How Do The Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers Stack Up On Defense?

Let’s talk defense. In this article, the Alabama and Auburn offenses were lined up side by side.

This was actually an article done to give both Alabama and Auburn fans information for their different spring games, but it quickly became personal. Alabama fans wondered why I left off the defense.

Alabama fans have a lot to be proud of in their defense for 2009. It was a magical group the like of, not seen near Tuscaloosa since 1993. In my opinion it was the most formidable defense to play in the BCS Championship Game the entire decade.

Nine of the starters from that unit are now gone and they must be replaced for 2010.

The 2009 Alabama defense was one of the best in their history, and the 2009 Auburn defense was the worst in their history. 

While statistics for the teams in 2009 is fairly useless with so many players being replaced on both teams, here are some of them to see.

These starting lineups are not set at this point, but they are as close as we can make them right now. Where I wasn't sure, I listed players considered for that position.

Statistic	Alabama	Auburn
Rushing Defense	Ranked 2nd  in the nation	Ranked 78th  in the nation
Yards Allowed Per Play	2.77 yds	4.12 yds
Passing Defense	Ranked 10th  in the nation	Ranked 57th  in the nation
Yards Allowed Per Play	11.07 yds.	11.20 yds
Total Defense	Ranked 2nd  in the nation	Ranked 68th  in the nation
Yards Allowed Per Game	244.14 yds.	374.08 yds
Pass Efficiency Defense	Ranked 2nd  in the nation	Ranked 31st  in the nation
Rating	87.67	115.02

There are a few things that need to be explained before lining the two defenses up side by side. Alabama runs a 3-4 defense and the player requirements are different than for the 4-3 defense that Auburn runs with variations of the Tampa 2 and cover 2 scheme .

One of the major requirements of the 3-4 defense is a dominant nose tackle/defensive tackle. This player is usually the largest defensive player on the field.

Defensive ends in the 3-4 are usually bigger than those in 4-3 sets. Players in 4-3 sets are usually quicker than those in the 3-4.

Position	Alabama	Auburn
Defensive Tackle	Josh Chapman   JR               6’1” 305 LBS 4.9 40 yds.	Nick Fairley SR 6’5” 314 LBS 4.9 40 yds
	Kerry Murphy   Soph      6’4” 323 LBS 5.1 40 yds.	Mike Blanc SR 6’4” 290 LBS 4.9 40 yds.
		Zach Clayton SR 6’3” 293lbs 4.8 40 yds.
		Derrick Lykes Soph 6’2” 281 LBS 4.7              40 yds.
Defensive End	Luther Davis SR 6’3” 299 LBS. 4.8 40 yds.	Antoine Carter SR 6’4” 260 LBS. 4.9 40 yds.
	Damon Square SOPH 6’3” 273 LBS. 4.7 40 yds.	Michael Goggins SR 6’3” 261 LBS. 4.63 40 yds.
	Marcel Darius JR 6’3” 280 LBS. 4.95 40 yds.	Dee Ford SOPH 6’4” 233 LBS 4.46 40 yds.
	Darrington Sentimore RFR 6’3” 280 LBS 4.8 40 yds.	Nosa Eguae RS FR 6’2” 249 LBS 4.9 40 yds.
Linebacker	Dont'a Hightower JR 6’4” 250 LBS 4.8 40 yds.	Josh Bynes SR 6’2” 240 LBS 4.7 40 yds.
	Nico Johnson Soph 6’3” 230 LBS 4.6 40 yds.	Craig Stevens SR 6’3” 224 LBS 4.5 40 yds.
	Jerrell Harris JR 6’3” 220 LBS 4.5 40 yds.	Jonathan Evans Soph 5’11” 216 LBS 4.5 40 yds
	Courtney Upshaw JR 6’2” 249 LBS 4.7 40 yds.	ElToro Freeman JR 5’11” 223 LBS 4.5 40 yds.
		Daren Bates Soph 5’11” 202 LBS 4.5 40yds  Safety/Linebacker Hybrid
Safety	Mark Barron JR 6’2” 215 LBS. 4.5 40 yds.	Aairon Savage SR 5’11” 200 LBS 4.5 40 yds.
	Robert Lester   SOPH 6’2” 210 LBS. 4.5 40 yds.	Mike McNeil SR 6’2” 210 LBS 4.5 40 yds.
		Zac Etheridge SR 6’0” 210 LBS 4.5 40 yds.
Corner	Dre Kirkpatrick Soph 6’3” 185 LBS 4.5 40 yds.	Demond Washington SR 5’9” 183 LBS 4.4 40 yds.
	BJ Scott JR 5’11” 188 LBS. 4.4 40 yds.	Neiko Thorpe JR 6’2” 192 LBS 4.4 40 yds.

Here is all of the information for both teams side by side where fans can simply click on the names and make their own comparison of the experience of each team. 

While it is true that Alabama had to replace nine starters on this defense, it is also true that many of these projected Auburn starters did not play in 2009 while healing from injuries. 

I used this article as a source for the Alabama information.