SEC Championship Preview: Alabama defense vs. Georgia offense
Join BamaOnLine staff writer Clint Lamb and team expert Jimmy Stein as they break down the SEC Championship Game between No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 8 Alabama. After doing Alabama’s offense vs. Georgia’s defense on Wednesday, they now shift focus to Alabama’s defense vs. Georgia’s offense.
–Dallas Turner, Chris Braswell vs. Georgia’s tackles
-How Beck differs from QBs who’ve done well vs. Bama
-What’s the plan to slow down Brock Bowers?
-Where Alabama holds a huge advantage
-And more!
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Iron Bowl – Snap Count Observations
Outside Linebacker
Dallas Turner – 41 snaps (69.5%)
Chris Braswell – 36 snaps (61%)
Quandarrius Robinson – 5 snaps (8.5%)
Observations: Alabama’s edge duo got consistent pressure throughout the game when given the opportunity. Turner notched 10 pressures and one sack. This was only the second time in his career when he’s posted double-digit pressures in a game with the other coming against USF back in Week 3 (11). Over his previous five games, he only had seven combined. Braswell wasn’t far behind with six pressures and a sack. The similarities in numbers this season between them is staggering actually.
- Pass rush snaps: Turner (266), Braswell (267)
- Pressures: Turner (50), Braswell (49)
- Sacks: Turner (8), Braswell (8)
What’s even more impressive about their 16 combined pressures on Saturday? Payton Thorne only had 16 pass attempts. Auburn knew its tackles would have a difficult time with Alabama’s edge rushers, which is why I was surprised to see the defense unprepared for a lot of quarterback draws and other gimmicky plays on second-and-longs/mediums. When the Tigers would be in more passing type situations, I figured they’d avoid giving Turner and Braswell a chance to pin their ears back, which is exactly what happened. Unfortunately, Alabama didn’t always see it coming.
Turner should’ve had a sack on the opening play, but Thorne is a lot more elusive than many realize. Really, he was able to escape a couple of sacks that would’ve added to the Crimson Tide’s total. The good news here is that Georgia quarterback Carson Beck is a little bit more of a pure pocket passer. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not a statue back there, but he also isn’t Thorne, Jayden Daniels or Jaxson Dart. His style and overall strengths do present their own set of challenges though.
For more offensive snap count observations, click here (On3+ subscription required).
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