Alabama Football: Bama NFL Blitz – Week 11

This week, many former Alabama football standouts had banner games in the NFL. Here are four players who made a difference on defense with impressive interceptions.

You get an interception!  And you get an interception!  Everybody gets an interception! Well, almost everybody, in an outstanding week for former Alabama football players in the NFL.

The Alabama football defense has long been regarded as one of, if not THE best defenses in the country. Coach Nick Saban and his defensive coordinators have always done a great job of preparing their players for the next level.

ICYMI: Is Calvin Ridley the next Julio Jones?

In Week 11 of the NFL, some of the former Bama DBs made their presence felt to NFL quarterbacks.

Marlon Humphrey – Baltimore Ravens

Marlon Humphrey was the 18th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens.   The rookie got the first interception of his NFL career Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.  While this interception probably would’ve felt better to him against a healthy Aaron Rodgers, it’s still an INT in the stat book.  Congratulations, Marlon! Now say ‘cheese’:

Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix – Green Bay Packers

Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix, safety for the Green Bay Packers, also managed to get a pick in the same game. Dix claimed his second interception of the year. The Red Zone interception thwarted the Baltimore scoring drive, but did not help the Packers get a win. Green Bay was shut out at home by the Ravens.

Dre Kirkpatrick – Cincinnati Bengals

Dre Kirkpatrick is a staple of the Cincinnati Bengals defense since his first round draft pick in 2012. Kirkpatrick became the stuff Twitter memes are made of when he picked off Brock Osweiller, QB for the Denver Broncos. While Kirkpatrick failed to get in the end zone on his return, he did manage to grab a fumble recovery (of his own fumble) on the Broncos 1-yard line. That’s right….a 100-yard interception return and fumble recovery that did not end with a score.

Landon Collins – New York Giants

The most game-changing performance came from the New York Giants’ Landon Collins. Collins picked off Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith late in the game. The Giants have had an abysmal season, and Collins’ interception in the fourth quarter stopped the Chiefs from scoring. The Giants went on to win the game; something they haven’t been able to say too often this season.

Next: Jon Gruden would be intimidated by Nick Saban

Critics love to say that the Alabama football program doesn’t churn out “quality NFL players.” This week definitely helped to prove the haters wrong. What will former Crimson Tide standouts do in the weeks to come?

Tune in next week for the Week 12 edition of Bama NFL Blitz.