Sacks came from everywhere last season for Alabama's defense, but especially from the edge, where outside linebackers Ryan Anderson and Tim Williams combined for 18.
With Anderson and Williams now in the NFL, Terrell Lewis and Christian Miller were expected to get their opportunities at outside linebacker, but they went down with season-ending injuries during the 24-7 opening win over Florida State.
As Alabama prepares to play its eighth game of the season Saturday afternoon when Tennessee (3-3, 0-3 Southeastern Conference) visits Bryant-Denny Stadium, the Crimson Tide (7-0, 4-0) are collecting more sacks from inside linebackers than they are from those outside.
"I want anybody who can affect the quarterback to affect the quarterback," Alabama coach Nick Saban said in a news conference after Wednesday's practice. "It doesn't matter to me who it is. I don't think we've done a great job of that on a consistent basis.
"We've had too many guys running around on us. We haven't controlled the quarterback."
Saban has long emphasized affecting the quarterback over sack totals. Alabama averaged 3.6 sacks per game last season, with former defensive end Jonathan Allen notching 10 and Anderson and Williams nine each.
The Tide have averaged 2.71 sacks per game this season, with defensive lineman Raekwon Davis leading the way with a total of 4.5. Inside linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton has two sacks, as does Rashaan Evans, who has played both inside and outside linebacker.
Evans injured his groin against Florida State, causing him to miss two games, and Saban said he still isn't at 100 percent.
"We've tried to bring him back slowly," Saban said. "He impacts the game wherever we put him. It's really been good to get him back and see him play the way he has."
Bryant watch list
Saban and Georgia's Kirby Smart were the only SEC coaches on the 20-member watch list released Wednesday for the Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Award. Former Alabama coach Gene Stallings won the Bryant Award in 1992, while Saban won it in 2003, when he guided LSU to the national championship.
He has yet to win it with Alabama despite leading the Crimson Tide to four national championships. His record since the start of the 2008 season is 119-13.
The school with the most Bryant Award winners is Auburn, which has four - Terry Bowden (1993), Tommy Tuberville (2004), Gene Chizik (2010) and Gus Malzahn (2013).
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.