News Article: Kentucky wrap-up: Tide defense not the same – both good and bad

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Kentucky wrap-up: Tide defense not the same – both good and bad
By Jess Nicholas
TideFans.com Editor-in-Chief
Oct. 3, 2009

It was clear from the outset that Dont'a Hightower’s injury had triggered an effect throughout the Alabama defense. But it was also clear that Alabama had made some changes to mitigate the effect of Hightower’s loss.

The result? Some good, some bad.

With Hightower out of the lineup, Rolando McClain got a much bigger role against Kentucky. Having Hightower and McClain side-by-side gave Alabama a lot of flexibility in the first four games of the season, but it also led to more risks taken. With both Hightower and McClain on the field, Alabama’s defensive coaches could freely blitz either player and take chances that they couldn’t take against Kentucky. The Wildcats found much more success on the ground than previous opponents had found – but McClain’s new role as roving linebacker resulted in more plays made in the passing game.

How this translates next week against Ole Miss remains a mystery. The worst news of all for Alabama is that the Crimson Tide won’t get to see Mike Hartline under center again in 2009. Aside from the quarterback situation at Mississippi State, Hartline is the weakest signal-caller left on the schedule. Even UT-Chattanooga boasts former Tennessee quarterback B.J. Coleman.

Ole Miss figures to be even better on the ground than Kentucky. The Rebels have more depth, Dexter McCluster is easily Randall Cobb’s equal and Brandon Bolden is a better go-to running back. But Kentucky’s offensive line has performed better than the Rebels’ unit so far this season. And while Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead hasn’t exactly been Heisman material so far, he’s light years better than Hartline.

Alabama chose to start Cory Reamer in Hightower’s place against Kentucky, slide Eryk Anders to strongside backer and start Courtney Upshaw at Jack. Upshaw’s starting debut went about as well as could be expected, with his fumble recovery for a touchdown helping to cover up some of the mistakes he made on run containment that Anders, so far in 2009, has not made from the Jack slot.

Offensively, Alabama finally ran into a decent SEC secondary and Greg McElroy’s numbers suffered because of it. The emergence of tight end Colin Peek as an A-target during this game is a nice twist, as Alabama’s wideouts had trouble getting open against a good set of Kentucky cornerbacks.

Even though this wasn’t Alabama’s best game of the year – the offense looked downright discombobulated at times and the defense had issues containing a rather average Kentucky rushing attack – an 18-point road win in the SEC will never be thrown back into the lake. Still, there are several opportunities for improvement before Alabama gets to the real meat of its SEC schedule (which pretty much starts this week with Ole Miss).

Kickoff return coverage is still just plain bad most of the time. The coverage unit seems to be very hit-or-miss, with Alabama catching the kick returner behind the 20 one moment, then allowing a return to midfield the next. Run blocking continues to lag behind 2008 levels (although that’s to be expected somewhat due to the talent turnover), with the need for someone to step up at H-back continuing to lead the list of concerns there.

As for the linebackers, Cory Reamer is steady, but isn’t Dont'a Hightower. Few are. There is speculation that Jerrell Harris will be a major part of the mix at that position after he returns from suspension, but that comes against South Carolina and doesn’t account for a physical Ole Miss team next week. Chris Jordan played in a limited role against Kentucky and may play more then.

Perhaps the best thing to come out of the Kentucky game, other that the win itself, was that no one got hurt. Right guard Barrett Jones was dinged up but stayed in the game. The stretcher cart was nowhere to be found.

Alabama will need to tighten up a bit against Ole Miss, Tennessee and others, but the Tide did a good job against Kentucky overcoming the emotional aspect of Hightower’s loss and finding a way to put its foot on Kentucky’s neck in the Wildcats’ own building. The next step will be to keep momentum rolling in Oxford, which has for Alabama, especially lately, been a generator for close scores and even an upset or two.