All Things CW: Alabama's Shot of Winning Another Title May Come Down to Secondary

The Crimson Tide knows improvement is needed during the stretch run on the offensive line and on special teams, but especially among the defensive backs.

Author:
Christopher Walsh
Publish date:
Oct 29, 2021 9:00 AM EDT

For the 14th straight year the Alabama football team has finished play in October with no more than one loss, dating back to 2007 when it only had two during Nick Saban's first season.

You may want to go back and read that sentence again, the streak is that impressive.

Yet the 2021 Crimson Tide hasn't come close to peaking.

This weekend's timely bye has been a staple of the schedule since 2009, and always seems to arrive at the right time. After two months of play, everyone knows what's expected and league play is down to just a couple games.

It's a time to pause, rest and take stock of what's been accomplished while the coach celebrates his birthday, but is also a chance to make any necessary changes for the stretch run that often gets extended to a fifth week with the SEC Championship Game.

At 4-1 in league play, Alabama knows if it beats LSU, Arkansas and Auburn it's going back to Atlanta, where it would likely collide with No. 1 Georgia. That's the key. If the coaches decide to switch things up either on the offensive line, secondary or special teams, it'll be with the Bulldogs in mind.

Overall, in terms of miscues, Alabama continued to have its fair share against Tennessee last Saturday. The penalties were better as Alabama only had four, its fewest of the season. But there were three dropped passes, a lost fumble and blocked punt.

Of course, the most egregious football sins by Alabama happened in the secondary, where three bad mistakes led to touchdowns and nearly all of Tennessee's points.

For whatever reason, things haven't clicked on the back end yet, and it's not just a matter of saying a player got beat. Saban's defense plays a complicated scheme that takes time to master, and miscues can be tough to decipher. For example, even when fans see a player chasing a ball carrier down field it doesn't mean he made the initial mistake or was responsible for the busted coverage.

With that in mind, here's a big-picture look at how other teams have attacked Alabama in the passing game this season:

Miami: As one would expect, the Hurricanes went mostly at new corner Jalyn Armour-Davis in the first half, but then safety Brian Branch in the second half.

Mercer: With freshman Kool-Aid McKinstry starting the Bears went after him the most. They got a late touchdown against him, but also had a tipped ball result in an interception.

Florida: Armour-Davis got tested again (he was targeted four times, with one completion and one interception), but the Gators mostly went after interior linebackers Christian Harris and Henry To'oto'o. They were defending on eight passes, with five completions including two for 20-plus yards.

Southern Miss: The Golden Eagles were really the first opponent to primary attempt screens or passes out of the backfield. Out of 10 attempts, two were for significant gains of 14 (for a touchdown) and 19 yards.

Texas A&M: Jimbo Fisher's team mixed things up and seemed to have a little bit of success against nearly everyone, but the Aggies went after DeMarcco Hellams, Branch and Harris the most. All five balls thrown in Branch's direction were completed, including a 25-yard touchdown and a 34-yard gain.

Ole Miss: Lane Kiffin's strategy was to try and go short to wear the defense down and then hit it deep. He never quite got around to the second part of that. The Rebels ran 12 plays that were screens in nature, with different window dressing, completing 11, including a pair that successfully counted a blitz. They also threw at Armour-Davis six times, with three completions and a pass-interference penalty.

Mississippi State: Mike Leach's team ran screens and challenged the corners in man coverage. Of the 15 screens only one resulted in a gain of more than eight yards. Cornerback Josh Jobe was targeted nine times, for four completions (including gains of 20 and 16 yards) and a pick. Armour-Davis was defending on a 43-yard bomb, and had a pass-interference penalty.

Tennessee: Daniel Wright gave up a pair of early big plays, although Alabama didn't appear to be lined up correctly on either, including safety Jordan Battle. Jobe was targeted six times for five completions. One, of course, was the 70-yard touchdown when he was looking for a the play-call as the Vols snapped the ball.

Fisher and Kiffin know Saban's defense and how to attack it better than anyone in college football. They obviously had some success, but the biggest theme of the secondary this season was on display against the Vols: When everyone's on the same page and executing the defense has the potential to be very good.

Tennessee tallied 214 yards on the three touchdown possessions, but just 132 total yards the rest of the game. Time of possession ended up being 40:26-19:34 in favor of the Crimson Tide.

Often the best way to keep those kinds of mistakes from happening boils down to one thing: Experience (and familiarity).

However, the Crimson Tide has slipped to 67th nationally in pass efficiency defense. Georgia's defense is second. Alabama has a month to significantly close the gap.

Tight Ends Revitalized

Offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien appeared determined to get Alabama's tight ends out of their receiving slumps, getting both involved in the passing game during the Crimson Tide's initial possession against Tennessee.

The really telling part was that on Alabama's first third down, and needing seven yards, Cameron Latu made sure to run his route just past the distance needed to get the first down, where quarterback Bryce Young hit him for an eight-yard gain.

That's a confident, veteran move, not of someone struggling.

The next third down went to Jahleel Billingsley, again resulting in an eight-yard gain and first down. Alabama ended up scoring a touchdown to cap a 12-play, 85-yard drive, during which five different players had a catch and John Metchie III wasn't one of them (he went on to make 11 for 121 yards and score two touchdowns).

The tight ends weren't perfect. Billingsley had another drop and Latu was one of the second-level protection guys on the blocked punt. Yet they were targeted five times, resulting in four completions for 63 yards.

Reminder, the two previous weeks they combined to make just one reception out of of 13 passes thrown their way against Texas A&M and Mississippi State, with six drops and one intercepted.

You know they went into the bye week feeling a lot better about themselves.

Young More Than Clutch

Young's passing numbers on third downs are remarkably similar to what Mac Jones did all of last season.

Young's 53 of 71 (74.6 percent) for 859 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions, for a passer rating is 205.0.

Jones was 53 of 74 (71.6 percent) for 708 yards, with eight touchdowns and two picks, for a 182.3 rating.

Young's rating is highest on third downs, while it was the lowest for Jones.

Here's the same comparison with Joe Burrow at LSU in 2019: 59 for 90 (65.6 percent), 788 yards, 12 touchdowns and two interceptions, 178.7 rating. He too had a better rating on first and second downs.

Overall, the Alabama offense leads the nation in third-down conversions at .583 percent (70 for 120). It's a statistic that will become increasingly popular the closer we get to Heisman Trophy voting, as Young is a strong candidate if the Crimson Tide wins out.

Tide-bits

• Going back to screens, which for our purposes here include short passes out of the backfield, the Alabama defense went from seeing 12 over the the first three games (4.0 average), to 49 over the subsequent five games (9.8). However, over the last 24 attempts, only one resulted in a gain for double-digit yards.

• Alabama's run defense is getting really good. Tennessee didn't have a rushing first down during the first half, and just two overall while averaging 2.5 yards per carry. It also didn't have an explosive play as the longest gain was 12 yards. The Crimson Tide is up to sixth nationally at 87.0 yards per game despite having playing Ole Miss, Florida and Tennessee, which are No. 3, 4 and 15, respectively, in rushing offense.

• BetOnline.ag posted odds this week on where Arch Manning will verbally commit. Steve Sarkisian was listed as the front-runner with Texas 3/1, Kirby Smart and Georgia were second at 7/2, and Alabama third at 4/1, just ahead of Kiffin and Ole Miss at 9/2. Yes, the top four were all coached by Saban or one of his former assistants.

Question of the Week

Tobacco is one of the few things collegiate athletes have to stay away from with NIL deals (along with alcohol and gambling), but how is it that no former Alabama football players have signed long-term endorsement deals with cigar companies?