'Bama's line tries to fix problems

Alabama center Taylor Britt is hoping everyone&#39;s talking about Brodie Croyle and Kenneth Darby after the Cotton Bowl not the offensive line.<br> <br> If that happens, he figures, it means the 13th-ranked Crimson Tide&#39;s linemen have done their job against No. 18 Texas Tech in Monday&#39;s Cotton Bowl. Britt Co. got way more attention than they&#39;d like after the season finale against Auburn.<br> <br> Croyle was sacked 11 times and Darby didn&#39;t have many holes to run through, gaining a modest 89 yards.<br> <br> ``You want to hear about Brodie and KD,&#39;&#39; Britt said. ``You don&#39;t want to see your name in the newspaper if you&#39;re an offensive lineman. As an offensive lineman, seeing their names in there, you know you&#39;ve been doing something good.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The Iron Bowl performance was the bottom for an offense that was already struggling, especially for the line. The Tide (9-2) starts two freshmen and a sophomore on the line and had Britt, a senior, starting his first career game in place of an injured JB Closner.<br> <br> Croyle took a beating throughout the game with Auburn and seldom had time to throw, passing for a season-low 107 yards. He thinks that ugly performance gave his blockers a little extra motivation.<br> <br> ``They kind of took offense to it,&#39;&#39; Croyle said. ``They kind of want to come out and prove that they are a good offensive line, they just had a bad day.<br> <br> ``It&#39;s just some young guys still trying to gel. They&#39;re still in their learning curve.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Offensive coordinator Dave Rader said ``no group&#39;s worked harder&#39;&#39; on Alabama&#39;s team leading up to the Cotton Bowl than the offensive line.<br> <br> ``You don&#39;t want them to play hesitantly or with no confidence, because they did a lot of good things,&#39;&#39; Rader said. ``Just get back up on our feet and let&#39;s be the aggressor. I think they&#39;re very capable of doing it.<br> <br> ``What I don&#39;t want to happen is I don&#39;t want them to lose their confidence. I don&#39;t want them to walk out there and say, &#39;Man, we had a bad game and we&#39;ll never play good again.&#39;&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Britt said the best way to describe the mood of the offensive linemen was ``hungry. Hungry to go out there and prove yourselves.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The Tide&#39;s offense finished eighth in the Southeastern Conference in scoring, averaging just over 13 points in its last five league games.<br> <br> Croyle knows that total almost surely won&#39;t cut it against Texas Tech&#39;s high-powered offense.<br> <br> ``We&#39;ve got to put points on the board, because they&#39;re going to score,&#39;&#39; said Croyle, Alabama&#39;s alltime leading passer. ``It&#39;s going to be a matter of us finding a way to get in the end zone.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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