Alabama's defense noticeably faster, Jim McElwain said
ATLANTA | For two years in a row, Jim McElwain, in the self-effacing style that he wears comfortably, joked that he’s had nightmares, stomach aches and nearly everything short of a panic attack while watching film of Alabama’s defenses during preparations for two SEC Championship games.
That’s not particularly noteworthy given his usual effusive praise of an opponent, but it does stand out when you take into consideration that Alabama’s defense is much different that it was a year ago. The results are the same, but a lot of the key faces have changed and it looks a lot different, too.
As someone who scouted and broke down tendencies, strengths and weaknesses of both the 2015 unit and this year’s, McElwain said the differences between the units are noticeable.
“I actually talked to (coach Nick Saban) about that today at the luncheon deal we were at,” McElwain said. “They're different, and what I mean by that, the speed that they have right now is better than I've ever seen. They still have those big guys in there when they need them, but really the overall team speed is something that I think has really stood out to me as we spent the week watching them, and a couple crossover games that you get when you're working in the season.”
The Crimson Tide lost a lot of its talented front seven a season ago, including A’Shawn Robinson, Jarran Reed, Reggie Ragland, Denzel Devall, Darren Lake and D.J. Pettway. But the unit keeps plugging away this season with a faster, more quick-twitch group.
That switch to a more speedy unit hasn’t affected the group’s ability to stop the run. In fact, the 2016 defense has limited opponents to fewer yards per carry than its predecessor, going from 2.43 yards per carry to 2.2.
Likewise, the group that led the nation in sacks a season in 2015 with 52 has 41 this season.
All in all, there hasn’t been a drop off at all under the leadership in Jeremy Pruitt from Kirby Smart.“Yeah, Jeremy has picked up right where Kirby was,” McElwain said. “He brought some things that were unique to what he did at Georgia and obviously fit him into that system. So I give him a lot of credit too for what he's doing to adapt him to the players that they're putting out there on defense.”
Saban says Kiffin ready
As speculation, rumor and innuendo continue to grow in regards to Lane Kiffin’s future, Nick Saban was asked if Kiffin, who is in his third season at Alabama’s offensive coordinator, is ready to be a head coach again.
“Absolutely,” Saban said. “I think he's proven, when he was a head coach, he had a reasonably good amount of success, much more than I think he gets credit for, and he's done a phenomenal job in the three years that he's been with us relative to taking the players that we had and actually molding a system, especially for the quarterback to be successful in, and I think those are signs of tremendous maturity as a coach who is not just committed to a system, but is committed to doing the things that he has to do to help players be successful.”
A report surfaced Friday afternoon from SBNation.com that Kiffin would interview for the Houston head-coaching vacancy after the SEC Championship Game.
Still going
Saban, who turned 65 this year, was asked how long he wanted to continue coaching, and his response left those in the attendance with the impression that he has no intention of slowing down.
“I love coaching. I love it,” Saban said.
“I think we all have fears sometimes. You have to face your fears. When you start getting up there, you say, I wonder how long I'm going to be able to do this. I'm going to do it as long as I feel like I can do a good job of it, and I'm healthy enough to do it. That's always been what I've wanted to do, and as long as I can keep doing it, I'll be happy doing it.
Reach Aaron Suttles at aaron@tidesports.com or at 205-722-0229.