Does this defense have the potential to be the best ever during the Saban era?

Loam

All-SEC
Oct 20, 2014
1,165
0
0
I keep hearing things like our DL maybe the best ever during the Saban era. Then when you look at our LB's, you have to point toward Reggie Ragland as continuing a tradition here for great LB's under Saban. So our entire 7 should be extremely dominant. What about our secondary? I think it'll be a lot better than some think it will be. We have that new secondary coach from Chicago, which should help and we have so many freakish 5 star players back there.

So what do some of you say? *Can* this be the best defense we have seen during the Saban era?
 

WMack4Bama

Administrator
Staff member
Nov 7, 2008
11,483
1,219
232
Tuscaloosa, AL
No.

Defensive line will be the best in the country.

Defensive backfield will be much improved but the most talented guys are the youngest guys, which means that they may or may not play depending on how fast they can pick everything up.

Depth at LB will be a concern. Ragland is Ragland. The light has finally come on for Reuben but how healthy can he stay? SDH is about a year away. We've been waiting for a long time for Dillon Lee to give us a whole game of the big plays that he occasionally makes. Keith Holcombe is primed to break out sooner or later but my money is on the latter. The young pups just arriving won't play unless they're forced into action due to injury.

On the outside, we've seen what Williams & Evans can do, but they're purely situational at this point. Ryan Anderson, from my eyes, is clearly a better player than Denzell Devall (more productive at least) but as long as Devall is healthy, he'll be out there, which doesn't say as much as it used to.

So, in summary...CAN this defense be as good as 2011? Of course. Will it? Overall, not likely.

The defensive line is the best we've had since he's been here before even kicking off
 

GP for Bama

All-American
Feb 3, 2011
4,326
1,086
187
Everywhere that I read, folks are very positive on our defense...and especially our defensive front. However I have a hard time getting our last outing out of my mind where we allowed 280 yards rushing. Also our D allowed over 40 points in two of our last three games.

I hope everyone is right...but we will need to show major improvement to be the best in the Saban era. The defense needs to come out and play with something to prove!
 

teamplayer

Hall of Fame
Jul 31, 2001
7,562
2,321
282
cullman, al, usa
Everywhere that I read, folks are very positive on our defense...and especially our defensive front. However I have a hard time getting our last outing out of my mind where we allowed 280 yards rushing. Also our D allowed over 40 points in two of our last three games.

I hope everyone is right...but we will need to show major improvement to be the best in the Saban era. The defense needs to come out and play with something to prove!
I agree with this, but I also have to say that the POTENTIAL is there to be a great defense. However, that doesn't seem to mean as much these days due to the uptempo offenses. If we pound the ball and control the clock mixing in passes when defenses give single coverage and when play action is beneficial, our defensive numbers will look better. It really isn't an offensive philosophy as much as a team philosophy. It is why teams that have quick strike offenses rarely have good defensive numbers. What will our primary philosophy be? There were times last year where it looked like we didn't really have one because we tried to do too many different things. We have talented players and coaches and still won 12 games and an SEC title, but we often looked like a team lacking an identity. It will be interesting to see what happens this year. I am getting ready for some football now that summer is winding down. Roll Tide!
 

dvldog

Hall of Fame
Sep 20, 2005
6,568
344
107
72
Virginia
JMHO but...Past D's have had a minimum of one dominant player at each level, ie line, LB, DB/Safety. Some D's have had more than one at each level. This year, I think we can have one or more on the line, at least one at LB, but not sure about the DB/Safety though we could be " good enough". Depth looks good across the board; maybe the best depth in like forever. Injury bug is always the wild card but that's where the depth will pay dividends. I'm excited. If the Oline gels so can keep the D off the field a little more we can have a special year; perhaps dominant even with the killer schedule we have to face.
 

TiderJack

Hall of Fame
Jul 9, 2010
12,185
6,170
187
Inverness, AL
The 2011 defense was the best in the history of CFB IMO so I don't see this year being better especially with the HUNH style offenses. We will be much improved over last year.
 

MN-Tide

1st Team
Jan 2, 2007
465
0
35
Minneapolis, MN
This defense will be much better at the end of the season (barring a lot of injuries), once those freshman and sophomores have another year of experience. But how do you measure the "best"? It's hard to compare this year's defense to one from another year, since the offenses they face are so different. It is much easier to compare them to other teams' defenses this year.
 

MemphisBamaDude

1st Team
Nov 12, 2008
843
571
117
Memphis, TN
I just think that we have to temper expectations and change our definition of what a great defense is. In this offensive era, giving up less that 110 points in a season like that 2011 defense may be unrealistic. I still think we're looking at a few years until defenses have caught up to the HUNH. I believe that's why CS knew changes in offensive philosophy were necessary in order to put up enough points to outscore the other team. I think giving up and average of 15 points per game is pretty solid and gives us more than a good chance to win week in and week out.
 
Last edited:

TheTradition

All-SEC
Nov 6, 2010
1,679
65
67
Alabaster, AL
I have very high expectations for our defense this year.

Front 7 should be great. Dline is the best of the Saban era, and there's a good mix of talent and experience at linebacker. We have a lot of depth inside with Reggie, Reuben, SDH, and Holcombe. Outside, two solid players in Devall and Anderson, and you've got Evans and Williams for spread teams and passing downs. Lee can play outside and in.

The secondary will define this defense. How much improvement they make will determine how this defense is remembered. I'm pretty confident in Cyrus Jones. He was great last year. The other CB spot will probably be Tony Brown. Hopefully he makes a Milliner-esque improvement from year 1 to year 2. We've got other bodies out there that can contribute as well--Humphrey, Sylve, Averett, and Smith. Safety is the big question mark for me. We basically had two free safeties, Geno and Eddie, tabbed as the starters in spring. I've heard a lot of good things about Ronnie Harrison, and we still have some experience with Jabriel Washington.

To address the main question, no I don't think this defense can top 2011. Not because they aren't capable but because the game is just different right now. Defenses will eventually catch up, but it may take a few years. The 2011 D gave up something like 8 points a game. Last year's #1 D gave up 16. Anything below that number would be a great year.
 

MemphisBamaDude

1st Team
Nov 12, 2008
843
571
117
Memphis, TN
I'm pretty confident in Cyrus Jones. He was great last year.
I think Cyrus takes a big step toward becoming the lockdown corner we've been used to in the past. We saw shades of it last year. I think he will be the guy in the secondary, and personally, I think he will get drafted fairly high for his efforts this year.
 

KrAzY3

Hall of Fame
Jan 18, 2006
10,615
4,540
187
43
kraizy.art
I think it's a loaded question, people forget that freshmen were out there last year, at key positions during key times. It cost Alabama, against Ole Miss and against Ohio State. Experience on defense matters.

The key is how players develop, and if they stay healthy. Against Ohio State for instance, Alabama has an injured linebacker, forcing them to put in a freshman, and what happens? Ohio State exploits that and it changes the game. So... luck is a factor, but if this defense is healthy, it has a lot of potential emerging stars on it.

I think Ole Miss is actually a decent comparison. They had that big (dubious) recruiting class, and a lot of those guys took a year to mature. They went from 43 on total defense, to 13. Huge leap forward, almost entirely on the basis of those elite guys getting experience.

Alabama on the other hand went from 1, to 12. I'm not sure they are going to be the best ever, but better than last year? Yeah, I'd put money on that.
 

gtgilbert

All-American
Aug 12, 2011
3,131
3,908
187
This defense has a chance to be very good, but the 2011 team set a bar that might not get reached again. Remember that every single starter, including sub-package starters made it to the NFL in some capacity (counting 1-2 practice team players). We had a DE who was career rotation player get drafted and is still in the league. The level of highly developed talent on that team will be hard to reach again.
 

CrimsonForce

Hall of Fame
Dec 20, 2012
12,757
94
67
Affecting the quarterback ruins any offense
This is what the defense has struggled with the most under CNS defensive scheme. I'm not sure we have an every down defensive lineman who can get continuous pressure on the QB. We have Williams and Evans who are very quick on the edge but they aren't really every down players. We haven't had a true defensive lineman who could continually rush the passer since Dareus. It's not a knock on the players it's more of the scheme that we employ that causes this. Pressure/affect the QB and all the sudden the secondary will improve tremendously..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

CrimsonEyeshade

Hall of Fame
Nov 6, 2007
5,402
1,503
187
This is what the defense has struggled with the most under CNS defensive scheme. I'm not sure we have an every down defensive lineman who can get continuous pressure on the QB. We have Williams and Evans who are very quick on the edge but they aren't really every down players. We haven't had a true defensive lineman who could continually rush the passer since Dareus. It's not a knock on the players it's more of the scheme that we employ that causes this. Pressure/affect the QB and all the sudden the secondary will improve tremendously..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I hope I'm proven wrong. But why do we expect our defensive line to be great? They're good, but when has this group had a great game against a quality opponent? Frankly, I think we make the repeated mistake of assuming that all players on a Nick Saban team will improve year to year. Happily, that happens with some of them. But it is not guaranteed.
 

CrimsonForce

Hall of Fame
Dec 20, 2012
12,757
94
67
I hope I'm proven wrong. But why do we expect our defensive line to be great? They're good, but when has this group had a great game against a quality opponent? Frankly, I think we make the mistake every year of assuming that all players on a Nick Saban team will improve year to year. Happily, that happens with some of them. But it is not guaranteed. We seem to forget that in our giddiness as the days tick down to kickoff.
I kind of have the same feeling in regards to the defensive line getting pressure on the QB. I think we'll be good against the run. Most of the rushing yards given up during the OSU game were against QB scrambles and the long run when Ragland went out with injury. I know those are "excuses" but OSU wasn't running the ball down our throat. I still think we are a little to big overall on the defensive line. It's a thought situation though because Wisconsin, Arkansas, LSU, UGA, and AU will all power run between the tackles so we have to keep some bigger defensive lineman for those teams. And then we need smaller/quicker defensive lineman for aTm, AU when they hurry up, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Miss State..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

RTR91

Super Moderator
Nov 23, 2007
39,407
6
0
Prattville
I hope I'm proven wrong. But why do we expect our defensive line to be great? They're good, but when has this group had a great game against a quality opponent? Frankly, I think we make the repeated mistake of assuming that all players on a Nick Saban team will improve year to year. Happily, that happens with some of them. But it is not guaranteed.




 

Latest threads

TideFans.shop : 2024 Madness!

TideFans.shop - Get YOUR Bama Gear HERE!”></a>
<br />

<!--/ END TideFans.shop & item link \-->
<p style= Purchases made through our TideFans.shop and Amazon.com links may result in a commission being paid to TideFans.