Alabama Football: Defense needs to make it 3rd and Desperate

The Crimson Tide cannot let the competition off the hook. On 3rd and long situations, teams playing Alabama football have been able to find salvation.

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A good angler sets the hook, nice and firm, so that the fish cannot escape. It may jump into the air, swim under a fallen tree branch, or try to bury itself in some deep weeds, but it cannot escape that hook helping to pull it to the surface and into the boat.

Whether it be a 10-pound Alabama bass or an opposing quarterback, the Crimson Tide have to set the hook better.

Alabama football’s defense works best when they suck the life out of their competition. They pound the competition so hard that, by the fourth quarter, nobody wants to put up a fight against them. A fish, no matter how big, eventually gets tired and gives up.

Except, LSU and Mississippi State continued to find their second and third wind against Alabama in consecutive weeks.

LSU actually made two more first downs than Alabama’s offense, 16-14. They converted nine out of 19 third down attempts to Alabama’s five of 14 attempts. Mississippi State also converted eight out of 15 attempts on third down.

Not exactly choking off the opponents’ will power.

Michael Casagrande of AL.com reported that “Mississippi State was especially efficient with the pass on third downs. It completed 5 of 7 throws for 80 of its 158 passing yards on third down. Five of the eight successful third-down plays came on MSU touchdown drives. The Bulldogs also converted 5 of 6 third downs needing four or fewer yards.”

What may have led to this issue is the fact that both LSU and Mississippi State ran the ball like it was going out of style. LSU tried jet-sweeping Alabama to death while the Bulldogs tried shoving quarterback Nick Fitzgerald‘s six-foot-five, 230-pound frame down the Crimson Tide’s throat.

On Wednesday, Alabama’s head coach Nick Saban said, “when you play teams that run the ball like that, you have to get off the field.”

Instead, the Alabama defense was tired early in the game, giving hope to both LSU and the Bulldogs through most of the games.

Saban said, “Not getting off the field on third down, giving them extra possessions, whether it’s penalties or whatever, so all these things sort of go hand in hand in how do you stop the run? Stopping the run to me is more about how many yards per play do you get than how many yards they gained.”

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LSU ran 42 times, averaging 3.6 yards per carry and the bulk of the ball possession. Mississippi State carved the Crimson Tide’s defensive line, slowly bleeding 172 rushing yards on 49 carries, leading to an average of 3.5 yards per run.

How can the angler drag the fish into the boat if he’s sucking wind himself or if his rod is bending like an upside-down U? There needs to be enough torque to overpower the opponent, but it can be very difficult if the defense is constantly flexed for most of the fight.

Teams that can run the ball against Alabama force the Tide’s linebackers and safeties to play closer to the line, making the secondary do a great deal of running up and down field. Eventually, that consistent pulling and stretching of the schemes, as well as each player’s muscles, causes the defense to become exhausted earlier than in other games.

That exhaustion makes for easier opportunities on a more regular basis for pass conversions, especially on third downs.

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That’s not Alabama football. The Crimson Tide have giant hooks at every defensive position. They just need to set those hooks, instead of getting penalties that extend drives on third down. The defense needs to set the tone for the fight and get more hooks into the quarterbacks and running backs, gang tackling to take the pressure off of the youngsters having to start for the injured starters.

Otherwise, it won’t be the opposing offenses desperate to score on long passes, it will be Alabama’s defense that’s desperate to get off the field before they pass out.

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