The Alabama offense put together a pitiful performance in Knoxville on Saturday afternoon, mustering just over 200 yards of offense and just 10 total points. The defense gift-wrapped seven of those with a takeaway that set the Crimson Tide up inside the red zone.
The Alabama defense was the only reason the game was as competitive as long as it was. They bent, but didn't break in the first half, holding Tennessee to four field goals as the Tide went into the half somehow only down by two points.
But their back broke in the second half. Tennessee had the ball three times in the game's final 30 minutes outside of the kneel-down after Keelon Russell's second interception. They went on two lengthy touchdown drives. The second of which took up nearly 10 minutes of game time and drove the final nail into Alabama's self-built coffin.
Yesterday's shortcomings in the second half only served to highlight a recurring issue for Alabama's defense this year. A unit that was supposed to be great has been decidedly mediocre instead. And now, once again, Kane Wommack's scheme is under fire.
Tennessee QB George MacIntyre's comments were pretty damning about Wommack's defense and a lack of a curveball or changeup.
"Bama, we knew they were going to play really soft on the outside. By soft, I mean, like, deep — not really letting any shots over the top," MacIntyre said, via 247's Mike Rodak. " I felt like their game plan was just to keep having [us] snap it again, snap it again and make us sustain drives. And I feel like, especially in the second half, that's what we did."
Kane Wommack's defensive scheme made things easy for George MacIntyre and Tennessee's offense
Alabama consistently played off-coverage instead of pressing Tennessee's receivers. That gave MacIntyre easy throws all night long. Throws he was more than happy to take over and over again. His average depth of target was just 3.6 yards. 48 air yards on 21 completions, and Wommack chose to defend Tennessee's receivers like they were competing against the 2007 New England Patriots.
That's hard to rationalize. It was hard enough to rationalize in the first quarter; it was even more difficult to rationalize in the fourth when Alabama needed to get aggressive. Alabama's pass rush was non-existent, but it's hard to get a rush when the opposing QB can get the ball out that quickly.
Wommack loves to say that you have to answer for what you put on tape. Alabama has put this same scheme on tape over and over again without showing a willingness to change things up and throw different looks at the offense.
Look at the difference between Alabama's defense and the two defenses the Tide has gone against the last two weeks. Keelon Russell could never get comfortable against Georgia or Tennessee because those coordinators didn't allow for it. They threw a million different looks at a young QB and consistently confused him.
Against MacIntyre, Wommack made a young quarterback's job easier. That's the difference between a "good" coordinator and the great ones Alabama saw the last two weeks.
That glaring difference couldn't have been more obvious, and it should have Wommack squarely on the hot seat.
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