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After eight weeks and with a 7-1 record, Alabama is finally heading into a bye week with an opportunity to regroup, recharge and get ready for the stretch run with November just around the corner. The Crimson Tide finds itself still firmly in the mix for the SEC West title, which means a shot at the College Football Playoff is also still on the table. But Alabama hasn’t necessarily been consistently excellent this season. Though the Tide has put the hammer down on ranked teams such as Georgia and Texas A&M, it has occasionally allowed inferior teams to hang around.
Here’s a look at three things the Crimson Tide should look to improve on during the bye week:
1. Running Back Depth — Derrick Henry is a beast and is already over 1,000 yards rushing for the season, so there’s not great concern about being able to run the ball. But what happens if Henry goes down? Having at least two standout backs has been a hallmark of the Nick Saban era, and it seemed early in the season like that would be the case again, but Kenyan Drake has seen his production continue to slip in recent weeks. Drake has just 265 rushing yards and 1 touchdown and hasn’t been as involved in the passing game as one might have figured with 181 receiving yards. The coaches need to figure out a way to get Drake more involved, not only to take some of the load off Henry’s broad shoulders, but also to add a little more deception to the offensive game plan.
2. The Kicking Game — Place kicker Adam Griffith has had moments where he’s struggled, connecting on 10 of 16 field goals this season and missing on a few that were well within his range. With LSU coming up, the Tide isn’t going to want to leave any points on the field. Punter JK Scott was the best in the country last year but has been less than perfect this season. When he’s on, he’s a great weapon in a defensive struggle, able to flip the field position and create advantages. He’s been better in recent weeks after shanking a few and getting one blocked early in the season, but Alabama will be looking for more consistency from both their kickers.
3. Protecting Jake Coker — It’s not that the Alabama offensive line has been bad. Far from it actually. The big guys up front have done an amazing job opening holes for Henry and have, for the most part, kept the defense away from the quarterback. But there are times when Coker has faced more pressure, and it’s going to be important for the Tide to shore up the protection as a whole. Tennessee was able to sack Coker 5 times on Saturday, which was a big reason why the Vols had a shot to win the game late in the fourth quarter.
Shane Mettlen is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Texas A&M, Missouri and Alabama.
