Alabama Football: Midseason Report Card for the Crimson Tide

Every year, there are several good teams, but only a few great ones. The difference between the two is that the latter focus on weaknesses, improve every week and play to their strengths better than anyone else. Great teams don't get complacent or rest on their laurels, and they are tough and fair evaluators of themselves.

Perhaps it could best be summed up by a quote from Mike Ditka: "I'm a coach, I gotta be realistic.  I can't live in a dream world like fans and writers and media people. I gotta live with the basic things I see and I understand. And I know when football teams are good and dominating other teams and are putting the fear in other teams."

In short, self-evaluation is the most important thing in being successful. While I am a writer, which Coach Ditka probably despises, here is a report of how Coach Saban and Alabama fans should feel about their team thus far.

Quarterback

Grade: C+

A.J. McCarron hasn't been asked to do much because Alabama hasn't needed him yet. 

McCarron has thrown more than 30 passes only twice this season and is completing 67.2 percent.

Against the two better defenses he played, Florida and Penn State, McCarron completed only 55.6 percent of his passes for just 303 yards and one touchdown.

I want to see what he can do against a team like LSU.

Running Backs

Grade: A+

Anyone who watched Alabama in their championship season of 2009 saw that Trent Richardson was the real deal and was most likely already ahead of his Heisman-winning counterpart, Mark Ingram.

He is living up to his expectations this season, rushing for 912 yards and 15 touchdowns. He is averaging 6.9 yards per carry.

Eddie Lacy and Jalston Fowler are turning into nice complements to Richardson. They have combined to carry the ball 89 times for 721 yards.

In total, Alabama running backs are rushing for an average of 6.1 yards per carry.

Wide Receivers

Grade: C+

Marquis Maze is the headliner of the group.  He has caught 34 passes on the season and had an electrifying punt return against Arkansas that put the game out of reach. 

That being said, Maze has more than 50 yards receiving only twice this season, and it came against Kent State and Vanderbilt. Additionally, he hasn't caught a touchdown since the opening game against Kent State.

After Maze, there hasn't been much production. Richardson is the second leading receiver in terms of receptions and yardage. If Darius Hanks continues to improve his production, the unit as a whole will continue to improve. Still, just like McCarron, the receiving corps hasn't been asked to do much.

Offensive Line

Grade: A-

As good as Richardson and the other backs have been, there's a little secret that people seem to forget from time to time. 

No group of backs, no matter how talented, rush for 6.1 yards per carry without a fantastic offensive line. The line has done a great job opening holes for Richardson and company to run through.

The unit is led by Barrett Jones, who over the course of the season, has played every position on the line.

There is one cause for concern, however. McCarron has been sacked 11 times, which is 58th in the nation. Factor in the infrequent amount of times they throw the ball, and it is an alarmingly high number.

For point of comparison: McCarron and Sims have combined for 200 passes and been sacked 11 times. That's getting sacked every 18 drop backs. Andrew Luck of Stanford has attempted 181 passes and been sacked twice. That's once every 90 attempts.

Defensive Line

Grade:A

As one would expect, Alabama is deep on the defensive line. 

They have been effectively rotating Josh Chapman and Jesse Williams at nose tackle, while wnds Quinton Dial, Ed Stinson, Nick Gentry and Damion Square have all seen significant playing time.  Stinson leads the linemen in tackles for loss with five, while Gentry has 2.5 sacks on the year.   

Linebackers

Grade: A+

We said in the early slide that great teams constantly play to their strengths. We saw that this is the case with Alabama when it came to the rushing attack. It is also true with their linebackers.

The 3-4 alignment and constant rotation of pressuring defensive linemen has allowed space for four talented linebackers to roam the field.

Courtney Upshaw leads the team with 3.5 sacks, five QB hurries and 10.5 tackles for loss. The 10.5 TFL is 10th in the nation. Donta Hightower leads in tackles with 39 (21 solos). 

The talented line and linebackers combined have Alabama first in every rushing statistic. They allow only 38.14 yards per game on the ground. Second is Stanford, who allows 59 per game, which is over 50 percent more than Alabama.

Secondary

Grade: A+

Alabama's passing statistics could be slightly skewed since they face more passing attempts than most teams due to leading most games. It takes a little research to get through a possible bias.

Teams have attempted 225 passes against Bama, which is the 22nd most in the nation. Still, they have given up just 146 yards per game through the air.

Opponents' yards per attempt is 4.5, second in the nation behind Michigan State at 4.4.

They have held opponents to a 48 percent completion rate and have intercepted twice as many passes as they have given up touchdowns (eight to four). Seven different members of the defense have intercepted a pass.

Special Teams

Grade: C+

The return units have been great.  Maze averages 34.83 on kick returns and 13.36 on punt returns. Nationally, Alabama ranks 12th in kick returns and 17th in punt returns.

Alabama hasn't allowed a kick or punt return for a touchdown yet. That being said, there is some concern. 

Alabama has the worst net punting in the nation. They are averaging 38.8 yards per punt, but have allowed an average of 13 per return. Any loss in field position Alabama may have suffered has gone unnoticed, since their defense is playing so well. 

Placekicker Jeremy Shelley is 9-of-11 on the season, but only has a long of 37.  This makes it all the more baffling that Arkansas wasn't ready for a fake on a 54-yard attempt in the attached video.

Both this and the punting could come back to haunt Alabama eventually.