I think this writer may be confusing Bama's 1st string defense with Bama's 2nd, 3rd, and possibly 4th team defense. The first string D was off the field usually 2 minutes into the second half of each game with the exception of 12RC. Quoting the CFN writer and his assessment of Bama's Defense and what it must do for Bama to beat LSU. He writes, "The defense that’s taken its foot off the gas at times will be ready to make a statement." Maybe I'm wrong and I have been many times but I don't recall a game where the 1st string D ever took it's foot off the gas nor did they quit playing hard. I do admit the D was caught off guard a few times(first play by the NWO (Never Wide Open.) But during the second half of most games when possibly the Bama scout team was lined up at D they did give up some points and make some mistakes, but I think that's to be expected. So, I gotta believe this guy was referring to the #2,#3 D's. So, I've come to the conclusion that this CFN writer didn't even watch the Bama games and had no idea the 1st team was in the shower by middle of the 3rd quarter. Probably just assumed the first team defense played the whole game and quit on Saban in the second half. It's easy to look at the box score of a game you didn't watch and come up with your own theories about how the game played out.