By Andrew Gribble/Tuscaloosa Bureau, Mobile Press-Register, Birmingham News, and The Huntsville Times

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- Nico Johnson has been though enough Alabama scrimmages to know that it's nearly impossible for the defense to be as fired up as it is for a real game.

As a result, big offensive plays, missed tackles and a variety of other mistakes plague the unit, prompting it to get its act together in time for Scrimmage No. 2.

That just didn't happen Saturday, Johnson said.

Though the first-team defense made "a lot of mistakes" against the second-team offense, Johnson said he's never seen his fellow defenders carry such a high amount of intensity for the first scrimmage of the preseason.

For more on this story, visit: http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/08/defense_made_a_lot_of_mistakes.html