Aaron Murray picks Alabama vs Georgia
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00:00 - I just need to know you're old.
00:01 I do my radio shows every day.
00:02 I'm just like, I'm the therian guy,
00:04 just like working out all the knots
00:05 and getting my butt handed to me.
00:08 - Give me three, three things that scare you about Alabama.
00:10 - So Murray kind of hinted at him,
00:12 but Jalen Merrill is playing much better football
00:14 than he was at the start of the season.
00:15 And the fact that he's able to extend plays with his legs,
00:19 not in the sense of he's a running quarterback,
00:21 but more like what CJ Stroud did in the Peach Bowl last year,
00:24 which was he extended the plays when he needs to.
00:26 I think that's what his biggest threat is to me.
00:29 - This is probably the best defense
00:30 Georgia's played all season.
00:31 So this is gonna be your biggest test offensively.
00:33 I know the offenses look great,
00:34 but we'll see when you go up against
00:36 one of the toughest defenses in the country.
00:38 And then third, it's still Alabama, it's still Nick Saban.
00:41 It's still something that should worry you
00:43 just because this team has haunted you for so many years.
00:46 - Hey, Chrissy Kirby, give him three.
00:50 My bad.
00:51 - What are you over there cheesing about?
00:52 - I'm reading the chat.
00:54 The chat is going crazy about me and Murray
00:56 getting into this throwing contest.
00:58 Anyways, go ahead.
00:59 - My first one is they're the one
01:00 seeking revenge this time.
01:02 They're not the one trying to get that win
01:03 back from the last time.
01:04 It's Alabama trying to avenge that loss
01:06 that you handed them in the national title.
01:08 So I think that alone kind of puts something in your eyes,
01:10 just a little bit knowing that they're the one
01:12 seeking after you, it feels like this time.
01:15 They have game changers in the back end.
01:16 You know, the strongest point of Georgia's offense
01:18 this year has been Carson Beck,
01:19 what the offense can do in the passing game.
01:21 Brock Bowers, all those guys,
01:22 Terry and Arnold, Kool-Aid McKinstry,
01:24 really good football players.
01:25 So I think that's something you have to fear as well.
01:27 And then not only is Jalen Milrow playing his best football,
01:30 Alabama in general has been playing their best version
01:32 of football the last month or so.
01:34 And so is Georgia though.
01:35 Georgia has played their best version of football
01:37 this last month, but they're coming up against you
01:39 and they're hitting their stride.
01:41 - Hey, J-Will, give them three.
01:43 So that pretty much takes every single one of mine
01:45 as we expect it to happen.
01:47 But you mentioned that the back end, that was my number one.
01:50 This is the first football team I have felt like
01:51 confidently can cover you and cover you well.
01:54 It's not just the corners.
01:55 Malachi Moore, the nickel defender that they have
01:58 is a fifth year senior.
01:59 I thought he was an NFL football player
02:01 the last couple of years on that defense.
02:03 So to see him coming back and playing even more
02:06 college football at that star position
02:08 lets me know that they're gonna have something for you
02:11 in terms of Brock Bowers,
02:12 whether it be high low in him with Malachi Moore
02:15 and Caleb Downs or Arden Key,
02:17 whatever the combination may be,
02:19 they have the personnel to be able to match up
02:22 and cover you for the first time all year.
02:23 No one's been able to say that.
02:25 I think the team that's been closest to it
02:28 was probably Missouri.
02:29 Then Missouri's got two NFL caliber type corners.
02:33 But outside of that, no one's really even dared to try.
02:36 Almost everyone else has been conceding defeat
02:38 in terms of playing soft zone coverage
02:40 against you guys all year.
02:41 So that would not necessarily scare me,
02:44 but it would be something I'm paying attention to
02:45 going into the football game.
02:46 Like, yeah, they can line up and play single high
02:49 or two high man coverage if they really wanted to
02:51 and force you to add bodies into the box
02:54 by running the football on Saturday.
02:56 You guys all mentioned Jalen Milrow.
02:59 He is not only, he's the most,
03:01 electric is the word that I have.
03:03 Like when you turn the tape on, it's palpable.
03:05 You can feel it.
03:06 No one really judges his speed or his twitch correctly.
03:11 Whole lot of bad angles taken on this guy
03:13 because people can't judge him.
03:15 They don't know what it really feels like
03:18 until they're in the midst of it.
03:19 And at that point, it's too dang light.
03:22 And the third and final one for me,
03:24 if you're going to beat Georgia,
03:25 you got to be able to stand in the ring
03:26 and punch for four quarters, which requires depth,
03:28 not just depth on the offense line, defense line,
03:30 depth everywhere.
03:31 You got to have depth on special teams
03:34 against this football team
03:35 because you can't afford to be critically outmatched
03:39 in any portion of this game.
03:40 Hey, give him three.
03:41 All right.
03:43 What are the keys to the game, Murray?
03:44 What do you got?
03:45 - Keys to the game, I would say defensively,
03:50 you know, limit Jaylen's legs.
03:53 I mean, if you're a Georgia fan,
03:55 you would love a couple of turnovers.
03:56 Like, can you create a couple of turnovers?
03:58 Like, go back to Texas success.
04:00 Like, how did Texas win the football game on the road
04:02 there in Tuscaloosa?
04:03 They got some turnovers.
04:04 And then they didn't turn the ball over themselves.
04:06 How did Michigan beat Ohio State this weekend?
04:09 A close matchup, two rivalries, two elite football teams.
04:11 Ohio State had two turnovers, Michigan didn't.
04:13 So like, anytime you're in a matchup with two teams
04:17 that are similar talent level, that are on this elite,
04:20 on this big of a stage, who doesn't make the big mistake?
04:24 And both teams have done a good job this year
04:26 of taking care of the football.
04:27 Like, you just can't give up easy touchdowns.
04:30 You can't fumble the ball on the first day of play
04:32 and stuff like that.
04:34 So like, can you win the turnover battle?
04:35 That's going to be key.
04:36 Can you limit Jaylen to forcing him
04:39 to be a pocket quarterback?
04:41 Don't do what he did.
04:42 Don't allow him to do what he did.
04:43 Like, first LSU, converting a bunch of third downs
04:46 with his legs, like to me, those are the big things
04:50 I'm going to be looking at.
04:51 - Would you contemplate, if it gets bad enough,
04:53 would you contemplate maybe playing like,
04:56 they've shown multiple times this year
04:57 playing a three safety look.
05:00 Would you contemplate like sacrificing one of those safeties
05:02 and just like putting them in the middle of the field
05:04 as a spot at some point if it got that bad?
05:06 - You should run the big 12, 3-3-5 defense
05:11 with that middle of the safety,
05:12 it kind of comes down the field like that.
05:14 It's a tough defense, man.
05:16 Especially if you haven't seen it,
05:17 but I don't know how much you want to do that
05:18 just like a week before the game.
05:20 - They did the week of LSU in 2019.
05:23 It didn't work out very well,
05:24 but they did change a bunch that week.
05:26 - Well, that's a different offense though.
05:28 - Very much so.
05:29 - I mean, that's a very different offense
05:30 with a bunch of guys playing the NFL.
05:33 No, to me, I look more at the defensive line
05:35 in this game for Georgia.
05:37 Like, this is a game where everyone's
05:40 kind of been doubting you.
05:41 Like, you can't stop the run.
05:42 You can't win one-on-ones.
05:43 You can't create an edge on the outside,
05:45 which is a mixture of the defense line
05:47 and nickel and linebackers fitting up properly.
05:50 But those guys have to have their best game of the season.
05:54 - And I thought, we already talked about Warren.
05:57 I thought they did.
05:57 I thought Warren had his best game of the year last week.
06:00 We already talked about that.
06:01 How have you seen this offense progress, Murray?
06:04 'Cause I saw something on film today
06:06 that I want to talk to you about,
06:08 but I want your opinion on what you've seen
06:09 this kind of offense change
06:11 or how Alabama has developed throughout the year.
06:16 - I mean, for me, it's changed to what Mill Road does
06:21 and kind of how they want to run the offense.
06:22 It's less of, you know, Tommy Reese saying,
06:25 "This is what I was used to doing at Notre Dame."
06:28 It's now of, you know,
06:29 "What can I do to protect my quarterback?"
06:31 And also understanding, like,
06:33 what is this offense going to be?
06:34 This is not an offense that is going to be super efficient
06:37 just thinking and dunking.
06:39 Like, it's a big play offense.
06:40 Like, that's how they survive.
06:41 That's how they win.
06:42 Like, they win because you think you got them
06:45 in a third and long situation,
06:47 and then they create an explosive play
06:48 either on the ground or in the air.
06:49 Like, this isn't a, you know, seven-yard gain,
06:52 eight-yard gain, two-yard gain, 15-yard game.
06:55 This is like an offense that is,
06:57 you kind of accept that we're going to have a sack.
07:00 We're going to have a negative play.
07:01 And like you said, it's a third and 15,
07:04 and Jaylon's just going to somehow make it right
07:06 with his legs or throw the ball down the field.
07:07 So I don't know.
07:09 Like, it's not to me like this incredible offense.
07:12 They just somehow find a way to make plays
07:15 in big-time moments, like third-down situations,
07:18 red-zone situations, end-of-game situations.
07:20 You know, they're down by Allenburg,
07:21 boom, all of a sudden, a guy leaks wide open on a go ball,
07:24 and it's a seven-yard touchdown.
07:27 So like, they're living and dying by the big play.
07:31 And I just think at some point when you face a team
07:33 that's good enough to stop you,
07:35 which I don't think there's been a defense,
07:36 like I talked about earlier, that can do that,
07:38 it's going to hurt you a little bit.
07:39 So I don't know if it's evolved like a ton of time.
07:43 It's just, I hate using the word lucky,
07:46 but they've just benefited
07:47 for some big-ass plays down the field.
07:49 - Yeah, really leaned in on talent
07:51 and letting players kind of, you know,
07:53 get them out of situations.
07:55 I told you, I charted every play today against LSU
07:58 real quickly, just went through and tried to watch
08:00 what was going on.
08:01 And one thing I noticed, Aaron,
08:03 and I think it's going to,
08:04 Georgia doesn't allow teams to do this.
08:06 They normally get after the guy if this happens.
08:09 But every single time I watched them drop back to pass,
08:13 three-step standard drop, three-step standard drop,
08:16 three-step standard drop.
08:18 And what I have found nowadays in football
08:21 is if you let a quarterback stand there 32, 33 times,
08:24 and you let him drop to the same spot every single time,
08:28 eventually teams are going to start hunting
08:31 that launch point.
08:32 This team does not, like, zero manipulation
08:35 of the launch point, Murray.
08:36 They don't roll him, they don't heavy boot action this guy.
08:40 They don't do anything.
08:41 They just say, all right, if we're going to throw the ball,
08:44 standard three-step drop, and at any point,
08:46 if you don't like it, just pull it down,
08:48 find an alley and go.
08:50 I don't think you can win successfully
08:53 over and over again against a defensive coordinator
08:55 like Glenn Schumann.
08:56 If you're going to tell me 35 of 65 snaps,
09:01 this is where that guy's going to be.
09:03 I don't think that's a key to success for Alabama.
09:06 I think that's something to watch Saturday, where
09:08 Georgia at some point is going to feel
09:10 like they're teeing off on this guy
09:12 because he's staying in one spot.
09:14 Well, that's what Texas did.
09:15 Yep.
09:16 Right?
09:17 Once again, a little bit of a broken record,
09:21 but Texas was the last defense this team has faced that
09:25 actually had talent all--
09:27 not even all three levels, because Texas DBs
09:29 are a little bit suspect at times.
09:30 They've got better on the back end,
09:31 but their strength is in the front seven.
09:33 So a little bit reverse of what Georgia is,
09:36 but Georgia still is pretty darn good at front seven.
09:38 Let's not sleep on those guys up front.
09:41 So this isn't a game where you can just sit back there
09:45 and think you're going to get four or five seconds
09:47 to throw the football.
09:50 If they do, then Georgia may be in trouble,
09:52 because I don't care how good you are in the back end,
09:54 if any quarterback gets that much time,
09:55 they're going to eventually make some big plays.
09:58 And that's what they banked on.
10:00 At some point, they banked on, we're
10:02 going to make enough big plays, and our defense
10:05 is good enough to keep it low scoring, that our big plays
10:08 will somehow trump that.
10:10 Yeah, like you said, they're a very boomer bust offense.
10:13 Not a lot of-- it's like run, run, run, 60-yard bomb attempt.
10:17 Run, run, run, 20-yard comeback.
10:19 And it's just, we're going to live and die off chunk plays.
10:22 And going up against a defense like Georgia,
10:25 who for the last seven years has been in the top 10
10:28 in explosive plays allowed on the defensive side
10:31 of the football, it's just there's
10:32 a lot of issues in that type of recipe for success.
10:36 I didn't prep you for this one, so I'll go first.
10:39 Who has the biggest advantage, the biggest
10:41 tilt in this football game, and where is it?
10:44 In my opinion, Georgia's ability to run the football
10:48 without requiring the quarterback to account for
10:52 hatch, just standard, line it up, no gimmicks,
10:55 let's play football, who runs the ball the best.
10:58 I think Georgia is substantially better at that
11:01 than Alabama has proven to be this year.
11:04 And if you don't believe me, find me a box score
11:07 that looks like what Alabama had done to them against Texas A&M.
11:10 When a real front six stood in there and boxed with them,
11:14 watch what happened.
11:15 I haven't seen that happen to Georgia this year,
11:18 and I think that's where the massive advantage is here.
11:21 I think Alabama's got a slight advantage at DB.
11:25 I think Alabama's got a slight advantage
11:27 at interior defensive line.
11:28 But with regards to whose offensive line
11:31 can take over this football game,
11:32 Georgia has a substantially large advantage, in my opinion.
11:37 Yeah, and I just think of elite defense in the past,
11:42 like even Georgia.
11:43 Think of Georgia the past two years.
11:45 What has given them issues?
11:47 It's teams that have really good talent on the outside,
11:50 teams that can throw the football.
11:51 So I know Alabama is definitely by far the more talented
11:56 defense, but not by far.
11:57 But corner-wise, they're more talented at the corner position.
12:00 And I love our guys, especially Kamari.
12:02 Kamari's had a great year.
12:03 Tyke, he's been incredible at the nickel spot.
12:06 But I saw something today, and there's
12:07 like four or five of Alabama players
12:09 are projected first-rounders, two of those corners,
12:12 two defensive ends.
12:13 So there's plenty of talent on that side of the football.
12:16 But going back to my original thought,
12:18 what has given Georgia problems?
12:19 Teams that have multiple good receivers
12:22 and a talented quarterback.
12:24 It's still a college game, and I don't
12:26 care how good you are at DB.
12:28 If there's three or four guys that
12:29 can roll out the receiving position
12:31 and a capable quarterback, that part of the game
12:34 is still going to bite you in the ass.
12:36 So I don't want to just say, hey, Georgia, run the ball 30
12:39 times, and you're going to win the football game.
12:41 If Brock and Ladd and Rah-Rah and Lovett and Bell
12:46 are healthy, that's five, six guys that I don't
12:49 care how good you are at DB.
12:50 You don't have enough guys that can cover all those guys,
12:52 especially when Carson can distribute the ball the way
12:55 Carson distributes it.
12:56 It's not just one guy he locks in on.
12:58 He'll have 10, 15 guys make catches in the game
13:00 if he has to.
13:01 So I think this is a game, too, where you know they're
13:04 going to try to run it, but this is a game where if Carson can
13:07 be as efficient as he's been all year, making guys,
13:11 finding the right guy in the right matchup,
13:13 he can have a pretty special game.