For the second straight year, Alabama was exposed in its final two games of the season. In 2013, Auburn’s offense made the Crimson Tide defense pay all game in the Iron Bowl before breaking them with the Kick Six, followed by Oklahoma running laps around the Tide in the Sugar Bowl. Auburn once again tore Alabama’s defense to shreds in the Iron Bowl, although Alabama escaped with a win this time around. Once again in the Sugar Bowl, Alabama’s opponent, this time Ohio State, put a hurting on the defense.

The poor defensive performances that string together all four of those games raise some fair questions about Alabama’s defense and Nick Saban’s philosophy. Alabama has developed a reputation for not being able to stop college football’s modern offense, whether it’s true or not.

The thing is, Alabama has already begun to adapt its philosophy. A December piece by Drew Champlin on AL.com detailed the changing practice habits around the Crimson Tide. Gone are the days where Saban could take the time between plays at practice to correct fundamental issues. Instead, Alabama’s defense has to correct its mistakes on the fly, as they get on to the next play as quickly as possible.

That shift in focus has done some good. The Crimson Tide smothered Texas A&M and more than held their own against Ole Miss and Mississippi State this year. Yes, they were torched by Auburn in a 55-44 shootout, and Urban Meyer Ohio State battered them thoroughly. But after an offseason of criticism for 2013’s performance against spreads, Kirby Smart and Saban got in the lab and started to correct the problem.

There may be a final step though, one that would take more time to correct. Could the athletes Alabama recruits on defense be a part of the problem?

The Crimson Tide are one of smaller number of teams in college football to run a base 3-4 defensive scheme. By design, the 3-4 defense requires bigger defensive linemen. With a nose tackle lining up over center, the Tide need players big and strong enough to take on multiple blockers in the middle of the line. That’s no easy task, and when you need a player of that caliber, speed is not at a premium. The same goes for the defensive ends, who often end up playing inside as the linebackers generate the edge rush.

The inside linebackers are in the same boat, with Trey DePriest as a good example. A very strong player, DePriest was excellent at crashing down and stuffing the run. Out in space, though, and he didn’t have the speed to chase ball carriers down.

Alabama has begun to bring in faster players in the front seven. Da’Shawn Hand has excellent speed for a defensive end, and Reuben Foster can run and hit with the best of them at linebacker (although he has not gotten any regular playing time there yet).

This is Alabama we’re talking about. If Saban realizes that he needs a faster kind of athlete to compete, there’s no question he can go out and get them. The Crimson Tide are on the verge of their fifth straight No. 1 recruiting class, and it doesn’t seem like there’s much of a sales pitch needed to get the country’s best high school players to sign up to play in Tuscaloosa.