Why the Alabama Special Teams Could Be Its Achilles' Heel vs. Georgia

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — More than anything, there was a sense of relief last week that perhaps the University of Alabama football team had finally turned a corner in one important area.

It wasn’t the passing game, which still has question marks, or the defense that pulled off a shutout, but rather the Crimson Tide's special teams.

Adam Griffith made two solid field goals during the 34-0 victory against Louisiana-Monroe at Bryant-Denny Stadium, drilling attempts from 40 and 35 yards. Even with them, the struggling kicker was just 3-for-7 on the disappointing season.

“We have a lot of confidence in Griff, I’ve always said that,” head coach Nick Saban said. “I think that getting his plant foot right is something that he’s now doing and has confidence in. Hopefully he’ll be able to build on the success that he had today and continue to do a nice job for us in the future.

“I think he just has to think the right things and focus on the technique that he needs for us to have success, and when he does that, he’s a very good kicker.”

Still, the biggest surprise with the Crimson Tide in 2015 has been the porous special teams play, which may have cost Alabama one game and can easily make the difference in a showdown like it has Saturday at No. 8 Georgia (3:30 p.m. ET Saturday, CBS).

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So far the highlights have been a perfect 18-for-18 on extra-point attempts, a blocked punt against Middle Tennessee resulting in a safety, and the only successfully executed onside kick in the Southeastern Conference—although Ole Miss might argue it was due to illegally batting the ball forward.

Don’t expect the Rebels to do any complaining, though, because for the second straight year Alabama’s fumble issues on kick returns played a huge part in Ole Miss pulling out a win.

Moreover, none of Alabama’s three scholarship players on special teams are having a good season, including punter JK Scott, who appears to be having a sophomore slump after earning All-American status in 2014. Long-snapper Cole Mazza has also missed the last two games for what has only been called “medical reasons.”

"Great long snapper,” Scott said about Mazza during training camp. “He's the best in the country, hands down.”

Statistically, Alabama’s special teams have been a huge disappointment. 

• Kickoff coverage: This is arguably where Alabama’s been its best on special teams. The net average, which means the kickoff yards minus the return, is 41.6 yards. That’s sixth in the 14-team SEC. 
• Kickoff returns: Alabama’s averaging 18.6 yards per return, roughly half of league-leader Tennessee’s 35.2. It ranks 11th in the conference.
• Punting: Scott’s average is a shocking 38.8 yards, and the Crimson Tide’s net yards per punt is just 36.3.
• Punt-return average: Alabama’s 7.1-yard average is last in the league. Cyrus Jones finally broke a big return against ULM, only to see it officially listed as 22 yards due to a block-to-the-back penalty.
• Field goals: Griffith’s 42.9 completion percentage is last in the league.

Last year Alabama was 14-of-22 on field goals, which tanked to 13th in the conference. It was eighth in kickoff coverage and kickoff returns and ninth in punt returns. But it was first in punting, as Scott regularly gave his team a huge advantage in field position.

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As a freshman, his yards per punt (48.0), net yards per punt (44.67) and percentage of punts downed inside the 20-yard line (56.4) weren’t just the best in the nation on the collegiate level, but statistically better than any punter in the National Football League.

He hasn’t been anywhere near as steady in 2015, although Scott’s had six punts inside the 20 and the average return has been just 1.3 yards.

“I think that there’s been a little inconsistency sometime in his drop, which was the problem with the poor kick (against Wisconsin), in that he dropped the ball on the outside,” Saban said in early September. “So when he drops it correctly and hits it with a nice, smooth pace, he’s pretty consistent and kicks it really, really well. We have a lot of confidence in him. He just has to get confidence back in his drop, and he’ll be fine.”

Nevertheless, with Alabama’s high level of overall talent, it should be absolutely dominant on special teams. Among those who have stood out include former walk-on Michael Nysewander and reserve cornerback Tony Brown.

"I think he's a guy that takes great pride in the way he plays on special teams,” Saban said about Brown last week. “It's his role on the team right now, and he has done probably the best job through three games of anybody in terms of his production, his performance, the effort. He's been very disruptive.”

It’ll be an area to watch at Georgia, and not just because the Bulldogs have posted comparable numbers (11th in the SEC in punting and kickoff coverage, 12th in field goals and last in kickoff returns). Alabama has 14 players on the roster who hail from the state, many of whom are special teams staples, including Griffith, running back/kick returner Kenyan Drake and senior linebacker Dillon Lee.

“All the guys from Georgia, everyone—whether it’d be LSU or wherever you have a pretty good bit of guys from that state on your team—always, going home is exciting. Everyone wants to win. No one wants to lose to their hometown school.”

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Christopher Walsh is a lead SEC college football writer. Follow Christopher on Twitter @WritingWalsh.