Alabama Football: Questions Still Remain Entering SEC Play
By Tyler Dalton
For 11 consecutive years, Alabama starts the season 3-0. Since the 2009 SEC Championship game, Alabama has been favored in every game. This year ranked #3 in the AP poll, the Tide appears ready to continue to roll. But in 2014, if the Tide finishes undefeated it may be Saban’s biggest accomplishment yet.
Usually when breaking down an Alabama team in the Saban era, there may be an achilles heel or a couple small weaknesses. After three weeks, there are still some glaring holes that need to be fixed and questions that still cloud Alabama’s potential.
Before I’m accused of fear mongering, I still believe Alabama will advance to the playoff. Even with a potential loss, there aren’t many powerhouse schools this year after FSU and Oregon. Even that is debatable. Also check out the AP top 10 where there are five SEC West schools represented.
So if it comes down to which school has the toughest schedule, it would be hard to pass up Alabama’s. This doesn’t mean everything is now sunshine and rainbows. There are a few kinks in the armor that will hopefully be fixed as the Tide progress through the season.
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Let’s get the obvious out of the way, the quarterback position. Even though Saban still refuses to name an outright starter, seeing the snap totals from Saturday night makes you think it’s a pretty obvious decision. Blake Sims is Alabama’s 2014 starting quarterback. Through the first three games, it’s been a mixed result. He uses his legs to his advantage by keeping plays alive and even rushing for a couple of scores. However, he still lacks a deep ball and relies on Amari Cooper way too heavily in the offense.
Obviously it’s smart to find your best wide receiver a few times a game but check out this stat. Cooper has 33 receptions for 454 yards, among tops in the nation. Rest of the team? Just 35 receptions for 440 yards. If a defense is able to limit Cooper, like oh let’s say Florida who has a pretty great corner, will Sims be able to keep the offense going without his favorite target not being available?
Sims is going to have to spread the ball around and making more reads than his first. Kiffin hasn’t exactly opened the playbook up yet but the screen passes and 15+ targets for Cooper every week won’t be effective as we enter SEC play. Sims has definitely progressed and looks more comfortable in the pocket but to make it through this schedule, we need to see a little bit more from him.
Oddly enough, this is really the only big question mark on offense. Alabama obviously has a loaded backfield, crazy talent out wide, and an offensive line that looks a lot better so far this year compared to last season at this point. It’s the defense that still has a few questions remaining. As it stands right now, after watching this team for three weeks I have Alabama going 10-2. One loss comes to Texas A&M and the other would either be against LSU or Auburn. It made me a little sick typing that.
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Pass coverage continues to be the main issue. The pass rush however, has actually become a welcomed strength. Even though the defense only recorded 1 sack against Southern Miss, the Tide applied heavy pressure all night and racked up hits and hurries on the opposing quarterback. The linebacker unit, which is usually the biggest strength, has been worrisome, especially in the middle. Against the run, this unit has been good so far. However, in pass coverage, an offense could expose this part of the defense.
Even with Trey DePriest back, his strength isn’t even in pass coverage. A team with a good offense and a few weapons could kill the Tide underneath which is something I think Florida will try to exploit instead of asking Driskel to throw deep. The linebacker unit must bring their game all around, especially when the Tide face a dangerous offensive unit.Continuing the pass coverage trend, the defensive backs are still concerning. Eddie Jackson continues to improve after his knee injury. Every snap, drive, practice, and game, we’ll see Jackson start to feel more and more comfortable depending on his knee. Once Jackson is fully 100 percent, the defense will have quite the upgrade.
On the other side, Cyrus Jones has played admirably. Despite the switch in position and lack of ideal size, Jones has held his own for the most part. However, I’m still pulling for Tony Brown to make the jump and take over as starter at some point. He has better size for the position and the quicker we get the corner with higher potential more and more snaps, the quicker he’ll be ready to take on the more explosive offenses that the Tide will face.
Looking past the corners, the free safety position hasn’t been noticeable, like at all. The loss of HaHa Clinton-Dix may have been bigger than we thought. Last year Alabama could stick Landon Collins wherever the defense wanted and had the assurance of a top safety protecting the back end of the defense. This year, Collins has been placed in a bit more conservative role and Nick Perry’s name, along with Geno Smith’s, hasn’t been called very often. With Jarrick Williams still out, Alabama is fortunate they don’t play a vertical passing threat until October with Ole Miss and A&M slated.
With the finger not even close to the panic button, Alabama still has a very good shot to make some noise in the postseason. Ultimately, it’s going to be up to the young defense. The offense will adapt to becoming a clock controlling power run team, who takes what the defense gives them in the passing game. So yes, we’re back to a game managing style once we hit conference play. On defense, there will be progression every week. More guys stepping up, more guys coming back from injuries, and more experience that will be critical late in the season. The confidence level seems a bit low for this group but if Alabama beats Florida, that big win could be what the Tide need to give them a nice boost entering their off week.