Alabama All Day: Run Blocking
by Peter Bean on Dec 23, 2009 1:18 PM CST
in Texas Longhorns Football
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PrintRather than describe what a great job Alabama does with its run blocking, let me show you:
Alabama gives Florida a twin tight end look, something they do frequently, and to great effect. Here, fullback Roy Upchurch lines up over the outside of the weakside TE Michael Williams, a 6-6, 266 lb. tight end run blocking specialist.
As the ball is snapped, Upchurch heads for Will linebacker (#32 Dustin Doe), Williams heads for the second level, the center (William Vlachos) and right guard (Mike Johnson) double team the nose tackle, and the right tackle moves to seal the playside end (#49 Jermaine Cunningham). Florida fans take a shot for the missing Carlos Dunlap.
Williams' chips Cunningham on his way to Spikes in the second level. Upchurch holds his own against the bigger Doe, and the interior linemen create a nice seal for Ingram in the B gap.
Ta-da. An easy six yard gain for Trent Richardson.
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about halfway through the season, RBR’s outsidethesidelines did an in-depth examination of blocking by skill position players you might find of interest in connection with this.
Roll 'Bama Roll: The Champagne of 'Bama Blogs.
so for us, number 5 coming in on the left side of the screen, that'd be gideon?
sergio gets off that block and at least slows him down?
I think that's normally Earl Thomas' side of the field.
Can’t tell from the picture where the WR is lined up. If he’s on the right side of the offensive formation then it’s likely Gideon on that (right) side reading pass or run .
by SpiritOfTheFedora on Dec 23, 2009 2:37 PM CST up reply actions
another important thing this particular bit of analysis highlights
is how well alabama’s line works as a unit.
that’s important to keep in mind when considering what happened against utah last season. the loss of such an important OL player as andre smith days before the bowl game completely disrupted the cohesiveness of the unit needed to execute of this kind of scheme. it’s one of the oft-overlooked reasons for the faceplant in new orleans.
Roll 'Bama Roll: The Champagne of 'Bama Blogs.
Since you brought up Upchurch....
He’s not really a fullback. Against Va. Tech he was our #2 at running back but an ankle injury the next game limited him pretty much the rest of the season. That I-Formation you talked about in the opening drive is a new formation for us; the first time we ran it anywhere than short yardage/goal line was against Auburn, and that was also the first time we used Roy at FB. Typically it’s a TE back there (usually Baron Huber, but Michael Williams has done his fair share of short yardage work as well), but with Upchurch healthy again that’s kind of become his package. We’ve let him lead block (he’s big enough for it, though he’s not an every down old school FB), we’ve set up screens to him out of that (he’s our best screen guy as well), we’ve run the straight FB dive with him (at least twice against UF), and we’ve gone boot out of it and thrown to him as well (see the game winning TD against Auburn). He also took snaps in the Wildcat with Ingram out wide in the first game, so you may see that again. I wish we had him for one more year, honestly, he was a Parade All-American and has arguably been our most physically gifted back ever since he got on campus, but it’s been one injury after another for him his whole career so he’s never been able to do much. When he’s healthy, though, he’s a special and incredibly versatile player.
Roll Bama Roll - The Champagne of Bama Blogs.
I went back and rewatched the SEC CCG as well. What stood out to me as the biggest difference between Alabama and Texas’ run blocking is how Bama’s linemen almost never left their feet intentionally when blocking. They engage and stay engaged.
Texas’ run blocking is cut blocking by default. When in doubt, dive at the defenders feet. This has been our M.O. since forever, including the 2005 championship year. Perhaps it’s because the coaches have no faith in our linemen’s athleticism and their ability to stay with their defenders. Or maybe the staff is just teaching them ineffective blocking technique.
It's the numbers.
At the snap of the ball it’s 4 blockers to 3 rushers on the side the play is going to with the double team on the nose guard. This play happens fast enough that the offside defenders have no time to move over and change the ratio of blockers to rushers. The Florida linebackers react slowly and are to far back and are still near their original position in the 4th frame in the same time frame the tight end moves 3 yards down field leaving his block to the guard who leaves the double team.
The way to stop it is first Florida should have to realized they were playing Alabama and they are going to run most of the plays. Bring up the Line backers 3 yards and put 7men in the box and dare them to pass, in fact make them pass. Alabama is lining up with 8-9 men in the box and Florida has it’s linebackers 5 yards deep. It pretty obvious what is going to happen. At the snap it’s 7 blockers on the line against 5 rushers. Alabama is going to get good yardage every time.
Bama did pass, They started the game out of the spread and hit Julio Jones for 15 yds.
Actually this years Bama team does an excellent job of passing the ball to set up play action runs! Balance is the key. If Texas stacks the box QB McElroy will make you pay. He’s deadly accurate just a little weak in arm strength. Going to be a great game indeed I can’t wait!
Your temper brings dishonor to my happy mooshu palace.
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