Alabama Football: Against Aggies Bill O’Brien not the probem

Alabama Football fans are rightfully frustrated Bill O’Brien did not run the ball in a fourth-quarter red zone possession Saturday night. With 9:49 left in the game and trailing 31-27, Bryce Young connected with Brian Robinson Jr. for a nine-yard completion and a first down at the Aggies three. The call came on a 3rd-and-2 play. On first-down, a Tide pass lost a yard. Second and third-down passes were incomplete and the Tide had to settle for a field goal. O’Brien’s first down decision appeared to have cost the Alabama Crimson Tide enough points to lose the game.

There is more to the story. More on O’Brien below, but there were bigger problems and bigger Crimson Tide weaknesses in the game. They are problems and weaknesses that must be fixed to continue pursuit of a National Championship.

Two conclusions jump out. In the trenches, the Crimson Tide roster is short on impact players. The offensive line has one special player in Evan Neal. Javion Cohen and Emil Ekiyor Jr. have mostly played well. Darrian Dalcourt is neither a weakness nor a strength. Chris Owens is adequate. In total, they are not near the 2020 offensive line.

The second conclusion and the bigger problem is the defensive line. Alabama football fans were brimming with confidence in the offseason that depth would make the d-line special. Depth has not helped and is not the solution. The Crimson Tide has at best an average defensive line. Only Phil Mathis has played consistently well. Others have shown flashes but not consistency. Other than maybe Mathis, double-teaming a Tide defensive lineman has not been needed. Without the need for double teams, the Tide’s inside linebackers must often deal with big bodies before attacking ball carriers.

At the start of the season, using a 2-4-5 was a sound decision. Chris Allen was too good to not be on the field. Drew Sanders was an effective replacement in some ways. He made some plays but had problems with some assignments. Dallas Turner may become a great player, but is far from it now. The result of the d-line weaknesses and injury attrition were seen against the Aggies – four tackles for-a-loss, zero sacks and zero quarterback hurries.

Some Alabama football fans will correctly add that tackling has been an issue and communication mistakes in the secondary have made the Tide vulnerable. One of those communication miscues allowed the Aggies an easy touchdown Saturday night. Without pressure on an opposing quarterback, the Tide secondary has no margin for error.

Alabama Football Defensive Stats

Three sets of FBS stats elaborate the Crimson Tide’s defensive issues.

FBS National Total Defense for Crimson Tide and other SEC teams – Yards Per Play (YPP)

• No. 1 – Georgia – 3.56 YPP
• No. 33 – Alabama – 4.94 YPP
• Kentucky (4.61), Florida (4.78), Auburn (4.82) and Tennessee (4.87) are better than the Tide

FBS National Rushing Defense for Crimson Tide and other SEC teams – Yards Per Rush (YPR)

• No. 3 – Georgia – 2.15 YPR
• No. 14 – Auburn – 2.87 YPR
• No. 23 – Alabama – 3.10 YPR

FBS National Red Zone Defense for Crimson Tide and other SEC teams – Opponent score percentage

• No. 6 – Georgia – 62.5 percent
• No. 13 – Texas A&M – 68.4 percent
• No. 23 – Florida – 73.3 percent
• No. 48 – Mississippi State – 80 percent
• No. 69 – Vanderbilt – 83.3 percent
• No. 83 – South Carolina – 86.7 percent
• No. 86 – Alabama – 87.5 percent

Alabama Football Offense Stat

FBS National Tackles For a Loss (TFL) Allowed  – Crimson Tide and other SEC teams

• No. 6 – Mississippi State – 3.40 TFL
• No. 8 – Georgia – 3.50 TFL
• No. 10 – Auburn – 3.67 TFL
• No. 15 – Kentucky – 3.83 TFL
• No. 27 – Vanderbilt – 4.50
• No. 38 (tie) – Florida, LSU, Tennessee – 5.00
• No. 60 – Ole Miss – 5.4
• No. 73 – Alabama – 5.83

These NCCA published stats mostly show small margins of differences among teams. Even small differences are enough to turn a close win into a close loss.

Yes, we Alabama football fans wish Bill O’Brien had called up to four running plays to gain three yards. Today O’Brien and Nick Saban would probably agree. But the Alabama Crimson Tide problems and weaknesses are not its offensive play-caller.