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CECIL HURT: Alabama still has the power on defense
Cecil Hurt | Sports Editor
One of the prominent storylines in national coverage of University of Alabama football has been the "evolution" of the Crimson Tide from a big, brutish behemoth to a speedier, more streamlined team. That hypothesis has been steadily applied to both sides of the ball, but particularly on defense. There are various ways to express the idea, as many as there are writers and analysts to express it, but one fairly common shorthand is that Alabama used to be built "to beat teams like LSU" but now has been modified to beat "everybody else."
A great test to that hypothesis, of course, is what happens against LSU. The Tigers, despite some talk that things had loosened up, are still basically the same offensive football team that they were under Les Miles. That's understandable. Ed Orgeron has had time to tweak a few things, but it is still the same personnel, a roster heavy on running backs and receivers but populated by quarterbacks who were recruited to run a particular system. For purposes of this discussion, that's good because it's not a scenario where LSU's philosophy has shifted along with Alabama's.
What we saw, though, was that Alabama — even the new-look Alabama — still had enough power up front to stop the Tigers' running game, contain Leonard Fournette (a great back who can only take such opportunities as his offense gives him) and squash every potential LSU scoring threat. There is still more than enough power in Alabama's defensive front to stop any running attack. As Nick Saban himself has noted, the difference in the 2015 defense and the 2016 version isn't front-line quality, it's depth. And while this isn't a wildly premature look at 2017, that will become more of an issue a year from now.
Offensively, Alabama didn't have the consistent long-passing game to keep LSU far from the line of scrimmage. But when it had to mix it up, Alabama had the personnel to do so. Lester Cotton, playing in the place of the absent Alphonse Taylor (who didn't make the trip), was physical on the interior all night. More noticeably, when Alabama turned to the backfield hammer, Bo Scarborough, in the fourth quarter with the best performance of his career, including a fourth-and-one conversion that was arguably as important as any other single play in the game.
What wasn't said
I mentioned this in passing as part of Sunday's column, but after going over the full transcripts of Orgeron's postgame comments, and those of his players, there was a refusal to mention Alabama at all, in any context, that was so obvious that it certainly seemed deliberate. Orgeron can say what he wants, and can use his press conferences to solely sell the LSU brand if he wants. But it was peculiar, to say the least, to hear a coach answer questions about a game without once mentioning the team that, you know, won the game.
Players who deserve a mention
There were a couple of other Alabama players who might have been overlooked in the postgame flurry but deserve mention. Punter J.K. Scott helped Alabama maintain the shutout, especially when UA was struggling for field position in the first half. (Keaton Anderson also helped with an open-field punt coverage tackle that made sure LSU was pinned inside its own 5-yard line.) Defensive back Tony Brown didn't "replace" the injured Eddie Jackson but was a part of the revised secondary in Jackson's absence and was solid, perhaps having his best game as well.
Reach Cecil Hurt at cecil@tidesports.com or 205-722-0225.
Alabama defensive back Ronnie Harrison (15) breaks up a fourth-down pass intended for LSU tight end DeSean Smith (89) during Alabama's 10-0 win over LSU in Tiger Stadium on Saturday. Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr.
TideSports.com - CECIL HURT: Alabama still has the power on defense
Cecil Hurt | Sports Editor
One of the prominent storylines in national coverage of University of Alabama football has been the "evolution" of the Crimson Tide from a big, brutish behemoth to a speedier, more streamlined team. That hypothesis has been steadily applied to both sides of the ball, but particularly on defense. There are various ways to express the idea, as many as there are writers and analysts to express it, but one fairly common shorthand is that Alabama used to be built "to beat teams like LSU" but now has been modified to beat "everybody else."
A great test to that hypothesis, of course, is what happens against LSU. The Tigers, despite some talk that things had loosened up, are still basically the same offensive football team that they were under Les Miles. That's understandable. Ed Orgeron has had time to tweak a few things, but it is still the same personnel, a roster heavy on running backs and receivers but populated by quarterbacks who were recruited to run a particular system. For purposes of this discussion, that's good because it's not a scenario where LSU's philosophy has shifted along with Alabama's.
What we saw, though, was that Alabama — even the new-look Alabama — still had enough power up front to stop the Tigers' running game, contain Leonard Fournette (a great back who can only take such opportunities as his offense gives him) and squash every potential LSU scoring threat. There is still more than enough power in Alabama's defensive front to stop any running attack. As Nick Saban himself has noted, the difference in the 2015 defense and the 2016 version isn't front-line quality, it's depth. And while this isn't a wildly premature look at 2017, that will become more of an issue a year from now.
Offensively, Alabama didn't have the consistent long-passing game to keep LSU far from the line of scrimmage. But when it had to mix it up, Alabama had the personnel to do so. Lester Cotton, playing in the place of the absent Alphonse Taylor (who didn't make the trip), was physical on the interior all night. More noticeably, when Alabama turned to the backfield hammer, Bo Scarborough, in the fourth quarter with the best performance of his career, including a fourth-and-one conversion that was arguably as important as any other single play in the game.
What wasn't said
I mentioned this in passing as part of Sunday's column, but after going over the full transcripts of Orgeron's postgame comments, and those of his players, there was a refusal to mention Alabama at all, in any context, that was so obvious that it certainly seemed deliberate. Orgeron can say what he wants, and can use his press conferences to solely sell the LSU brand if he wants. But it was peculiar, to say the least, to hear a coach answer questions about a game without once mentioning the team that, you know, won the game.
Players who deserve a mention
There were a couple of other Alabama players who might have been overlooked in the postgame flurry but deserve mention. Punter J.K. Scott helped Alabama maintain the shutout, especially when UA was struggling for field position in the first half. (Keaton Anderson also helped with an open-field punt coverage tackle that made sure LSU was pinned inside its own 5-yard line.) Defensive back Tony Brown didn't "replace" the injured Eddie Jackson but was a part of the revised secondary in Jackson's absence and was solid, perhaps having his best game as well.
Reach Cecil Hurt at cecil@tidesports.com or 205-722-0225.
Alabama defensive back Ronnie Harrison (15) breaks up a fourth-down pass intended for LSU tight end DeSean Smith (89) during Alabama's 10-0 win over LSU in Tiger Stadium on Saturday. Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr.
TideSports.com - CECIL HURT: Alabama still has the power on defense
