Alabama Football: Will 2017 Be ‘Run-Daboll’ Or ‘Air-Daboll’ Or Something Else?

Will the 2017 offense be the  ‘Run-Daboll’ or ‘Air-Daboll’ or ‘Whatever-Nick-Calls-Daboll’ offense?

Let’s review our  five previous conclusions:

1. An offense that increases its points production, but gains fewer first downs is inconsistent with standard Saban design. Nick Saban wants to wear down defenses more than he wants to outscore other offenses.

2. The 2016 Offense was a more run-dependent offense than the 2015, 2012 and 2011 Alabama football offenses.

3. A closer balance between rushing and passing productivity contributed to national championship success.

4. The 2016 total offense output was as productive as the total offensive output of the national championship seasons. Does that beg the question, why no 2016 national championship?

5. Alabama was good at generating yards and points in 2016. It was not good enough in Third-Down Conversions and Time of Possession.

Let’s look at one more table. It shows to what extent the 2016, 2015, 2012 and 2011 offenses were balanced between rushing yards and passing yards.

Our guess is the evident trend toward less balanced offenses is what most concerns Nick Saban. In 2017 Saban wants an offense that better performs on third down and an offense that more often dominates time of possession.

We can be sure that Nick Saban wants an offensive scheme that chews up enough clock the other team cannot run 99 plays.

The 2017 Alabama football offense could achieve those goals by being ‘Run-Daboll’ or being ‘Air-Daboll’. Our guess is the most accurate moniker for the 2017 Alabama football offense is ‘Balance-Daboll’ and our stats review indicates that could lead to another national championship.

Next: See Who Will Fill Big Shoes in 2017 D-Line

If you reviewed the stat tables and came up with different conclusions, let us know by commenting on our Facebook page. Check in with us often during the Spring practice season.