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Alabama offensive lineman Arie Kouandjio (77), quarterback Blake Sims (6) and wide receiver Amari Cooper (9) celebrate after Sims threw to Cooper for a TD during the first quarter of the No. 2 Alabama vs Florida Atlantic football game, Saturday, September 6, 2014, at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- The offensive coordinator has changed, but the mentality hasn't.

If Alabama figures out an easy, efficient way to pick up first downs against its opponent, it has no shame running the same exact play over and over again.

And again.

And again.

"If something is working for us," senior tight end Brian Vogler said, "we are going to use it the rest of the game."

In the 2012 SEC Championship, it was the "inside zone," a simple running play that helped the Crimson Tide gain 350 rushing yards on its way to a dramatic victory over Georgia. Through the first two games of 2014 -- and starting with the very first play of the season -- it's been the wide receiver screen, a play that's helped Amari Cooper become the nation's leader in receptions (25) and receiving yards per game (159.5).

Quick to develop and simple in operation, the wide receiver screen exposes defenses that stack the box with eight or more defenders or play soft coverage on Alabama's wide receivers. Or both.

"It's the look that you get on defense that makes that an effective play," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "It's something that we've been able to take advantage of to this point."

Even before the arrival of Lane Kiffin, Alabama used the play, in some variation, repeatedly throughout 2013. Typically, it's been executed early in the game against defenses that gear up to stop the Crimson Tide's vaunted running attack.

On the second play of last year's game against Tennessee, AJ McCarron threw a quick screen to Cooper that went for just 1 yard. Undeterred, Alabama dialed up the same play on the very next snap and it went for a 54-yard touchdown.

In January, Cooper took a screen 53 yards on the second play of the Sugar Bowl. Eight months later, Cooper took Blake Sims' first pass against the West Virginia -- a wide receiver screen, of course -- for 24 yards. Both of Sims' touchdown passes last week against Florida Atlantic were screens, too, as Cooper went 52 yards and Kenyan Drake went 39 during Alabama's first quarter scoring barrage.

"The reason we're throwing out there out quick is because of something the defense is doing, whether it's eight guys in the box or they're playing really soft," former Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson said. "It makes them change their defense and kind of allows you to dictate what they're doing."

It's looked simple and considering the defenses Alabama's faced, it has been. But just like every football play, it takes multiple components to work in sync and execute what's been drilled in practice to produce the big plays Crimson Tide fans have grown to expect.

Here's how the wide receiver screen works to perfection.

The Offensive Line

Alabama right tackle Austin Shepherd said there's nothing elaborate to execute for the play. It's often a "run option," Shepherd said, meaning the play -- whether it's a run or pass -- is decided after the Crimson Tide breaks the huddle and the quarterback surveys the defense.

If it's a run, the linemen run block. If the ball is thrown to the wide receiver, the linemen simply hold their blocks for a second or two and then run down field to clear even more of a path for whomever catches the pass.

Basically, don't let a blitzer fly around the edge and disrupt the throw.

"We just run our run play like we're supposed to," Shepherd said. "If the ball goes out there, we just run down the field and try to protect the receiver."

The Quarterback

By the time he reached his senior year, McCarron had the freedom to read the defense and audible the play at the line of scrimmage. It was easily one of his most valuable skills. Sims has been in the system for years, but his experience as a regular at the position is minimal. This could be where Kiffin's presence on the sidelines pays dividends.

Once the read is made, the quarterback's next task is get the ball snapped and get it out of his hands as fast as possible. Sims' fastest throw against FAU reached the receiver 1.78 seconds after the snap.

It may look like simple throw, but there are plenty of ways to screw it up, Wilson said.

"It might be vertically zero yards, but the length it travels is 20-25 yards and you've got to do it quick," Wilson said. "The things that make a screen pass go is getting it out, kind of like a shortstop during a double play. You've got to catch and throw it.

"You can throw it low, they have to wait and it gives the defense time to come up and it doesn't develop very well."

In some way, shape or form, these throws are made every day in practice, Wilson said. It becomes a natural motion and an easy way for a quarterback to shake off some rust.

"You may not be out with the offensive line or setting up the blocks and everything, but that's kind of a throw that gets you started," Wilson said. "I think everybody in America practices those every day."

The Blocker

With reporters watching at a practice last week, wide receivers coach Billy Napier had his group go through a drill that didn't involve a ball or route-running. One by one, the receivers sprinted a few yards before lunging shoulder first into a tackling dummy.

It's safe to assume Alabama's four- and five-star receivers didn't start playing their position so they could block, but they've had no choice but to embrace it. There's simply too much depth for Saban to play receivers who can only catch the ball.

"I think receivers sometimes take what they do in the game literally, which means they're supposed to receive the ball," Saban said. "What we try to emphasize with them is you've got to be a complete player at your position, you're going to receive the ball.

"If you have a really good day, you might catch five or six balls. There's going to be 70 plays in the game. That means there's something else that you have to do on the other 65 plays a game that makes you a good player."

On the first play of the season, it was senior DeAndrew White who cleared the path for Cooper with a crushing block on a West Virginia defensive back. For Cooper's touchdown against FAU, it was Christion Jones, who lined up right next to Cooper, with a cut block on Owls cornerback Reggie Brown.

Even for the surest-tackling cornerback, the play can be difficult to stop without a little assistance.

"It's definitely tough, especially in man, because you are so focused on him you really don't see the blocker coming out there to kind of shove you off," Alabama cornerback Cyrus Jones said. "It's definitely a tough play to defend, and definitely when you have a great athlete like Amari running the play, it makes it even tougher."

How much do Alabama's coaches value good blocking? Jones and fullback Jalston Fowler were two of three offensive players of the week.

The pride has been noticeable.

"It's kind of funny, they are in there arguing who is the better blocker. You don't ever hear that from receivers," Vogler said. "They are always talking about who made the cooler catch or who put down more yards. And they are in there arguing about who is making touchdown blocks. It's pretty cool hearing that in the locker room."

Alabama RB Kenyan Drake runs for a 39-yard touchdown off a screen pass during the first quarter against Florida Atlantic on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2014. (UA photo)

The Receiver

Asked about the screen that led to Cooper's 52-yard touchdown, Sims had a hard time crediting himself. Once the ball was in Cooper's hands, Sims was a fan just like the 100,000+ in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

"All you've got to do is get the ball to him and he does it all for you," Sims said. "It's hard for me to answer that question because he's got God-given talent. It's just good to have on your side."

Wilson sees similarities between how Alabama is feeding Cooper with a variety of short passes to how he connected with Julio Jones so often during his Crimson Tide career. As he watched Jones make his 2014 debut Sunday, Wilson noticed the Atlanta Falcons finding ways to get the ball to Jones in a hurry and with enough space to show off why he was an early first-round draft pick.

Through two games, Cooper has validated anyone who has projected him to be the top draft-eligible receiver of the class of 2015.

"Some guys want to be good, but he wants to be great," Vogler said. "He wants to be the best ever to come through here. You have to admire that. It's kind of a privilege for me to play with a guy like that and see his work ethic."

Yes, it helps to have a superstar of Cooper's caliber, but he hasn't been the only one picking up first downs on screens. Drake made a number of big plays against FAU on passes caught behind the line of scrimmage while sophomore Chris Black caught the first screen of the game and took it 19 yards.

Alabama's top four options at wide receiver have all been with the program for at least three years. They're interchangeable and capable of playing multiple positions within the offense.

It very well could have been Cooper laying the cut block for Jones to make yet another big play out of a pass behind the line of scrimmage.

"That's really, really important," Saban said. "I think the utilization of formations to put the guys into places is really the thing that is philosophically what I've always wanted to do.

"We're doing a really good job of that this year offensively."