Big, bad Bama has become the scourge of the land based largely upon its big, bad defense. It’s simple, really — the Crimson Tide build the wall and makes the opponent pay for it. And some are floating the idea that the defense it will mount Monday night for the national championship game might be Alabama’s best.
But here’s a little data to complicate the impression of total superiority on defense: Following the 2014 and ’15 seasons, the Tide’s opponent Monday, Clemson, had 10 defensive players drafted into the NFL. Falcons fans are aware of the good work of two of those — Vic Beasley and Grady Jarrett. Over the same time, Alabama’s had six defenders drafted.
This season, the Tide lead in such significant categories as fewest yards allowed and fewest points allowed — “They’re No. 1 in the world in everything,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney allowed, feeding the image. Yet the Tigers are right behind, top 10 in both those stats. And they are ahead of Alabama in both tackles for loss per game and third-down conversion D.
And by the way, Clemson just shut out Ohio State and made the Buckeyes look as ineffectual as a unicycle in the Tour de France while doing it.
Clemson safety Jadar Johnson lists his major as pre-business and makes it clear he is not really interested in wandering over to the history department any time soon. “A lot of people are really stuck on history,” he began Wednesday, during the Tigers media gathering on campus.
“Every time at the start of a season, people think, OK, Alabama is going to be in the national championship and its defense is going to be great. … When the topic is always Alabama, a defense like Clemson’s is not going to get the credit that it deserves. That’s how it is. Just have to live with it.”
Talking about the relative stoutness of defense before a rematch of teams that combined for 1,023 yards and 85 points last season hardly seems apt. That was a game, after all, in which the same Tigers defense that provided so much fodder to the NFL draft gave up three scoring plays of more than 50 yards. It made Alabama tight end O.J. Howard — with touchdown receptions of 53 and 51 yards — look like a winged John Mackey.
“We gave them those plays. They didn’t throw in anything crazy to get him open. We just busted some coverages on some simple plays,” sniffed Johnson. Indeed, there exists little digital evidence of a Clemson defender on the same field as Howard during those moments.
Nevertheless, some people seem to think defense will have some bearing on Monday’s outcome.
Such as Clemson defensive tackle Christian Wilkins: “(Alabama’s) a really good defensive line. Great players. Really tough. Hard to move in the middle. Great guys on the edge. I feel we’re a really good defensive line, too. Trenches are going to win the game.”
It’s precisely the memory of last year’s championship game that drives the Clemson defense now (Alabama’s defense didn’t exactly cover itself in glory, either, but it still got a ring).
The unit’s emotional detonator, linebacker Ben Boulware, looks up every day at the national-finalist banner hanging in the Clemson’s practice facility and is unfailingly irked.
“Still (angers) me,” he said. “Been (angering) me for a year. Think it has (angered) the rest of the team, especially our defense — going out there last year and playing like crap, losing that game for us.
“Everybody on our defense and on our team wants to get a new banner up there.”
The fact is, Clemson has built itself quite a reputation for defense. It just doesn’t get the extensive airing of Alabama’s.
Each season in the Tigers’ recent run, no matter the loss to graduation and the pros, they throw out another tough-minded defense. To which Swinney credits a depth of recruiting and a continuity on the coaching staff. It hasn’t been all built on five-star recruits, either, but in many cases, upon the progress of players such as cornerback Ryan Carter, lightly pursued out of Grayson.
(Just Wednesday Swinney also was telling the story of a two-way player in high school in Adairsville who fancied himself a running back. But the Tigers staff knew better. And after Vic Beasley put the finishing touches on his 15 1/2-sack regular season with the Falcons, Swinney said, “I texted him: Man, aren’t you glad we moved you to defensive end? Still want to play running back?”)
The sentiment coming out of Clemson has been confident and unmistakable: The defense deems itself better equipped to deal with Alabama this time.
“We’re more consistent than we were this time last year,” Swinney said. “We were very good, a top-10 defense last year, but gave up too many big plays. We were very inconsistent at times.”
And, where the Tigers were dealing with injuries that limited their top player in the secondary, Mackenzie Alexander, and up front, Shaq Lawson, health is no issue this time.
“I think we’re better (than last year). Think we’re a higher-ranked defense. We’ve been a lot more consistent,” Boulware said. “The big plays have gone down. Although we’re definitely not perfect, I think we are that much more locked in.
“We saw what happened last year, and we’re doing everything in our power to see that it doesn’t happen again. I think we might have had a little more talent last year on all three levels but the maturity, the consistency is more on this defense.”
Defense does not always win championships, as was evident just a year ago.
But should it be required this time, Clemson’s ultra-confident safety, for one, is here to tell you that it will be supplied.
“I think we are totally equipped for winning a national championship,” Johnson said.
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