GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Alabama football team has won its first five games of the season, including two Southeastern Conference games, with each win coming in a different fashion.
One thing that never changes about the Crimson Tide is its physicality. Alabama is arguably the most physical team in the country. They wear teams down with their physical play, and after a quarter or two, teams are too beaten up to fight back.
“That’s what we want our identity to be,” said offensive lineman Barrett Jones. “We want to be seen as a team that’s truly physical and we want to wear teams down.”
That physicality was on full display in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium against the Florida Gators in front of 90,888 screaming fans. After Florida took a 10-3 lead in the first quarter, Alabama buckled down and didn’t allow the Gators to score again.
The Tide punished the Gators with big hit after big hit, even knocking a few Florida players out of the game, including Florida quarterback John Brantley.
“That is something we pride ourselves on,” said safety Mark Barron. “Every time we hit you, we want to hurt you. We don’t want to end your career, but we want it to hurt you when we hit you. So that is just something we pride ourselves on.”
The Tide has dominated opponents in all facets of the game this season. The players pound teams with their physical running game. They push people around at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. If the offense isn’t playing well, then the defense can shut down opponents. If for some reason the defense struggles early on, the offense has the ability to outscore opponents with talented skill players such as Trent Richardson and Marquis Maze.
One statistic that proves how much more physical the Tide has been compared to other teams is its run defense. Through five games, Alabama has allowed fewer than 46 yards per game and less than two yards per carry.
“One thing we do here is try to play physical and dominate our opponent,” said nose tackle Josh Chapman. “We want to dominate the line of scrimmage and we did that in this game.”
Chapman said he takes it personally when teams try to run the ball on the defense.
“Being the nose guard, you don’t want a team run the ball on you,” Chapman said.
Some experts believe that Alabama has the best defense in the country. Its play on the field and the statistics show that the Tide bolsters the top defensive unit in the nation.
“I do believe we have the best defense in the country,” Chapman said. “I feel that we have some things to work on, but we have a great group of guys, so yes, I do believe we have the best defense.”
