Alabama football finished 2022 with an 11-2 record and a dominating victory in the Sugar Bowl, yet the year was a relative disappointment for a team that entered the season with championship-or-bust aspirations.
The Alabama offense was able to correct some of the issues that plagued it in 2021, including porous pass blocking and a lack of running back depth. Still, other problems arose, causing the Crimson Tide offense to stagnate far too often.
The 2022 Alabama offense was never a championship-caliber unit, yet it was still fairly impressive on paper. Somewhat surprisingly, Bama finished fourth in the nation in scoring offense with an average of 41.1 points per game. It also ranked 11th in total offense (477.1 yards per game) and 10th in per-snap production (6.9 yards per play). Alabama tied for third nationally and led the SEC with an average of 5.6 yards per carry.
Based strictly on statistical production, Alabama fielded an elite offense in 2022. Watching the games, however, often told a different story. The Crimson Tide offense was not always efficient and rarely looked smooth.
The impressive numbers it posted were skewed by dominant performances against subpar competition. Similarly, explosive plays caused Alabama’s per-play averages to appear deceptively high, especially in the ground game.
Alabama Football: What caused offensive struggles?
Many Tide fans will point to Bryce Young’s shoulder injury, which left Alabama without the reigning Heisman winner for almost the entirety of two tough SEC West games. Perhaps even more important, Young’s injury kept him limited for the rest of the regular season, contributing in part to Alabama missing the SEC championship and College Football Playoff.
While this injury was unfortunate and costly, the Bama offense had other weaknesses, beginning with a general lack of physicality. The Crimson Tide running game, which looked extremely efficient in the box scores, was really a boom-or-bust attack that relied on home runs.
The ability to generate big plays in the run game is not detrimental in itself, but Alabama’s reliance on this strategy meant it was often unable to sustain drives, convert short-yardage situations, or put games on ice.
The other glaring deficiency in the Tide offense was a distinct lack of game-changing receivers. Wideouts like Ja’Corey Brooks and Jermaine Burton had solid seasons and promising moments, but could not consistently make plays at critical times.
The receiving corps was not helped by chemistry issues and questionable play-calling. Passing plays rarely seemed to work as designed, and much of the passing production Alabama did manage was the result of Bryce Young’s inventiveness.
With that being said, the passing attack looked much more in sync over the last two games of the year, which were decisive wins over Auburn and Kansas State. It is uncertain whether this improvement was a product of Young getting healthy or a schematic shift, but it appeared to be a little bit of both.
Interestingly, the last time Alabama’s passing game looked efficient and explosive was in the first half of the Arkansas game…just before Young was injured.
The 2022 Alabama offense suffered from a lot of uncontrollable circumstances that hindered its production, but it also failed to capitalize on the controllable factors. Most of the Alabama football fan base is excited to see some coaching turnover this offseason, particularly at offensive coordinator.
Deserved or not, OC Bill O’Brien was made a scapegoat for Alabama’s offensive struggles over the past two seasons. While I agree that this change is necessary, the success of the 2023 unit could depend on Coach Saban making the right hire.
Additionally, Alabama football will go into the 2023 offseason with some question marks on the offensive line and one major uncertainty at quarterback.
If these questions can be answered, the sky’s the limit for a 2023 offense that should be very talented at the skill positions.