Alabama Football: Getting Back on Track May Be Hard This Year, but It's Doable

By Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer)

This is not the season Alabama fans saw coming after dismantling Florida earlier in the year.

Just as head coast Nick Saban has said so much lately, the fans, like the team, were only focused on the results and not the game itself and the individual execution. Mistakes were glossed over by playing an undermanned or rebuilding opponent.

But just like the South Carolina game, the LSU game exposed the fact that Alabama routinely blows coverage in the defensive secondary and just aren't the same team when the offense isn't rushing for about 200 yards a game.

There are three plays in the LSU game that killed Alabama. All three were blown pass coverages. Stopping just one of them may have given Alabama a win.

So how does Alabama cure these ills and get the team back on the right track?

First of all, injuries that caused players to be out are about over. DeQuan Menzie is back at star position in the defensive backfield and that could help a little, but Alabama is really having trouble with the defensive backs. Phelon Jones had been filling in while Menzie was out.

The first problem is focus and experience. All these young men are superior athletes, but they just get overwhelmed in trying to remember the nuances of the defensive playbook, especially in carrying out the zone coverage responsibilities.

At most schools, the hardest thing for defensive backs is the task of man-on-man coverage.

Not at Alabama. The superior athletic skills and the size and speed of the backs means they can cover man on man with any schools' receivers and usually come out smelling like roses.

However, there are so many different zone packages that they often become confused with the people and areas of responsibility and thus, coverage is blown.

The answer is simple. Make the defensive secondary schemes less complicated, run more man to man and use the extra back as a blitzer.

That would solve two of Alabama's problems.

Alabama was thought to have the capability of getting a lot of sacks this year, but it hasn't come through. Last year, Javier Arenas had 10.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. By contrast, the combined duo of Menzie and Jones have just one tackle for loss and no sacks.

But then Arenas was just one of many very experienced defensive backs who made few mental goofs and had years to perfect his knowledge of the playbook.

Turning these younger players loose to run corner blitzes may change those numbers and it would also force the rest of the players into a man-to-man role, which they do better at.

The harassing corner blitzer may also force an errant throw that could add to the interception count as well.

This is just one way the Tide could get back on track, others are to re-establish the run, throw more deep balls to help open up that running game and to come up with some stunt defensive line blitzes as the Tide is sorely behind in sacks this year from the 4-3 boys, but that's another article for another time.

Let's fix the secondary first as it has proven to be the culprit for the costliest mistakes. Given the fact that Saban has spent so much time working these men, it says volumes about the problem that it's still going on this late in the season.

Now you can see why Saban is recruiting defensive backs so strongly. It takes a few years to guide and groom these players into being the kind of backs they won't be a liability in critical situations.

Too see a humorous take on this weekend's SEC picks, go to Larry's Losers in the SEC, here on Bleacher Report. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/513763-sec-game-predictions-larrys-losers-in-the-sec-week-eleven