Kane Wommack: Alabama's 'Execution Was Not Good Enough' in ULM Shutout

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama's defense made a big difference on the scoreboard from Week 1 to Week 2 as Florida State scored 31 points and ULM tallied zero.

Of course, there's a bit of a difference in the status of the now-No. 10 Seminoles and the Warhawks, but following the first season-opening loss with a shutout is still something to commend. Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack somewhat felt the same way, but not entirely.

"I thought this past week, the emphasis that we made with the effort and the physicality that we needed to play, relying back on what we call 'Bama fundamentals,' which is effort and finish, hard-shoulder tackling, playing with violent hands and creating takeaways, we took a step in the right direction," Wommack said.

"I still think our execution is not good enough. We've got to continue to work and push there. We’ve put some things on tape that we're going to have to answer for as the season goes on and continues."

Alabama's defense allowed 148 total yards, 55 coming through the air and 93 on the ground. The Warhawks were 10 of 18 passing (5.5 yards per completion) and logged 32 carries (2.9 yards per rush).

"We need to stay uncomfortable as a defense. That is my job to make sure that we do that. I think our coaches have coached with a great edge. I think our players are playing with a great edge, from the standpoint of the way that they prepared this past week, and it showed up on Saturday. But good teams improve and you do that by moving and operating with purpose. I think we need to continue to do that."

So, after producing stout defensive numbers, why isn't Wommack fully content? Well, a major flaw that was an issue in Week 1's loss and all of last season came up once again last Saturday: turning pressures into sacks.

"Right now we're letting quarterbacks — we can flush them out of the pocket, but we're not doing nearly a good enough job of getting the quarterback on the ground," Wommack said. We had 12 TFLs in the game the other day with no sacks. I don't know if that's ever happened, at least in my experience.

"We've got to do a better job. I've got to find a better way to get the quarterback on the ground, at least in terms of what we're doing schematically. I need to help our guys out in that regard.

"You've got to be able to have guys that can finish, and right now we're not doing that. We're not doing that well enough. I think angles is a huge piece of that. I think closing space on a quarterback is a huge indicator, right, of having success."

Wisconsin, Alabama's opponent this Saturday, is known for being one of the better factories for offensive linemen, and it has been that way for decades, as Pro Football Hall of Fame center Mike Webster and offensive tackle Joe Thomas are former Badgers. Wisconsin also has 10 offensive linemen currently on NFL rosters.

The Badgers have allowed just three sacks through two games this season, and taking down Wisconsin's quarterback a handful of times could do wonders for Alabama's pass-rush.

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