Tough week for Alabama defense puts emphasis on leadership

If Alabama didn't have the best defense week-to-week in college football last season, it certainly had the best leaders.

Alabama had Minkah Fitzpatrick in the secondary.

It had Rashaan Evans at linebacker.

It had Da'Ron Payne on the defensive line.

They were all first-round picks, but, more importantly, they were all leaders of the highest order.

It has been a tough week for Alabama's defense. The knee injury to linebacker Terrell Lewis this week is concerning, and the violence of linebacker VanDarius Cowan in a Tuscaloosa bar was disturbing. The loss of both players adds some additional question marks heading into fall camp.

Alabama can overcome those things, though, because this is July, and Alabama has plenty of time to train its legion of defensive talent for new assignments. This excellent piece by Alabama beat writer Rainer Sabin takes a look at what Alabama is losing in Lewis, and how Alabama might adjust, and, in this insightful story, Alabama beat writer Michael Casagrande puts Lewis' injury into perspective.

Lewis' injury and the attrition of Cowan are causing flashbacks to the problems Alabama's defense experienced last season, but they also should serve as a reminder of how Alabama overcame 2017's dearth of linebackers. The Crimson Tide persevered with unwavering leadership.

Nick Saban is always going to have talent. Every single defensive starter from Alabama's 2016 season opener was drafted over the last two years, but there will be more. There always is.

What Alabama should be most worried about right now is leadership. Who's going to replace Fitzpatrick's focus this offseason? Which players are going to help balance out the inevitable regression in experience after three defensive leaders were drafted in the first round, and two key position coaches moved onto the NFL.

Is Anfernee Jennings ready to be the leader Alabama needs? Is Mack Wilson or Dylan Moses?

Raekwon Davis is Alabama's best defender, but, more importantly, can he be Alabama's defensive leader? He wasn't that type of player last year, although returning from a gunshot wound to dominate Florida State is impressive in its own way.

The thing that set Alabama apart last year was the collective intelligence of team leaders like Fitzpatrick, Evans and Payne. Still, there will always be players who make poor decisions in the summer.

Saban was right in kicking Cowan off the team for his bar fight. The surveillance video of Cowan's punch left Alabama's coach with no other choice. In the video, Cowan walks into a bar and appears to take a swing at someone for no reason. Only a few days later, Lewis tore the anterior-cruciate ligament in his knee. Lewis was the type of teammate who could have developed into a team leader this season.

Those are the types of players who helped Alabama's defense through the lean times last season.

Fitzpatrick demanded a level of focus uncommon even for a program as highly structured as Saban's Alabama. Everything had to be perfect -- offseason workouts, attitudes, practices ... even practice uniforms.

Fitzpatrick's leadership was mirrored by players like Evans at linebacker and Payne on the defensive line. The entire defensive unit followed their examples.

When injuries began piling up for Alabama, the resolve and mental toughness that Fitzpatrick imbued over the summer helped carry Alabama all the way to the Iron Bowl as the No.1 team in the country. Auburn did the rest, helping the Crimson Tide reach the College Football Playoff by losing to Georgia in the SEC championship.

Alabama backdoored its way into the playoff, sure, but it put itself into position to take advantage of the system with tough road wins against Texas A&M and Mississippi State. With Texas A&M threatening in the fourth quarter, Fitzpatrick delivered an interception at the goal line. Against Mississippi State, with the game tied 24-24 late in the fourth quarter, Alabama's defense went three-and-out after a missed field goal by Andy Pappanastos. That set the stage for Jalen Hurts and Calvin Ridley.

There's going to be another Mississippi State this season. Will it be in the season opener against Louisville? Will it be against Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M, or on the road against LSU or Jeremy Pruitt's Tennessee? Who knows, but at some point Alabama will be pushed to its breaking point.

Who will be the defensive leaders to save Alabama this year? They emerge in the fourth quarters of close games, but they're made right now in the heat of July.

Joseph Goodman is a columnist for Alabama Media Group. He's on Twitter

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