| FTBL Kendrick Law WR

I think with how bad our receivers were this year, the fact that these freshman did not see the field still. Leaves me to believe they're not as good as advertised. Prentice disappeared, Bond wasn't the deep threat he was supposed to be, Law hasn't done much of anything either. Maybe in the next two games and the bowl game they will get some quality time out there and change our minds. But for now, I'm still fairly disappointed in this WR class and its contributions considering how poor our WR play was from the Upper classes this year.
 
I think with how bad our receivers were this year, the fact that these freshman did not see the field still. Leaves me to believe they're not as good as advertised. Prentice disappeared, Bond wasn't the deep threat he was supposed to be, Law hasn't done much of anything either. Maybe in the next two games and the bowl game they will get some quality time out there and change our minds. But for now, I'm still fairly disappointed in this WR class and its contributions considering how poor our WR play was from the Upper classes this year.

Just like a RB is more than just taking the handoff and hitting the hole, a WR is much more than running a slant and catching the ball. There is a learning curve that these young guys have to go through, especially at Bama before they earn Saban's trust. We all naturally compare these newer guys to the class of Jeudy, Smith, and Ruggs... but go back and look at their freshman year stats. There's some re-writing of history taking place... they had to grow into the positions too, and they are arguably the best WR trio ever signed in a class (anywhere). Example, Smith played in 8 games and had 8 receptions (including a pretty big one against UGA). They were all much more reliable near the end of the year... we are seeing the same from some of the FR WR's now... guys like Bond and Law (who has been limited along with Aaron Anderson because of injury). I will say the play of the upperclassmen WR has been concerning. Just way too much inconsistency overall and it's made things difficult for Bryce, although he covers up a lot of it. It's been beaten to death, but they haven't been helped out by O'Brien's route trees and play calls. Still, they've had difficulty catching the ball and making adjustments when needed. I should add, while he's taken his lumps from fans, Saban is a big fan of Ja'Corey Brooks (and has openly said as much).
 
Just like a RB is more than just taking the handoff and hitting the hole, a WR is much more than running a slant and catching the ball. There is a learning curve that these young guys have to go through, especially at Bama before they earn Saban's trust. We all naturally compare these newer guys to the class of Jeudy, Smith, and Ruggs... but go back and look at their freshman year stats. There's some re-writing of history taking place... they had to grow into the positions too, and they are arguably the best WR trio ever signed in a class (anywhere). Example, Smith played in 8 games and had 8 receptions (including a pretty big one against UGA). They were all much more reliable near the end of the year... we are seeing the same from some of the FR WR's now... guys like Bond and Law (who has been limited along with Aaron Anderson because of injury). I will say the play of the upperclassmen WR has been concerning. Just way too much inconsistency overall and it's made things difficult for Bryce, although he covers up a lot of it. It's been beaten to death, but they haven't been helped out by O'Brien's route trees and play calls. Still, they've had difficulty catching the ball and making adjustments when needed. I should add, while he's taken his lumps from fans, Saban is a big fan of Ja'Corey Brooks (and has openly said as much).
I’ve noticed Law especially the last few games doing the stuff most casual fans don’t see. Special teams play, but especially downfield blocking. I see really nice things from him going forward.
* you nailed it on the revisionist history of Jeudy, Ruggs & Smith. They didn’t start out their freshman season the way most folks “remember”. It’s called a process & progression for a reason.
 
I’ve noticed Law especially the last few games doing the stuff most casual fans don’t see. Special teams play, but especially downfield blocking. I see really nice things from him going forward.
* you nailed it on the revisionist history of Jeudy, Ruggs & Smith. They didn’t start out their freshman season the way most folks “remember”. It’s called a process & progression for a reason.

A good litmus test to apply to freshmen in regards to how Saban feels about them is, "are they playing on special teams?" If the answer is yes, way more often than not, they are on the right side of The Man, and headed in the right direction...
 
The more I listen to Saban and understand how bad BoB is at his job, I'm inclined to believe the problem is not totally the WR's. Saban mentioned limitations with Bryce and how the offense will go back to a RPO style in the future. Imagine our WRs at Ole Miss, Texas, Ohio State or USC. I'm sure several would have had breakout seasons.
 
Looking forward to seeing him get more opportunities. There are positives in every situation, and the loss of championship contention does loosen the pressure on some of these WR's development, and may lead to better play and a more natural development. CNS giving Law some more opportunities and probably a lot of these freshman getting more snaps, makes a lot of sense.

All in all, I think by the end of the season the guys getting the most snaps are the guys CNS wants to see next season. Weird conundrum with Burton & Holden both coming back next season, and really not standing out despite the youth at the position. If they aren't clearly better this year, does it make sense to take snaps from the developing talent? Maybe not.
 
Looking forward to seeing him get more opportunities. There are positives in every situation, and the loss of championship contention does loosen the pressure on some of these WR's development, and may lead to better play and a more natural development. CNS giving Law some more opportunities and probably a lot of these freshman getting more snaps, makes a lot of sense.

All in all, I think by the end of the season the guys getting the most snaps are the guys CNS wants to see next season. Weird conundrum with Burton & Holden both coming back next season, and really not standing out despite the youth at the position. If they aren't clearly better this year, does it make sense to take snaps from the developing talent? Maybe not.
Saban will play the best player. If they are about the same we have seen him lean to the upper classmen.
 
Looking forward to seeing him get more opportunities. There are positives in every situation, and the loss of championship contention does loosen the pressure on some of these WR's development, and may lead to better play and a more natural development. CNS giving Law some more opportunities and probably a lot of these freshman getting more snaps, makes a lot of sense.

All in all, I think by the end of the season the guys getting the most snaps are the guys CNS wants to see next season. Weird conundrum with Burton & Holden both coming back next season, and really not standing out despite the youth at the position. If they aren't clearly better this year, does it make sense to take snaps from the developing talent? Maybe not.

One would have to think Saban pushes them out. I had really high hopes for Holden, but he has simply disappointed me greatly. At this point Alabama has to cut bait and run from the last two years and start developing a new breed of badasses. New coordinators, new blood players, and maybe even look at some position coaches.
 
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