As Black Friday approaches so does the emotion of the annual Iron Bowl. This year will be one of the most anticipated Iron Bowls in quite a while, maybe the most anticipated you’ll see for a few years as well. Auburn comes in as the number two ranked team in the nation with a Heisman candidate at the helm. Alabama comes in with a record fans haven’t seen since 08, two losses. Bryant Denny has been a house of horrors for opponents over the course of the last 2 years, as Alabama is on a 20 game win streak at home while only allowing one total rushing touchdown and giving up only 7.1ppg during the streak. Auburn comes in rushing the ball for 330 yards per game with one of the best rushing attack in NCAA history with Cam Newton taking most of the carries. For Alabama to beat Auburn they will have to do some things well, and make sure not to put themselves in a hole. In this column I will show a breakdown of key areas that Alabama will have to do well to beat a very good, talented Auburn Tigers team.
1. Tackling
Sounds like a simple task and it normally would be against anyone not named Cam Newton. A 6 foot 6, 250 pound physical freak who has the speed to run around you and the power to run over you. Alabama will have to be smart and force Newton to throw the ball. Alabama will have to contain Cam Newton by not over running the play and letting Newton getting upfield on them. Most teams this year seem to think the spy is the best way to defend a player like Newton. It’s actually the opposite. Using a spy would work for a running back because that player has no threat to have the ball leave his hands through the air, with Cam Newton you have to play man to man coverage on the outside, using your safety to come up closer to the line. In Alabama’s case, Mark Barron being only 10-15 yards behind the line of scrimmage with the ability to blitz through the middle, outside or drop back into coverage. The Crimson Tide will have to disguise a lot of blitz formations causing confusion for not only Cam Newton but his offensive line as well. If you bring the blitz, tackling is a key because Newton will be at his best if he can break through the first line of defense. This isn’t a one man show either, Michael Dyer and Onterio McCalebb are both great backs who add something new to the formations. McCalebb on the speed sweep, Dyer on the up the gut running.
The task of stopping the running attack is a hard one to accomplish. LSU’s great defense tried it and it resulted in one play, the speed sweep, being the back breaker for the LSU Tigers. You have to play your assignment and never bite on play action and also for the defensive end, to play the sweep or reverse at all times. It’s a tough task and is mentally draining. Alabama does match up better with LSU through the linebacking core, having bigger linebackers that can take Cam Newton on one on one but also have enough speed to cover ground quickly. The way to bring Newton down to tackle low, where he can’t use his stiff arm to break tackles. Squaring up with him and forcing back into the field instead of out of bounds.
2. Coverage
Staying on the defensive side of the ball, the defensive backfield will be a major key for Alabama to beat the Auburn Tigers. Most would say that the key for them would be to not blow any coverages and stick to their man. They would be right to an extent. Alabama will take chances bring the corner blitz package with Demarcus Milliner and Dre Kirkpatrick from off the edges in an effort to flood the backfield and dictate what Auburn can do while still in the backfield. When you bring a corner blitz you do leave yourself exposed in coverage or in rush defense if the play is going to opposite way. Alabama will have to time these blitzes perfectly in order to force Newton to get rid of the ball where Robert Lester and Mark Barron can try to take advantage. Alabama’s secondary has been suspect at best this year, after giving up big play after big play in both losses this season. Alabama will have to play great man to man and zone defense to win this game. Any blown coverage and this game takes a completely different turn. Darvin Adams, Cam Newton’s favorite receiver has a great ability of finding the open spot on the field and getting there, Alabama will have open spots on the field, but the key will be to make them as few and far between as possible. Disguising zone and man to man coverages, also disguising blitz packages are key to this.
If a pass is completed, the defensive backfield will have to do a good job of tackling, limiting the run after catch yards. A five yard play won’t kill you, but an eighty-five yard play will. Tackling in the secondary on run plays is a very big aspect of where Alabama can match up better than LSU did. The size in the Alabama secondary is great, but their tackling has been mediocre, against Auburn it will have to be great. Tackling Newton low, not trying to go up high where Newton will break most defensive backs tackles.
3. Sustain Drives
Alabama will have to sustain long drives while killing clock and picking up first down after first down. The longer Auburn’s offense is on the sidelines, the less chances they will have to put points on the board. Auburn has been great at forcing you to play their game because their rush defense is very solid. If you can force Auburn to having no choice but to score a touchdown on every possession the pressure mounts on their offense. By taking the air out of the ball through the ground game, you limit the drives Auburn will have therefore forcing their offenses hand. Alabama will face some major third downs that will change not only the field position but the type of game that will be played. Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson will be key in this effort, having a slow season this year I expect a big game from one, if not both of these players. The passing game will be open as Auburn has the 11th ranked passing defense in the SEC, but the true key in beating Auburn isn’t attacking that weakness. A dropped pass, an interception all stop the clock and give Auburn more time to attack on their own. Alabama will have to be able to run the ball to keep the defense off balance allowing play action passes and misdirection plays.
Alabama will need to take advantage of Julio Jones on a weak secondary, taking chances vertically and in the screen game, where Auburn doesn’t have the best tackling secondary. A two yard pass may result in a 12 yard pass or more with a few moves from Julio. Limit mistakes and keep Auburn honest with draw plays and screens forcing the defensive line to be slow out of the break for the chance Alabama may run right past them.
4. Field Position
The kicking game will be a very important and overlooked part of this game. Alabama hasn’t gotten great production from their punter over the last few weeks. Alabama will rely on their punter to change the field position when their drives stall. Alabama will not score on every possession during the game, so the punting game will be important. Good blocking and high hanging punts will flip the field position in favor of Alabama, giving Auburn a short field is like taking a kid to a candy shop, leaving him a few inches from chocolate and hoping he won’t grab it. Also, if a drive stalls in the red zone for Alabama they will have to rely on Jeremy Shelly to make those kicks consistently. On the flip side, forcing Auburn to kick field goals from a long distance can change the dynamic of the game. A miss gives Alabama good field position, and if Auburn makes it, 3 points is surmountable rather than having to score touchdowns.
5. Blocking
Nick Fairley is a dominating force on the Auburn defensive line. One of the best linemen in all of college football this year. Fairley made his name known early in the season against Mississippi State and has been talked about ever since, some good, some bad. Last week Fairley had a couple of questionable hits on Georgia quarterback Aaron Murry including a late hit late in the game which sparked a small fight between both teams. Alabama will have to have good blocking on the line, allowing the running game to have time to develop and giving Greg McElroy enough time to survey the field while looking for a receiver downfield. This will be a great matchup to see how Alabama handles Nick Fairley and the rest of the Auburn line, do they double team Fairley and take chances on the rest?
Also, in the passing game the running backs will be forced to be great a picking up blitzes. Mark Ingram who is a very good blocker will have his hands full making the right choice on who to pick up giving McElroy time to get rid of the ball.
Alabama will pull out all the stops on offense and defense for the Auburn Tigers while I expect Auburn to do nothing less than the same. This match up is great across the board. Alabama’s secondary against Auburns receivers. Alabama’s line play against Auburn’s line play. Cam Newton. Mark Ingram. Julio Jones. Darvin Adams. Greg McElroy. Michael Dyer. Trent Richardson. There are more than enough future NFL players on the field during the game this year. The 2010 Iron Bowl has a chance to be one of the most memorable Iron Bowls to date. The only thing that wasn’t mentioned in this article is crowd noise but I think that goes without saying. The crowd won’t be a problem in this one. So after enjoying Thanksgiving dinner and laying around Thursday, get ready to watch an all out battle on the field in Bryant Denny Stadium. It’s the greatest rivalry game in college football, just sit back and enjoy it.
