We have I believe 18 penalties over the last three games. That's only 6 a game, as compared to 14 a game over the first four games. Somehow Saban got these guys to play more disciplined, and thank god for that.
But as for a style change...I'm not sure I have actually seen a style change. Our style on offense has always been opportunistic. The Saints gave us the run, because they couldn't stop it, and the defense didn't allow the Saints to convert third downs to stay on the field. So, we ran the ball. A lot. That was an opportunity call, not a "hey we're going to run the ball 40 times this week because I've decided we pass the ball too much" call.
I believe that when we allow the opponent to get out to a quick 7-0 lead, as we've done in all four of our losses, that sharpens our offense's sense of opportunistic tendencies. Most teams have decided to defend us by defending the run first, then the pass. Understandable. If our opportunistic sense on offense has been sharpened by us giving up a quick 7 point lead, we're much more inclined to "take what the defense is giving us" which is almost always the deep ball. Of course, our quarterback is not connecting on these deep balls enough to make the D pay for their bets.
When we are tied, or have a lead, there is less of a sense of going for what the defense gives us, and more of an emphasis on balance for the sake of balance, rather than for the sake of what the defense is giving us.
I wish we could just play without knowing the score at all. People try to say that being down a touchdown means the game is still in reach and doesn't change the play-calling at all, but they are wrong. The expectation of the players and coaches right now is that our offense is only going to score between 13 and 24 points in a game even if they are doing well. Being down 7 points early then puts a lof of pressure on all involved, despite the common feeling that down 10-3 or down 7-0 shouldn't change the game plan.
Anyway I have seen nothing to suggest that our style in particular has changed. IMO, the best thing we did against the Saints was only allow them to jump out to a 3-0 lead instead of a 7-0 lead. A 3 point lead doesn't phase players or coaches at all, it's as good as tied to them, because when it comes down to it they always take for granted that at worst we can drive far enough in using a no-huddle to score a FG to tie it up.
