edge spot is bright, but in 2023, Anthony Hill and eventually Blackwell are going to have to present as alternative options as spun-down LBs more frequently due to this lack of depth. And that's not such a terrible thing, given Hill's level of talent.

- The flashes are there for Alfred Collins, but the consistency still is not - Collins played against Rice and lived up to all the offseason hype .... for one play. He pressured the QB, got his big Tarzan hands up in the air, made an incredibly athletic play to break up the pass. Otherwise, crickets on 18 total snaps. We're dealing in small samples here, but we were supposed to come out of this game being in full-on tap-the-brakes mode after the Collins coming out party because, after all, it was versus Rice and let's see if he can keep it up versus real competition. Even if he HAD a big game, we would still be exercising caution about spinning it forward in a meaningful way projection-wise. The problem is, that didn't happen. He's an inconsistent player until proven otherwise. Jim Nagy said last week that scouts will "grade the flashes" with Collins most of all, and maybe fans should get used to the idea that he's a guy that you should enjoy more for those big moments than anything else ... and certainly hope they can start coming with more consistency.

- Apparent lack of worry from the staff about David Gbenda as a starter is starting to make more sense - He looks perfectly fine out there and was actually more productive in the Deep Dig than Jaylan Ford who had an interception to really buoy his scores. Gbenda is fast and he can tackle; when Sark talks about populating the football, we think back on that game and remember all the gang-tackling that Gbenda was a part of. Gang tackling is powerful for a defense and is demoralizing for an offense. It physically hurts and humiliates you.

- Cornerback is up for grabs - Ryan Watts looks like he's going to be the starter at the boundary corner, but the staff is trying out all kinds of stuff with the Malik Muhammad and Terrence Brooks on both sides of the hash marks, while Gavin Holmes appears to have a specialized role similar to Watts over on the field side. So, the field side feels relatively open as Muhammad -- who profiles with more of a boundary corner body -- got reps over there while Brooks also flip-flopped all game. The staff is trying to get a feel for the best combo, and in the current eyes of the Deep Dig, Muhammad is ready and should be the option opposite Watts based on one game.

- Austin Jordan and Derek Williams are dogs - Derek Williams is big, lean and long and boy can he fly around. The guy really loves contact and what we love most about this defense after one game is the pursuit angles to the ball-carrier and the aforementioned gang tackling. That becomes a culture, it really does and a guy like Williams will most certainly be a steward of it moving forward as there's very little standing in his way of being an undisputed starter no later than Game 1 of 2024. Austin Jordan just really has that dog in him, too. If you watch the way he takes on blocks in open space as the force player -- the one responsible for outside contain -- his ability to get off blocks where he's out-leveraged and put himself in position to make plays is outrageous. After only 10 total snaps, he finds himself in a very thin Tier Two of the Market Share rankings with an absurd and, admittedly, completely and totally unsustainable 2.28 snaps per production caused. It brings up another question about the future of the nickel position with other intriguing options like Jaylon Guilbeau and Jelani McDonald already in the pipe

 

Edited by Hookem2147
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1 hour ago, BurntOrange&White said:

SIAP but Bama has two starters questionable for Saturday

Safety Jaylen Key and Star Malachi Moore

It's been mentioned on here

Browsing the Bama boards, there's no concrete info but it seems that most think that Moore is fine, while Key's info is all over the place

There was also some concern that Kool-aid got injured with a concussion, but he seems to be fine

Jihaad didn't play, but it seems most think he'll be back

DB Devanta Smith is out 

Also they have a second or third string WR out, Henderson Jr 

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This may have been asked and answered, but do we have SEC refs for this tilt? I certainly hope so as they are likely to be biased and incompetent in favor of Bama. Just not as egregious and obvious as Big 12 crews are.  Google searches turn up a bunch of rage and expert criticism of the 2022 Scott Campbell show. And one carefully constructed article at something called rollbamaroll.com that explains how every call was correct. 

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40 minutes ago, Gucci_Suit said:

This may have been asked and answered, but do we have SEC refs for this tilt? I certainly hope so as they are likely to be biased and incompetent in favor of Bama. Just not as egregious and obvious as Big 12 crews are.  Google searches turn up a bunch of rage and expert criticism of the 2022 Scott Campbell show. And one carefully constructed article at something called rollbamaroll.com that explains how every call was correct. 

If you ask a Bama fan about the Bryce Young safety, they will go through an insane amount of mental gymnastics to explain it away.

"Bryce was clearly throwing to our RB, and the ball deflected off an O lineman's helmet so it can't be intentional grounding."

Despite the fact that Fox's neutral commentators were literally left speechless by the call on the field lol.

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11 minutes ago, ATXhorn17 said:

If you ask a Bama fan about the Bryce Young safety, they will go through an insane amount of mental gymnastics to explain it away.

"Bryce was clearly throwing to our RB, and the ball deflected off an O lineman's helmet so it can't be intentional grounding."

Despite the fact that Fox's neutral commentators were literally left speechless by the call on the field lol.

It’s entertaining aggy level shit. https://www.rollbamaroll.com/2022/9/15/23352769/bryce-youngs-non-safety-big-12-referees-got-it-right-and-wrong-alabama-vs-texas

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1 hour ago, derpyhorndog said:

 

 

UyHhT0p.jpg

I dislike the Stormtroopers comparison. First of all, the Stormtroopers are the absolute definition of a bunch of bumbling idiots who get killed by the thousands by a Big Foot rip-off, a woman who wears a bun, and a dude who used to be a janitor until he got discovered as an actor. Second, why are we suddenly the University of a bunch of Star Wars nerds? I don't get it.

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37 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

I dislike the Stormtroopers comparison. First of all, the Stormtroopers are the absolute definition of a bunch of bumbling idiots who get killed by the thousands by a Big Foot rip-off, a woman who wears a bun, and a dude who used to be a janitor until he got discovered as an actor. Second, why are we suddenly the University of a bunch of Star Wars nerds? I don't get it.

Repped. Star Wars fucking sucks and Im sick of hearing about it

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24 minutes ago, Steelers Roll Left said:

True or false.  An ESPN+ subscription is not a temporary solution to the Spectrum/Disney dispute blacking out ESPN & LHN to subscribers.  Texas vs Bama Sat 6pm on ESPN

ESPN+ subscription only gives access to games specifically on ESPN+ (https://cfb.guide/), it does not give you access to ESPN's TV channels.

Edited by LonghornSean
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Watched a bit of Bama/MTSU.

Both OL's are a work in progress.  

Neither QB has established a consistent high level of play.

Both defenses look pretty stout.

I think we have better overall skill talent but Milroe is a wild card.  On the first series, there was a bad snap but he picked it up and housed it thirty yards for a TD. He is a talented, powerful runner with a cannon arm but prone to mistakes.

Sets up as a low scoring defensive affair.  Whoever makes the most of their limited opportunities probably wins.

Take the under.

Oh and if we let Milroe extend drives by running on 4th like Tech did last year then that will be very bad.

Edited by burdine
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41 minutes ago, Steelers Roll Left said:

True or false.  An ESPN+ subscription is not a temporary solution to the Spectrum/Disney dispute blacking out ESPN & LHN to subscribers.  Texas vs Bama Sat 6pm on ESPN

YoutubeTV free trial, in fact.....cancel your spectrum cable. LHN is irrelevent, just find an illegal stream this year for the games and you don't have to worry next year. 

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Just now, Hookem2147 said:

Jfc one of our media members asked Kelvin Banks in the player availability if Cole Hutson was going to start on Saturday.

I watched the Alabama presser with Saban and players....holy fuck their media is so much better at not asking stupid fucking questions or baiting questions. 

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26 minutes ago, LonghornSean said:

ESPN+ subscription only gives access to games specifically on ESPN+ (https://cfb.guide/), it does not give you access to ESPN's TV channels.

They will go kicking and screaming on that because they know that the moment they do that, 3/4 of their subscriber base will only pay for football season. 

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12 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

I watched the Alabama presser with Saban and players....holy fuck their media is so much better at not asking stupid fucking questions or baiting questions. 

Probably because Saban has taught them if they ask stupid questions he lambastes the fuck out of them.

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30 minutes ago, burdine said:

Milroe reminds me a lot of Braxton Miller the old Ohio State QB.

Easy to see why Tom Herman recruited him.  He would have been perfect for that era OSU offense.

He’s not as nimble or shifty as Miller was, especially pre-injury. 
 

I think Adrian Martinez is a good comp for him. 

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30 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

I watched the Alabama presser with Saban and players....holy fuck their media is so much better at not asking stupid fucking questions or baiting questions. 

because if they pulled the shit our media does they'd be pulled from the Alabama FB beat. 

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30 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

YoutubeTV free trial, in fact.....cancel your spectrum cable. LHN is irrelevent, just find an illegal stream this year for the games and you don't have to worry next year. 

YoutubeTV, yes. 

"Illegal" streams are not illegal for you to watch. Considering that some of them show up on plain ol' youtube, they're not overly policed. I used sportsurge.net (they have several dot-whatevers) a fair amount last couple of seasons, and I don't recall more than a couple of times when a stream got trashed, other than because of the idiot streamer switching channels... Sportsurge and its ilk are aggregators who supply links to the streamers, and most games have multiple streams linked - double digits worth in some cases. Definitely worth checking out, and not just for CFB, either.

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