since KP is too humble, I will start a topic for him So KP, what are your thoughts coming into the kickoff game with USC? The media here doesn't seem to give USC much of a chance at all. Even Finebaum is dismissive and he always gives someone a chance in the SEC to beat the Tide (I am sure just to provoke the Tide faithful). The OL appears to be in great shape since they are dropping, or reducing the charges against the LT. Your defense is just incredible on paper. You have solid RBs and WRs. The only real question that I can see is at QB. What say you?
Corey, this year is different because no one knows who the qb is, our running backs are all inexperienced and the offensive line is a little iffy. The defense should be outstanding. We lost a lot of starters but we played so many different guys that there is still a lot of experience on that side of the line. With the level of talent that we have it should be okay but once again our quarterback must at least do no harm. It would be great if he could come in and really fire up the scoreboard but at least don't turn the ball over. We have a big upside but there is also the risk that our qb is unreliable. If that happens, USC and most of our conference foes will be tough. Hopefully, once again defense wins championships. Everyone forgets that last year, we were one fluke play, in a game we were not even playing in, from not going to Atlanta. LSU should be back up to speed and present the challenge in the west and everyone is talking about Tennessee too. So is Harbaugh, I mean Michigan going to run away with the Big Ten? Clemson should be in the NC discussion again too. Their qb is the real deal. I'm ready for it to begin. 8)
Aw, Kp the diplomat speaks: We all are undefeated at this point. Bama will be in the mix at the end of the season, guaranteed. :lol:
kp - who needs a QB with your history of RBs, just "run the damn ball" to quote a very smart Alabama fan that I know.
Well not to worry about Alabama QB's, their 5* QB from the 2015 class is doing just fine, off the field! He just got engaged to Pro Surfer (who is a Jersey girl) name Maddie Peterson. She's pretty hot looking. http://thebiglead.com/2016/07/06/bama-quarterback-blake-barnett-got-engaged-to-professional-surfer-maddie-peterson/
Oh yeah and more help is on the way for the Tide. BEAVERTON, Ore. - Alabama quarterback commit Tua Tagovailoa headed back to Hawaii with The Opening MVP honors after guiding his team to the 7-on-7 championship, capping an outstanding weekend at the Nike World Headquarters surrounded by 166 of the nation's top football players. Ranked by 247Sports as the nation's No. 2 dual-threat quarterback, Tagovailoa threw 11 touchdown passes over 27 possessions en route to leaving with the hardware. Tagovailoa also won the Elite11 MVP Trophy as well. All Tournament Team
Given the Tide's recruiting success since Saban has been there it's no surprise that they are always in the conversation for the Nat'l Title. Can't win them all, but he starts every year with a roster that is loaded with talent at each position. The QB for instance, you might think given they played a couple of QB's recently that had no NFL future that they have missed some how in recruiting, but they have a roster full of QB's who were highly ranked, more than just Blake Barnett. No doubt Saban is not worried at all as to whether his QB's make the NFL, he wants them to be efficient and use the talent that is always around them. I doubt if you'll ever see a QB centric offense at Alabama..ie Johnny Manziel type of offense. Ohio State with the success Urban has had in recruiting is in that same situation, loaded with talent every year inspite of graduating a lot of talent.
Just heard Paul Finebaum interviewed on the Dan Patrick radio show. He's a pretty funny guy. He said that by Saban's standards the team will be down this year, which probably means 11-1, SEC championship, and in the playoffs.
Ok, Ok one by one, Don, if we get back to the playoffs this year it will be because of the defense Kesley, in the past in the past 6 or 7 years, we always had one primary experienced back and one that had a lot of carries in the secondary role. Ingram/Richardson, Richardson/Lacey, Lacey/Henry. Then the last two years we had Derek Henry and no one to lighten the load. Now we have several very good unproven, untested running backs. Big question mark, but you are correct, when in doubt, run the damn ball. Terry, I know. It's ridiculous. I wonder what Musberger will say this year. Also, it's only July and the kid from Hawaii is a 16 year old. A lot of time between now and February and Tuscaloosa is a long, long way from Honolulu. I agree about Ohio State except that they have to play Harbaugh, I mean Michigan and everyone knows he can't be beat. Sid, Finebaum is a clickbait artist, he got into a spat with Saban today and it is the talk of the SEC Media Days. Finebaum just earned his annual salary. Ok so now how about an assessment of the rest of the Skybox teams? OSU, WSU, ND, UT, UT, UF, UN, MSU, UM, TA&M? Who am I missing ?
This should be an interesting season for Ohio State. Six starters back after 12 players were drafted. That should mean a couple years to rebuild. We have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball, but not much experience. That will cost us early in the season. Oklahoma is probably licking their chops. :wink: Barnett is a proven performer, but he can not do it all. The offensive line will need some help. Major rebuilding with our receiving corps. You can not replace someone like Zeke, so Coach Meyer wants to try and throw the ball more this fall. Defense will be work in progress. I can see a strong possibility of three losses. Oklahoma, Nebraska and Michigan.
Don, one of the things I like about college football is the fact that every year brings a change in players. You lose a bunch each year and you are never really sure about the new ones. What's the consensus up there. Is Ohio State the early favorite in the Big 10.....again? 8)
Kp, the consensus of the fans is we lose one game to Oklahoma! Experts are saying we will win the conference championship. Like you, I am a little more reserved in my expectations. :wink:
I think in the case of both Alabama and Ohio State it's reasonable to wonder if the new guys can be as good as the graduation losses. But in both cases the new guys were highly recruited and maybe would have already played quite a bit if they had gone some place else. Plus both coaching staffs have proven that they can develop players. So you certainly expect that the new guys will be well prepared. But until they line up and do it, it's just speculation. In the case of Ohio State they have an outstanding QB returning and that's always a key factor in college football. In the case of Alabama they have a great defense returning, an even more important factor in college football. So I can see why Alabama is ranked in the top 5 with Ohio State lower in the top 10. Ohio State has fewer returning starters and they lost a couple of mega stars in Bosa and Elliot. But again both Saban and Meyer have proven that they are the top coaches and will produce outstanding teams every year. Maybe not undefeated teams but outstanding teams that will win a lot of games. 1 or 2 losses probably seems like a down year to those fan bases.
Terry, that is a key point. No one wins a national championship without getting two or three big lucky breaks in a season. I think many times the difference between winning an NC and not winning an NC is who gets the key lucky breaks at the right time.
One thing is for sure; that opener between USC and Alabama is a duesy. Bama has a ton of talent on defense, including TWO, first team, All-American, 1st round, NFL linebackers. The Trojans, meanwhile, are loaded on offense, with a 5-star QB in Max Browne, a returning OL that includes All-Americans/All 12Pac first-rounders like Zach Banner and Damien Mama. Their speed weapons include future NFLers like Ju Ju Smith-Schuster and Adoree Jackson. Something has to give here. I think Bama will win this one, because of all the youth on USC's defense. They're all sophomores, without a senior anywhere. This is a great way to kick off 2016.
The good thing about opening with a tough opponent is if you win, you set the tone for the rest of the season in the polls, and if you lose, you have enough time to recover, however it does become a season long single elimination tournament. 8)
Right now, I can't find 2 Tide fans who think USC stands a chance. If USC wins, a great many of them will talk about the ghost of John McKay riding in on Challenger to lead the greatest USC team since the 1970s Defense and OLine are always the great neutralizers. Alabama has both. USC is young on defense, but the good thing about Sophomores is that they're generally old enough to contribute and too stupid to know they're too young. This game should be awfully physical. Hopefully each of them will have some down time after the game, or they'll risk a let down.
Corey, well you've found one. Alabama doesn't know who the qb will be and whoever it is has never really played in a game. None of the Alabama running backs has much experience. Remember, Derek Henry was running the ball 45 times a game last year. Those two factors alone means Alabama is vulnerable. Add the fact that USC has the potential to be a very good team and they more than "stand a chance". Alabama needs to bring its A game (no pun intended) to this opener. :wink:
You've always been a voice of reason in the sea of madness. I do believe, however, the Tide should be heavily favored in this one. Your defense is perhaps the best in the land, and your OL has the makings of a great one. Those 2 make things make a lot of blemishes harder to see.