TUSCALOOSA, Ala. _ If University of Alabama sophomore defensive end Jonathan Allen was to give the Crimson Tide’s pass rush a grade after just two games this season it would be a “B.”

It hasn’t been great, but also not bad given the limited opportunities.

“I feel like we’ve done pretty well but there’s still a lot of areas we need to improve on,” he said. “I don’t think there’s one certain area, it’s just everything. We need to get faster, learn the plays, understand the concepts better, watch for film, so it’s a little bit of everything.”

Statistically, though, Alabama appears to be off to a pretty decent start, or at least better than last season. For the one statistic that can he pointed to, sacks, the Crimson Tide has six, or 3.0 per game, compared to just 1.7 last season.

Granted, sacks don’t necessarily reflect a defense’s ability to affect a quarterback, but as for the front seven’s other primary goal, shutting down the run, the Crimson Tide has given up just 85 rushing yards, although that’s a little misleading since on the collegiate level yards lost from a sack are counted against the run. In this case 56 yards have been whipped out, which would increase the yards allowed per carry from 1.8 to 3.35.

“It’s a big emphasis,” junior linebacker Reggie Ragland said about the pass rush. “If you can’t put pressure on the quarterback he’s going to have time all day to stand back in the pocket and make the throws he wants.”

So far, though, opposing quarterbacks haven’t been trying to do too much of that as West Virginia and Florida Atlantic both run spread offenses that are heavy on screens and other short passes designed to get defenses on their heals.

Specifically, West Virginia attempted 45 passes with 24 carries, which when you adjust for the three sacks was really 48/21. FAU actually had an even ratio at 19/24, adjusted to 21/21.

But roughly half of those passes have essentially been screens of some sort, which might be an offense’s best way of nullifying a pass rush. West Virginia had at least 20 attempts (including passes to players out of the backfield or under the coverage in general) while FAU attempted at least nine.

“It’s hard to affect the quarterback when the ball comes out that fast, and it’s very important that the defensive linemen do a good job of retracing on the screens or they block you on the perimeter and make big plays,” Coach Nick Saban said.

Alabama did a better job of that during its second game and will see even more of that kind of play-calling when it hosts Southern Miss on Saturday (6 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

“When they’re throwing fast, get your hands up,” Allen said. “If they throw a screen, you have to retrace. That’s what really defeats the screen is when the linemen retrace and run to the ball. That’ll really take away from the screen. So our job’s just beginning as soon as he throws the ball.”

One thing that defensive coordinator Kirby Smart has to be especially careful about is blitzing, because should a receiver get the ball in the hole created by the changing player he play could turn it into a big gain.

However, a big advantage for Alabama this season is its depth and variety of talent it can draw upon.

For the season opener Alabama traveled with 12 defensive linemen, which Saban believed was his most ever, but not all played. With sophomores Korren Kirven and Dee Liner and freshman Josh Frazier making their first appearances last week, the Crimson Tide has used 10 defensive linemen, with junior nose tackle Darren Lake and senior defensive end Anthony Orr yet to see the field.

After being suspended for training camp sophomore linebacker Tim Williams also saw his first game action as a pass-rusher, and along with freshman Rashaan Evans turned a lot of heads with their burst off the line against Florida Atlantic.

“I mean you can see it in the game what he did,” senior tackle Austin Shepherd said about Evans. “Imagine having to block that off the edge. He can jump the snap count so fast that you have to be on your A-game and on point or what happened in the game is going to happen in practice. And it’s happened. He’s just really good, and he’s definitely a good asset.”

Linebacker Xzavier Dickson leads the Crimson Tide after notching two sacks against the Mountaineers before Allen made his first career solo sack in the fourth. Linebacker Ryan Anderson, who Ragland calls the “Dark horse of the defense” due to his work etic, had his first of the season against FAU, and was followed by Ragland and Evans.

None of the three players who had two more last season, A’Shawn Robinson (5.5), Denzel Devall (3.0) or Trey DePriest (2.0), have been in on one yet. Last season Alabama notched just 22 sacks last season, which ranked 86th in the nation despite the defense finishing fifth in total defense.

Alabama sacks (2007-14)
Year, Sacks
2007 24
2008 26
2009 32
2010 27
2011 30
2012 35
2013 22
2014 6-x
x-Through two games.

If the Crimson Tide had averaged 3.0 last season it would have been in the top 10 for that statistical category.

“They all have different moves,” Shepherd said. “A’Shawn Robinson’s a huge dude, who can bull-rush. Jonathan Allen, quick hands. D.J. Pettway, fast off the edge. I could go on forever. They all have something different that you have to be aware of.”