No Mac attack

KNOXVILLE -- Most No. 1-ranked college football teams sit atop the polls because they don't have many weaknesses.

In that sense, Tennessee's coaches and defenders are publicly praising Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy.

"(Alabama is) the No. 2 or No. 1 team in the nation, depending on the poll, and he's the one leading them," UT junior middle linebacker Savion Frazier said. "I'd say that makes him a good quarterback."

LaMarcus Thompson, the Volunteers' junior strongside linebacker, said nearly the same thing two minutes later.

"He's the starting quarterback on the No. 1 team in the nation," Thompson said. "To me, that's all you need to say."

Other people have disagreed with that assessment.

After a torrid start, including against Virginia Tech and Arkansas, McElroy statistically regressed against Kentucky, Ole Miss and South Carolina.

The 6-foot-3 Texan hasn't thrown for 150 yards in the past three games. He hasn't completed more than 58 percent of his passes in that stretch, and he hasn't completed more than half the past two weeks. He's thrown two touchdown passes and two interceptions in October, with both pickoffs coming in a dreadful night against South Carolina on Saturday.

McElroy completed just 10 of 20 passes against the Gamecocks' stout defense, and he amassed a mere 92 yards.

Alabama sophomore Julio Jones is widely considered one of the nation's top pass-catchers. He nearly topped 1,000 yards as a true freshman last year but has a paltry 175 yards on 13 receptions this season.

McElroy's coaches and teammates maintained confidence in him Monday, though, and the quarterback gave no indications that his recent efforts were trend-setting.

"You have to put it behind you," McElroy said. "That's why we play 12 of these things."

McElroy called his South Carolina outing "unfortunate," but he drew a parallel to recent performances by New York Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez, who started the season hot but threw five interceptions in a Sunday loss to the Buffalo Bills.

"It's (Sanchez's) first year starting in the NFL, and it's my first year starting in college," McElroy said. "You're going to have some ups and downs. Fortunately for me, I've got some great players around me to help me out with those ups and downs.

"I've got a lot of confidence in the way that we're going to prepare this week and the way that we're going to be ready to go on Saturday. I'm excited to get those mistakes ironed out and to have a good game on Saturday."

Senior tight end Colin Peek, Alabama's leading receiver, called McElroy a "tremendous quarterback.

"I think he's having a lot of pressure thrown on him right now just with media, and things like that," Peek said. "Any player is going to get frustrated when their play is not up to what they expect it to be.

"He's such a good competitor, he doesn't want to go out there and not play to his top level, what he expects to be playing at. I think that's going to make Greg work harder. He's that type of guy, that type of leader."

Peek praised his quarterback's unselfishness above all.

"Even though he may have been having difficulties that people were thinking, the crowd or the media, he never lost that leadership factor," Peek said. "He said, 'Hey, I'm going to help lead this team. It may not be my night, but I'm going to make sure it's someone else's night.'

"I think that's a testament to him as a person, and I'm thankful for him to be my quarterback."

Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban had simple advice for McElroy on Monday -- though, in typical Saban style, he preferred to speak globally when asked about a specific player.

Saban spoke of remembering the "simple goals" that spawned his team's scorching-hot offensive start.

"Maybe we're trying to do too much. Maybe we're putting too much pressure on ourselves," Saban said. "The people around us on offense need to continue to improve the way they play, so the quarterback feels comfortable and confident that he's going to be protected."

Saban didn't sugarcoat the situation, though. Without mentioning McElroy's name, he noted that recent passing-game performances weren't up to par.

"We've got too many good skill players not to be able to get them the ball so we can make explosive plays in the passing game," Saban said. "It's not what we need it to be, it was not what we needed it to be in the game and we definitely need to improve on it."

UT's players expect major adjustments from McElroy and Co. on Saturday.

"I think he's a solid quarterback, and I think he's shown flashes of being a really good quarterback," UT senior defensive lineman Wes Brown said. "The running game they've got can really set up some short playaction for him, too. They've got a really solid running game, and then they've got some talented receivers that McElroy can throw to.

"They're not just a running team. They can throw the ball, too. I think he'll be back, and he'll be fine."

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