10 Questions needing answered by A Day.
In the past, A Day did have more of a competitive stance to it and there was more emphasis on it, but now it is a scrimmage like the others. I don't know if I will get some of the answers that I am looking for as to this year's team, yet, but here's a few that I'll be seeking:
Who will replace Rashaad Johnson? I think this is proably the key to how well Alabama does this fall to be honest. We can get sidetracked by Thomas Darrah will surprise you theories from chinnis or who is a "beast" or not, but the truth is that without the center fielder or quarterback on defense aspect being replaced, trouble is there. My guess is still Green with Sharrief trying to hold on. The staff is real high on him and his former coaches praise his understanding of the game. His detractors will talk about his size and being thin, but there's more to it than looking like Tarzan. Johnson wasn't the best tackler in the world when you get down to it. Neither was Roman Harper or Charlie Peprah.
Can the defense adapt to the speed of the spread? This one I know won't be answered by the A Day game because they don't run it, but this one still lingers after seeing the team struggle with UF and Utah's versions of the spread. With MSU and others going to the spread, the answer may lie with James Willis's knowledge of defending it more than Saban's.
It is now a given that McElroy is the starter, but who will be ready if he goes down? That's the key at this point. Greg has all but put this thing to bed with his heady play and command of the system. The main thing to watch with McElroy is how comfortable he is under center. He didn't take snaps there in HS much, and he looks awkward at times trying to hone the motion of snap to back peddle. Star and Darrah, and in the summer AJ, will all be jockeying for number 2 and the question is really, who has the trust of the staff right now? Neither of the on campus backups have flashed any signs of greatness yet and both seem to have more work needing to be done than is acceptable to be a trustworthy starter. My hope is to see Star take strides in the A Day game to calm my gut fear. The ten dollar arm needs the mental makeup to start kicking in soon or else he may be moving elsewhere as more talent arrives.
Who will be the Jack of all trades? The staff seem to have resorted to platooning the group of Fanney, Upshaw, Anders, and Hightower based on situations. Fittingly, the Jack may be a poker tip that gets them in trouble. The staff has tinkered with Hightower there, and I know many love it and will respond in mass as to how this is great, but he's a natural MLB/ILB player. Anders and Upshaw are undersized to play hand down, and Fanney is fine with the run, but is less than stellar in the pass rush. I still don't know how they haven't found their guy for the key position of the front 7 in their scheme, but they haven't. Maybe one will arise at A Day?
Will Tiffin show any sign of steady play? The answer is probably not, but I would like to see him show some form of reliable play in his game. I feared that we all would put too high of expectations on him being the son of a legend, and folks will make excuses galore for him because of his dad, but not getting 75% of your kicks in is just not cutting it at this level.
Who can replace McCall's blocking element? I think one of the things that made several look better than they were was McCall's lead blocking. Gone now is his ability to drive a defender back 3 yards on average and someone is needing to step it up to fill that gap. My guess is Williams or Dial. I'd like to see both play a lot of minutes and see what they can do in motion.
Can James Carpenter hold down the LT? Given all the movement they've made in the front 5, who knows who is where for long. For now, it seems that Carpenter has the LT job until taken from him. I would keep an eye on McCullough as the primary challenger this spring or Motley. They don't seem happy with the depth at LT I can verify that.
Is Lorenzo Washington the best they have at rush end? I know some have high hopes for him because he's one of those big name recruits from the Shula era, but he's never really shown that he's got this desire to play when he's played. Much like RJ's vision and leadership, I find it hard to believe that Washington will pickup the slack on Greenwood's work effort and hustle every week.
What new wrinkles have the staff created and will the fans see them? Word around the campfire is that they've started tinkering with their dime/quarter formation some and are trying to put players in that can cover and blitz to confuse the offensive line and QB. On offense, have they inserted some new wrinkles to give more guys a chance to play and get touches? Like say Terry Grant in the slot or some version of the Wildcat? The second one is probably a no...
For how many guys is this the last good chance they'll ever have? The list is pretty long, but the ones on top of my radar are guys like
Demetrius Goode- Just too much talent better than him.
Brandon Gibson- Can't find the field to play
Marquis Johnson- The fans have abandoned him, have the coaches?
Terry Grant- He just doesn't fit in.
Travis Sikes- We have seen his name on the blotter more than the stat line.
Chavis Williams- The staff seem to have moved on without him in a real role.
Alex Watkins- Like Grant, he's never fit into the scheme of things.
Earl Alexander- He's hurt himself in more ways than any hardcore pro wrestler could dream it seems.
There are many more on the roster that have that now or never label it seems, but those are the ones that I'd worry most about.
The new Iron Bowl
I do find the irony that the same crowd that chastizes folks for not coming to A Day are barking foul about playing the Iron Bowl on Friday afternoon. Maybe it is just me, but why is it so bad??? From a coach's point of view, I can see the complaint about the extra day of practice lost, but from a fan's POV, there isn't a good reason to complain. Work or not, you can listen on the radio, take off work, bring a TV from home, buy a TV, take a 4 hours lunch, whatever. If you're gonna go manly man about A Day attendance, you better man up about a Friday game too. To me, the announcement signals that the Tide have earned a national exposure position again. Remember last year, we didn't know if the game would be Raycom, ESPN or CBS. Bama has taken the Arkansas v. LSU spot in the fall rotation. That's big news, embrace it instead of doing bitch ass stupid things like writing CBS to protest. You know you will watch, you know you will attend if you have the tickets, it is what it is.
Fans are setting the arrogance level at a place we haven't seen since 2000
Let's get a dose of honesty in our conduct folks. Ole Miss wins the Cotton Bowl, looks like the best team in the conference at the end arguably, and our fans want to dismiss them? Of course, the wisdom of fans would tell you that the Spread could never win big, BJ Scott will have his breakout game each week, USCal is overrated for winning every year regardless of who they play OOC, and every recruit that comes to Alabama is instantly a "Beast", "Stud", "Monster", "Jackhamer" or was it Jackalope, doesn't matter. Truth is that all 11 teams not named Florida have a lot of work to do to get to the top of the food chain. Running around proclaiming 12-0 or this team or that team can't beat Alabama is what Saban chewed on a few weeks ago.
It is fine to have expectations, but have real ones and not fairy tales. For example, my expectations never center on wins and losses exactly. It is more of the what each side of the ball should look like over the course of 60 minutes. I expect to see execution in the game plan, I expect to see hustle and all out effort, I expect to see the staff scheme and coach a winning game each week. That's acceptable really, but going out there and saying a team as good as Ole Miss can be this year can't beat Bama or is overrated is a deadly recipe. Are we that far removed from the arrogance of 2000 and the humble reminders that year had? 2003? 2007? The end of 08???? Really?
One tall Draft please...
The draft is next weekend and that has us all buzzing in anticipation of who falls where. Last year, nobody was drafted and that has the expectations set higher in Saban's 2nd offering to the NFL from Alabama. Here's kinda the long and short for each potential Bama alumni:
Andre Smith- 1st round. Smith's offseason has been well documented and really if it wasn't for on field film, he'd be way down the chart. I think he has 1st round talent with 4th round work ethic which will be a test for whomever takes him. He's probably going to play RT starting out because of his conditioning issues. The mock drafts all have him in Cincy, but I've also read that they may trade down and get extra picks and take Oher later on. That's kinda the hard part for where Smith lands is how much trade activity can happen between now and Saturday. I think Cincy takes him because the teams in the Oher area of the draft aren't looking to move up, just get healthy (Chargers, Saints, Broncos) and make a run, not build a foundation. If he doesn't get taken by the Bungles, I could see him at the Redskins or 49ers.
Rashaad Johnson- Late 2nd, Early 3rd. Teams tend to not take a FS early unless he's truly gifted. RJ doesn't quite fall in that category, but he is worthy of a team like the Pats, Falcons, Giants, or Colts taking a late 2nd round pick up on him. If he falls to the 3rd, he's probably going to a Detroit, Seattle, Oakland, or Dallas. He's a great leader and plays hard, but lacks the tackle ability to get higher in the board. If a team can get him more apt to take a hit and eat cleat more, he might be a real steal for someone.
Glen Coffee- 3rd or 4th round. When I read the mock drafts, he falls in the 3rd thanks to comp picks, and that's kinda cheap in a sense, but Coffee will have the eye of teams like the Dolphins, Saints, Giants, Falcons, Bungles, Packers, and Chiefs depending on where he goes. He's steady, has ok college speed, but isn't a burner at the NFL level, but can get the tough yards. He could be like Selvin Young or Derrick Ward in a lot of ways.
Antoine Caldwell- 3rd round. Caldwell has the multi position thing going for him and he is smart, but his combine numbers have dropped him behind a few centers that he shouldn't be behind. He's going to be one of those guys that a team takes on and lets sit for a couple of years before he becomes the starter. The question is where? His play prior to his senior year would say guard, but he improved his snapping by leaps and bounds in 08, so maybe somone takes a look at center. Pittsburgh could take that flier. So could the Pats, Colts, Panthers, and Titans. Most of whom have centers at the twilight of their careers.
After that, Bama fans, you may wait a while or just not watch the draft after the 4th round.
John Parker Wilson- 7th round, FA. Let's cut out the emotion and think NFL. There really is nothing that Wilson does on his own that says he's got a big future in the NFL. His arm isn't top end, his mechanics are shit (and that's being nice), his vision is below average, and his understanding of defenses isn't great. He is at his best when others are taking command (Coffee, Ingram, Jones, etc) and allowing him to facilitate the play calling and organizing the huddle. That's how you win 12 games at QB without upper level talent folks, you let others take the game on and you just help the others know how to do it. I think he could get a look from a team like the Pats, Dolphins, or Bears, but they may wait and try to snatch him up in the Free Agency market for cheap.
Marlon Davis- 7th round, FA. Davis is one of those guys that is dwarfed in the hype by the 2 other linemen in the draft that he played with. He is one of the steadier guys that never had trouble playing with his weight, never got whipped like a mule on a regular basis, but never really had a highlight play reel. I could see him getting a late day look by teams trying to deepen their lineman roster, but free agency is more likely.
Nick Walker- FA. The honest truth is that Walker isn't a TE, he's an oversized WR with average hands. He's not going to block a rush end at the NFL level, he's not going to be a threat down field on passing routes, he's just going to do what he did at Alabama...fill a spot.
Travis McCall- FA. The interesting thing is where do teams look at him at? H Back or FB? Either way, he's probably got a better career in the NFL than Walker does because he can block and has good enough hands for his role in an offense. Teams won't take a flier on him during the draft, but he's got a shot at being a free agent steal.
As always you can email me at bevil_76@yahoo.com to discuss outside the message boards....
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