I really loved this:
So, basically, Bryant didnāt really do anything wrong, the NCAA isnāt really that upset, but its going through with the suspension anyway because itās feelings were hurt. That makes sense, after all, there must be some (cough) semblance of honesty and (cough, cough) truthfulness, otherwise, college athletics will devolve (cough, cough, wheeeeez, Reggie Bush, cough) into a cesspool of hypocrisy.
But I don't understand his use of 1980 UGA in comparing teams of the past with today. Were it not for 1984 BYU, that team would be considered the worst team to ever win the NC.
I agree with his point and said something similar in the inaugural trickle down.
Physical development, S&C, sports nutrition, etc., are light years ahead of what they were 20 years ago. As much as it hurts to think about it, the 1979 Alabama national Championship team would be blown out by the 2009 UAB team. I would even go so far as to say that a top level high school team of 2009 would beat most college teams from before 1985.
While there isn't a high school team that would beat them, our 1992 national championship team is notably different than today's teams.
This is the whole premise of "trickle down" in college football...there are more high level players than high level teams have slots for. Recruiting has become a game of figuring out which five star athlete is truly the best, and lower level teams end up with some great players.
Compare the offensive line from 1992 to the 2009 team:
LT Matt Hammond 6'3/266 - LT James Carpenter 6'5/300
LG George Wilson 6'2/263 - LG Mike Johnson 6'6/305
C Tobie Shiels 6'3/250 - C William Vlachos 6'1/294
RG Jon Stevenson 6'2/273 - RG Barrett Jones 6'5/280
RT Roosevelt Patterson 6'4/290 - RT Drew Davis 6'7"/305
The biggest OL on that team was Patterson, and he was extremely flabby at 290 - although he was in shape and reasonably quick.
Runningbacks were much smaller back then. Consider that Tarrant Lynch was only 225...or Martin Houston was roughly the same size as Trent Richardson.
The 1992 defense would be a good defense today, but not the brick wall that it was in 1992. The 2009 Alabama offense would run for 150+ and score 30 against it...the 1992 offense wouldn't cross the 50 against the 2009 defense.
So, as much as it hurts to say it, the 2009 team is MUCH better than the 1992 team...because it is already a different era.
If you go back to pre-1980, college teams would be blown out by today's top high school teams. The players on a 2009 high school team would be bigger, stronger, and faster than the college teams from back then.
Consider our 1973 team.
Here is the OL... (some may be wrong, but it is close)
OT Marvin Barron - 6'1/218
OG Morris Hunt 6'0/220
C Sylvester Croom 6'0/210
OG Buddy Brown 6'2/242
OT Steve Patterson 6'1/220
Can you imagine this OL trying to block the DL for Hoover? Every single player on Hoover's defensive 2 deep would be stronger and (probably) faster than every member of the 1973 team.
College to college for a second...can you imagine what Terrence Cody would do to Sly Croom? The 1973 OL couldn't even double team Cody...it would take a triple or quadruple team.
The defensive ends were 205 and 215. DuBose was LB at 220, and the biggest DT's were 230-240 with little weight training and poor nutrition by today's standards. A RB like Ingram or Richardson would abuse them.
Anyway, those are my thoughts.
