Alabama will look to repeat as national champions this year as it aims to add a 19th title to its trophy case. The Crimson Tide opens its season on Sept. 4 against Miami inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. To help pass the time until then, BamaInsider is delving into 21 topics and questions concerning the 2021 season.
Today we continue our series by taking a look at Tide defense which has the potential of being one of Nick Saban’s best at Alabama.
At this point, Nick Saban is ready to throw his hands up. The defensive-minded head coach has found a way to win in college football’s new high-scoring setup. However, that doesn’t mean he isn’t losing a bit of sleep when it comes to drawing up game plans for today’s high-powered spread offenses.
The Alabama head coach admitted as much in an appearance during a virtual clinic with the Louisiana High School Coaches Association earlier this year where he jokingly compared offensive coaches to terrorists.
“All these offensive coaches on here — and I’m sure we got a few — I wish I could look at you when I say this to you, you guys are all part of the Taliban man,” Saban said. “I mean, you’re a part of Al-Qaeda.
“You have changed our game and made it so hard to play defense for all of us poor defensive guys that, you know, I can’t sit in church without shaking my leg or my hands start shaking because I’m worried about what you guys want to do next. So, I do respect you, but I still think you’re part of the Taliban.”
Alabama has given up 24 points in a combined 13 games over the past three seasons compared to a combined seven from 2015-17. Five of those occasions occurred last season, the most since Saban’s first season with the Tide in 2007. That won’t sit well with the head coach.
However, Saban should be able to rest a bit easier considering the talent he returns on defense this season.
Alabama loses just three starters from last year’s unit in Christian Barmore, Dylan Moses and Patrick Surtain II. While that trio includes the Tide’s sacks leader, leading tackler and best defensive back, defensive coordinator Pete Golding should still have plenty to work with as he heads into his fourth season with the program.
Christian Barmore’s ability to provide an inside pass rush will be difficult to replace. However, the Tide brings back an experienced defensive front, including LaBryan Ray, D.J. Dale, Justin Eboigbe and Phidarian Mathis.
Alabama returns perhaps the nation’s top pass-rushing duo in outside linebackers Will Anderson Jr. and Christopher Allen, who combined for 13 sacks and 23.5 tackles for a loss last season. The Tide also brought in Tennessee transfer Henry To’o To’o, who will compete with Jaylen Moody for the inside linebacker spot beside Christian Harris, setting up what should be an equally talented tandem at the heart of the defense.
Surtain’s steadiness in coverage will be missed, but Alabama will still have a solid returning starter at cornerback in Josh Jobe as well as several capable options, including Jalyn Armour-Davis, Marcus Banks and five-star freshman Ga’Quincy McKinstry.
Malachi Moore and Brian Branch are both coming off of breakout freshman seasons and should contribute at the Star and Money positions respectively. Meanwhile, Jordan Battle, DeMarcco Hellams and Daniel Wright should provide nice cover at safety.
Alabama’s defense, at least on paper, has the ability to be elite. But what does that mean in today’s age of high-scoring affairs?
Saban’s best defense to date came in 2011 as his unit led the nation in all four major categories while holding opponents to just 8.2 points per game, the lowest total since Auburn allowed 7.2 points per game in 1988. Earlier this spring, the head coach admitted that such a feat is nearly impossible against the offenses of today.
“People are not giving up eight points a game anymore,” Saban said.
“I’ve talked a lot about how people take advantage of the rules that we have in college football and how they favor the offense and how it’s very difficult to play really good defense now.”
Very difficult, sure. But not impossible.
Alabama’s 2016 defense faced off against spread offenses and posted a 97.4 defensive efficiency rating, according to ESPN’s College Football Power Index. That rating tops the 94.5 mark the Tide earned in 2011.
The Tide was able to achieve its success in 2016 by recording a whopping 11 defensive touchdowns while leading the nation with 54 sacks over 15 games. That defense also led the nation, giving up a respectable 13.0 points per game.
While it will be hard to match the 2016 defense’s penchant for finding the end zone, Alabama should have the talent to provide similar production this season.
Despite overcoming an inexperienced secondary early in the year, Alabama led the SEC, allowing 19.4 points per game last season. The Tide also led the conference with 81 tackles for a loss and tied with Florida for the most sacks with 35. All three of those statistics figure to rise this year as a more-seasoned side takes the field.
Along with improved production, Alabama will hope its veteran unit will offer more discipline. The Tide was flagged 6.0 times per game. It also allowed 52 plays of 20 yards or more which tied for 98th best in the nation.
There’s still plenty of room for improvement, and elite units aren’t crowned in May. However, if Alabama progresses up to its potential, there’s reason to believe defense isn’t dead in Tuscaloosa just yet.
“I think we have a little more experience coming back on defense, which will probably help us,” Saban said earlier this spring. “I see a lot more players out there. Last year at this time, we had seven or eight new guys and four out of five in the secondary. Now we only lost one guy in the back end and one linebacker and one down guy. We have a lot of guys that have a lot of playing time, so they should be a lot more confident.”
Today we continue our series by taking a look at Tide defense which has the potential of being one of Nick Saban’s best at Alabama.
At this point, Nick Saban is ready to throw his hands up. The defensive-minded head coach has found a way to win in college football’s new high-scoring setup. However, that doesn’t mean he isn’t losing a bit of sleep when it comes to drawing up game plans for today’s high-powered spread offenses.
The Alabama head coach admitted as much in an appearance during a virtual clinic with the Louisiana High School Coaches Association earlier this year where he jokingly compared offensive coaches to terrorists.
“All these offensive coaches on here — and I’m sure we got a few — I wish I could look at you when I say this to you, you guys are all part of the Taliban man,” Saban said. “I mean, you’re a part of Al-Qaeda.
“You have changed our game and made it so hard to play defense for all of us poor defensive guys that, you know, I can’t sit in church without shaking my leg or my hands start shaking because I’m worried about what you guys want to do next. So, I do respect you, but I still think you’re part of the Taliban.”
Alabama has given up 24 points in a combined 13 games over the past three seasons compared to a combined seven from 2015-17. Five of those occasions occurred last season, the most since Saban’s first season with the Tide in 2007. That won’t sit well with the head coach.
However, Saban should be able to rest a bit easier considering the talent he returns on defense this season.
Alabama loses just three starters from last year’s unit in Christian Barmore, Dylan Moses and Patrick Surtain II. While that trio includes the Tide’s sacks leader, leading tackler and best defensive back, defensive coordinator Pete Golding should still have plenty to work with as he heads into his fourth season with the program.
Christian Barmore’s ability to provide an inside pass rush will be difficult to replace. However, the Tide brings back an experienced defensive front, including LaBryan Ray, D.J. Dale, Justin Eboigbe and Phidarian Mathis.
Alabama returns perhaps the nation’s top pass-rushing duo in outside linebackers Will Anderson Jr. and Christopher Allen, who combined for 13 sacks and 23.5 tackles for a loss last season. The Tide also brought in Tennessee transfer Henry To’o To’o, who will compete with Jaylen Moody for the inside linebacker spot beside Christian Harris, setting up what should be an equally talented tandem at the heart of the defense.
Surtain’s steadiness in coverage will be missed, but Alabama will still have a solid returning starter at cornerback in Josh Jobe as well as several capable options, including Jalyn Armour-Davis, Marcus Banks and five-star freshman Ga’Quincy McKinstry.
Malachi Moore and Brian Branch are both coming off of breakout freshman seasons and should contribute at the Star and Money positions respectively. Meanwhile, Jordan Battle, DeMarcco Hellams and Daniel Wright should provide nice cover at safety.
Alabama’s defense, at least on paper, has the ability to be elite. But what does that mean in today’s age of high-scoring affairs?
Saban’s best defense to date came in 2011 as his unit led the nation in all four major categories while holding opponents to just 8.2 points per game, the lowest total since Auburn allowed 7.2 points per game in 1988. Earlier this spring, the head coach admitted that such a feat is nearly impossible against the offenses of today.
“People are not giving up eight points a game anymore,” Saban said.
“I’ve talked a lot about how people take advantage of the rules that we have in college football and how they favor the offense and how it’s very difficult to play really good defense now.”
Very difficult, sure. But not impossible.
Alabama’s 2016 defense faced off against spread offenses and posted a 97.4 defensive efficiency rating, according to ESPN’s College Football Power Index. That rating tops the 94.5 mark the Tide earned in 2011.
The Tide was able to achieve its success in 2016 by recording a whopping 11 defensive touchdowns while leading the nation with 54 sacks over 15 games. That defense also led the nation, giving up a respectable 13.0 points per game.
While it will be hard to match the 2016 defense’s penchant for finding the end zone, Alabama should have the talent to provide similar production this season.
Despite overcoming an inexperienced secondary early in the year, Alabama led the SEC, allowing 19.4 points per game last season. The Tide also led the conference with 81 tackles for a loss and tied with Florida for the most sacks with 35. All three of those statistics figure to rise this year as a more-seasoned side takes the field.
Along with improved production, Alabama will hope its veteran unit will offer more discipline. The Tide was flagged 6.0 times per game. It also allowed 52 plays of 20 yards or more which tied for 98th best in the nation.
There’s still plenty of room for improvement, and elite units aren’t crowned in May. However, if Alabama progresses up to its potential, there’s reason to believe defense isn’t dead in Tuscaloosa just yet.
“I think we have a little more experience coming back on defense, which will probably help us,” Saban said earlier this spring. “I see a lot more players out there. Last year at this time, we had seven or eight new guys and four out of five in the secondary. Now we only lost one guy in the back end and one linebacker and one down guy. We have a lot of guys that have a lot of playing time, so they should be a lot more confident.”