Josh Pate "How good is Alabama?"

[Ledsteplin]

Calvin ridley was fantastic. My point was CoachJeff said earlier he couldn't pick a first round WR off of our Current roster. Just because we don't know if there is a 1st round pick at receiver before some of them even take the field doesn't mean there isn't one.

That was my thought as well. We definitely have a talented receiver corps. I believe more than one could be a 1st rounder. It must be tough for the coaches to decide which WRs to start. I mean... This a essentially 2 sets of starters.
Brooks
Law
Prentice
Bond
Preston
Burton
Then there's freshmen Benson, Hale, and Hamilton. Benson could make the rotation, as he's reportedly phenomenal. Hale is very talented. No clue about Hamilton. I'm ready for kickoff! LOL

 

[Ledsteplin]

The WR group isn’t made up of true freshmen. They’ve played before. They just haven’t been up to the standard Bama has had for a decade or so.

This offense will not be last year's offense. Rees is rejuvenating and building a top notch championship offense. The OL will be much improved. Any one of the top 4 running backs could start. We'll have a good quarterback. Maybe not Tua/Mac great, but good enough to lead Bama to an undefeated season. I believe a couple WRs will stand out above the rest, and very well could be 1st rounders. I like being positive. But at this point, we just don't have a clue. The only question mark I see for the entire team, is the quarterback position.

 

[davefrat]

To me, the answer is that we're probably good enough to win every game we play, but we're also probably capable of losing 2 or 3.

 

[STONECOLDSABAN]

To me, the answer is that we're probably good enough to win every game we play, but we're also probably capable of losing 2 or 3.

So pretty much just like every other year.

 

[STONECOLDSABAN]

That was my thought as well. We definitely have a talented receiver corps. I believe more than one could be a 1st rounder. It must be tough for the coaches to decide which WRs to start. I mean... This a essentially 2 sets of starters.
Brooks
Law
Prentice
Bond
Preston
Burton
Then there's freshmen Benson, Hale, and Hamilton. Benson could make the rotation, as he's reportedly phenomenal. Hale is very talented. No clue about Hamilton. I'm ready for kickoff! LOL

https://rolltide.com/sports/football/roster/kendrick-law/8797
Not trying to derail the thread but am I the only one having a problem with believing Law is only 5’11?? he looks a lot bigger.

 

[RollTide_HTTR]

I have no expectations for this season.

It definitely feels like there are more "unknowns" about this team than there have been in a while. That is probably why we are getting such a wide range of reactions from national types.

New OC, QB and DC and each of those three come with more questions than we are probably used to at least in some ways.

 

[Probius]

Calvin ridley was fantastic. My point was CoachJeff said earlier he couldn't pick a first round WR off of our Current roster. Just because we don't know if there is a 1st round pick at receiver before some of them even take the field doesn't mean there isn't one.

I see, that makes sense. There are no receivers on this year's team that would be obvious picks to be a 1st rounder, but there are some guys who could pull it off. We have brought in some great receivers lately that just haven't panned out. The 2021 recruiting class brought in 4 of the top 10 receivers from that class, yet only 1 of those 4 are still on the team. Agiye Hall was here for 1 season and disappeared without producing much. Christian Leary and JoJo Earle were here two seasons before they left without making much of an impact. Aaron Anderson was a 5 star recruit last season but didn't play due to injuries and now he's gone as well. Tyler Harrell came in through the portal last season but only had 2 receptions due to injuries and now he's gone. That's 5 great WR prospects that have come and gone quickly with little to no production from the lot. It's easy to start wondering if any of these WR will pan out. So, there may be a bit of skepticism from recent misses. If Bama had any depth at WR in 2021, that's a national championship team. Last season, the WR corps had a big let down season and I think there is going to be some hesitancy going into this season as to what we should expect from the WR corp. However, there are some really talented players and they may just surprise us.

 

[davefrat]

So pretty much just like every other year.

Perhaps, but there have been seasons in the past under Saban where it would have been shocking to lose even one game, much less multiple games.

The last few years have been different in that respect.

In other words, there were seasons where going undefeated was almost expected rather than just possible.

 

[AWRTR]

Perhaps, but there have been seasons in the past under Saban where it would have been shocking to lose even one game, much less multiple games.

The last few years have been different in that respect.

In other words, there were seasons where going undefeated was almost expected rather than just possible.

I really only put last year in the category of possible multiple losses from a fan's point of view, and then only after the Texas game. It was evident there were issues after that game.

 

[CoachJeff]

It's interesting because Julio, Amari, Ridley and Waddle all had really good freshmen years and you knew they were going to be 1st or 2nd rounders after their freshman seasons. However, Devonta, Jeudy and Ruggs didn't have standout years in their 2017 freshman season. I'm not saying Bond, Prentice and Law are those 3, but I'm not ready to write any of them off as first round talents yet either.

Ehh... I remember Jeudy being a guy that looked to be a great WR even before he played. He had some amazing plays in camp. He, Smitty, and Ruggs didn't have huge numbers, but they were guys that looked to be potential All Americans coming into their second year. I don't see anyone like that on this year's team. If someone steps up (which I hope is the case), then great, but let's not act like there's anyone on the roster a sensible person would expect to be a high draft pick. There's not.

 

[STONECOLDSABAN]

Ehh... I remember Jeudy being a guy that looked to be a great WR even before he played. He had some amazing plays in camp. He, Smitty, and Ruggs didn't have huge numbers, but they were guys that looked to be potential All Americans coming into their second year. I don't see anyone like that on this year's team. If someone steps up (which I hope is the case), then great, but let's not act like there's anyone on the roster a sensible person would expect to be a high draft pick. There's not.

 

[CrimsonRuss]

2020 was Saban’s best team by far, and it’s going to take a huge effort for another team to approach it.

The perfect team, in my opinion, would be the 2020 offense and the 2016 defense!

 

[AWRTR]

The perfect team, in my opinion, would be the 2020 offense and the 2016 defense!

I might go with the 2011 defense. Both were great.

 

[99ALUM]

I really only put last year in the category of possible multiple losses from a fan's point of view, and then only after the Texas game. It was evident there were issues after that game.

I agree AW, I don’t think enough people took serious stock on how poorly we played Texas last year. If Ewers doesn’t go down, I really don’t think Bama wins that ballgame. I think the UTex game is every bit as important in benchmarking where the 2023 team will rank. Just one man’s opinion.

 

[RollTide_HTTR]

It's interesting because Julio, Amari, Ridley and Waddle all had really good freshmen years and you knew they were going to be 1st or 2nd rounders after their freshman seasons. However, Devonta, Jeudy and Ruggs didn't have standout years in their 2017 freshman season. I'm not saying Bond, Prentice and Law are those 3, but I'm not ready to write any of them off as first round talents yet either.

Yes and no. The hype around all 3 from day one was that they were all future 1st rounders. Not just from fans there was a rumor that the staff saw all 3 as future 1st rounders.

They also did come on toward the end of the year.

 

[RollTide_HTTR]

Ehh... I remember Jeudy being a guy that looked to be a great WR even before he played. He had some amazing plays in camp. He, Smitty, and Ruggs didn't have huge numbers, but they were guys that looked to be potential All Americans coming into their second year. I don't see anyone like that on this year's team. If someone steps up (which I hope is the case), then great, but let's not act like there's anyone on the roster a sensible person would expect to be a high draft pick. There's not.

I agree with your take on Jeudy, Smitty and Ruggs. I'm not so sure about the rest of it though.

 

[Power Eye]

Yes and no. The hype around all 3 from day one was that they were all future 1st rounders. Not just from fans there was a rumor that the staff saw all 3 as future 1st rounders.

They also did come on toward the end of the year.

I'm not sure I agree that the hype from day one was that those 3 were all future first rounders. That's a pretty big statement to make about freshmen receivers. I do agree that there was quite a bit of enthusiasm about what they might become.

My point is that we were betting on the come more than the on-field production after their freshmen seasons. I just wonder if we will look back on Bond, Prentice and Law in a few years (all highly rated recruits) and the results will be similar.

 

[RollTide_HTTR]

I'm not sure I agree that the hype from day one was that those 3 were all future first rounders. That's a pretty big statement to make about freshmen receivers. I do agree that there was quite a bit of enthusiasm about what they might become.

My point is that we were betting on the come more than the on-field production after their freshmen seasons. I just wonder if we will look back on Bond, Prentice and Law in a few years (all highly rated recruits) and the results will be similar.

It was a massive statement to make about freshman which is why I remember it. I had serious doubts and argued that seemed unlikely. I guess I can't remember if it was day one but it was VERY early and we talked about it some on this board.

I don't disagree about Bond, Prentice and Law possibly rising to an early round draft pick level though. Definitely possible that at least one of them gets there.

 

[27rings]

I don't think it is as much about talent living up to their potential as it is about mindset and cleaning up the stupid mental mistakes in crucial moments. We played uptight in both the UT and LSU game and it reflected at key points in both games; even CNS eluded to the team being too tense before the UT game. The team heard all week UT was trending upwards and primed to upset us, hard not to believe that got into their heads. (terrible officiating doesn't hurt either) Even in close games like Texas and TAMU we played timid; which is something rare in a CNS team.

And now going into this season we are already hearing the hype around the UTA game and LSU favored to win the SECW. Will this be another season where stupid penalties in key moments doom us; or will this be the reemergence of a team that wants to punch you in the mouth first before you punch them?

I love this highlight because Eddie was ready to fight every UGA fan in Athens that day and it showed on the field.

 

[Con]

I don't think it is as much about talent living up to their potential as it is about mindset and cleaning up the stupid mental mistakes in crucial moments. We played uptight in both the UT and LSU game and it reflected at key points in both games; even CNS eluded to the team being too tense before the UT game. The team heard all week UT was trending upwards and primed to upset us, hard not to believe that got into their heads. (terrible officiating doesn't hurt either) Even in close games like Texas and TAMU we played timid; which is something rare in a CNS team.

And now going into this season we are already hearing the hype around the UTA game and LSU favored to win the SECW. Will this be another season where stupid penalties in key moments doom us; or will this be the reemergence of a team that wants to punch you in the mouth first before you punch them?

I love this highlight because Eddie was ready to fight every UGA fan in Athens that day and it showed on the field.

Man I miss Eddie.