State of Alabama defense

[TideEngineer08]

Did you watch the game and appreciate the circumstances? LSU had no secondary, they were down two of the guys from when they played Alabama and the secondary was really bad that game (Mac had 385 yards and 4 TDs).

So, what LSU did was not rely on their secondary to make plays, they forced Trask's hand. That resulted in 4 punts and 3 turnovers, and remember the LSU offense wasn't holding the ball like Alabama was. So what LSU did was with a much, much, much, much worse secondary, they held Trask to a 66.5 QBR. They held Florida to 34, meanwhile Alabama gave up 46 on a 91.4 QBR. To reiterate, this was with LSU playing fourth stringers on their secondary!


They have tons of talent on offense and every offense Alabama has played with a pulse has put up points.

Maybe we overvalued our secondary play? They had been playing so well, after all. Even Surtain had a brain fart moment. So then, if that is the case, perhaps we must acknowledge Florida May just be that good? I am resolved in saying they totally phoned in the LSU game.

 

[JayBama_in_PCOLA]

Maybe we overvalued our secondary play? They had been playing so well, after all. Even Surtain had a brain fart moment. So then, if that is the case, perhaps we must acknowledge Florida May just be that good? I am resolved in saying they totally phoned in the LSU game.

Saban tried to warn us.

 

[KrAzY3]

Maybe we overvalued our secondary play? They had been playing so well, after all. Even Surtain had a brain fart moment. So then, if that is the case, perhaps we must acknowledge Florida May just be that good? I am resolved in saying they totally phoned in the LSU game.

This isn't a one off for Golding though, and not a one off for this Alabama defense. So I think we have to think past it being just "one of those games" and realize Alabama is probably going to play another offense of this caliber.

I think you are onto something when you say "we" overvalued our secondary play. I think Golding did exactly that. Alabama has a ton of talent in the secondary, and obviously they have a better secondary than what LSU fielded against Florida. But, too much faith was put in that secondary.

That third and 17 was the perfect example. Alabama had no pass rush and treated it like they thought the secondary was going to make a play. It didn't, and really it didn't all night. If you approach it like LSU does and go, well our secondary is going to get lit up, you realize your only chance of stopping the opponent is to force his hand. Don't let him sit back there and survey the field, get in his face and disrupt him every chance you get. Yes! You are going to give up some big plays, but the first stage to overcoming a problem is acceptance.

If Alabama accepts that they can't just lean on the secondary to make stops, if they realize that approach lead to only 4 forced punts COMBINED against Ole Miss and Florida, then they can realize that their best chance of getting stops is they don't give the other team time to get the ball to the secondary.

 

[TheRealPokeChop]

I have full faith in the alabama national guard

Improvement is there, team got a lot better at tackling by thr end of the year, and pass rush has become more consistent (more or less) anyway.

Florida was the best offense in the country. Pitts is unguardable, absolutely unguardable, and toney is the best college receiver not residing in tuscaloosa .

Things could be better but i wouldn't use last night as the measuring stuck for this defense

 

[AlabamaBEN11]

All of this is based on opinion and speculation. We should beat ND by 14+ points and Clemson will beat tOSU by a like score. This will pit us against Clemson, again. We saw what they did to us in 2018, against another Alabama team without much defense. I am not picking a winner, but the better defense will win because both offenses can score at will.

It’s not the same. Mike Locksley cost us that game. I’ve read before that before the game people felt that if Mike didn’t change his offense and unleash Tua from more than just RPOs Brett Venables would eat us alive. So Sark vs Brett I feel a lot better. Question is can our defense get a few key stops. That’s what it will take is a few key stops. I see Mac with 2 picks in the Natty but we may still win if we can keep it close. I like our chances

 

[Evil Crimson Dragon]

I disagree - the Gators have better receivers - a lot better.

I think Trask is a better QB than Lawrence

 

[B1GTide]

I think Trask is a better QB than Lawrence

He played as well as anyone could have yesterday. But he didn't play nearly as well when he was missing Pitts. Maybe you are right - I actually hope that you are right - but NFL scouts don't think that he is even in Trevor's league.

 

[colbysullivan]

I think Trask is a better QB than Lawrence

Dude............

 

[Evil Crimson Dragon]

He played as well as anyone could have yesterday. But he didn't play nearly as well when he was missing Pitts. Maybe you are right - I actually hope that you are right - but NFL scouts don't think that he is even in Trevor's league.

They probably don’t think Mac is either........

 

[Al A Bama]

Maybe we overvalued our secondary play? They had been playing so well, after all. Even Surtain had a brain fart moment. So then, if that is the case, perhaps we must acknowledge Florida May just be that good? I am resolved in saying they totally phoned in the LSU game.

Maybe this was a great PRACTICE to hopefully get ready for Clemson and Trevor. The DB's won't see anything new except Trevor taking off and RUNNING.

 

[GrayTide]

I am not implying that Clemson will beat us. Sarkisian is light years ahead of Locksley as an OC and he has better skill players than Locksley had in 2018. I do not question our ability to put points on the board, my concern from last year and this year is a defense that looks unprepared and confused. Some posters on here continue to talk about the talent we have on defense, if all of these players are 4 and 5 star recruits what is the problem? Are they overrated, or can they not learn the defense? I have been disappointed with Golding's defenses since he took over.

 

[B1GTide]

I am not implying that Clemson will beat us. Sarkisian is light years ahead of Locksley as an OC and he has better skill players than Locksley had in 2018. I do not question our ability to put points on the board, my concern from last year and this year is a defense that looks unprepared and confused. Some posters on here continue to talk about the talent we have on defense, if all of these players are 4 and 5 star recruits what is the problem? Are they overrated, or can they not learn the defense? I have been disappointed with Golding's defenses since he took over.

They are very inexperienced. The secondary has 4 new starters this year. They are very talented, but need more experience. The d-line is very good, and getting better every week. If the d-line plays well enough they shorten the length of time that the secondary has to cover. The real problem, IMO, is the inability of the ILBs in pass coverage. I would rather have Hellams on the field than Moses at this point. He can cover, and he is a very physical player.

 

[bamaga]

I don't understand some of our defensive play calls? I go back to the 3rd and seventeen and we rush 3 instead of putting pressure on Trask then with blitz on the next play which was a 1st down pass play its seems we r afraid we r going to get burnt

That conversion was the point I knew we would never get another stop! Plus, the two Point conversion was automatic with Trask running . I had no doubt they would make that , none! Sad but true!

 

[DogPatch]

We actually have a really good DC on our Coaching Staff, that at one time was our DC, I'd just assumed that Coach Sal take over play calling on the D side of the ball & take over as our DC..

When was Sunseri our Defensive Coordinator? I only remember him being a position coach at Bama.

 

[B1GTide]

When was Sunseri our Defensive Coordinator? I only remember him being a position coach at Bama.

You are correct - LB coach both times at Alabama. I don't think he has ever been a DC anywhere.

ETA - I was wrong. Looked it up and see that he was the DC for Alabama A&M in the late 90's

 

[DogPatch]

You are correct - LB coach both times at Alabama. I don't think he has ever been a DC anywhere.

ETA - I was wrong. Looked it up and see that he was the DC for Alabama A&M in the late 90's

He was also a DC @ UT for Dooley.

 

[B1GTide]

He was also a DC @ UT for Dooley.

Good catch - a case to not have him call defensive plays.

 

[Padreruf]

They are very inexperienced. The secondary has 4 new starters this year. They are very talented, but need more experience. The d-line is very good, and getting better every week. If the d-line plays well enough they shorten the length of time that the secondary has to cover. The real problem, IMO, is the inability of the ILBs in pass coverage. I would rather have Hellams on the field than Moses at this point. He can cover, and he is a very physical player.

Moses has not regained his speed after the knee injury...I really thought we would go to dime or bring in Jaylen...he looked lost. Also, Jobe had his worst game of the year...and Pitts and Toney are for real...we won...that's what matters.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

I am not implying that Clemson will beat us. Sarkisian is light years ahead of Locksley as an OC and he has better skill players than Locksley had in 2018. I do not question our ability to put points on the board, my concern from last year and this year is a defense that looks unprepared and confused. Some posters on here continue to talk about the talent we have on defense, if all of these players are 4 and 5 star recruits what is the problem? Are they overrated, or can they not learn the defense? I have been disappointed with Golding's defenses since he took over.

Our defensive problems don't go away when playing Clemson compared to Florida. They just change. Running quarterbacks HAVE ALWAYS given our defense fits, even when we had dominant defenses. Lawrence is a freak of nature physical talent at QB. Having to deal with will stress our defense and create mismatches. I doubt we stop them many times. The key to any Clemson/Bama game will be can Sark win the defensive battle against Venebles. We can't have too many punts and expect to win. We will have to score at will to stay in the game. I fully expect Golding to get taken to school again and them put 40 points on the board. If Venebles wins the battle against Sark, we will have a repeat blow out of 2018. Because Golding ain't stopping Lawrence and Etienne.

 

[Cruloc]

Our defensive problems don't go away when playing Clemson compared to Florida. They just change. Running quarterbacks HAVE ALWAYS given our defense fits, even when we had dominant defenses. Lawrence is a freak of nature physical talent at QB. Having to deal with will stress our defense and create mismatches. I doubt we stop them many times. The key to any Clemson/Bama game will be can Sark win the defensive battle against Venebles. We can't have too many punts and expect to win. We will have to score at will to stay in the game. I fully expect Golding to get taken to school again and them put 40 points on the board. If Venebles wins the battle against Sark, we will have a repeat blow out of 2018. Because Golding ain't stopping Lawrence and Etienne.

I hate that I agree with you.