Why Nick Saban Isn't Worried About Greg McElory's "Slump" in Passing

Greg McElroy's season so far mirrors his performance at Virginia Tech, half cold, half hot. For the first 4 games of the season Greg was averaging a very nice 234.5 yards a game passing with an efficiency rating as high as any quarterback in the nation.

The last four games he's averaged only 129 yards and his passing rating has likewise plummeted.

Is Nick Saban worried? Not according to the man himself.

After Saturday night's game Saban told those of us assembled in the media room that Greg had a simple timing issue in these games that would be worked out and he was not concerned that it would be corrected.

"He's seen some different looks from defenses he didn't see earlier in the year. Teams have been disguising coverages and blitzes and it's all been a learning experience for him this year, but he'll (McElroy) fix that." said Saban of his quarterback.

Perhaps the real reason Saban isn't worried is he sees the same mentality on this team that we reporters see when we interview the players. That is a mentality of "I've got your back."

When I talked to Mark Ingram after the game and asked about McElroy's numbers in contrast to his, his reply was, "Hey, there have been games when teams tried to lock down the running game and Greg carried us on his back, like Arkansas. Tonight it the running game's turn to step up."

This is a team takes what you give them. If you spend your assets trying to close down one aspect of the team, the other will simply compensate and you end up with the same results.

That's the real reason Nick Saban is not worried. Alabama either beat the spread or got close to meeting it in every game so far this year. No game has gone into the final minutes with the outcome in doubt this year.

"Greg has always had the mechanics to be a great quarterback and he usually makes good decisions," said Saban. "And he'll learn from the mistakes he's made so far this year and that will pay off big later on."

But perhaps the real reason Saban isn't worried over both McElroy's raw numbers and recent red zone production is the defense. You don't have to put up a lot of points to win with this squad protecting the end zone.

Alabama has held most of their opponents to just a single touchdown or less and effectively shut down the best three offensive teams they've faced this year, Va. Tech, Arkansas and Ole Miss.

Still, Saban knows that later on, especially against teams like Florida, you better score touchdowns in the red zone when you can.

That's why this week against a team like Tennessee, with as good a defense as Alabama has seen so far this year, we will see whether Saban's confidence in both his quarterback and defense is justified.

Monte Kiffin is a skilled hunter. You can bet he's going to lock down the running game and force a struggling Greg McElroy to beat them with his arm. He's hoping to avoid Alabama grinding both the Vol defense and the clock away with long drives rushing the ball and hoping his talented defensive backs led by All American and future NFL star Eric Berry can hold their own in a lot of one on one situations when he puts the emphasis on stopping the run.

But like Mark Ingram said of Arkansas, when they tried that, Greg simply shredded them and he knows he can do it again. This is a team whose unofficial motto is, "I've got your back." and as one side absorbs the pressure, the other relieves it.

Much will ride on the arm and wisdom of a young and still maturing quarterback in this next game, but he starts the game with the clear confidence of his team mates and his coach and that says something perhaps more important than what we reporters say.