It is evident that we are not as dominate a team this year especially along the defensive or offensive lines. Blame it on recruiting misses from all the coaching changes over the past few years, all the little Sabanites in the SEC now that are collectively luring away some top talent from coming to the Capstone, a lack of developing these guys and actually playing them or losing so much talent and leadership to the NFL draft EVERY year. I believe it's a combination of a lot of different factors honestly. I don't believe this was our year to win another national title after all the talent we lost from last year. Overall, we are a young team that has played beyond expectations with all things being considered.
The lost to Texas A&M was frustrating, but a fluke game that falls on both players and coaches. Coaches can't catch passes and tackle, while players can't scheme for the opposing team and call better plays in the red zone. I don't believe we will beat Jawja if we play them. LS(who) just laid out a defensive blueprint for any team we face going forward and Jawja is damn good on defense this year. This wouldn't be as big of an issue if we had Sark or Kiffin running the show on offense, but we have BoB and I just don't see his offense scheme getting it done against Jawja or possibly even Awbarn. Factor in our offensive line issues and it's just not happening. The slightest hope is getting Dalcourt back at center and replacing Owens with George, keeping Randolph in to block and having the running back in to block or chip the defensive end on pass routes. Honestly, I would love to see an extra lineman ( Kight or Brown) in to block. I know this will never happen, but I've been in favor of having O'Neal, Kight, Dalcourt, Ekiyor and George as a starting line especially with our straight forward blocking schemes while using Brown and/or Randolph as extra blockers when needed. Jawja is coming with an All-American caliber defensive front 7 that we need to match and our current lineup is not capable in my opinion.
Defensively, we have talent but there just seems to be too many errors and not enough elite talent. Our inability to control the line and consistently pressure the QB is our Achilles heel. Will Anderson is a one man show but he can't do it all. The talent gap between him and the rest of the defensive front is staggering. The fact that we don't rotate our LB's is frustrating. Moody and Kennedy are capable if not better in some scenarios. The secondary has potential to be outstanding but the lack of overall speed and mental errors are limiting. I'm not sure if you guys noticed, but Kool-Aid played an excellent game and should be on the field at all times. If not at corner, I would love to see him at star as Branch and Moore have both had their share of issues this year.
I see BAMA winning out the remainder of the regular season with a loss at jawja in the SECCG and a date against the loser of the Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State game in the Sugar Bowl. Final Record: 12-2.
As far as the playoffs, other than jawja I don't have a clue who gets in this year. Regardless, the next 4 weeks will be fun to watch! I do have Bryce Young winning the Heisman trophy especially if we can keep the SECCG close or possibly win it.
Finally, I do believe there will be some coaching changes.