Alabama Football: Tide’s report card vs. Mercer Bears

Alabama football’s report card vs. Mercer

Cornerbacks: B

The corners were put in a tough situation this week against Mercer. First and foremost, both starting corners were out for the game. That forced inexperienced players to see a massive amount of reps.

Also, the Tide mostly had to stop outside runs. That forced the corners to beat blocks instead of playing in coverage. This is a different skill, and it’s not one that is used on most plays.

Still, Alabama made some great plays in the secondary when the Bear passed the ball. there were some bad penalties as well, but the interceptions were solid plays, and there were more passes broken up.

Safeties: B-

The safeties had more depth than the corners, but they made errors as well. On the big plays, there were too many busted assignments. Penalties were also an issue. This was mostly when the role players were in the game, but no one had a perfect day.

If Alabama’s secondary can be fully healthy for the rest of the season, they will be a strength of this title-contending team. We’ll just have to see what happens when Alabama football goes against a typical passing offense with a healthy group in the defensive backfield.