Personally, I'm not worried about a doggoned thing. Think of the new freshmen class coming in and what they will contribute as well. All is good..the mighty Tide is back and everyone knows it. CNS will keep them hungry. We are envyed and second to none!!!!:biggrin:
Our defense is going to be straight up sick in 2009...
- Thread starter GreatDanish
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The main strength of our D is CNS. He is the master at putting the right player in the right location and getting the most out of them. CNS will make adjustments to replace our seniors and put a top notch unit on the field. Our D is bigger than one or two players.
Our D will be scarry, but I am going on record right now and saying our 2009 offense will put up more points and be more productive than this years O.. With the addition of GM or SJ at QB.. we will have more tallent at the QB position than this year.. Of course we will not have a 3 year starter but our O was so deluted this year to help JP out it made us very bland. I believe we will be much more dynamic next year.. We will have great RB's once again and our WR will be much improved.. We will find replacements for our O line.. just might have to throw a little more next year...
If it did not hurt us this year then it never will. You have J. Harris putting on weight on the off season and we have other capable LB's from last years class (see Chris Jordan) plus we will have two all american Lb's coming in this class.
Not to mention we have all our starters coming back plus prince hall. In my opinion if you are going to have a concern it is definately the OL. Everytime the second unit came in a game you could tell.
The offense will be about the same. And losing JP will be noticed big time. It will help the QB if they have another wide out that can catch. JP had to go to Julio or to the slot every time almost. The TE was used alot also, but the other wideout was non-factor. When you have hooses in the backfield you use them. 09' will be a good year. Let's enjoy it because it might be Rolo's last one. RTR!
I think you will see some redshirt and true freshmen playing on the d-line as well. There should be some good pass rushers in this class which is one area that needs some help.
Both the D and the O will only have to keep learning and getting better. They will have to answer the question: How good do you wanna be? I think this is the biggest difference in CNS and other coaches. He can be proud of our guys and still expect/demand them to improve and they don't get put off by that. Why? Because he leads by example. He always tries to get better and they have decided they want to be like him.
I believe that our D in 09 has the potential to rank with our Ds of 61 and 66 which are condiered two of the greatest ever to be put on the field. (I'm not knocking the Ds of 79 and 92) Remember what CNS said at his introduction as HC press conf. " I want other teams hating or dreading to have to play us" (not exactly word for word but close)
The only thing our defense is currently lacking is a consistent pass rush from the DL, once we get that our D will truly be lights out!
yes, our defense will be better next year. we will have excellent depth as well as another great class coming in. i would not be surprised to see a couple of changes on defense. the offense, will see a drop off with the loss of two all americans. but, the off line should still be solid. fluker and carpenter will do a real nice job. i really expect our offense to be better because of mcelroy at qb. he has a quiet confidence about him i really like. he has a stronger arm than jpw. rbs every where. if richardson comes aboard, with coffee, ingram, upchurch a lot of talent. we need one more solid receiver maybe bowman is the man. need help for julio, can you imagine him without a double team all game. special teams will be solid as well.
You're dreaming if you think GMc arm is stronger than JP's because it's not. You will also miss a SR QB for a guy that has had mop up duty against teams that are beaten down. Now I hope he comes in and lights it up Experience means alot and some of you in here don't realize that. Next yr should be good but we will have a drop off at QB. RTR!!
The coaches and players did a great job this year. There can be a lot of improvement by the CBs in pass coverage on top WRs - Bama really cannot cover 1-on-1 well in many cases. UF did a good job of isolating specific Bama CBs. And as many have noted the pass rush was OK but can improve a lot.
All returning players should improve. Kirkpatrick could be a phenom. Dareus and Upshaw and maybe Davis and Harris could provide major help with the pass rush.
The run D was rock solid and though there is not all that much room for improvement it will probably get a little better.
Rashad's intelligence will be hard to replace, but Barron, though quiet and young, is intelligent too, so maybe he can take up a bit of the slack.
The O has helped the D a great deal this year (score early, ball control, few TOs), hopefully it will be able next year.
All returning players should improve. Kirkpatrick could be a phenom. Dareus and Upshaw and maybe Davis and Harris could provide major help with the pass rush.
The run D was rock solid and though there is not all that much room for improvement it will probably get a little better.
Rashad's intelligence will be hard to replace, but Barron, though quiet and young, is intelligent too, so maybe he can take up a bit of the slack.
The O has helped the D a great deal this year (score early, ball control, few TOs), hopefully it will be able next year.
McElroy will be a huge step up as far as finding the open receiver. But I am not convinced McElroy will start. I think Star may be the guy the staff wants to go with. They are just getting him ready.
You're going to be a mighty upset fan next year with comments like that. As of right now the staff is now here near in trusting Star with the offense. How do you even know what you say about GMc is true. All you have seen him do is throw the easy fades or to the outside where he has no reads . I think he'll be fine but to say he's better and will do what you say you would be calling Saban a liar. He says the best will play. Hmmm..
I anticipate the defense will certainly be better with upgrades all around from redshirts and returning underclassmen with game experience to go with another blockbuster recruiting class. I see a much better pass rush coming. As for the QB spot, I join a few others as believing GM will be an upgrade. The only thing lacking with him is the 3 yr leadership.
This might be a good time to review his HS videos and state championship game footage. He posesses a much better touch on the long pass and with addition of artillery to use that JPW didn't have, ie; another super wideout and more depth at RB pos, will certainly make up for the lack of game repetitions as the opponents will be flatfooted much of the time. SJ is being groomed for his last 2 years but will be able to come in if needed.
This might be a good time to review his HS videos and state championship game footage. He posesses a much better touch on the long pass and with addition of artillery to use that JPW didn't have, ie; another super wideout and more depth at RB pos, will certainly make up for the lack of game repetitions as the opponents will be flatfooted much of the time. SJ is being groomed for his last 2 years but will be able to come in if needed.
You seem to be saying the job is McElroy's next year, case closed. I'm not sure why you think the coaches are "no where near entrusting Star with the offense." That may well be the case if we are talking about the Sugar Bowl, but there's a lot of time between now and the season opener in 2009.
The coaches are very high on Star Jackson and that's a fact. I'm not saying Star will win the job, but earlier this week CNS was quoted as saying earlier this week there will be an open competition for the job.
McElroy does not have a lot of college game experience himself. He may win the job, but who is to say he will hang on to it? Star could win the job and who is to say he will hang on to it? There are a lot of uncertainties for us as QB next and we won't know how it's going to turn out until these guys get under center in front of 90,000 people in the stadium and millions of others watching on tv.
McElroy may very well win the job, but I don't think it's a foregone conclusion at this point.
McElroy is really smart and from all that I've read has an excellent understanding of the offense, but we don't know if that will translate to him being the starting QB next year from start to finish.May the best man win the job.
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Well the real "story" (IMO) of the 2008 season, the one that nobody talks about much around here (mostly because we fans don't like to admit it), is this: Bama got lucky. Lucky in that the Tide managed to avoid (major off-field controversy) and ANY serious injury at ANY key position. Credit where credit is due, because CNS and the S&C program made a lot of their own luck, and they capitalized admirably on the team's good fortune. CNS and his staff have performed miracles with the defensive personnel on hand, mixing and matching strong young players with the best of the remaining Shula recruits, and incorporating the lot into a defensive system that differs significantly from the previous regime's in terms of philosophy and personnel requirements.
But injuries are a fact of the game, and there was, and is, precious little redundancy in The Process - yet. Even the finest-tuned athletes can and do get hurt, and Bama is "thin" at most positions. When MtC sprained his knee, D-Line play fell off noticeably (overall - not his specific replacement). If he (or Big Andre, who also got nicked up) had blown out the knee instead, would Bama have made it to the SECCG? What about a season- or career-ending injury to Bama's only *consistently* productive receiver, Julio Jones? Or Rashad Johnson? Or Rolando McClain? There were and are just too many "must have" players on both sides of the ball, and this perilous state of affairs, while making 2008 all the more memorable (and remarkable), is going to continue right through the start of the 2010 season, at least
Bama's starting 11 on D in 2009 might be as athletic and aggressive and downright nasty as any other in the country. But the team - as a whole - is going to be brittle, and will need another healthy dose of luck to maintain the same high level of play. In other words, zero margin for error or injury next season. 2009 could bring another 10+ wins, an SECCG appearance, and a BCS bowl game. Just as likely, though, is a 7-9 win season, and a trip to Tampa, Orlando, Atlanta, Dallas, Nashville, Memphis, or even (God forbid) Shreveport.
But injuries are a fact of the game, and there was, and is, precious little redundancy in The Process - yet. Even the finest-tuned athletes can and do get hurt, and Bama is "thin" at most positions. When MtC sprained his knee, D-Line play fell off noticeably (overall - not his specific replacement). If he (or Big Andre, who also got nicked up) had blown out the knee instead, would Bama have made it to the SECCG? What about a season- or career-ending injury to Bama's only *consistently* productive receiver, Julio Jones? Or Rashad Johnson? Or Rolando McClain? There were and are just too many "must have" players on both sides of the ball, and this perilous state of affairs, while making 2008 all the more memorable (and remarkable), is going to continue right through the start of the 2010 season, at least
Bama's starting 11 on D in 2009 might be as athletic and aggressive and downright nasty as any other in the country. But the team - as a whole - is going to be brittle, and will need another healthy dose of luck to maintain the same high level of play. In other words, zero margin for error or injury next season. 2009 could bring another 10+ wins, an SECCG appearance, and a BCS bowl game. Just as likely, though, is a 7-9 win season, and a trip to Tampa, Orlando, Atlanta, Dallas, Nashville, Memphis, or even (God forbid) Shreveport.
Bama had good injury luck in 2008, no doubt.
But that is not the real "story" of the Bama 08 season.
The real story is that Bama has a coach that motivate his players to excel, to expect more of themselves, to have the will to win and the will to prepare to win.
The real story is that Bama had players willing to do this and make themselves into a fine football team.
Luck helped because we were and are thin. However... all the injury luck in the world would not have turned this team around without the aforementioned attitude changes, made possible (and demanded) by Coach Nick Saban.
For me, that is "the story" of Bama football in 2008. And I'm and I suspect many others are happy to talk about it.
But that is not the real "story" of the Bama 08 season.
The real story is that Bama has a coach that motivate his players to excel, to expect more of themselves, to have the will to win and the will to prepare to win.
The real story is that Bama had players willing to do this and make themselves into a fine football team.
Luck helped because we were and are thin. However... all the injury luck in the world would not have turned this team around without the aforementioned attitude changes, made possible (and demanded) by Coach Nick Saban.
For me, that is "the story" of Bama football in 2008. And I'm and I suspect many others are happy to talk about it.
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