Could be a long year on defense for alabama

I wouldn't recommend backing that false proposition with real money.

This year's defense will be better than last year's defense.  They certainly are much more talented.  Gone are Shula's walkons, 1 and zero star recruits, and in step the bluechippers to fill the void.  They should be the best defense in the nation again.

TUSCALOOSA -- Give round one to Alabama's offense.

By all accounts, it ran roughshod over a rebuilding, banged-up defense during the preseason's first closed scrimmage Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Alabama's top three quarterbacks combined for 698 yards and nine touchdowns on 52-of-69 passing, taking advantage of an inexperienced secondary that was also hampered by a string of injuries during the afternoon.

Starting quarterback Greg McElroy was 26-of-33 for 360 yards and six touchdowns, according to statistics released by UA sports information. Backup AJ McCarron was 21-of-26 for 241 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

(Click here to view scrimmage stats).

"The offense is way ahead of the defense," coach Nick Saban said. "Both AJ and Greg are playing very well at quarterback."

The defense is on the other end of the spectrum.

"I don't think defensively as a whole we played very well at all," Saban said. "We didn't tackle. We didn't finish. We didn't clean up tackles and knock runners back. We didn't have the eye of the tiger we need to be a good defensive team, and that's all 11 of them."

Safety Robert Lester (concussion) and cornerbacks Demarcus Milliner (ankle) and DeQuan Menzie (hamstring) -- all of whom are in the mix to be contributors in 2010 -- exited Saturday's action because of injury.

Sophomore walk-on Will Lowery filled in at safety, while others were mixed and matched to round out spots in a secondary already without junior safety Robby Green, who is suspended for the season and isn't on the preseason 105-man roster.

It's a growing concern for Alabama's defense. Saban likes to have as many as 10 defensive backs prepared to play, given his preference for nickel and dime schemes.

"It's been one thing after another in the secondary," Saban said, "in terms of changing personnel, starting in the spring, starting at the end of the bowl game, whether it's losing guys, suspending guys, getting guys hurt now. So we really can't get the continuity that we'd like. But we're going to stay positive about it. We like some of the players that we have. We've just got to get them on the field and work them. They have to stay healthy enough to be on the field so they have a chance to improve."

Milliner had been practicing as the third cornerback with Dre Kirkpatrick and B.J. Scott, the top two at the position from spring, while Menzie also figured to be in the mix since he has recovered from a torn Achilles' in April.

Meanwhile, former Foley standout Lester was Alabama's presumptive starter at safety, given Green's suspension and Rod Woodson's departure from the team prior to preseason.

Saban said he's hopeful Lester will be back in a few days, but also noted Lester's injury occurred early in the scrimmage as a part of the second-string defense. Lowery is now a serious contender for a starting safety position along with a pair of true freshmen -- Jarrick Williams (of Blount High) and Nick Perry (of Prattville) -- who did not enroll until the summer.

"That's the biggest thing about this team: We have a lot of young players, especially on defense," Saban said, "and they need to grow and they need to mature as football players and as competitors."

No running back had more than 28 yards, a sign that Saturday's scrimmage geared toward the passing game. Six players were credited with catching at least one touchdown pass; star wide receiver Julio Jones had two scores and also led all teammates in catches (7) and receiving yards (99).

Tailback Mark Ingram rushed 9 times for 28 yards, but had 3 catches for 75 yards and a touchdown. Ingram caused a stir when he went down late in the scrimmage, but Saban said last season's Heisman Trophy winner only "had the wind knocked out of him."

UA did not release special teams statistics from the scrimmage. Scott, of Vigor, and freshman linebacker C.J Mosley of Theodore had interceptions.

"There's a lot of things we can work on, learn from and improve on," Saban said, "especially on the defensive side of the ball and on special teams."

I will add that Bama's defense has 3 juniors that are likely 1st round picks in next year's NFL draft (assuming there is no lockout & assuming none of them suffer a serious injury this season).

Marcel Dareus is a stone-cold lock to be a top 10 pick.  Dareus, however, did not play in the scrimmage.

As I said in last year's preseason Bama writeup, LB Dont'a Hightower is more talented than the 8th overall pick in this year's NFL draft, LB Rolando McClain.  Unfortunately Hightower suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the Arkansas game last season.  While I believe Higtower is more physically gifted, it remains to be seen how he will fare as the defensive signal caller, something McClain excelled at.

Junior safety Mark Barron may be the best safety in the nation, and will also likely be a first round NFL selection.

That's the good news.  The bad news is that experienced safety Robby Green, who was expected to start opposite Barron, was suspended by the NCAA for a year for smoking weed.  The guy who I thought might fill the void left by Green was a highly touted recruit named Rod Woodson.  Unfortunately, Saban cut him before camp.  Next in line was Robert Lester, but he just suffered a concussion and didn't play in the scrimmage.  At this point, that second safety spot will be filled by a player who has a lot of raw talent, but will have no game experience.

The starting corners were both highly touted 5* recruits and are supremely talented, albeit somewhat inexperienced.  I think Bama will be fine there.

Lastly, Bama is supremely talented and very experienced on the offensive side of the ball so it's not really surprising that they are a little ahead of the defense at this point.

Overall, you are correct in pointing out the Bama's weakest link on defense is the secondary, although I really wouldn't characterize as being "weak."

Drox.,   It's a tough crowd in the the Covers house. You made a good point with that random newspaper article. Well, if not good it was a whatever. Love the whatever.

GL,    Doc

Haha!!!  You posted this before I finished typing out my previous response, but both say essentially the same thing.

Bama actually had a commitment from the #1 safety recruit in the nation last year (Keenan Allen), but he bolted for Cali right before national signing day.  That is turning out to be a big loss for Bama right now.

I realize that if you read pre-season magazines they'll tell you that Bama is replacing 9 starters on defense, but that's very misleading.  I said in my Bama preseason writeup last season that Bama's 2nd string defense was probably better than their first (just not as experienced).  For example, Marcel Dareus was the best defensive player on the team, and was the MVP of the national championship game, but was not considered a starter.

At nose tackle, Josh Chapman split snaps with Cody virtually right down the middle two years ago, and played more snaps than Cody last year.  He is equivalent to a 3-year starter even though he was not considered a starter.

At the other end spot, this will be Luther Davis's 4th season getting significant snaps at that position.

Dont'a Hightower was the starting LB for two years until he suffered the season-ending injury last season, but he is now considered a newcomer.  LOL!!!

Nico Johnson is a returning starter.

Jerrell Harris and Courtney Upshaw were quasi starters last season.  In fact it was Upshaw that force the fumble at the end of the national championship game that ultimately sealed the victory for Bama.  Chris Jordan is another very talented LBer was has played significant sanps who is in the mix.  Bama's depth at this position is just sick.

Harris and Upshaw are far more talented than the guys they are replacing (Eryk Anders and Cory Reamer).  Reamer was a 1* Shula recruit, and Anders was not even rated at all by any recruiting service.  Shula snatched him up before he enrolled in D3 school.  Anders and Reamer were considered the starters even though Harris and Upshaw (after he was cleared to play by the NCAA) played just as many snaps.  In short, Bama purged their two weak links at LBer via graduation.

I already discussed the safety and CB situation above.

Overall, Bama's d-line will be better this season, and their pass rush significantly better.  Even though Bama lost McClain to the draft, this year's LBers should be an improvement over last.  The CBs are more talented than the ones they are replacing, but I'll call it a push due to inexperience.  The safety position, as it stands right now, is not as good as it was last season.  That has the potential to change as the season wears on.  The rash of injuries that occurred in today's scrimmage is definitely a concern however.

As I said in my previous post, it was largely anticipated this week that the offense would win the day today.  That was not really a surprise.  The only surprise really was the injuries.  I will be at Bama's scrimmage next Saturday.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Lastly, I've listen to all 11 minutes of Saban's press conference, and he frequently uses these to motivate his players.  It has been un-Godly hot down here with daily heat indexes in the 110s.  Saban has been complaining since the beginning of camp about his players not handling the heat as well as he would like.  Again, this is just part of Saban's psychological warfare he uses against his players.  Saban will have his defense ready to play.  You can bet on that.  Will they make some mistakes?  Sure they will.

I'll stand by my prediction that Bama will have one of the best defenses in the nation, if not the best by season's end.

Yes.  Absolutely.  For the most part, they will not be replacing anything.  With two exceptions, the defense that is playing this season, is the same defense that was an integral part of last season's defense.  See post above.

You need to add Florida to that list.  Bama plays Arky, Florida and South Carolina back-to-back-to-back in weeks 4, 5 & 6, and they will be lucky to survive that stretch without a loss.

The teams that have had success against Bama in the Saban era are teams with prolific passing attacks.  Arkansas and Florida certainly fit in that catagory.  My concern with the South Carolina game is not that they'll exploit the seconday, but that after playing a very emotional game against Florida the previous week, the road game against South Carolina game will be a classic letdown situation.

I also agree they'll need some time to adjust.  This will be just like any year for any team breaking in new guys, they'll probably improve as the season wears on.

I will agree with you on Marquis Johnson.  Bama has no body to replace him at this point.

Many NFL scouts already think Josh Chapman is better than Cody.  He certainly is a lot stronger.  In fact if Chapman gets a good draft report at the end of the seson, he could be the 4th defensive junior to bolt for the NFL draft.

Nico Johnson and B.J. Scott are more talented than Arenas and Jackson.  They will not be better out of the gate, but ultimately they will as they gain experience.

As I said dating back to last season, Hightower is physically a better LBer than McClain.  I doubt he is smarter though.

The defense actually gave up 9 TD passes, but they played the eqivalent of about 2.5 games worth of snaps.  That averages out to about 3.5 TDs per game.  That's obviously not good.  But as Saban explained, they were playing with a patchwork secondary pretty much the entire scrimmage due to several injuries.  Also, the defense won't see many offenses as good as Bama's during the course of the season.

Quote Originally Posted by -29-:

Jimmy let's just let everybody fade the 'Tide D. 

I really don't disagree with fading Bama.  As defending national champs, you will be hard pressed to find any value coming from Vegas on their lines.  I faded Bama twice last season, and once was against South Carolina.  I think the USC game is setting up nicely as another classic fade opportunity, especially if they beat Florida the week before.

Quote Originally Posted by andarmac99:



I'll believe it when I see it.

LOL!!!  Fair enough!!!

The good thing, which will help the younger inexperienced defensive secondary, is that the guys in front of them are insanely good.

Defensive line will be much better than last season, and linebackers, even without McClain, will be much much better, and will definitely make the transition much easier for the defensive seondary.  Add to that, that the guys stepping in are incredibly talented, which helps to offset their inexperience.

The same thing was being said before the beginning of last season. Everyone was writing Bama off , saying they didn't deserve their high preseason ranking, because their offensive line was  only returning 2 starters. What was supposed to be their weak link, turned out to be one of the teams strongest.

Saban has brought in top talent, and has them contributing immediately. Look at the last 2 seasons. Don't fade Bama because you think their defense will struggle, that is simply not going to be the case. They will once again be tops in the nation. And the experience that they gain in practice each week, against Bama offense, will quickly have them playing to their potential. Not many offenses out there that are more explosive than Bama's.  Good luck

The people that read too far into a team's first pre-season scrimmage and base their bets on that accordingly, are usually the same people that are re-loading their accounts by October 1st..

Droxside, as I said above, Bama definitely has some issues with that second safety spot opposite Mark Barron.  The issue won't be so much the starter, the issue will be depth.  What will happen if someone suffers a major injury, particularly Barron.  The would be a huge blow to the secondary.