Compared to their defensive front seven, the Alabama secondary is the weak
link of the Crimson Tide defense. They are still a good secondary, but overall
it’s easier to attack Alabama through the air than on the ground.

Alabama allowed 189.36 yards per game through the air last season, good for
30th nationally. Their pass efficiency defense was ranked 14th in the nation.
Teams understood that you had to throw the ball to beat the Crimson Tide, though
no one was successful at it until late in the season. A quick look at opponents’
passing yards per attempt against Alabama shows that the Tide didn’t allow much
through the air until their final two games, both of which they lost.

As you can see, opponents threw the ball a lot against Alabama this past
season. It was nearly impossible to run on them, so throwing the football was
the only way to score. From a yards per attempt standpoint, nobody had much
success until the Crimson Tide played Florida and Utah. It’s not a coincidence
that they lost those two games in which they gave up more big plays in the
passing game. They had trouble stopping the spread offenses of those teams.

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