BAMANEWSBOT
Staff
Reclaiming the crown series:
Thereās no denying that 2013 was a season for offenses in the Southeastern Conference, especially with there being so many veteran quarterbacks like Johnny Manziel, Aaron Murray, AJ McCarron and Zach Mettenberger.
Yet even though those quarterbacks have moved on the number of teams in the league trying to speed things up continues to rise.
āLast year was an anomaly,ā said Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com, who still believes that defense wins championships.
āI think we have to redefine what good defense means,ā he continued. āIt used to be if you held someone to under 17 points you were a pretty good defense. Now itās under 21 on average, is what Iām talking about.
āItās about holding teams out of the end zone or keeping them from making big plays, getting that difference-making nose guard, or end, or Jadeveon Clowney, or somebody like that who can make big plays. I think thereās so much talent dispersed on both sides of the ball, but so much of its seems to going to the offenses that itās tilted against the defenses.ā
Last yearās numbers back that up. Conference-wide, the 14 teams combined to average 31.7 points, 432.5 yards of total offense, and 197 rushing yards per game, all league records since it expanded from 10 to 12 teams in 1992. Passing yards just missed at 235.5, topped only by the 245.1 in 2001.
Correspondingly, their statistical defensive counterparts were all the highest the league had seen: 24.8 points, 379.8 total yards, 161.0 rushing, and 218.7 passing.
Similarly, Alabama uncharacteristically yielded 628 total yards at Texas A&M, 348 passing yards to Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, and 296 rushing yards at Auburn, resulting in its two losses and a near-miss on the road.
In the four āmajorā categories (total defense, pass-efficiency defense, rushing defense and scoring defense), which Alabama led the nation in each during the 2011 season, the Crimson Tide had some of its worst national rankings since Nick Sabanās first year at the Capstone in 2007.
Year TotalPE RushScore
2007 31 38 28 27
2008 T3 14 2 7
2009 2 2 2 2
2010 5 6 10 3
2011 1 1 1 1
2012 1 7 1 1
2013 5 26 7 4
Alabama also had its worst showing in turnovers gained, ranking tied for 80th in the nation out of 123 teams, and in third-down defense ā which may have been the statistical key to the season as the Crimson Tide defense couldnāt get off the field when it need to the most.
Going back to those previously mentioned games and Texas A&M converted 62.5 percent of its third-down opportunities against Alabama(5 of 8), Auburn was 53.3 percent (8-15), and Oklahoma 46.7 (7-15). LSU was at 58.3 percent, but lost the Crimson Tide anyway.
Overall, opponents converted 61 of 176 opportunities, or 34.7 percent, which in turn led to more opportunities and points. In 13 games last season Alabama defenders were on the field for 771 plays, resulting in 3,725 yards, and averages of 4.83 yards per play and 286.5 per game.
For a little perspective consider that in 2011 opponents converted 45 of 184 third-down opportunities, for 24.46 percent. The Crimson Tide defense was only on the field for 720 plays, during which it gave up 2,287 yards, 3.32 per snap and 183.62 per game.
Hereās the difference on the scoreboard: In 2011 opponents scored just 12 offensive touchdowns, compared to 21 last season.
Alabamaās third-down defense
Year,National rank
2007 73
2008 3
2009 T6
2010 12
2011 1
2012 13
2013 24
Granted, comparing any defense to the 2011 Crimson Tide may be unfair as itās on the short list for best ever, Alabamaās coaches have no problem doing so.
āWe kind of have a standard here at Alabama,ā defensive coordinator Kirby Smart said during one of his few media sessions last year as Saban assistants are usually off-limits to reporters. āA lot of people think our standard is to be first in the SEC, be first in the country, first in our red zone and run defense. We really donāt go by that motto.
āWe go by be the best Alabama defense thereās been. We compare ourselves to the last five years of Alabama defenses. When you do that, last yearās defense was not exactly up to par, not exactly spectacular. We put in a lot of work to improve on defense.ā
Two crucial factors in 2013 were the struggling pass-rush and no consistency at cornerback, where four players made their first starts: Cyrus Jones (five), Eddie Jackson (four), Bradley Sylve (three), and Maurice Smith (one).
āWeāve not gotten the consistency we want out of that position, and we donāt have the depth that weāve had in the past,ā Smart said at the Sugar Bowl. āSo itās been a struggle.ā
But help is on the way.
In addition to the Crimson Tide having a lot of depth on the defensive line led by sophomore AāShawn Robinson, Smart is back coaching the safeties during practices after spending the past few seasons handling the interior linebackers. The move stemmed from former defensive coordinator Kevin Steeleās return to coaching, while Bo Davis is back overseeing the defensive line following a three-year stint at Texas.
āWe just werenāt aggressive off the ball,ā said sophomore defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson, who missed nearly all of last season with a knee injury. āThis year weāre just more aggressive and firing out. I think weāre going to get to the quarterback a lot more this year.ā
Meanwhile, if sophomore linebacker Reuben Foster can stop hurting himself with his vicious tackles during scrimmages, and defensive lineman Jarran Reed (currently suspended) and linebacker Dillon Lee can get out of Sabanās doghouse after DUI arrests, the rest of the front seven could be scary good. Even without them thereās still Trey DePriest, Reggie Ragland, Jonathan Allen ā¦ you get the idea.
āThe big thing that stands out, they do a great job,ā Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said about Alabamaās defense. āYou usually have to earn what you get. They make you earn it. They got very good players at each position.ā
Combined with some older cornerbacks competing with some extremely talented freshmen (Tony Brown and Marlon Humphrey), and standout junior safety Landon Collins, and Alabamaās defense may not start off looking like one of Sabanās best, but it could potentially end up that way.
āWe were young at the time,ā Collins said. āWe had to see what everyone had to put on the table. Everyone knows whatās going on, everyone knows what to do.
āWe have to teach the younger guys. It puts less pressure on the safeties, the defensive linemen and the linebackers, when you have two corners who are capable and reliable.ā
Even if things donāt initially click as well as hoped the defense will still likely be among the nationās best if for no other reason than itās led by Saban and Smart.
Over the past three seasons the Crimson Tide has held opponents to seven of fewer points 20 times, while no other SEC defense has more than eight. Alabama also had three shutouts last year, and 10 since 2011.
Consequently, Dodd is picking Alabama to win the conference title.
āI think theyāll be right there,ā he said.
- Alabama needed an attitude adjustment
- Nick Saban brought back most of his initial coaching staff
- Alabama continues to add talent
- Defense still wins championships
Thereās no denying that 2013 was a season for offenses in the Southeastern Conference, especially with there being so many veteran quarterbacks like Johnny Manziel, Aaron Murray, AJ McCarron and Zach Mettenberger.
Yet even though those quarterbacks have moved on the number of teams in the league trying to speed things up continues to rise.
āLast year was an anomaly,ā said Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com, who still believes that defense wins championships.
āI think we have to redefine what good defense means,ā he continued. āIt used to be if you held someone to under 17 points you were a pretty good defense. Now itās under 21 on average, is what Iām talking about.
āItās about holding teams out of the end zone or keeping them from making big plays, getting that difference-making nose guard, or end, or Jadeveon Clowney, or somebody like that who can make big plays. I think thereās so much talent dispersed on both sides of the ball, but so much of its seems to going to the offenses that itās tilted against the defenses.ā
Last yearās numbers back that up. Conference-wide, the 14 teams combined to average 31.7 points, 432.5 yards of total offense, and 197 rushing yards per game, all league records since it expanded from 10 to 12 teams in 1992. Passing yards just missed at 235.5, topped only by the 245.1 in 2001.
Correspondingly, their statistical defensive counterparts were all the highest the league had seen: 24.8 points, 379.8 total yards, 161.0 rushing, and 218.7 passing.
Similarly, Alabama uncharacteristically yielded 628 total yards at Texas A&M, 348 passing yards to Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, and 296 rushing yards at Auburn, resulting in its two losses and a near-miss on the road.
In the four āmajorā categories (total defense, pass-efficiency defense, rushing defense and scoring defense), which Alabama led the nation in each during the 2011 season, the Crimson Tide had some of its worst national rankings since Nick Sabanās first year at the Capstone in 2007.
Year TotalPE RushScore
2007 31 38 28 27
2008 T3 14 2 7
2009 2 2 2 2
2010 5 6 10 3
2011 1 1 1 1
2012 1 7 1 1
2013 5 26 7 4
Alabama also had its worst showing in turnovers gained, ranking tied for 80th in the nation out of 123 teams, and in third-down defense ā which may have been the statistical key to the season as the Crimson Tide defense couldnāt get off the field when it need to the most.
Going back to those previously mentioned games and Texas A&M converted 62.5 percent of its third-down opportunities against Alabama(5 of 8), Auburn was 53.3 percent (8-15), and Oklahoma 46.7 (7-15). LSU was at 58.3 percent, but lost the Crimson Tide anyway.
Overall, opponents converted 61 of 176 opportunities, or 34.7 percent, which in turn led to more opportunities and points. In 13 games last season Alabama defenders were on the field for 771 plays, resulting in 3,725 yards, and averages of 4.83 yards per play and 286.5 per game.
For a little perspective consider that in 2011 opponents converted 45 of 184 third-down opportunities, for 24.46 percent. The Crimson Tide defense was only on the field for 720 plays, during which it gave up 2,287 yards, 3.32 per snap and 183.62 per game.
Hereās the difference on the scoreboard: In 2011 opponents scored just 12 offensive touchdowns, compared to 21 last season.
Alabamaās third-down defense
Year,National rank
2007 73
2008 3
2009 T6
2010 12
2011 1
2012 13
2013 24
Granted, comparing any defense to the 2011 Crimson Tide may be unfair as itās on the short list for best ever, Alabamaās coaches have no problem doing so.
āWe kind of have a standard here at Alabama,ā defensive coordinator Kirby Smart said during one of his few media sessions last year as Saban assistants are usually off-limits to reporters. āA lot of people think our standard is to be first in the SEC, be first in the country, first in our red zone and run defense. We really donāt go by that motto.
āWe go by be the best Alabama defense thereās been. We compare ourselves to the last five years of Alabama defenses. When you do that, last yearās defense was not exactly up to par, not exactly spectacular. We put in a lot of work to improve on defense.ā
Two crucial factors in 2013 were the struggling pass-rush and no consistency at cornerback, where four players made their first starts: Cyrus Jones (five), Eddie Jackson (four), Bradley Sylve (three), and Maurice Smith (one).
āWeāve not gotten the consistency we want out of that position, and we donāt have the depth that weāve had in the past,ā Smart said at the Sugar Bowl. āSo itās been a struggle.ā
But help is on the way.
In addition to the Crimson Tide having a lot of depth on the defensive line led by sophomore AāShawn Robinson, Smart is back coaching the safeties during practices after spending the past few seasons handling the interior linebackers. The move stemmed from former defensive coordinator Kevin Steeleās return to coaching, while Bo Davis is back overseeing the defensive line following a three-year stint at Texas.
āWe just werenāt aggressive off the ball,ā said sophomore defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson, who missed nearly all of last season with a knee injury. āThis year weāre just more aggressive and firing out. I think weāre going to get to the quarterback a lot more this year.ā
Meanwhile, if sophomore linebacker Reuben Foster can stop hurting himself with his vicious tackles during scrimmages, and defensive lineman Jarran Reed (currently suspended) and linebacker Dillon Lee can get out of Sabanās doghouse after DUI arrests, the rest of the front seven could be scary good. Even without them thereās still Trey DePriest, Reggie Ragland, Jonathan Allen ā¦ you get the idea.
āThe big thing that stands out, they do a great job,ā Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said about Alabamaās defense. āYou usually have to earn what you get. They make you earn it. They got very good players at each position.ā
Combined with some older cornerbacks competing with some extremely talented freshmen (Tony Brown and Marlon Humphrey), and standout junior safety Landon Collins, and Alabamaās defense may not start off looking like one of Sabanās best, but it could potentially end up that way.
āWe were young at the time,ā Collins said. āWe had to see what everyone had to put on the table. Everyone knows whatās going on, everyone knows what to do.
āWe have to teach the younger guys. It puts less pressure on the safeties, the defensive linemen and the linebackers, when you have two corners who are capable and reliable.ā
Even if things donāt initially click as well as hoped the defense will still likely be among the nationās best if for no other reason than itās led by Saban and Smart.
Over the past three seasons the Crimson Tide has held opponents to seven of fewer points 20 times, while no other SEC defense has more than eight. Alabama also had three shutouts last year, and 10 since 2011.
Consequently, Dodd is picking Alabama to win the conference title.
āI think theyāll be right there,ā he said.
