Alibamoone
Member
Stars matter: It all starts with talent. From that standpoint, the Crimson Tide takes a backseat to no one. Of the 83 scholarship players set to take part in fall camp at Alabama, 69 were ranked as either four- or five-star prospects by 247sports.com. That total includes 15 five stars from the last three classes alone.
Despite what South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier might tell you, there has also been some player development going on at UA. How else do you explain two former three stars -- offensive tackle Austin Shepherd and wide receiver/kick returnerChristion Jones -- being named to preseason All-SEC teams?
The schedule works: For a team looking to fill some large voids at critical positions, the schedule will give the Crimson Tide time to sort some things out before SEC play arrives in late-September. West Virginia presents a name opponent but other than offering up some first-game wrinkles on the offensive side of the ball, the Mountaineers, coming off a 3-9 season, aren't exactly built to beat Alabama.
Looking specifically at SEC play, I'm not of the opinion that UA caught a break in getting Florida from the East rather than Georgia or South Carolina. The Gators will be better than the Bulldogs and Gamecocks on the side of the ball (defense) that could give Alabama the most problems in the first month of the season.
Still, a Crimson Tide offense coming off preseason affairs with Florida Atlantic and Southern Miss will likely have graduated from crawling to walking by the time the Gators visit on Sept. 20. If the Alabama defense is what most believe it will be, that should be good enough.
Road games at Ole Miss (Oct. 4) and LSU (Nov. 8) top the list of reasons why some are predicting two or more losses for UA in 2014. While it's certainly plausible to think the Crimson Tide could lose those games, bye weeks leading in to both those trips should prove beneficial.
Meanwhile, the month of November hasn't been especially kind to UA over the years. That's been especially true for late-season games played at Bryant-Denny Stadium, where the Crimson Tide has dropped contests in three of the last four years. Here's guessing, though, that Nick Saban would rather take his chances against Mississippi State and Auburn in Tuscaloosa than in Starkville and Auburn.
Quarterback turnover: Before we ding Alabama's chances based on quarterback uncertainty, take a look around the league :No Johnny Manziel. No Aaron Murray. No Zach Mettenberger. No Connor Shaw. No James Franklin. No Austyn Carta-Samuels ... okay, so maybe that's taking it a little too far.
Still, you get my drift. Heading into the season, at least, there isn't a ton of star power at the position, which should bode well for an Alabama defense looking to stablize things on the back end.
Skill to pay the bills: Speaking of quarterback situations, what about Alabama's, you ask? Even with a starter nowhere close to being named, it's better than most for the following five reasons: running backs TJ Yeldon and Derrick Henry and wide receivers Amari Cooper, Christion Jones and DeAndrew White.
And that's before you get to running back Kenyan Drake, tight end OJ Howard and fullback Jalston Fowler. Or wide receivers Chris Black and Robert Foster. Alabama has had some all-decade teams that didn't have that kind of talent at the skill spots.
For that reason, new offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin's charge will consist mostly of getting solid quarterback play out of Jacob Coker or Blake Sims (or both). Neither will need to be Johnny Football. Just get the ball to the weapons that will surround them, hold a block for a split second and drink it in.
West is the best: So who will await Alabama in Atlanta if the Crimson Tide reaches the SEC Championship Game? While South Carolina was the pick at SEC Media Days to win the East, the division is thought to be wide open. And,really, that's just another way of saying there isn't a truly dominant team on that side of the league.
Even when there's been an overwhelming favorite to win the East (Florida in 2009), that hasn't stopped the Western Division representative from taking care of business at the Georgia Dome. Meanwhile, how good has the West been? So good that if it weren't for the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, the league's most talked about team -- Texas A&M -- the past two years wouldn't have sniffed the ATL.
For the West, the win streak in the championship game has reached five. Will Alabama make it six?
http://alabama.247sports.com/Article/Five-reasons-why-Alabama-will-win-the-SEC-in-2014-29867869
Despite what South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier might tell you, there has also been some player development going on at UA. How else do you explain two former three stars -- offensive tackle Austin Shepherd and wide receiver/kick returnerChristion Jones -- being named to preseason All-SEC teams?
The schedule works: For a team looking to fill some large voids at critical positions, the schedule will give the Crimson Tide time to sort some things out before SEC play arrives in late-September. West Virginia presents a name opponent but other than offering up some first-game wrinkles on the offensive side of the ball, the Mountaineers, coming off a 3-9 season, aren't exactly built to beat Alabama.
Looking specifically at SEC play, I'm not of the opinion that UA caught a break in getting Florida from the East rather than Georgia or South Carolina. The Gators will be better than the Bulldogs and Gamecocks on the side of the ball (defense) that could give Alabama the most problems in the first month of the season.
Still, a Crimson Tide offense coming off preseason affairs with Florida Atlantic and Southern Miss will likely have graduated from crawling to walking by the time the Gators visit on Sept. 20. If the Alabama defense is what most believe it will be, that should be good enough.
Road games at Ole Miss (Oct. 4) and LSU (Nov. 8) top the list of reasons why some are predicting two or more losses for UA in 2014. While it's certainly plausible to think the Crimson Tide could lose those games, bye weeks leading in to both those trips should prove beneficial.
Meanwhile, the month of November hasn't been especially kind to UA over the years. That's been especially true for late-season games played at Bryant-Denny Stadium, where the Crimson Tide has dropped contests in three of the last four years. Here's guessing, though, that Nick Saban would rather take his chances against Mississippi State and Auburn in Tuscaloosa than in Starkville and Auburn.
Quarterback turnover: Before we ding Alabama's chances based on quarterback uncertainty, take a look around the league :No Johnny Manziel. No Aaron Murray. No Zach Mettenberger. No Connor Shaw. No James Franklin. No Austyn Carta-Samuels ... okay, so maybe that's taking it a little too far.
Still, you get my drift. Heading into the season, at least, there isn't a ton of star power at the position, which should bode well for an Alabama defense looking to stablize things on the back end.
Skill to pay the bills: Speaking of quarterback situations, what about Alabama's, you ask? Even with a starter nowhere close to being named, it's better than most for the following five reasons: running backs TJ Yeldon and Derrick Henry and wide receivers Amari Cooper, Christion Jones and DeAndrew White.
And that's before you get to running back Kenyan Drake, tight end OJ Howard and fullback Jalston Fowler. Or wide receivers Chris Black and Robert Foster. Alabama has had some all-decade teams that didn't have that kind of talent at the skill spots.
For that reason, new offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin's charge will consist mostly of getting solid quarterback play out of Jacob Coker or Blake Sims (or both). Neither will need to be Johnny Football. Just get the ball to the weapons that will surround them, hold a block for a split second and drink it in.
West is the best: So who will await Alabama in Atlanta if the Crimson Tide reaches the SEC Championship Game? While South Carolina was the pick at SEC Media Days to win the East, the division is thought to be wide open. And,really, that's just another way of saying there isn't a truly dominant team on that side of the league.
Even when there's been an overwhelming favorite to win the East (Florida in 2009), that hasn't stopped the Western Division representative from taking care of business at the Georgia Dome. Meanwhile, how good has the West been? So good that if it weren't for the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, the league's most talked about team -- Texas A&M -- the past two years wouldn't have sniffed the ATL.
For the West, the win streak in the championship game has reached five. Will Alabama make it six?
http://alabama.247sports.com/Article/Five-reasons-why-Alabama-will-win-the-SEC-in-2014-29867869
