Alabama's Achilles heel on defense could come back to bite them in the worst way vs. Tennessee

For the past decade and a half, pass rushers were synonymous with the Crimson and White.

Year after year the Alabama Crimson Tide were known for producing EDGE defenders that wreaked havoc on opposing offenses.

But up until last week , the defense hasn't been able to generate pressure at a rate that many around the Capstone are used to.

And unless they mirror the breakout against South Carolina, it could be a long day against the Tennessee Volunteers and QB Nico Iamaleava for the Tide's pass rush.

Alabama preparing for its biggest QB challenge of the year

“I think he’s got a live arm, extremely talented," HC Kalen DeBoer said of Vols QB Nico Iamaleava on Monday. "You can tell that they’ve got the skill on the outside to where they can hit the home run and make big plays anytime. I think a lot of it is just trying to disrupt him to where the continuity and the flow is just not consistent, and that’s gonna be any quarterback. Every week, that’s the goal is try to just really cause some chaos and change things up on them...

“... They get into their tempo off of positive plays, and that’s the key is try to make sure that they don’t get into that rhythm, just like any offense, that’s what you’re trying to do. He’s talented. You can see it’s there. He’s still, I think, growing and developing, and we’ve just gotta make sure we disrupt him enough and make sure we’re showing pictures and also getting bodies on bodies on the outside to where we make life hard like we would want to any other opponent.”

The biggest detriment to the Tide's defense and newfound pass rush is going to be quickness. Everything Tennessee does is quick. They like to get in and out of the huddle quickly, get on the ball quickly, and play with a tempo that is tough to match.

All of that is designed to make a good pash null and void, much less one that has been inconsistent at best.

So it's going to be a challenge for Alabama and DC Kane Wommack, but one they aren't running from. If the last few weeks showed us anything, expect a high-scoring affair on Saturday night.

Related: Alabama HC Kalen DeBoer references a 'lack of reps' as reasoning behind defensive struggles