Texas A&M preparation continued in Tuscaloosa as the Crimson Tide took to the practice field for its Tuesday practice before Saturday’s game with the Aggies. Here are a few observations with video posted at the bottom.
– Outside linebacker Ryan Anderson had heavy tape on his left hand, covering his ring and pinky finger, taping them together. Head coach Nick Saban has not mentioned any injuries, and will not until his next press conference on Wednesday. However, it did not seem as if Anderson was being held back in reps and looks to be OK to play against the Aggies.
– The read option continues to be a big point of emphasis for the team in practice, including its setup play: the playaction read. Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart had the inside linebackers work on defending that play, where a slot receiver crosses the middle of the field after the read option playfake, in theory coming open where the linebackers used to be after biting on the run fake.
– On defending the read option run itself, Alabama outside linebackers coach Lance Thompson did a lot more juking than normal, forcing the point of staying in front of the ball on the perimeter.
– The tight ends and H-Backs were doing a lot with power running to the outside, to the strong side of unbalanced formations. For example: a tight end will line up to left tackle Cyrus Kouandjio‘s left, and an H-Back will be a yard or two behind them and lined up between them as an upback.
At the snap of the ball, the tight end and Kouandjio will both crash inside, either on a double team or one-on-one depending on defensive alignment. The H-Back will run behind them to the outside linebacker, opening a hole where the tight end used to be for the ballcarrier.
