Ran across this on another forum:
QUARTERBACKS: Bama ranks #4 behind aTm, Ohio State, and Clemson. The only other SEC team is Georgia at #7. The QB ranking is based almost solely on the starter, which is understandable, but personally, while they are both talented, I wouldn't trade AJ for either Braxton or Boyd, and the jury is still out on JFF.
RUNNING BACKS: Bama ranks #2 behind Georgia. aTm comes in at #5. The dawgs have Gurshall, and are ranked above us for that reason, but I expect by the end of the year, our 1-2 punch.... check that.... our 1-2-3-4 punch at RB will be the most impressive unit in the country.
RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS: Bama is ranked #2 behind USC. Georgia is ranked #3. IMO, USC is definitely over rated here. They point to Marquis Lee, Nelson Agholor, who had a decent freshman season, and a couple of recruits. They also mention the TEs Grimble and Telfer. IMO, Cooper is every bit as good as Lee, and Bama has a stable of very talented and proven receivers behind him, also the recruits we have coming in are just as good as USC's, if not better. And while our TE's probably won't catch as many passes as USC's, we have some nice talent there, and I am willing to bet ours will be the better blocking unit. Bama should get the nod here.
OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: Bama is ranked #8 behind Stanford, Tennessee, Ohio State, Oklahoma, K-State, aTm, and Miami respectively. It seems that this ranking was based heavily on returning starters rather than actual talent level. Due to the fact that they somewhat are unproven, I cannot reasonably argue that Bama's unit is better than some of the others, I expect by the end of the season, the talent we have in this unit will speak for itself.
DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: The teams ranked in the top ten are; 1. South Carolina, 2. ND, 3. Arizona State, 4. Florida, 5. USC, 6. VT, 7. Oregon, 8. TCU, 9. Stanford and 10. Ohio State. The one unit Bama was not rated top 10 was the Defensive Line. I recall last season our DL was not ranked highly, yet by the end of the year, I would not have traded ours for too many out there. I suspect this season's 'no star' unit will be just as effective.
LINEBACKERS: Bama is ranked #2 behind Stanford. LSU is the only other SEC team at #5. So Stanford returning 3 starters (Skov, Murphy and Tarpley) justifies them being ranked in front of Bama? Now that is pretty funny. Bama's first 5 are all better, and coupled with the young talent behind them, Bama's LB unit is head and shoulders better than any in the country. And it isn't even close.
DEFENSIVE BACKS: Bama is ranked #4 behind Florida, Ohio State and Oregon. Week 1 opponent VT is ranked #8. I was actually surprised to see Bama ranked this highly. They give nice cred to Belue and Geno at CB and HaHa at Safety. Throw in Fulton, Cyrus Jones, one of the true freshman, along with Vinnie and Perry/Williams, and Bama's two deep is pretty formidable, so while I was surprised Athlon's ranked the unit as high as they did, I don't disagree with it, as a matter of fact, I think they are better than the three ranked higher. Florida's ranking is based on their CBs, and will have trouble replacing both safeties. Ohio State's unit is a joke (76th against the pass in 2012). Not real familiar with the ducks secondary, but they are ducks. I will comfortably take ours over theirs.
Color me shocked a publication isn't gushing over what an outstanding QB Aaron Murray is going to be this season...like last season, and the season before, and the...
Don't misunderstand me. I think he's a good QB. However, do understand this. With his numerous losses to ranked teams "he's not all of that."
QUARTERBACKS: Bama ranks #4 behind aTm, Ohio State, and Clemson. The only other SEC team is Georgia at #7. The QB ranking is based almost solely on the starter, which is understandable, but personally, while they are both talented, I wouldn't trade AJ for either Braxton or Boyd, and the jury is still out on JFF.
RUNNING BACKS: Bama ranks #2 behind Georgia. aTm comes in at #5. The dawgs have Gurshall, and are ranked above us for that reason, but I expect by the end of the year, our 1-2 punch.... check that.... our 1-2-3-4 punch at RB will be the most impressive unit in the country.
RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS: Bama is ranked #2 behind USC. Georgia is ranked #3. IMO, USC is definitely over rated here. They point to Marquis Lee, Nelson Agholor, who had a decent freshman season, and a couple of recruits. They also mention the TEs Grimble and Telfer. IMO, Cooper is every bit as good as Lee, and Bama has a stable of very talented and proven receivers behind him, also the recruits we have coming in are just as good as USC's, if not better. And while our TE's probably won't catch as many passes as USC's, we have some nice talent there, and I am willing to bet ours will be the better blocking unit. Bama should get the nod here.
OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: Bama is ranked #8 behind Stanford, Tennessee, Ohio State, Oklahoma, K-State, aTm, and Miami respectively. It seems that this ranking was based heavily on returning starters rather than actual talent level. Due to the fact that they somewhat are unproven, I cannot reasonably argue that Bama's unit is better than some of the others, I expect by the end of the season, the talent we have in this unit will speak for itself.
DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: The teams ranked in the top ten are; 1. South Carolina, 2. ND, 3. Arizona State, 4. Florida, 5. USC, 6. VT, 7. Oregon, 8. TCU, 9. Stanford and 10. Ohio State. The one unit Bama was not rated top 10 was the Defensive Line. I recall last season our DL was not ranked highly, yet by the end of the year, I would not have traded ours for too many out there. I suspect this season's 'no star' unit will be just as effective.
LINEBACKERS: Bama is ranked #2 behind Stanford. LSU is the only other SEC team at #5. So Stanford returning 3 starters (Skov, Murphy and Tarpley) justifies them being ranked in front of Bama? Now that is pretty funny. Bama's first 5 are all better, and coupled with the young talent behind them, Bama's LB unit is head and shoulders better than any in the country. And it isn't even close.
DEFENSIVE BACKS: Bama is ranked #4 behind Florida, Ohio State and Oregon. Week 1 opponent VT is ranked #8. I was actually surprised to see Bama ranked this highly. They give nice cred to Belue and Geno at CB and HaHa at Safety. Throw in Fulton, Cyrus Jones, one of the true freshman, along with Vinnie and Perry/Williams, and Bama's two deep is pretty formidable, so while I was surprised Athlon's ranked the unit as high as they did, I don't disagree with it, as a matter of fact, I think they are better than the three ranked higher. Florida's ranking is based on their CBs, and will have trouble replacing both safeties. Ohio State's unit is a joke (76th against the pass in 2012). Not real familiar with the ducks secondary, but they are ducks. I will comfortably take ours over theirs.
Color me shocked a publication isn't gushing over what an outstanding QB Aaron Murray is going to be this season...like last season, and the season before, and the...
Don't misunderstand me. I think he's a good QB. However, do understand this. With his numerous losses to ranked teams "he's not all of that."
