Alabama defense focused on applying more QB pressure after slow start

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama defense wasn’t able to generate much pressure at all on Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers in Saturday’s loss to the Longhorns. The Crimson Tide ended the evening with zero sacks and only three quarterback hurries in the 34-24 defeat.

Through the first two weeks of the season, Alabama has generated three sacks, which ranks 10th among the 14 SEC schools. Tennessee currently leads the conference with 11 sacks. As the Tide looks to turn things around, Nick Saban assessed the defense’s pass rush.

“I think it was OK in the first game,” Saban said Monday. “Of course, it was a different level of competition. And I think that obviously, we didn’t get any sacks (against Texas). We didn’t have a lot of success, the kind of success that we’d like to have on third down, and I think that’s something that we need to improve.

“We didn’t do a great job of covering them. Sometimes you get coverage sacks, so we didn’t cover them long enough that the quarterback couldn’t get the ball out of his hand quickly. We didn’t affect the quarterback in the game, and we all need to improve on that.”

According to CFB Film Room, Alabama’s pressure rates in its first two games of the 2023 season have been two of its lowest outputs since 2016. The Crimson Tide generated a pressure rate of 10 percent in its loss to Texas, which is the lowest on the list, and its Week 1 victory over Middle Tennessee was the fourth-lowest at 21.1 percent. Four of the top – or bottom, in this case – five have occurred over the last two seasons, according to CFB Film Room’s data.

Alabama had to replace the No. 3 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft this offseason, but even with Will Anderson moving on to the next level, the Tide welcomed back a talent-laden group of outside linebackers, led by Dallas Turner – who is projected to be a first-round selection in April. Asked what needs to be done to disrupt the opposing team’s passers, Turner said everything.

“Just put more pressure on the quarterback,” Turner said Monday. “Schemes that we can put, pressures that we can put, all types of stuff. Everything needs to be worked on.”

Turner is Alabama’s most experienced edge rusher and should receive plenty of opportunities to create havoc in other team’s backfields. But being the top player at his position, he will also get more attention from opposing offensive coordinators, leading to double teams and schemes that avoid the former 5-star recruit or take him out of the play with additional blockers.

Has Turner noticed that happening through the first two weeks of the season?

“Yeah, of course,” Turner said. “Me and Chris Braswell and all the other guys on the D-line, there’s gonna be a lot of max protect, seven-man protection with three-man routes and a lot of running back chips and stuff like that. Just different schemes to try and slow us down.”

Generating more pressure, like Saban said, doesn’t fall solely on the Alabama defensive front, though. The secondary must play well in coverage to give their teammates time to get back to the quarterback, but the Tide wasn’t able to do that in the Texas game, where it allowed far too many explosive plays through the air. Communication is key in cutting those down.

“I feel like those guys did a great job of what they were doing and how to attack us,” cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry said. “I feel like they attacked us very well. I feel like a lot of it that played a part was just knowing what we’re doing and communicating and being on the same page.”

McKinstry is confident in his defensive front and sees a determined group in front of him.

“I feel like those guys, they’re gonna come out and do their thing this week,” McKinstry said. “I’ve heard those guys talking about that in the locker room and how they want to be more aggressive as a D-end or outside linebacker, whatever you want to call it. But those guys feel some type of way, and that’s motivated them in a big way to want to apply more pressure.”

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