Something strange happened to me while watching Alabama football take on Texas A&M last Saturday. Perhaps only Agent Mulder and Agent Scully could answer this X-File. As the game progressed, I was no longer fearful of an opponent throwing the deep ball against Alabama’s secondary.
Witnessing Nick Marshall post 456 yards in the Iron Bowl, Maty Mauk converting 3rd and forevers in the SEC Championship Game and Cardale Jones tagging up with Devin Smith to take the lead and never look back, I became emotionally scarred against facing the long ball. Forget about long field goals for a second, it was the pass defense that worried me the most at the start of this season.
Apr 18, 2015; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive backs coach Mel Tucker during the A-day game at Bryant Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
Enter Mel Tucker, a guy who began his coaching career as a Graduate Assitant under Nick Saban at Michigan State and made his way to Defensive Coordinator of the Chicago Bears last season. At the time, this was a bit of an under the radar hire after his ending in Chicago. Tucker had quite the task entering Tuscaloosa.
At cornerback, Cyrus Jones was the only one returning with significant experience. Outside Jones, the position was filled with inexperience. Marlon Humphrey and Minkah Fitzpatrick were just freshmen who have never seen the field and sophomore Tony Brown played the filler role for former corner Eddie Jackson. Speaking of Jackson, he changed positions and had to learn to play safety in Saban’s system. Geno Smith, a somewhat inexperienced senior, was expected to play beside Jackson and freshman Ronnie Harrison caught some early praise in camp, but no one was sure of his initial impact.
Well, that’s why offseason narratives are so enjoyable. Going from perhaps the biggest question mark for Alabama, outside of quarterback, the defensive backfield has helped shape the defense into perhaps the most talented and well-rounded unit in football. Everyone knows about Alabama’s front seven, a unit comparable to Mad Max traveling on the Fury Road every snap.
Just look at how Tucker has shaped his position using mostly freshmen and players with a lack of experience or lack of experience at a new position.
-1st in the SEC in pass defense rating (9th nationally).
-1st in the SEC in interceptions (5th nationally).
-1st in the SEC in opponent completion percentage (15th nationally).
-1st in the SEC in opponent first downs (5th nationally).
-Since Ole Miss, opposing quarterbacks have a combined rating of 36.5.
-According to Pro Football Focus, Marlon Humphrey (+11.3) is the top corner in the SEC and Minkah Fitzpatrick (+3.9) is the top slot corner. Eddie Jackson (+13.4) is tied for 1st at the safety position in the SEC.
-So far in SEC play, Alabama’s defense has scored the same amount of touchdowns (4) as Missouri’s offense and one more touchdown than Vanderbilt’s offense. Fitzpatrick and Jackson each has two scores, Fitzpatrick adds another on special teams.
-Stats not impressive enough? Alabama has faced the 14th most pass attempts in the country and has faced 3 of the top 25 passing offenses and 5 out of the top 50 (5 in the top 50 in pass rating as well).
What do these stats mean? Well first off, Alabama’s defense is good. These stats also only reflect the performance of Alabama’s pass defense, which is why I didn’t mention Alabama being 1st in the SEC in sacks and total defense. Oh well, I just did.
At the beginning of the season, I highlighted the Texas A&M matchup. A pass-heavy offense against a, what was then, questionable pass defense. On paper, possibly the most difficult matchup for Alabama defensively. Is that still going to be the case? Possibly. Leonard Fournette comes to town in a few weeks, but Alabama kinda has a knack for stopping the run. The Tide will then head over to take on Mississippi State, but it’s a one man show in Starkville at the moment. At the end of the season, there is Auburn, okay.
Alabama is going to need a little help getting into postseason play but as long as the defense continues to perform like on Saturday, there shouldn’t be much of an issue. It’s fun to watch Alabama turn into a ball-hawking secondary and it’s exciting to think just how young these guys are.
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