Alabama’s defensive numbers in back-to-back weeks looked good, but has the team turned a corner?
During player interviews on Tuesday, Will Anderson and Jalyn Armour-Davis spoke on players having fun and shifting to a ‘championship’ mindset late in the season.
After some struggles with mixing young talent with veterans, the Crimson Tide’s defense has forced five shutout quarters of football.
Alabama posted 12 sacks, 20 tackles for loss, 11 pass breakups, 12 quarterback hurries, and three forced turnovers against LSU and New Mexico State. The unit has emerged to fifth in the nation for total defense (288.3 ypg), third for run defense (81.5 ypg), twelfth for scoring defense (18.2 ppg), and sixth in sacks (34).
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Offensively, Alabama ranks third in the nation for scoring (44.3 ppg), tenth for total offense (484.7 ypg), eleventh for passing offense (322.6 ypg), fourth for pass efficiency offense (178.05), first for third-down efficiency (56.6 percent conversion rate), and sixth for red-zone offense (47-of-50, 94%). The Tide has recorded touchdowns on 38 of 50 (76%) red zone trips this season.
Georgia is carrying massive attention to be a national champion, but Alabama is in the right spot for a push.
“We are starting to come together as a group,” Armour-Davis said. “Not just as a football team, but off the field too. We are coming together as brothers. We are starting to have more fun celebrating with each other. When things don’t go well, we are picking each other up. This is the way it should be. We have been preaching that as a team, and it is starting to show up.”
Armour-Davis, a redshirt junior, has seen his patience rewarded as Alabama’s starting cornerback. He has been consistent all year with 26 tackles, four pass breakups, and a team-high three interceptions. As a native of Mobile, Ala., he told reporters the main thing for him has been trusting himself. His teammates have had confidence in Armour-Davis, but it is now showing in his play.
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Anderson said Alabama knows now is the time to do what champions do.
“Since the season has gone on, we have shifted our mindset to a championship team,” he said. “We have to do championship things, and we have come to a common goal.”
Anderson, a sophomore, said the chemistry and mindset of the team have gotten better.
Players are excited to watch each other perform well on the field. Guys are bonding more, celebrating more, and becoming a unified group. The championship teams in the past for Alabama under Nick Saban had those ingredients. Whether it formed in the preseason, during the middle of the season, or toward the end, chemistry, mindset, and brotherhood were the qualities.
Despite the production he’s had, the Heisman Trophy is the last thing on Anderson’s mind.
“I am just focused on getting to a natty,” he said with a smile. “I want to finish these last two games strong and get to the national championship. That is all I am worried about and what we want as a team.”
Alabama will bring its mindset against Arkansas on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
It clinches the SEC West crown with a victory over the Razorbacks.
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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.
