Tide secondary expects busy opener

[DKW 86 7,438]

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ALABAMA REPORT: Tide secondary expects busy opener

By Tim Gayle

Montgomery Advertiser

TUSCALOOSA -- Ramzee Robinson will never forget his first collegiate start.

Inserted in the lineup as a nickel back, the Huntsville cornerback was a redshirt freshman facing Hawaii quarterback Timmy Chang and the second-rated passing offense in America.

"It was a lot of running," Robinson recalled. "It's a game where you have to be in shape because they're throwing it all across the field. There's not a time they're not going to put it in the air. I'm like, OK, they're finally going to run the ball. No, the ball's in the air again."

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Robinson is now a fifth-year senior, but an Alabama nickel back will be earning his first start in a college football game against Hawaii. The Warriors will feature the nation's total offense leader from 2005, Colt Brennan, as well as the second-rated passing offense in America.

"Knowing we lost three starters in the secondary and knowing we're playing a passing team first, that alone lets you know where we stand," Robinson said. "They put the ball in the air 50-plus times. Us being one of the top-rated defenses the last couple of years, it's an extremely big challenge because of how many yards they gained. Four hundred-something yards per game, you don't ever want to give up that."

Alabama's secondary throttled a similar attack last year, holding Texas Tech to just 10 points in a Cotton Bowl victory. But a trio of third-year starters, now graduated, were crucial in that victory: Roman Harper, Charlie Peprah and Anthony Madison. This weekend, the starting nickel back in the Cotton Bowl, Jeffery Dukes, will earn his second career start as a free safety while the normal nickel back, Simeon Castille, will make his fourth career start as a cornerback.

Strong safety Marcus Carter and the nickel back, either Rashad Johnson or Lionel Mitchell, will be making their first collegiate start.

All of the scenarios and scrimmages in the preseason never prepared the Crimson Tide defensive backs for what they'll face on Saturday.

"Camp can't help you," Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Joe Kines noted. "That's the reason the NFL has preseason games. Nothing is going to help you until you get out on the field and play. In the NFL they don't have to count those first couple. Unfortunately, we have to count this one."

Robinson hopes his tutelage of the younger players and their diligence to detail will pay dividends on Saturday night.

"If you're not watching tape and you're not sure what the offense is going to give you, you'll be the only one out there going 10 miles per hour," he said. "Everybody else is going 100-plus. The more you know, the better and the faster you can play without thinking."

While the focus will be on the secondary, they'll need plenty of help from the Tide's defensive front.

"Their quarterback finds a lot of time to throw the ball," Robinson observed. "I know there were a couple of occasions we were watching tape when we counted 'one Mississippi , two Mississippi ,' me and Simeon Castille. We were getting up to '12 Mississippi,' that's how long he scrambled before completing a pass.

"I don't know too many people that can cover a guy for 12 Mississippis . I couldn't even do that playing in my backyard against my brothers and sisters. Hopefully, our D-line will do a good job and I won't have to stand out there that long."

Defensive end Wallace Gilberry said the Crimson Tide has a simple strategy to conquer Brennan.

"We just have to hit him hard," Gilberry said. "Hit him hard and hit him hard and eventually those licks will catch up with him."

Robinson said Brennan and his receivers are a better group of players than the Tide faced in 2003.

"I feel like they have more playmakers than they did in 2003," he said. "They're smaller and a little faster than they were. In previous years, they were bigger and they did a good job passing the ball, but there are more guys out there now."

Robinson is one of eight Tide players who remember the 2003 upset loss to the Warriors. The memory lingers.

"That was something that motivated me to be a better corner," he said. "It was a long trip back, eight hours. You don't ever want to travel so far with a loss. It's on your conscience the whole time.

"We all talked about the opportunity we missed in Hawaii . We really wanted to win that game. We're just glad to have them here at Bryant-Denny because our fans are going to have a lot to do with helping us win the game."

Christian recovering

Alabama coach Mike Shula said Jamie Christensen is "kicking better" as he continues to recover from a groin injury and "might be ready" for Saturday's game with Hawaii . If not, walk-on freshman Leigh Tiffin, the son of former Tide kicker Van Tiffin, will handle extra points and field goals.

Special teams coach Dave Ungerer said Christensen is "going to be a little bit behind" but didn't want to rush the junior back into the lineup.

"It (the groin injury) is a little more critical (at kicker)," he said. "If he played a different position, with the same injury, you can kind of work your way through it. But that's where he generates all his power from so we want to make sure he's OK."

Tiffin learned to kick without a tee in high school, so there hasn't been a big transition to collegiate play, Ungerer noted.

"Then there's his family makeup, genetics, whatever you want to call it," he continued. "He's been trained well. He has a really good demeanor. He's done some good things in pressure situations in practice so he won't have an abnormal amount of nervousness if he does have to kick Saturday."

Practice report

Shula said Tuesday's practice was "OK" and was happier with the Crimson Tide's effort on Wednesday.

"I thought today was much better," he said. "We got them off the field a little bit quicker today and guys moved around a lot better. The thing we have to make sure we do this week is get lined up and tighten up all the things we do that happen before the snap. As coaches, we have to let these guys go play. Let them make the plays. We have to get the right people in the right positions and let them make the plays."

Vandy tickets available

The university announced on Wednesday that Vanderbilt had returned a portion of its ticket allotment for next week's 2:30 p.m. kickoff at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Several hundred tickets are now available for Alabama's Southeastern Conference opener on Sept.9. Tickets are $40 each. To order tickets, call 205-348-BAMA (2262) or order online at www.rolltide.com.

[wesfau 0]

This weekend, the starting nickel back in the Cotton Bowl, Jeffery Dukes, will earn his second career start as a free safety while the normal nickel back, Simeon Castille, will make his fourth career start as a cornerback.

Strong safety Marcus Carter and the nickel back, either Rashad Johnson or Lionel Mitchell, will be making their first collegiate start

[saniflush 0]

This weekend, the starting nickel back in the Cotton Bowl, Jeffery Dukes, will earn his second career start as a free safety while the normal nickel back, Simeon Castille, will make his fourth career start as a cornerback.

Strong safety Marcus Carter and the nickel back, either Rashad Johnson or Lionel Mitchell, will be making their first collegiate start

I bet the terms nickle and dime have a whole different meaning to some on that defense.

[otterinbham 0]

Can anybody say "Trap Game"?

[BamaGrad03 0]

Those points are very misleading.

While Simeon hasnt started many games...he starts at nicleback, and was basically 1b at RCB.

Jeffery Dukes played behind Roman Harper but played a TON in our 3-3-5 package as well.

[wesfau 0]

This weekend, the starting nickel back in the Cotton Bowl, Jeffery Dukes, will earn his second career start as a free safety while the normal nickel back, Simeon Castille, will make his fourth career start as a cornerback.

Strong safety Marcus Carter and the nickel back, either Rashad Johnson or Lionel Mitchell, will be making their first collegiate start

I bet the terms nickle and dime have a whole different meaning to some on that defense.

Dave's not here, man.