MISSED ASSIGNMENTS, TACKLING WOES PLAGUE ALABAMA’S DEFENSE

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama fell to Tennessee 26-10 on Saturday, dropping consecutive games for the first time since 2013. A large part of the loss was due to missed assignments in the secondary, struggles defending perimeter screens and a season-high 23 missed tackles.

Tennessee quarterback George MacIntyre said after the game that he knew Alabama would play soft coverage and took full advantage by getting the ball out as quickly as possible.

“That was Georgia's plan; that was Tennessee's plan,” defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said. “And so the ball was gonna come out; you were gonna get opportunities on third down to affect the quarterback. But they had certainly had him very well coached up to get the ball outta his hands even when we did create some pressure.”

The Crimson Tide defense recorded 23 missed tackles, surpassing its previous season high of 15 against South Carolina. Six of those missed tackles came from linebacker Caleb Woodson, twice as many as any other Alabama defender recorded Saturday. Woodson had the same number of missed tackles through the first six games of the season combined.

Alabama also struggled to contain Tennessee's perimeter screen game, allowing the Volunteers to take advantage of open space and missed tackles. Wommack acknowledged that the defense had mixed results when it came to tackling.

“Well, certainly there are plenty of plays that we tackled really well,” Wommack said. “And then there's obviously some plays that we did not tackle well enough, particularly on the perimeter screen game.”

The struggles defending screens and tackling in the open field compounded Alabama's coverage issues. Tennessee's quick passing game limited the opportunities for the Crimson Tide to pressure MacIntyre, forcing the defense to rely on sound positioning and tackling to get off the field.

The Crimson Tide’s front seven also struggled to pressure MacIntyre, recording just one sack for the second week in a row. 

With Texas A&M coming to Tuscaloosa on Saturday, the Crimson Tide has a lot to clean up to avoid a third consecutive loss and keep its playoff hopes alive. 

“When adversity hits, and you get through some tough situations, you just gotta rely back on doing your job and not trying to press and create something outside of the framework of the defense,” Wommack said.