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After six straight SEC games, Alabama gets a much-needed open date on its schedule this weekend. The No. 2 Crimson Tide (6-0) will look to use that time to recover from a few knocks and get some of its younger players more reps heading into a matchup against LSU (2-3) next week.
Today we will dive into some of this week’s storylines by providing three observations, two questions and one prediction.
THREE OBSERVATIONS
Alabama’s line avoiding “rat poison” despite praise
Two weeks ago, Jeremy Pruitt hailed Alabama’s offense, calling it the best Tide attack he’s ever seen.
In his evaluation, the Tennessee head coach mentioned the efficiency of quarterback Mac Jones. He also highlighted Alabama’s star receivers and SEC-leading running back Najee Harris. However, what impressed Pruitt the most was the Tide’s play in the trenches.
“I’m not so sure that the strength of their offensive team is not their offensive line,” Pruitt said at the time. “It’s probably the best offensive line that I’ve seen in a long, long time. They’re physical. They seldom make mistakes. Very efficient in the run game, score touchdowns, explosive.”
LSU head coach Ed Orgeron shared that sentiment Wednesday when asked to break down Alabama’s offense, calling the Tide’s line “one of the best offensive lines we’ve seen in a long time. ”
That’s nice, but Alabama is steering clear from the “rat poison” for now.
“We really appreciate all the compliments, but we try not to focus on that too much,” said starting guard Emil Ekiyor Jr. “We try to keep getting better every week and prepare the best we can. As a group, we really just want to prove that we’re in the best offensive line in the country. That’s really something we set as one of our goals as we came into the season.”
So far, Alabama has been pretty convincing. The Tide leads the nation in scoring offense (47.2 points per game) and ranks No. 3 in total offense (555.2 yards per game). The line has helped Harris rush for a nation’s best 14 touchdowns. It has also kept Jones upright, allowing him to continue his Heisman campaign.
“I think they’ve played well,” head coach Nick Saban said of the line. “I think they’ve gotten a little better each game. Again, I think that each one of those guys would probably tell you that there’s something that they could do a little better, and that’s something we want to focus on.
“We’ve got a couple of those guys that have been playing a little bit hurt, so hopefully, this will be a chance for them to get healthy. And I think we need to continue to develop more depth at that position for down the road. Those are all those things that when I think about the offensive line that’s what I feel like we need to keep on trying to make progress in those areas.”
Metchie catching attention back home
There were a few new faces during Wednesday’s Zoom call with players as John Metchie III stepped to the podium. The sophomore receiver leads the SEC averaging 21.54 yards per catch and ranks third on the team with 24 receptions for 517 yards and three touchdowns. That’s generated some buzz from media back home in Canada.
Wednesday Metchie fielded questions from three Canadian reporters, who asked him about his move to Alabama and representing his country from abroad.
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