Alabama football: Understanding the mental errors for the Tide’s defense

For Alabama football fans, the victory versus the Razorbacks was highlighted by Tua Tagovailoa’s four touchdown passes. However, the defensive mental errors proved to out-shadow an otherwise great offensive performance.

Alabama’s defense gave up 31 points to an Arkansas team that only scored three and twenty-seven points total versus Auburn and TAMU respectively. 31 points is the most allowed by an Alabama football defense since the National Championship loss to Deshaun Watson. With all due respect to Ty Storey, he is not Deshaun Watson.

The Razorbacks were able to consistently move the football on Alabama’s defense throughout the first half. In fact, if it were not for three fumbles that didn’t go Arkansas’s way, the score could have been tied or in favor of Arkansas for much of the first half. Arkansas’s first drive ended with a Bugg’s forced fumble and recovery; followed immediately by an Irv Smith Jr. fumble, luckily recovered by Henry Ruggs III for a touchdown.

Arkansas’s third missed fumble opportunity came on the goal line when the Razorbacks were looking to draw the score to 21-14, when Ty Storey fumbled on a quarterback scramble recovered by Deionte Thompson. Keeping the score to 21-7, followed by a 99-yard touchdown drive by Tua Tagovailoa.

With the fumble recoveries by the Tide keeping the Razorbacks at distance, the question still remains how Ty Storey was able to move the ball effectively against the Tide’s defense?

In the first half, Alabama’s defense mainly played man to man coverages in the secondary. Thus, placing our linebackers in one on one matchups versus the running backs and tight ends. Mack Wilson was burned multiple times with the running back wheel routes and tight end releases from the line of scrimmage.

The tight ends for the Razorbacks would initially chip Alabama’s ends and then proceed into their routes. This second or two delay would result in a blown coverage by Mack Wilson, who would proceed upfield to the quarterback. The running back wheel routes were more concerning due to the poor angles chosen by Mack Wilson, which resulted in him being trapped by Arkansas receiver’s rub routes, creating the separate needed to make the running back wide open on the sidelines.

Mack Wilson’s inability to maintain responsibility for his receiver, combined with Ty Storey’s ability to take advantage of Alabama’s man to man coverage proved to be the contributing factor in the first half.

The Tide adjusted at halftime

The starting defense in the second half used more combinations of zone coverage to limit the production of Ty Storey. Alabama football starting defense was able to limit the Razorbacks to a field goal in the second half.

Alabama didn’t begin to substitute second and third string players into the lineup until after Shyheim Carter’s pick six. The second and third string players allowed Arkansas’s last two possessions to end in touchdowns.

For Alabama football going forward, the ability to reduce the mental errors which has plague this defense all year is critical. No game this year has been close, however; at some point whether it be in the regular season or postseason, Alabama will be in a dogfight throughout. How the defense responds could be the difference between a win or loss.

Coach Nick Saban stated that all errors made were correctable, look for these corrections to be tested in a major way against Drew Lock’s passing offense this coming week in Tuscaloosa.

Comment on what you believe was the contributing factor to Alabama’s defensive errors. Also make a prediction on this week’s upcoming game versus Drew Lock’s Tigers.