Random Thoughts

So much to cover....


Bama hires, better call him coach, Grant...

Maybe it is just me, but if the biggest thing you get out of the hire is that he is either A) black, or B) not called Coach Grant by Ian Rappaport, you really missed the mark here folks. The point is that he talked about dedication, and accountability. He didn't sit around and make excuses, nor did he try to set the bar low. It was already there if you stomached through any games last year.

I watched his press conference, and he's good at the podium, but really he's been around some of the best in the business, he knows how to handle things. He knows that basketball can change in a year's time because it doesn't take but 1 good/great player to turn things around, whereas with football it takes more than 1 to turn things around.

It is amusing that he's the best thing ever after most wanted Anderson or Izzo. Yet, they never were even considered for the job. Funny how that happens, eh? Grant has a good presser and he can part the seas, but if they get their tail handed to them a few times, will fans ask him to walk on water? The point is this, the Alabama Basketball program is not a premier job. It is not ever going to have the following that the football program has, or even Kentucky basketball has. It won't attract coaches like Izzo ever. Really, the purpose of a competitive basketball program in the eyes of Alabama fans is to give a nice environment for football recruits to enjoy. Maybe that isn't PC, but it is true.

It does disturb me that all of our coaches have to say a'ight at the end of a sentence. I guess that is better than fo sho.

Spring musings

I got pooped on for saying that Barron wouldn't be the answer at FS, nor would Woodall, but if you listen to Saban closely, he's saying it too. This job is going to be the hardest to fill, forget the Darrah for QB campaign, finding a FS who can fill RJ's shoes or a platoon that can will be the key.

I always get amused at how the WR depth chart guesstimates have guys that never play on the 1st string. For example, Earl Alexander always creeps up in the spring. Folks, Earl is so injury prone, he hurt himself just reading this. Brandon Gibson has a fan base out there, but they must be like Brandon and don't make the games either. The depth chart is Julio Jones and the rest of them. It will be that way in the summer until about a week or two before Va Tech. This spring, the most that will happen is one or two (Hanks and Maze) can get ahead of the pack for the summer, but with Norwood and others coming in, they aren't that safe as penciled in starters.

The thing about spring is that the staff uses it to experiment with some ideas they come up with over the winter. See Donta at Jack. The Internets loves this idea, and it could work in some situations, but the bigger issue is who fills the Will LB? Donta filling it last year was pretty special when it gets down to it because McClain didn't exactly have the staff's confidence his freshman year. The issue at Jack is two sided. First side is filling the Will, I know that some just assume that Tana and Nico will just do it and all will be ducky. Yeah, and Woodall can play free safety no problem, right? I think both are going to be fine ball players, but to expect them to just start on day one is a little much. Second is that there are a few signees that if it is Donta, what is their problem? Upshaw and Harbin were recruited there and if Donta holds it down, what are they in the big picture? The best 11 need to play, no doubt, but moving a guy over and weakening the middle is not a great option until otherwise solved.

I am pleased to see Anders getting more snaps at both Sam and Jack. Also happy that Reamer is getting incorporated more. The other thing that I am hoping will happen is that Boswell can hold down RG, and Carpenter or Love hold down LT, DJ Fluker can redshirt and learn a little bit more. I'm not much of a fan of David Ross's style of play, he just isn't aggressive to me. So moving Boswell inside gives the interior a little more fire. I still worry about Center, but that will just have to be I guess.

Of course, to post in these times, I must use the phrases "beast", "monster", and "it is a lock" to validate anything.....

The Legacy of Mal

If Bill Clinton was made of Teflon, Mal Moore must be made of a yet to be trademarked substance. To me, this is a guy who gets by on his fundraising capacities and gets the pass on his management skills. He's the Brownie to the Donor's Bush so to speak. The facts are that on his watch, the athletic program has been slapped by the NCAA in basketball (Hobbs) and football (Dubose), had several black eye moments (Dubose blames God, Fran's contract hoax, Mike Price's Rolling Baby, rushing to hire Shula and the handling of Croom, Gottfried's other squeeze, re-hiring the baseball coach because nobody wanted the alternative, and women's basketball in general, and not to mention Rich Rodriguez), and the state of the overall athletics at Alabama is at a true low.

To be fair, the stadium is great, and the facilities are much better than they were a decade ago, but none of that has resulted in the true benchmark of athletics, championships. Also being fair, he's finally gotten 2 coaches that at least talk the game and have a great track record behind them. However, when you stare at the Saban hire, Mal wasn't that in control of that situation and really if Saban said get Mal out, he'd be out.

His legacy will be glossed over somewhat, especially if Saban wins a NC, but the truth is, the guy hasn't been as good for business as folks think him to be. At some point, the guy demanding accountability for the programs needs to be held accountable when you watch the women's team lose badly to UTC, or the men's team flounder for the last what 3 years? Watching Alabama become the beacon of the Independence Bowl over the last few years and the baseball team waller around hasn't been pleasing either.