I still have nightmares about RC's prevent defense.

Yeah, he is following the blueprint. Partly because it's the scheme he came up under, partly because it works in a sustainable way if you can pull it off, and (most importantly) he's been given the runway to do it.

Building from the lines takes way more time than installing a high octane offense, and it's less sexy of a sell... but we've given Jimbo the support to really build this. Josh Pate on the Late Kick podcast put it nicely: Jimbo's system is an oven, not a microwave; it takes longer to heat up, but it stays hot and gives you a way better finished product.

So why this year was the Bama D line not so strong and the strength of the O was passing deep?

Alabama's O line was strong. You could make the argument that they were better at pass blocking than run blocking but it's not like they had no run game. Their propensity to execute long passing plays was because they had great receiving talent and a QB that could take advantage of it but their Oline had to be good to give them them the time to pull it off.

Bama dline maybe not quite up to their high standard but still pretty good. I do think you could make an argument our dline was better than theirs.

Bryanisbest said:

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So why this year was the Bama D line not so strong and the strength of the O was passing deep?

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Because you play with what you have and adapt to make what you have the best it can be. Otherwise, you're a moron and not worth the gazillion dollar paycheck you are receiving.

Given his d'ruthers, I'm sure Saban would run the ball for 5 yds. per carry on every singe down if he could.

bv86ag said:

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Just Tired said:

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^ on the other hand... sticking with rc over a decade produced how many national titles?

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And how many have we won since?
You can't justify firing multiple coaches every 3-4 years and calling that a great strategy because Slocum didn't win a natty. Hopefully they give Jimbo a little more time.
But just watch the potbangers come crawling out of the woodwork if our O-line takes a step back and we lose some games next year.
They'll immediately call for Jimbo's scalp.

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This (and the previous post by bv) bring up an interesting point: does anyone actually believe that Fran and Sherman were brought on to build dynasties? Fran was a flash-in-the-pan who was supposed to be a quick fix, and I still have no clue why Sherman was brought on.

The problem, as ever, is the amount of money being spent. We could dismiss Li'l Debbie and Sleepy as providing halfway-decent ROI. KDS did not (clearly coasting after extension). Where is Jimbo? It's still very early going yet, and that's a chicken-and-egg issue in terms of recruiting and such. Are we positioning for a natty in 2-3 years? Five years? The year after Our Sa(t)an retires?

Bison said:

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The year after Our Sa(t)an retires?

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Hope not, will be more satisfying if he is still coaching.

Is he also utilizing the secret recipe for the Egg McMuffin?

A lot of people "follow the Saban plan." Doesn't mean they will have the same success.

It's kind of like when I try a recipe that looks perfect in a cookbook. My results don't always come out quite like the picture.

Jimbo and Saban are becoming synonymous.