Alabama fans want to see dominance from its football team, and last week was a good start.
Players were challenged in practice after losing to Texas A&M; however, the Crimson Tide responded with an outstanding defensive performance against Mississippi State.
Mike Leach saw his offense held without a touchdown versus Alabama for a second straight year. During its 49-9 victory at Davis Wade Stadium, Nick Saban observed his defense total seven sacks, nine tackles for loss, and three interceptions (one for a touchdown).
The Tide executed on third down and limited the Bulldogs to under 300 yards offensively. Coach Saban not only challenged his athletes but also instituted personnel and strategy changes.
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In pregame warmups, Daniel Wright was the starter at free safety in the 3-4 alignment and the dime. Fans saw a lot of Wright on the field, and he performed well. Alabama switched to DeMarcco Hellams in the nickel. LaBryan Ray was in more for DJ Dale. The fifth-year senior is regaining his confidence on the defensive line.
Alabama was able to generate more pressure on Bulldogs’ quarterback Will Rogers with Ray in the game. We also saw some different exotic blitz packages with Christian Harris and Brian Branch that were new. The Tide sent both into one gap, and they shared a sack of Rogers.
Malachi Moore pressured Rogers on a play and forced an incomplete pass.
Alabama also did different things with Will Anderson. He led the defense in sacks (four) and tackles for loss (four), but Anderson’s production came on various looks. The Tide used him as a bull rusher, he came on inside and outside stunts, and he was featured on delayed pressures. Anderson was at his best when his sacks came with Mississippi State in the red zone.
Different stunts, movements, and changes fueled a great outing. After the matchup, Saban said Alabama played a complete game.
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“I was proud of how our players competed,” he said. “We needed to respond, and we did it the right way. We played a 60-minute game, and we dominated. This is how you want to play on the road. You have to control the crowd, and I thought our guys did a good job. We had a good week of practice. It was good preparation and focus. I thought the defense did a great job. The three picks were great, and the red zone defense was great. We gave up a couple of big plays, but we were able to affect the quarterback with three, and four, and five guys rushing. The multiples were good for us, and our guys did a good job of executing the plan.”
Saban does not want the players to forget the hurt after losing to Texas A&M. Alabama will host Tennessee at Bryant-Denny Stadium this week. Fans hope the Tide will continue using multiple looks. It allowed the defense to frustrate Rogers and made Leach’s offense a nonfactor. Most view Georgia as the team to beat in the SEC, but last week was a confidence boost for the Tide.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
