Kane Wommack has been holding the Alabama Football defense back

Kane Wommack has been holding the Alabama Football defense back, which is a good thing. The Alabama Crimson Tide defense has performed well so far this season, though far from flawlessly. While complimenting players on game performances, Alabama Football DC Kane Wommack has consistently stressed his defense must improve.

Wommack was not much impressed with the Crimson Tide's shutout of Western Kentucky. Wommack assessed the Alabama defense after three games, saying "Plenty of work to do, a lot of things to correct ... there's a lot of things fundamentally we have to get better at. There are things from a schematic standpoint we've got to be more consistent with."

Statistically, the Crimson Tide defense is doing well. Alabama is No. 3 nationally in Opponent Third Down Conversions at 16.33%. Of course, the stat should be good given the offenses of WKU, USF, and Wisconsin with a backup quarterback. Alabama is No. 13 nationally in Scoring Defense and No. 6 in Passing Defense Rating.

The area in which Alabama must improve is Rushing Defense. At an opponent rushing yard per carry average of 3.48 yards, Alabama is No. 56 nationally and No. 12 among SEC teams. For perspective the 2023 Alabama defense finished at 3.72 yards for the same stat; No. 33 nationally and No. 6 among SEC teams.

Given the remaining schedule, Wommack is right to focus on the need for his defense to improve. There are a couple of reasons why Crimson Tide fans should not be worried. One is a new system, with many players lacking much game experience, takes time to develop. That might not bode well for Sept. 28, but, later in the season, the Tide's defense should be more efficient.

Kane Wommack Holding Back Alabama Football Defense

The other reason can impact the Georgia game. It is that Kane Wommack has been holding back. As in not using much of his defensive scheme. How much of Wommack's defense has remained cloaked is not known. This week the Crimson Tide's DC said his installed defense has not been fully used yet, " We carried a lot more defense going into each of those three games, and once we realized we didn't have to show certain things, we chose not to do that."

A best-case scenario for Alabama would be to use just enough defense to beat Georgia, while continuing to hold some back for the Tennessee game three weeks later. That might be a crazy suppositon, but in Week 4 the Tennessee offense is better than the Georgia offense.