🏈 Thoughts about 2016

[MissingRing]

The projected roster for 2016 gives me a lot of hope that Alabama will challenge again for the SEC championship and, consequently, also the CFP national championship. I have only two concerns at this point, one general the other specific.

The general concern pertains to Lane Kiffin's future with the program. With each passing day, it becomes more likely that he will stay for 2016, yet there have been media reports of OC offers from UCLA and the SF 49ers. Given what Kiffin has accomplished with Sims and Coker, I can hardly wait to see what he does when his options are Bateman, Barnett, Cornwell, and Hurts!

My specific concern pertains to RB depth. Bo Scarbrough may in fact turn out to be DH 2.0, but Bo has a history of knee injuries. I hesitate to think what our rushing attack would look like if Damien Harris became the feature back.

Thoughts?

 

[rammerjammer]

Very loaded question. As CNS preaches, each team has it's own identity. He hit on that during a presser this year about how heavy we were on the run with DH this past year vs how heavy we were on the pass with Amari the year before. Granted we were still very balanced, but each offense featured a different player and their particular talent.

This all depends on who the QB is, but I suspect the 3 that are there will be quicker than Coker was. Sims was able to do the quick passes out to Amari, who in turn could make players miss and make plays in space. I suspect with Ridley we will see a similar set up. Quick outs and WR screens as the running game comes along and one or both RB's step up their play.

Pure speculation on my part, but I would think that going into the spring, Ridley and Stuart (our two top receivers) are the "knowns" that we have offensively and will be our go to, until the running game sets up it's identity. Remember Henry didn't come on strong until about 1/3 of the way the season. I have high hopes for Barnett, but that is based solely off what I have read about him. He is athletic and has all that you want in a college QB. I know last year in the spring game there was a very noticeable difference between his arm strength and the 3 other guys he was competing against. If the 4th qrtr progam can add the necessary weight to him and make him capable of handling the beating that SEC defenders delve out, then I think he is our guy.

I said all that to say this. I think that with our receiving corp, the QB position and being able to get rid of the ball quickly will be a bigger determination of our offense vs our RB's. I think with the upcoming year all they have to be is serviceable. Don't turn over the ball and fall forward. Pick up your blocking assignments and you will eventually get your chance to shine.

 

[TerryP]

My specific concern pertains to RB depth. Bo Scarbrough may in fact turn out to be DH 2.0, but Bo has a history of knee injuries. I hesitate to think what our rushing attack would look like if Damien Harris became the feature back.

Thoughts?

I have no worries about what Harris will bring to the field. If we choose to set aside rankings coming out of high school, is it fair to make a judgement based on mop-up duty? That said, I have faith in CBB's ability to evaluate and develop RB's.

FWIW, Bo (and the medical staff) said he was stronger (knee) then he was going into spring ball last year.

As @rammerjammer mentions, I can easily see next years offense resembling that of 2014 with emphasis on receivers. I won't be our "bread and butter," but I firmly believe we'll see a good number of explosive plays.

I won't even begin to speculate on the QB race until after spring camp (and still can't say we'll be sure, then.)

 

[rick4bama]

I can't wait, I'm like a kid in a candy shop. And I'm all by myself too.

 

[UAgrad93]

I look at the RB situation and actually think we are in good hands. Harris and Bo both ran the ball in 2015 when everyone watching knew it was going to be a run. I think that Ronnie Clark could be a wildcard to be honest. He is listed at 6'2" 220 and he was a spread option QB in HS and therefore ran a lot of plays that required vision and hitting the hole. If he sticks and qualifies, BJ Emmons could be that true freshman that Coach Burns always seems to develop and have ready on opening day. Like @TerryP said, whomever takes the reigns at QB, could make this offense explosive like the 2014 bunch.

 

[EasyTider]

Throw it to OJ some.

 

[bradenob]

Lane is not going anywhere, at least not this year. And he may not go for a while, if he takes a lesson from Kirby. Either go to a place where it's hard to lose (UGA, UF - NOT USCe) or a place that would die for some wins (a la Colorado State). Else stay put and make lots of money as a coordinator. Some of Kiffin's comments during the playoff make me think he still has a lot of maturing to do - maybe he realizes that.

Concerning the RBs - we will be FINE. Harris IS good, and Bo is GREAT, and if Emmons qualifies he will be a beast as well. There are some scatback guys that can be a change of pace, and Ronnie Clark at least provides depth. Three guys back on the OL. We replace our center, which will be tough, but JCH has a great rep and will be a RS sophomore - he should be ready. Right tackle is a bit of a mystery, but lots of options, with it being JC transfer Baldwin's to lose, presumably. He is the ONLY one that has not played OL with the others at 'Bama, so except for him, I expect cohesion, and, therefore, success running the ball.

Also, as the run opens up the pass, so the pass can also open the run - I agree with RammerJammer's assessment, and, therefore, with a mobile QB, Ridley, A Stewart, Cam Sims and Robert Foster back (and the latter two presumably healthy), AND OJ back - we will be fine on offense, AND running the ball. It will be a wide open offense, maybe better than 2014!

Roll Tide!!

 

[psychojoe]

Speaking of receivers, any word on Robert Foster's rehab...

 

[Che Boludo]

The projected roster for 2016 gives me a lot of hope that Alabama will challenge again for the SEC championship and, consequently, also the CFP national championship. I have only two concerns at this point, one general the other specific.

The general concern pertains to Lane Kiffin's future with the program. With each passing day, it becomes more likely that he will stay for 2016, yet there have been media reports of OC offers from UCLA and the SF 49ers. Given what Kiffin has accomplished with Sims and Coker, I can hardly wait to see what he does when his options are Bateman, Barnett, Cornwell, and Hurts!

My specific concern pertains to RB depth. Bo Scarbrough may in fact turn out to be DH 2.0, but Bo has a history of knee injuries. I hesitate to think what our rushing attack would look like if Damien Harris became the feature back.

Thoughts?

Bo will not turn into DH2.0.

Henry had a specific set of skills for his size that was extremely rare. His HS and college numbers combined are untouchable.

Bo can be a good back, but needs to focus on being Bo Scarborough 1.0

 

[JoshB]

I hate when Bama fans crap on Damien Harris, the thing is mainly just on this board that I see it, could you imagine if every player was judged after his freshman year working with the backups? Imagine if Derrick Henry was judged just based off of his appearance in the opener his freshman year? Who knows what he would have shown this year if he had more carries with the 1s. How bout we see that before just tossing the kid to the side?

 

[bearsnest]

Also TJ started out hotter than any freshman back we had in a while (not taking away anything from what TJ accomplished after that) but in the following years he did not run with the same passion (not talking about injuries) as he did his freshman season, so I would rather have a back mature into the role

 

[BamaFan334]

Also TJ started out hotter than any freshman back we had in a while (not taking away anything from what TJ accomplished after that) but in the following years he did not run with the same passion (not talking about injuries) as he did his freshman season, so I would rather have a back mature into the role

He had a great Freshman season, but I feel as if he did just as well as a Sophomore. Junior year was full of injuries, but he's been my favorite back at Alabama. I'd like a count on how many times he was tackled by the first guy, because it wasn't many. He had more moves than any of them in my eyes.

 

[JoshB]

Yeah I have no idea what you are talking about saying TJ didn't "run with passion." You could argue his sophomore year was better than his freshman year. Injury bug got him his junior year (and followed him into his rookie season).

 

[MacLittle13]

Bo will not turn into DH2.0.

Henry had a specific set of skills for his size that was extremely rare. His HS and college numbers combined are untouchable.

Bo can be a good back, but needs to focus on being Bo Scarborough 1.0

I agree whole heartedly. Aside from being almost the same size physically, they are not the same type of back. The most notable difference will be when you see Bo catching passes in the flat, or even shifting from the pistol into slot. Don't let his size make you forget that he signed as an athlete.

That brings me to another point. When he (Kiffin) put Drake in the slot last year (Sims senior year) and opened the game with a bomb, I lost my mind. I thought we would see much more of that type of play calling. I realize we lost Drake soon after, but he was back this year and in never happened. We saw 2 back sets with HTWDH and Drake a few times, but he didn't try to pull a feather out.

With Scarbrough and Howard, there are opportunities for mismatches. I hope we see more exploitation of that.