Alabama breaks down pass protection issues in loss to Texas

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama head coach Nick Saban was asked about a lack of pressure by his own defense in Saturday’s loss to Texas, but like Crimson Tide fans after the game, Saban’s mind must have been on the Alabama offensive line and the five sacks it allowed.

Saban discussed what went wrong not only up front but for the Tide’s entire offense.

“I think we gave up one sack on a pressure,” Saban said. “Most of it was we gave up a sack on a three-man rush. We gave up several sacks on four-man rushes. I think we’re too soft-setting in the line. We’ve got to be firmer in protection. The pocket can’t collapse.

“But people have to get open. The quarterback has to process quickly and get the ball out of his hand. We can’t hold the ball, so it’s a combination of all those things that I think was a problem. But it wasn’t like there was some scheme that they were running that we didn’t have that picked up. We just didn’t get them blocked like we need to.”

The Alabama offense didn’t get rolling until late in the third quarter, which was went it scored its first touchdown of the night. However, two touchdowns were wiped off the scoreboard because of penalties committed by offensive linemen. The first was by Darrian Dalcout, who was flagged for blocking downfield on a scoring throw from Jalen Milroe to Jermaine Burton.

Given Milroe’s ability to run, fellow offensive guard Tyler Booker understood the challenge.

“It’s very difficult,” Booker said. “It’s hard to be mad at Darrian Dalcourt for that penalty, but it’s a rule. Having a mobile quarterback like Jalen, you want to be downfield and block for him. That’s a rule you have to live with as part of the game. But that’s who we are as an offensive line. We’re going to go downfield to get blocks and we’re going to finish plays. We’re going to play through the whistle. He did what any of us would have done. We’ll learn from it and go forward.”

Another would-be touchdown pass to Burton was erased by a holding penalty on true freshman left tackle Kadyn Proctor in the third quarter. Proctor struggled against the Longhorns, his first start against a Power 5 opponent, and Booker shared his advice for the newcomer.

“You’re an 18-year-old playing in front of 100,000 people, playing against one of the most talented teams in the country. You’re going to make mistakes,” Booker said. “I told him my story. I gave up a sack against Texas A&M last year. I just took him through my mindset. The thing that inspired me about Kadyn is, he and I have that same mindset.

“After he had those bad plays, we talked it through, he was like, ‘All right, let’s roll.’ That’s what kept me going last year. To see that out of him after that game, and to see how my season ended up after giving up that sack to A&M, I’m very excited to see how he responds. There’s a lot of great things coming from him.”

Proctor is the new guy of the bunch, stepping into the starting lineup eight months after enrolling at Alabama. But the other four starters are veteran players with plenty of experience under their belts. Saban talked during the preseason about having six or seven linemen that he considered to be starters, and with that in mind, did he consider making any changes up front?

“Not really,” Saban said. “We have confidence in the guys that are playing, and sure, they need to play better. But if we thought someone was more ready to play – we want the competition, we want guys to improve, to compete for playing time, but we also want them to be able to take advantage of the opportunity when they get it.

“So they’ve got to prepare themselves properly to be able to do that and we’re going to keep working with as many guys as we can to get them to be able to play winning football.”

Alabama’s pass protection needs “some work,” Booker said. But after a strong start on the ground, the Tide didn’t see much success in the run game either. Alabama finished with 107 yards on 35 carries (3.1 ypc), and Milroe was responsible for 44 of those rushing yards. 

For a position unit that has had a lot of say about the style it wants to play this fall, it did nott live up to those expectations. Booker and company know that and are still looking to show it.

“Our mindset is still about being dominant, nasty, and finishing blocks,” Booker said. “That’s still there. But we have to add technique and what we learned in practice to that mindset. But our identity hasn’t changed. We’re still the same offensive line. We just have to back up all the stuff we talked this offseason. We have to prove it now.”

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