Alabama Football: Losing LB Dylan Moses ripples, but cripples?

Alabama football will miss linebacker Dylan Moses, who is having season-ending foot surgery. How will this impact the defense during the Sugar Bowl?

Next man up is a cliche that sounds almost poetic, but it does not necessarily work to win football games. For Alabama football, now is not the time for poetry. They are running out of men to even stand up.

ICYMI: Tide turns practice attention to Clemson

Matt Zenitz of AL.com first reported that “standout freshman inside linebacker Dylan Moses suffered what’s feared to be a season-ending foot injury during the Crimson Tide’s practice on Monday […] Moses’ injury is a broken foot, according to sources.”

The injury and surgery were confirmed later on by head coach Nick Saban, stating that Moses was “out indefinitely.”

Redshirt junior Keith Holcombe or sophomore Mack Wilson could get the nod to start in place of Moses in the highly anticipated Sugar Bowl against Clemson.

Let us not forget how everyone got here in the first place. Holcombe was the one who had a chance to be the savior, when multiple Crimson Tide defenders were out with injury. His chance to prove himself came against the Mississippi State Bulldogs; it was a rough, quick night for Holcombe.

BamaHammer.com covered Holcombe’s performance:

"“In total, Holcombe made six tackles, one was solo. However, he missed multiple tackles on MSU’s opening drive, allowing Fitzgerald and the Bulldog running backs to run right through or around him. Holcombe’s reward was to be replaced by Dylan Moses, a freshman.”"

Now, with Moses out, the depth chart looks that much more of a blood bath:

OUR LINEBACKERS ARE ON THE ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST
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Shaun Dion Hamilton would have looked very nice against Clemson, if it was not for the fact that his fractured knee cap is slowing him down at present. Outside linebackers Christian Miller and Terrell Lewis could make returns on New Year’s Day, if Miller’s bicep and Lewis’ elbow have actually healed properly. However, there is no sure way of knowing if either is ready to play until they actually enter a real game, instead of just practice.

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Wilson’s return in the Auburn game was a great sign of his progress, but even he was kept to only a few plays per drive.

As much as it may pain Crimson Tide fans to say it, Alabama needed Moses to be the next man up for the defense. His 21 tackles in two starts against Mercer and Auburn, 16 of them solo, will be sorely missed.

Moses showed pack-hunting mentality. He kept running backs and flushed quarterbacks contained, allowing for his teammates to help swarm and tackle the opposition. Against Clemson, who have an athletic quarterback who is not afraid to run and a solid running attack, Moses would have helped Rashaan Evans contain the run. Stopping the run would allow Evans to do what he does best, get into the pass rush and sack the quarterback.

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With Moses out, and either the whiffing Holcombe or the possibly-still-hampered Wilson starting or platooning as linebackers, Evans may have to stay back more often during blitz packages. The Moses injury may, in fact, then be dictating how Alabama decides to play defense, which is never a good thing.