BAMANEWSBOT
Staff
Pass defense had been going smoothly for Alabama.
Then came the Iron Bowl.
Auburn did what everyone else has done against Alabama’s defense and passed the ball more than usual.
The Crimson Tide had shut down everyone else, but Nick Marshall completed 27 of 43 for 456 yards and three touchdowns.
That’s a point of concern for Coach Nick Saban as his team prepares to meet Missouri in Saturday’s SEC title game.
“Our defense is going to have to play with a lot more discipline in terms of everyone doing their job for us to have a chance to be successful in this (upcoming) game or any game that we play,” Saban said. “We weren’t real pleased with some of the big plays that we gave up, especially in the first half of the last game. That’s something we certainly need to address.”
So Alabama went back to practice this week to figure out what happened.
“I think just misjudging the ball and not playing the right technique,” safety Nick Perry said, sizing up the errors. “It was all about us and little things that we can fix in practice that we can definitely improve on for next game.”
Missouri features another mobile, passing quarterback similar to Marshall in Maty Mauk. He averages 189.9 yards passing and 28 yards rushing a game.
Mauk effectively runs another version of the spread offense. When he’s on, the offense goes.
“He’s a great player. He makes a lot of plays,” Perry said.
“He’s one of those other dual-threat quarterbacks who has two plays: the play they call and the play that he just breaks down and does what he wants and just makes a great play.”
The Tigers can run the ball, averaging 176 yards a game. Russell Hansbrough averages 79.1 yards and Marcus Murphy adds 62.2.
Bud Sasser leads the receivers with 65 receptions for 904 yards and nine touchdowns. Three others have at least 25 receptions.
“They’re fast. They’re tall, too,” safety Landon Collins. “Not as physical as the receivers we just played, but they’ve got tremendous height and outstanding hands. They’re just a lot of four-open (wide) spread, try to get the ball to the running back running through gaps — get the ball to the receivers in the flats, bubble routes and stuff.”
Perry, Collins and nickel back Geno Smith will split time in pass coverage and run support. They’ll need the cornerbacks to play well, which Cyrus Jones has done all season, but the other side is uncertain.
Eddie Jackson, freshman Tony Brown and junior Bradley Sylve are the choices.
Jackson’s rough outing in the Iron Bowl caused him to be pulled from the game for Sylve, who responded with three tackles and two pass breakups.
The job will be determined in practice, but Saban plans to give Jackson another chance by going over all the breakdowns.
“I just think that we try to correct the mistakes that we made and show a guy why things happened the way they did, whether it was eye control, not maintaining position on the receiver, not keeping a guy cut off, not playing the right leverage on the guy when you have help,” Saban said. “I think these things are technical in nature, and obviously we want to execute a little better than that.”
Perry and Collins said Jackson was strong early in the week of practice. They were supportive and believe he can still play well.
“We’ve been in plenty of games where we’ve faced a lot of adversity — Arkansas, LSU, Auburn — and we’re able to overcome it. So this team, we’re together, and we feel like we can accomplish anything.”
They also were proud of Sylve, who continued to work hard in practice and wait for his next opportunity.
“We know what kind of team we are,” Collins said. “We know how to finish games. We’ve proven that. We just have to keep this momentum and keep going.”
Decatur Daily—Continue reading...
Then came the Iron Bowl.
Auburn did what everyone else has done against Alabama’s defense and passed the ball more than usual.
The Crimson Tide had shut down everyone else, but Nick Marshall completed 27 of 43 for 456 yards and three touchdowns.
That’s a point of concern for Coach Nick Saban as his team prepares to meet Missouri in Saturday’s SEC title game.
“Our defense is going to have to play with a lot more discipline in terms of everyone doing their job for us to have a chance to be successful in this (upcoming) game or any game that we play,” Saban said. “We weren’t real pleased with some of the big plays that we gave up, especially in the first half of the last game. That’s something we certainly need to address.”
So Alabama went back to practice this week to figure out what happened.
“I think just misjudging the ball and not playing the right technique,” safety Nick Perry said, sizing up the errors. “It was all about us and little things that we can fix in practice that we can definitely improve on for next game.”
Missouri features another mobile, passing quarterback similar to Marshall in Maty Mauk. He averages 189.9 yards passing and 28 yards rushing a game.
Mauk effectively runs another version of the spread offense. When he’s on, the offense goes.
“He’s a great player. He makes a lot of plays,” Perry said.
“He’s one of those other dual-threat quarterbacks who has two plays: the play they call and the play that he just breaks down and does what he wants and just makes a great play.”
The Tigers can run the ball, averaging 176 yards a game. Russell Hansbrough averages 79.1 yards and Marcus Murphy adds 62.2.
Bud Sasser leads the receivers with 65 receptions for 904 yards and nine touchdowns. Three others have at least 25 receptions.
“They’re fast. They’re tall, too,” safety Landon Collins. “Not as physical as the receivers we just played, but they’ve got tremendous height and outstanding hands. They’re just a lot of four-open (wide) spread, try to get the ball to the running back running through gaps — get the ball to the receivers in the flats, bubble routes and stuff.”
Perry, Collins and nickel back Geno Smith will split time in pass coverage and run support. They’ll need the cornerbacks to play well, which Cyrus Jones has done all season, but the other side is uncertain.
Eddie Jackson, freshman Tony Brown and junior Bradley Sylve are the choices.
Jackson’s rough outing in the Iron Bowl caused him to be pulled from the game for Sylve, who responded with three tackles and two pass breakups.
The job will be determined in practice, but Saban plans to give Jackson another chance by going over all the breakdowns.
“I just think that we try to correct the mistakes that we made and show a guy why things happened the way they did, whether it was eye control, not maintaining position on the receiver, not keeping a guy cut off, not playing the right leverage on the guy when you have help,” Saban said. “I think these things are technical in nature, and obviously we want to execute a little better than that.”
Perry and Collins said Jackson was strong early in the week of practice. They were supportive and believe he can still play well.
“We’ve been in plenty of games where we’ve faced a lot of adversity — Arkansas, LSU, Auburn — and we’re able to overcome it. So this team, we’re together, and we feel like we can accomplish anything.”
They also were proud of Sylve, who continued to work hard in practice and wait for his next opportunity.
“We know what kind of team we are,” Collins said. “We know how to finish games. We’ve proven that. We just have to keep this momentum and keep going.”
Decatur Daily—Continue reading...
