Defensive line success key for Hogs against Crimson Tide

Amidst all the glowing praise thrown at Alabama this season, this still isn’t quite the best college football team in history … yet.

Right now, it’s not even the best in Crimson Tide history.

At this point (after five games), the Tide only has a +206 difference between them and their opponents. As we said, that’s not the best Alabama’s done.

The 1979 team after five games had a +210 difference and had only given up nine points total through those first games.

Arkansas found out how good that defense was in the Sugar Bowl following the 1979 season and lost, 24-9, in a game that really never seemed that close.

That Alabama team didn’t have an offense like this one.

Which is why how well the Razorbacks’ defensive line plays in this game could go a long way towards determining if progress made the past two weeks is still able to be made.

Photos by Andy Hodges | HitThatLine.com

For those who were whining and complaining about the hiring of John Chavis, be quiet and go sit down. He’s turned what was collectively the worst defense in program history over the past couple of years into a unit that is, at the very least, looking like it belongs in the SEC.

Right now, the Crimson Tide’s offense is the football equivalent of Secretariat heading into the stretch run of the 1973 Belmont Stakes. They are averaging over 54 points a game.

Can the Hogs even slow them down? Lordy, three weeks ago there were some worried about giving up 100. That still may happen, but I don’t think so.

This defense is not spectacular, but it has solidified into a steady, consistent group.

Maybe the biggest key has been the play of the defensive line, which is doing a lot of things that were done in the original 4-3 defense as Tom Landry created when he was the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants in the late 1950’s.

The job of the defensive line was, in simplistic terms, to basically keep the offensive linemen from being able to block the linebackers. Landry created it because they had Sam Huff at middle linebacker and it put him in the Hall of Fame.

Numbers like Dre Greenlaw and De’Jon Harris put up against Texas A&M (29 tackles, a sack and two interceptions) is a reflection on what the defensive line did to free them up.

You’re not going to hear me even hint that the Hogs will shut down Alabama’s offense. Shoot, if they can get a three-and-out in the first quarter there should be a standing ovation for the defense.

But IF (and, granted, that’s a pretty big if) the Hogs’ front wall can get any kind of pressure on Tua Tagovailoa, they might have a shot. Of course that could open up the running game where Najee Harris is averaging over 6.5 yards per carry.

Oh, it’s a challenge.

But nothing Chavis hasn’t faced before. He knows the Hogs don’t have the sheer talent numbers that Alabama has. Of course I’m not sure how many teams in the history of college football has been stockpiled like the group Nick Saban has put together.

Now they come into the hills of Arkansas to face the little ol’ Hogs. Shoot, they got blown out at home by North Texas.

Saban earlier this week called this a trap game, which is one of the things he’s doing to get his team’s attention. That didn’t get enough attention, so he called out the Alabama students for not showing up or hanging around long.

Considering the talent gap in these two teams, you wonder how much of his job this week is simply keeping some type of edge on his team.

Okay, everybody knows all of that, so that’s why how the Hogs’ defensive line plays Saturday. Briston Guidry is going to miss this game after having some cleanup on a knee done, which Chad Morris dismissed Wednesday as no big deal, but everybody else is there.

Watching the defensive line drills this week in workouts, coaches Steve Caldwell and john Scott have been driving, pushing, working on some things we haven’t seen.

Getting some sort of pressure on Tagovailoa is going to be key. He’s not the threat Jalen Hurts was to pull the ball down and take off and possibly cause more problems than flinging it downfield.

And these guys will be trying to just get some kind of pressure.

If they do their job, Greenlaw and Harris could have another big game.

And, like last week, I don’t even know that will be enough to derail Alabama.

It might keep showing improvement, though.

Which, of course, is what Morris keeps saying this team is trying to do every day.