🏈 Opponents Should Fear 2009 Alabama (Scout.com article)

[Guest]

With more top-flight recruits being reeled in by college football's best fisherman, Nick Saban is gathering both bigger and better ammunition to be fired at teams in any other color than Crimson.

Combine this with an Alabama coaching staff that's not afraid to put a true freshman on the field, and you have tremendous depth coming in at all positions. Saban is the kind of coach who doesn't worry about losing a redshirt year. He knows he can just go out and get more to take their place.

His relentlessness in recruiting is that of legend, and the NCAA had to write new rules to keep other coaches from dying trying to keep up with this Energizer Bunny of a recruiter. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that he has a speaker under his pillow at night playing recordings of high school athletes 40-yard sprint times and bench pressing numbers.

This story originally appeared at BleacherReport.com

Secondly, this is one of the nation's youngest teams and it was number one for much of last season. Only losing nine seniors, not all of whom were even starters, means this is a team with experience where it counts.

So why does this article need to be written in the first place? Can't the people get the fact that Alabama is back, and back to stay for a while? Apparently not. On message boards of rival fans, they bring up all kinds of "weaknesses" that will hurt Alabama. Well, let's discuss them and get rid of them one by one.

Alabama is losing its senior quarterback and doesn't have an experienced backup.

Yes, we are losing John Parker Wilson, a great game manager, but he is not the best quarterback we have in the stable. They are Greg McElroy, a five-star recruit and winner of the Texas high school championship game, and Star Jackson, a four-star recruit who can throw and run like a halfback.

Both will open the game up, as both have stronger arms, more foot speed, and more elusiveness than Parker. This apparent weakness will actually be a strength next year.

The offensive line is gone and Alabama can't play smash mouth football anymore.

While it's true that Alabama will be hurt with the loss of most of its prolific line, good substitutes are there to help fill the holes they left.

Chance Warmack, a big 6'4", 330-pound offensive lineman out of Atlanta, Georgia; Kellen Williams, a 6'5,"295-pound OT from Brookwood High School in Snellville, Georgia; and all-world offensive tackle D.J. Fluker, who was not a five-star only because they couldn't assign more, will fill the void left by Andre Smith just fine.

Coming back to play center is Evan Cardwell, with a very solid experienced backup in LG Mike Johnson. So the Tide is not only reloading quite nicely, but doing so for many good years to come.

Now enough with myth-busting, let's get back to why teams should fear the Crimson Tide. Next reason can be summed up in just one word: defense. Alabama has it and other teams should fear it.

Alabama lost just two starters from one of the nation's best defenses in 2008. Plus, the Tide gained a much better position coach, James Willis, to help with the young linebackers and brought in an old NFL workhorse, Sal Sunseri, from the Carolina Panthers. Sanseri worked with Saban before at LSU and Willis comes from Auburn.

With these new coaches, Bama's defense, already tough, may now be a total roadblock for opposing teams to try to surmount.

With the signing of the nation's top runner, Trent Richardson, to go along with the stable of talented Alabama running backs, along with a receiving corps led by the Julio Jones, can you afford to leave the middle open?

Alabama's offense will create mismatches at all positions against most defenses next year. It will truly be a two-headed monster as opposed to the smash mouth team it was for most of last year.

A versatile offense and an unmovable defense will spell trouble for all the teams the Tide encounters next year and for years to come. If it hasn't begun already, let the fear begin.

http://alabama.scout.com/2/837504.html

 

[ericd]

**Chills**

 

[Chuck-E-Cheeze]

I like. Defense is gonna be scary good next year. I just wanna see more pass rush. It seems like an eternity since the Copeland/Curry years.

 

[Guest]

javascript:emoticon(':lol:')

 

[Guest]

Two-headed monster. I can dig that!

 

[musso]

i like the idea, but a crappy article.

i think our power running game has a lot to prove in the absence of two all-americans, Smith and Caldwell.

our pass protection has a lot to prove too.

we need more reliable receiving targets other than Jones.

we need a pass rush.

simply put, it's way too early to assert what this author is asserting.

the ONLY thing i already feel confident in next year is our rushing defense.

 

[BAMAFSTBACK]

Nick Saban says it every time he speaks about our depth. He is building a "quality" team with "GOOD" players. It stings a bit for the shula era recruits but it's true. He is building his house now. Big time recruits playing big time ball.

 

[Guest]

Man I'm ready for the season to start. We are looking better and better every year under Saban.

 

[Perdido Tide]

bamamag is now taking bleacherreport articles?

yikes

 

[Guest]

bamamag is now taking bleacherreport articles?

yikes

My thoughts exactly...

 

[joeman546]

i like the idea, but a crappy article.

i think our power running game has a lot to prove in the absence of two all-americans, Smith and Caldwell.

our pass protection has a lot to prove too.

we need more reliable receiving targets other than Jones.

we need a pass rush.

simply put, it's way too early to assert what this author is asserting.

the ONLY thing i already feel confident in next year is our rushing defense.

It has some basis so its not just a bad article. The O-line will certainly have alot to prove, but the guys taking over have the talent and size to get the job done.

The pass protection is being reshuffled, but the addition of Dre Kirkpatrick is HUGE in that, when youo got guys like Kareem Jackson(who couldve had a better year), javier arenas, mark barron, and other talented guys in the secondary(And depending on how he progresses, BJ Scott) its going to be hard not to be capable of great pass protection.

We didnt land THE guy(thats proven right now anyway) to play opposite Julio, but that said we did attain plenty of deep threats and talented shift guys in this class as well, it should be good enough to make people pay for doubling Julio all the time depending on how well QB play is.

The QB spot has a question mark on it, buot from what we have all seen from McElroy and what we know Jackson is capabble of being, there is reason to be encouraged.

Though I will agree about pass rushing, that willl need to improve, but im sure itll be better for reasons i wil now explain:

Everyone, EVERYONE, from last years superb recruiting class, will have a full year under the offseason conditioning program once the season begins.

We saw a huge jump in our level of play with our Sophmores, Juniors, and Seniors..

Simply put, we have way to much upside not to be feared coming into the season, with last years class mixed with this ones, we will have a lot more talent on the field than we have seen in years.

 

[TerryP]

bamamag is now taking bleacherreport articles?

yikes

Scout, CBS, Fox, all of them take an occasional article.

I've had one of mine for the blog here picked up by FoxSports.


I see BR about like any message board. You have to weed through some of the stuff at times to get to good content.

 

[BamaHeat]

Yes, one of the main goals of Bleacherreport.com is the possibility of submitted stories being picked up nationally.

 

[Perdido Tide]

Its not what Bleacherreport does, it is what BamaMag does. There are some good BR articles on Fox.

I think BamaMag has finally given up.

 

[TerryP]

Its not what Bleacherreport does, it is what BamaMag does. There are some good BR articles on Fox.

I think BamaMag has finally given up.

I'm fairly sure Scout is the one that pulled that article. I know I saw it on their front page just after it was posted...

Now, as to how that works (if it's on Bamamag's front page it is automatically on Scout's) I don't know.