When the Chips are Down or Momentum Needs Charging, Alabama Throws Deep

In every game this year when the game got tight or momentum needed to swing back to the Tide, Nick Saban and Jim McElwain knew just what to do: Throw deep.

Greg McElroy has astonishing touch on his deep balls and leads the nation in completion ratio of passes over 40 yards and that great news as "The Bomb" has been something that's been missing in the Tide's arsenal for quite a few years now.

Saturday was the perfect example of Alabama relying on that play to swing momentum back to them. Ahead 14-0, Arkansas mounted a drive and got to within a score with a Ryan Mallet touchdown pass to bring them back to 14-7.

The Arkansas pep band was still playing gleefully and Razorback players were still congratulating one another when on the first play from scrimmage, McElory once again unleashed "The Bomb" and just seconds after Arkansas had regained hope, did Alabama jerk the rug out from underneath them.

When I asked Saban in the post game press conference how confident he was about pulling that long pass out of the scabbard and sticking it through the opponents heart whenever he wanted to he had a nice reply.

"We have some pretty good skill guys and some really fast guys... Julio can get on top of guys and he we have some big guys...and even if you don't complete them, you have to throw them. We should throw them more than we throw them."

Later he told me to answer it better he does have confidence to completing that pass. "Greg puts the ball out there where our man gets it or nobody does, so I don't feel like we're taking a chance in running it and it does keep the defense honest." Saban finished.

Confidence is something that has to be earned with Coach Saban. He has that kind of confidence in McElroy. "Greg can change the plays if he sees a match-up he thinks he can exploit, we call those 'check with me' plays." Nick explained previous to the press conference.

"I think a lot of the long the passes were called from the bench today, but there were a lot of 'check with me' plays today." Said Saban when I asked they were all planned.

Julio said the TD pass he caught from McElory was probably the worst pass he's thrown all year. "When you're that much open I think quarterbacks aim for a target rather than hitting you in stride but it all worked out." Julio said with a smile.

McElroy's comment echoed Julio's. "That's the worst most under-thrown ball I've thrown this year." Said Greg about that same play. "When you see somebody that wide open you just throw it differently, but fortunately Julio can make any quarterback look good." he said with an equally big smile.

As for Maze, though he had one frustrating drop, he has confidence in the long ball, and he atoned for the drop with a sensational 80 yard pass reception. "Greg has the vision and arm that all of us know if we do what we're supposed to do, the ball will be there." said Maze.

Those kinds of plays just suck the life out of the an opposing team and now Saban and the Crimson tide, as well as the opposing teams to come, all know that the deep ball is Alabama's deadly dagger and they have no trouble pulling it from the scabbard and sticking right through the heart of the opponent.

As if the opponents didn't have enough to fear already, now they have deal with "Bomb Threats" as well.