BOL on YouTube: Alabama vs. LSU reactions

Join BamaOnLine staff writer Clint Lamb and team expert Jimmy Stein as they react to the Alabama Crimson Tide’s impressive 42-28 home victory over the LSU Tigers on Saturday night. Some of the topics from today’s conversation include:

– Jalen Milroe runs wild

– Tommy Rees keeps adding wrinkles

– Defense makes adjustments after Jaylen Key injury

– OL is becoming who we thought they’d be

– Thoughts on Jaheim Oatis, Alabama DL

– And more!

Snap Count Observations – Preview

Defensive Backs

Kool-Aid McKinstry – 61 snaps (100%)

Caleb Downs – 61 snaps (100%)

Malachi Moore – 60 snaps (98.4%)

Terrion Arnold – 59 snaps (96.7%)

Trey Amos – 33 snaps (54.1%)

Kristian Story – 27 snaps (44.3%)

Jaylen Key – 10 snaps (16.4%)

Observations: Nabers was a problem. And when I say problem, I mean a massive problem. The junior saw a game-high 16 targets, which was more than two times the next highest player (Isaiah Bond got seven). Nabers brought in 10 of those for 171 yards and a score, which is a whopping 62.9% of the passing yardage LSU had in this game. Alabama knew they wanted to get the ball to him, and they still couldn’t stop it. I know that’s a concerning thought, but the Tigers did a great job of creating opportunities for their star pass-catcher.

Of his 58 snaps, 45 of them came in the slot. That’s a 77.6% rate, which is far and away the most time he’s spent inside this season. The next highest was against Ole Miss back in Week 5 when he spent 64.4% of his snaps in there. Prior to Saturday, he was playing 44% of his snaps in the slot. I had said going in that LSU probably liked the idea of using him more inside where he’d be predominantly going against Moore and Alabama’s safeties. That’s exactly what ending up happening too, as 13 of his 16 targets came against the Star, a safety or a linebacker.

According to PFF, Moore allowed him to catch two of a possible three targets for 76 yards and a touchdown. Nabers caught all four of his targets with Downs in coverage, and those four catches went for 65 yards and three first downs. Arnold gave up three catches (on five targets) for 27 yards with Nabers dropping a pass, but I also thought the third-year cornerback had a couple of really good reps against him (especially later in the slot). That’s the kind of performance you’d expect with two highly-touted players going at it. I thought Alabama made a really good adjustment to its secondary (the second time around, at least) following Key’s injury in the first half.

You see, the initial response was to replace Key with Story at safety, but after seeing Story struggle — especially on the final drive before halftime — the coaches elected to take a different route in the second half. Instead of Story playing in nickel, his role changed to being the sixth defensive back in dime situations. Moore then slid over from Star to safety, Arnold kicked back inside to Star and Amos came in to play opposite McKinstry. We’ve seen some of those moving parts in previous games, but I liked Moore back there at safety. In fact, I wouldn’t be shocked if that’s what you see moving forward, should Key be forced to miss anymore time.

I know the coverage numbers aren’t great for Downs (allowed six catches for 73 yards), but his performance wasn’t as bad as those numbers would indicate. He was put into some tough situations, so try not to read too much into it. The guy also flew around and made a game-high 13 tackles. That gives him 76 on the year, and as I mentioned briefly in my quick hits piece immediately following the game, the five-star freshman is now on pace to post more than 100 in the regular season alone. If that pace holds, he’ll be the only defensive back to achieve such a feat during the Saban era. Was he perfect on Saturday? No, but he’s continues to play at a high level, especially for a first-year player.

We also need to give McKinstry a shoutout. He’s been targeted 10 times in Alabama’s last three games, and he’s only allowed two of those to be completed for 18 total yards. The projected first-round NFL draft pick has allowed 15 yards or less in seven of the nine games, and the most he’s given up was 47 against Texas back in Week 2. On Saturday, he only gave up one catch for eight yards on four targets, and that lone completion was to Brian Thomas Jr. More importantly, let’s give him a round of applause for fielding punts. There were only two of them, but quantity isn’t important here.

For more defensive snap count observations, click here (On3+ subscription required).

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