Bama’s imposing defensive front gears up for Mallett, Arkansas

Saban: It’s not all about the sacks

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama coach Nick Saban wants to get one thing straight: Sacks aren’t the measure of a defense, they just look pretty on the stat sheet.

The third-ranked Crimson Tide didn’t get one against North Texas, but forced Nathan Tune to settle for quick dumpoffs and short passes. Sacks or no sacks, ‘Bama’s defensive front seven is awfully formidable and disruptive.

It’s not a bad quality to have with quarterback Ryan Mallett leading Arkansas and the nation’s No. 2 offense into Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday, when Saban said getting pressure with a four-man rush will be especially important to avoid leaving the defensive backs in a bind.

“Playing defense is a lot like being a pitcher. If you’re a one-pitch guy, they’re probably eventually going to hit you,” Saban said. “Even if you get good blitzes and you blitz all the time, eventually you’re going to live by the sword and die by the sword. If you’ve got a good changeup and can throw the slider on the side …

“Playing defense, especially when you’re playing against a really good quarterback, is a lot like that. If he knows what you’re doing all the time before he gets the ball in his hands, he’s going to be able to make good decisions and take advantage of them. You’ve got to be able to pitch a little bit.”

And if you’ve got a couple of Gold Glove defenders up the middle, all the better.

The Tide has swallowed up opposing runners with All-Americans Terrence Cody at nose guard and Rolando McClain at middle linebacker, ranking second nationally allowing just 42 yards rushing a game.

‘Bama has also been able to hound quarterbacks much more than last season. The Tide is tied with Tennessee and South Carolina for the league lead with 10 sacks, despite getting shut out against North Texas.

Saban was just fine with the front seven’s impact on the game even if it didn’t pad the sack totals.

“Sacks have nothing to do with winning, nothing at all,” he said afterward. “There’s no stat in the NFL that says how many sacks you’re getting contributes to winning. It’s good to affect the quarterback. We affected the guy because he was throwing it so fast, we couldn’t sack him. To me, that’s affecting the quarterback, is it not? You can’t hold it to throw down the field.

“It’s about affecting the quarterback. You don’t have to sack him to affect him.”

Besides, he added: “We won a lot of games last year without getting many sacks, 12 in a row, actually.”

But Alabama so far has achieved its preseason goal of putting more pressure on the quarterback, with a huge, fast front seven. Sophomore end Marcell Dareus is the least experienced member of that group, but leads the team with 3.5 sacks in his first two career starts. McClain has brought down the QB twice and leads the team with 18 tackles.

Cody, meanwhile, hasn’t gotten a sack yet, but had a career-high five tackles against North Texas.

“We’re just relentless,” the 6-foot-5, 354-pounder said. “We just made a vow to ourselves that we were going to rush the passer and affect the quarterback this year. It ain’t about sacks, it’s about affecting the quarterback, throwing off his timing with the receivers and making him get rid of the ball sooner than he wants to.”

Arkansas has allowed only two sacks while getting off 80 pass attempts against Missouri State and Georgia.

The 6-4, 258-pound McClain said his role doesn’t change much going against a team that throws 40 times a game.

“I’m not just a run stopper. I’m involved in coverage a lot,” he said. “It doesn’t change at all, really.”

The Tide’s three-man line averages 313 pounds. Linebackers McClain, Dont’a Hightower and Cory Reamer are all 6-4.

The “little” guy on the front seven is 6-2, 235-pounder Eryk Anders. The linebacking corps’ only new starter has a team-high three quarterback hurries and is the No. 2 tackler with 16.

Another undersized contributor is the diminutive Saban.

“Coach Saban does a great job of disguising things and blitzing people at the right time,” McClain said. “That’s what makes us special. We’re just having success right now because we’re all working hard and buying into the system.”

TIDE TALK: Wide receiver Julio Jones (bruised knee) and tailback Roy Upchurch (sprained ankle) returned to practice Monday after sitting out the North Texas game and most of the Florida International game. Jones has only five catches for 55 yards. Upchurch is averaging 9.7 yards on 11 carries.