Bama defense not getting enough credit

[BAMAfan777]

Lost in the shuffle, this is one of the best Bama defenses in years. They have had only one bad quarter out of 16 quarters, which is incredible. And that one bad quarter, the defense was tired in that fourth quarter of the game, because our offense couldn’t sustain drives.

Thank you Mr. Steele and Mr. Saban.

 

[bamadws56]

Agreed! They have played pretty well. Definitely a noticeable difference than the last few years.

 

[theballguy]

Agreed but our offensive play until today's 2nd half are a huge part of that.

 

[Evil Crimson Dragon]

They kept Bama in the game and shut Lane up

 

[Ledsteplin]

I've been saying all along the defense looks good. Much better than the last couple years.

 

[sanjosecrimson]

This is incredible.

 

[Ledsteplin]

This is incredible.

That is incredible. Especially since Kiffin arrived at Ole Miss in 2020.

 

[Windsortide]

Did a great job again

 

[Power Eye]

The D will keep us in every game. The question going forward is whether the offense will do its job.

 

[Ledsteplin]

The defense is averaging giving up 13.5 points per game. And that includes the 34 to Texas.

 

[JustNeedMe81]

Not only that, they're developing depth as well.

 

[teamplayer]

If the offense can keep developing and build a ball control style that hits a few big plays and stops turning it over, we can be hard to beat. That is still a big IF right now, but our defense and special teams are playing very well.

 

[RollTide_HTTR]

Defense has been great. The only slight exception is vs Texas but Sark is a bit of an exception and I think we learned from that game. Needed to blitz more vs Texas

 

[CB4]

If you noticed yesterday, Kiffin started with a very similar game plan to what Sark did two weeks ago. Lots of stuff sideline to sideline. His goals of hopefully getting us tired by the fourth quarter, softening up the middle and getting mismatches/busted coverages. It worked early, particularly on the touchdown drive,
The biggest difference was Steele and defensive staff adjusted for it…..on the fly. Something the previous staff seemed unable or unwilling to do.

 

[crimsonaudio]

Lost in the shuffle, this is one of the best Bama defenses in years. They have had only one bad quarter out of 16 quarters, which is incredible. And that one bad quarter, the defense was tired in that fourth quarter of the game, because our offense couldn’t sustain drives.

Thank you Mr. Steele and Mr. Saban.

They're improving, but I glanced at these rankings just for comparison:

2023 (so far):
scoring D: 18th (2nd SEC)
rushing D: 29th (6th SEC)
passing D: 48th (6th SEC)
total D: 31st (7th SEC)

2022 (total):
scoring D: 9th (2nd SEC)
rushing D: 35th (4th SEC)
passing D: 17th (3rd SEC)
total D: 13th (3rd SEC)

I hesitate in saying "this is one of the best Bama defenses in years" - could turn out that way, but a lot of improvement is still needed.

 

[theballguy]

I hesitate in saying "this is one of the best Bama defenses in years" - could turn out that way, but a lot of improvement is still needed.

Agree with you here but it may be the best one "we've" seen in a few years (with Golding). Something feels different for sure.

 

[GulfCoastTider]

Guys are playing with a lot more confidence. This year, they don't look lost. Our best LB's aren't always out of position on 3rd down and our DB's are breaking up passes instead of getting flagged.

I tell ya, the Ole Miss defense looked very familiar yesterday.

 

[GulfCoastTider]

They're improving, but I glanced at these rankings just for comparison:

2023 (so far):
scoring D: 18th (2nd SEC)
rushing D: 29th (6th SEC)
passing D: 48th (6th SEC)
total D: 31st (7th SEC)

2022 (total):
scoring D: 9th (2nd SEC)
rushing D: 35th (4th SEC)
passing D: 17th (3rd SEC)
total D: 13th (3rd SEC)

I hesitate in saying "this is one of the best Bama defenses in years" - could turn out that way, but a lot of improvement is still needed.

Minor nit: Yesterday was the SEC opener and there can be no doubt that none of Bama's non-conference were bona fide cupcakes.

 

[RollTide_HTTR]

They're improving, but I glanced at these rankings just for comparison:

2023 (so far):
scoring D: 18th (2nd SEC)
rushing D: 29th (6th SEC)
passing D: 48th (6th SEC)
total D: 31st (7th SEC)

2022 (total):
scoring D: 9th (2nd SEC)
rushing D: 35th (4th SEC)
passing D: 17th (3rd SEC)
total D: 13th (3rd SEC)

I hesitate in saying "this is one of the best Bama defenses in years" - could turn out that way, but a lot of improvement is still needed.

Agreed. But they do seem to be playing angrier than they have recently. Especially the last 2 games

 

[Slowpoke Catracho]

I think the key continues to be the "ball control" of the offense. Up until yesterday, we had tons of 3 and outs and quick scores. This all equals a tired Defense. I do think after the Texas game that the more aggressive we got in certain situations, the more we were able to give the ball back to the offense and rest more. I could tell by halftime of the Texas game that the defense was tired. I think a non-aggressive defense doesn't do itself any favors when it comes to resting!