Nick Saban ends press conference on run-pass play call balance question

Alabama probably didn’t need Bryce Young to throw for 385 yards and four touchdowns in order to beat the brakes off Vanderbilt. But that’s what he did anyway. In fact, despite blasting the Commodores 55-3, the Crimson Tide passed the ball the majority of the time. Young slang the rock 36 times while the backups came in and accounted for another seven to make it 43 pass attempts on the day — the largest total of the season in that department.

Again, Alabama won by 52 points and completely dominated the game from start to finish. Yet far more pass attempts than rush attempts for the Tide on Saturday. Why? Well, let Nick Saban explain. At his press conference following the win, Saban was asked just that: why so much passing in a game they won by 52? According to the Alabama head honcho, his offense takes what the defense gives them, regardless of score.

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“I feel like we take what the defense gives. So we don’t just call running plays. A lot of the plays that ended up being passes were called runs, all right. So I’m more concerned about how we move the ball. Because we’re going to take what the defense gives. So if they’re playing to stop the run, we’re going to throw. If they’re playing split safeties and playing soft, then we got to be able to run it.

“So it’s not a matter of what the stat sheet says, it’s a matter of — and a lot of our plays are packaged. So I can’t predict how many times we’re going to run it and how many times we are going to pass it. But if we move the ball like we did in the first half, I’m really happy if that’s the kind of balance we need to have.”

Perhaps Vanderbilt stacked the box assuming Alabama would mercifully run the ball once they got up a few dozen points. Instead, the Tide attacked those run-stop packages through the air — even when they were up five touchdowns. Moral of the story: don’t play to stop the run unless you want Nick Saban to bomb it over your head. Even if you’re down by 40.