Defensive Grades for Texas A&M Football vs. Alabama
Defensive Line: A
To their credit, Bama came through with a good game plan in the second half. It seemed that Milroe had more time for much of the latter thirty minutes compared to the first thirty. However, the Aggies still did come up with two sacks in the second half to pu their total on the day at six. In reality, outside of two drives, the defensive front still got great pressure in the whole second half. They also did a great job limiting the Alabama run game throughout the day.
Linebackers: A+
Edgerrin Cooper is quietly playing at an all-SEC if not all-American level. Through six games, Coop has amassed six sacks, twelve TFLs, and 41 total tackles. Taurean York has been a force in the middle and has played no small part in the stout rush defense for the Aggies. This game was no exception; 45 and 21 were all over the field, with Edge responsible for half of all the Aggies’ sacks, including a huge hit that forced a fumble.
Defensive Backs: D-
I think the temptation here as with the OL would be to give an F. Relative to how they’ve played, it was certainly a huge step backwards and was a huge part of this loss; however, the coverage was good enough on several occasions to help generate a sack from an Aggie front that is admittedly quicker than most to get home. The tackling was improved from the Miami game overall. Despite his penchant for making plays on screens, DeBerry is a liability downfield, which Alabama obviously identified quickly.