Alabama Football: 5 takeaways from Florida game
By Dakota Cox
5 takeaways from Alabama football vs. Florida
4. The defense isn’t as good as we thought
Heading into this season, there were high expectations for Alabama football’s defense. The unit as a whole struggled last year, but the retention of eight starters was supposed to make a difference. The Tide also upgraded at inside linebacker, and the depth on the defensive line was a positive.
They could still reach those heights, but they are not there yet. The secondary bailed out the passing game with penalties and blown coverages. The defensive line could not win the line of scrimmage against a run-heavy attack by the Gators. While Drew Sanders has looked fantastic so far, the absence of Chris Allen has weakened the depth at outside linebacker.
We’ve seen flashes of greatness. by the defense, but that’s not what it takes to win. It’s more important to eliminate the errors. The game plan worked enough against Florida, but what happens when they face a better offense that can execute at a higher level? If the defense doesn’t step up, Alabama football will have to win. a shootout. That would’ve been fine before, but the youth of the offense makes this harder to do.
In fact, that brings us to our next takeaway from this worrisome performance. The offense is great, but they are judged on a different scale due to the successes of the past.