Before we jump into a deep and long discussion on WR's, let's talk scrimmage. The number of TDs aren't a big deal either way because it is always inflated based on what the staff runs for the day. The number of passes they threw tells me that the secondary was getting a tough love lesson that they and really the whole defense must have needed. The worry I get from the scrimmage is 2 parts:
Part one, when you are tired, sore, banged up, you show who you are and the secondary and defense were those and they didn't show up. When Saban has to stop scrimmage to chew you to get you up, that's not good. Last year, when they were tired and hurt, they rallied and prevailed. This year's group hasn't exactly gotten there yet. If they flop again after the 2nd scrimmage, trouble looms. Part two is that they don't have that leader out there now that gets that extra effort. Ro and Javy would have been the rally captains during those hot, tired, hurting moments and gotten them up for one more fight. I've yet to hear anyone be that guy. I hear a lot about vocal "leaders" but it was quiet on the western front of late. Maybe I am spoiled by McClain's leadership, but that's what they'll need again to repeat. This team has all the potential in the world, but little resume to show for it. It does have a lot of ifs and maybes that fans wanna lean on. I never feel good about that, but I have a few more weeks to get comfortable with things.
Like I said before, the second scrimmage will show more about their growth, but I think it probably starts to lower the bar for some until we can figure out if this team has the stuff of champions. I think they have it, but they haven't found it in them just yet. I think that's where a lot of Saban's frustrations are right now.
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS
Last Year
Well, if all these two spots did were block, they would have been all stars. However, both spots had spots of inconsistency and games where they did not catch the ball well or run routes well. Julio Jones was expected to step it up to the next level, but a variety of injuries and other hampered that. Marquis Maze had great games (UF) and games where you couldn't find him on the radar, same for Hanks. Peek had an up and down time as the team emphasised him some weeks and others didn't even look to him other than as a blocker. Smelley lost his job to Preston Dial and has yet recover it. Michael Williams came on later in the year and became the new Travis McCall for the group and really is their best blocker returning.
This Offseason
Who is back and who is new?
Earl Alexander- Alexander is a guy that has flirted with playing, but seems to stub his toe each year. Literally. He probably will be the team's 5th option behind the starting 3 and Gibson. His size makes him a threat always, and he is a fairly decent run blocker, but he doesn't have a certain skill that separates him from the others. I'll give him credit, he could have packed it in 2 years ago, but he's stayed with it and hopefully has taken advantage of the education opportunities available to him.
Kenny Bell- Bell gives them a vertical option, but I wonder if he can play consistently enough to get on the field enough to do it. I thought he looked ok in the A Day game, but he lacks any strength to separate from a jam or bump.
Michael Bowman- If Bowman can stay out of the dog house, he may participate this year. If not, well, it isn't like there aren't options without him. He can be the Julio lite for this team. He is physical, can block, catch over the middle, and make mistakes turn into big plays. He also can lose focus, and get out of the game at times. The firecracker might be a metaphor for his career if he isn't careful. He can go up as fast as he came down and fizzled out.
Brandon Gibson- This may be the year where Gibson finally steps up. He's shown a great interest in improving his game and for the first time in his career, he looks like he wants to play. I still think he can really contribute as the other slot in the 4 wide set and really compliments Jones and Maze just as Hanks does. They will need him to step up and have a solid year like Matt Caddell did.
Darius Hanks- Hanks continues to just do his part. He doesn't run the best routes at times, he rounds off, but he catches the ball and doesn't muff, drop, or miss the ball. He has good speed and can turn a 15 yard play into a 50 yard TD. Just ask MSU. McElroy likes him as his safety option at times, but he needs to step up and be there as more than just that. He can be a great WR, and he now gets this year and next to do it.
Julio Jones- Jones is a bit of an enigma. He can be just dominate and take games over, but he can also deviate and miss passes over and over. He is a pure specimen and does all the fundamentals at an NFL rookie level. He has a great vertical, he has a 2nd gear that can leave any defender 10 yards behind him, and he can pretty well abuse a corner with his physical play. Jones only real concern is concentration. When he's not focused, he's still good, but he's not good enough to cover his tracks. When he doesn't concentrate, you start to see drops and missed routes. He has the chance to get up the draft board and be the 1st WR off the board next year, but he needs a complete season this fall. I think he can get that year with more time with McElroy now in hand, and he probably is a top 15 pick this spring.
Keiwone Malone- The 1st WR on the board last year, not to mention the first recruit period, and has a lot of upside to him. He is a speed WR and will play taller than he is. He can cut on a play and waste little motion to shed defenders. That will be big if he can do that at this level. The biggest thing I notice in his videos is that he is not comfortable catching with his hands. He lacks the upper body strength like most coming out of high school do, but he has the ability to be a good option for McCarron and Sims down the road.
Marquis Maze- The light came on and Maze has finally started to play like the guy we expected coming out of high school. He is the speed option across from Julio when they want to run Jones over the flat. He probably is McElroy's top option, was in the UF game, and he looks for him when he's in trouble. I look for him to continue to progress and be a solid contender for 2nd team all SEC this year.
Kevin Norwood- The coaches really like him, but he isn't going to wow anyone with his game. He's a little slower version of Hanks and Gibson. With that said, he runs better routes than both, and he has really good hands. I don't know if he can continue to linger in the 7-8th option without getting more talk about defense. He was a good defensive back in high school and it may be time to revisit that now that this year's secondary has issues.
DeAndrew White- Another new face on the team this year. White is a little more polished than Malone is. He has good hands and really has a great first step off the snap. He has great speed but it isn't a second gear thing, it just is that his first step and movement with the ball is faster than most defenders. His main growth area is to work on a juke move or something to separate without speed. His moves are not as smooth as Malone's and he sometimes struggles to shed defenders, but he has better "hops" and gets a lot of jump balls. I think he probably will get a shot at playing this fall, but I hope with the depth they already have that either can't or won't redshirt, he gets to sit out this year and get a year of college life in.
Preston Dial- Dial was on the forgotten list by many, but a bad first series against Va Tech by Smelley resulted in 14 weeks in heaven for Dial. Dial is a pure blocker, but has good enough speed and hands to get an occasional look. Dial will play both the TE and H Back in different situations and packages. I'm happy for him, he's worked hard and has become a real surprise contributor for the team. I look for a lot from him and Williams because the team will still run the ball a lot.
Brad Smelley- Smelley's freshman year was a great surprise. He worked his way into a solid option at H Back. His sophomore year was a great disappointment. The team asked him to be more of a blocker and to round his game. He didn't answer the challenge and lost his job. His season just went to quicksand, the more he played the more the struggles were there. He has a chance to work back to the role he had as a freshman, and I think that's where his game really is at and will be. Running short routes out of the H Back position to give the QB a safety option.
Chris Underwood- This is really the now or never summer for Underwood. Vogler is close to beating him out for the 3rd spot at TE and he's yet to get any real PT other than mop up and the occasional short yardage blocking scheme. I think that's about all he'll get this year too. It would not surprise me if Chris developed an injury that ended his career next year like cannotfindthefielditis. Deadly in Tuscaloosa so I hear....
Brian Vogler- Big fella. Putting him and Williams side to side will book end a massive running game some time in the future. Like Williams, he's big and physical, but sneaky athletic for his size. Typically a guy his size can't catch over his head, but Vogler can stretch out like a WR and pull down passes. I can see them using him this fall as they work through sets and formations and try to keep all their guys fresh. I could see him bulking up and outgrowing the TE spot and becoming a tackle possibly because he has good technique in his run and pass blocking.
Michael Williams- Williams redshirted and went from Jack to TE in the year. Last year, he came through to become one of the better blockers on the team. He can play both TE and H Back and is athletic and quick enough to be an option in the passing game, but needs to work on his hands. He will be leaned on more this year with Fluker at RT to help him as he continues to mature. If he can get better at catching and holding the ball right, he could be Colin Peek part deux.
Who is gone?
Colin Peek- One year, one title, one good guy. Holla McGhee was a great leader and solid worker on a team full of stars. He played hurt a lot and gutted through it. I wish we could have watched him for 2 or 3 years, but am just happy for the 1 we got.
Mike McCoy- If his game were as good as his mouth, he'd been a player.
The Good....
Talent is deep at both positions
When you have guys who can fill in for a 1st round pick, you have it good. Bama has that at WR now. Sure, none are as good as Julio, but as we saw last year, they can play and win without him if needed. Tight End continues to stack up with quality players as well with Vogler, Williams, and Dial all powerful blockers with the capacity to snare a few passes as needed.
The year of the Julio is upon us
All indications are that he's healthy and ready to put all the doubts and mumbling to rest. Nobody out mumbles Julio....NOBODY. All kidding aside, I think he's a little embarrassed by some of the issues he had last year with the drops and really invisible championship game, and with motivation and his talent, he should be back in the 1000 yard club and threaten the record books.
Road paving TE's = protection in numbers for a shaky pair of tackles
Not to jump ahead, but Bama has a guard playing tackle and a guy who isn't real polished yet at the other. With that said, having Dial and Williams on a regular basis as well as Vogler off the bench, gives the QB and staff a lot more confidence because they are proven blockers and can cover up a few mistakes or misses along the way.
The Bad...
Coaching isn't exactly strong here...
I am one of the growing numbers of fans that really tires of seeing the WRs underachieve. I get that triple C is a great recruiter, and he does teach them to be some pretty dawgone good fullbacks out there. Ok, I'm being a little silly with that, but blocking is a part of their job, but catching the damn ball is what makes them get scholarships. Even with Maze's improvement, he's still streaky. Maze is the only one that I've seen that has grown as a player. With that said, I see a weekly occurrence of bad route running, mental errors, drops, and letting corners abuse them. All are coachable fixes within a couple of weeks, but through the spring, they still are there 3 years later. Where Burton is a great coach and recruiter, Cignetti is a pure recruiter and short on coaching. I realize by mentioning, the race to post lines of "well Saban likes him" or something to that degree will come, but really, you put guys like triple C at fullbacks coach. You notice Bama doesn't have those now, that would be a good spot for him.
The Ugly...
Watching the WR play during the BCS championship again.
What? You want details on that? Watch it again, it is like a school yard bully beatin on the one armed math wiz out there.
Depth Chart
1st String- Jones/Maze/Hanks Williams (TE)/Dial (HB)
2nd String- Alexander/Bell/Gibson Vogler / Smelley
3rd String- Norwood/Bowman/White Underwood
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