Q&A: Talking 'Bama with Arkansas Expats

If you've read the Q&A Todd posted earlier with Arkansas Expats, be sure you read the follow up where I answer the questions coming in from Hog country. Here is a quick excerpt:

The Crimson Tide seems to be firing on all cylinders right now. What's the #1 aspect of Bama's game that Hog fans should be worried about?

Hog fans should probably be worried more about the Alabama pass rush than anything else. We have finally managed to get a lot of speed and athleticism into the front seven, and with the addition of linebacker coach Sal Sunseri, the pass rush looks much improved this year. Both Dont'a Hightower and Eryk Anders are fine rushers off the edge, Marcel Dareus looks to be a budding superstar at defensive end, Lorenzo Washington looks better than ever, and on obvious passing situations we can move to our "Rabbit" package to get a lot of speed and athleticism rushing the quarterback.

Now, this may seem like a bit of a counter-intuitive answer simply because, even while improved, the pass rush is probably not Alabama's best attribute. However, that said, this is probably the one area that can harm Arkansas' chances of winning more so than anything else. It's no grand secret that if Arkansas is going to win this game they will need another big performance from Ryan Mallett in the passing game, and if Alabama can consistently get after him with the pass rush, that will likely limit the effectiveness of the passing game to the point that Arkansas will really need a surprise performance from their defense (and / or special teams) to leave Tuscaloosa with the victory.

Click here to go to the Expats' blog and read the whole thing.