| 12 September 2008
We were asked to host the Crimson and White Roundtable this week, and we've been pleased with the response. It's been fun, and we hope to pick it up again later in the year.
For now, it's time to wrap up the responses.
1. What are your feelings on Alabama’s current position in the polls? Are we overrated? Underrated? Just right?
From Uncle Rico's Time Machine:
i actually advocate volatility in the early polls. if you can bump bama up 8-12 spots for whipping clemson's ass, then feel free to drop them for what happened on saturday. that being said, they have no business creeping around the top 10 like they seem to be doing. i would have them in a holding pattern somewhere around 20 pending the arkansas game.Third Saturday in Blogtober:
I still feel the same way I did last week. Yes, it feels off that we moved one step closer to the top ten this week after such a horrible showing against Tulane, but should we be there respective to the teams ahead and behind us? Yes. We made too much of the Clemson win, and we’ve made too much of the Tulane win. If you ask the question, “Is this a top ten team?” the reaction is “No” but that’s a perspective relative to the ideal of what a top ten team plays like, rather than accounting for the actual teams that would be ranked ahead of them.Picture Me Rollin:
Honestly, I don’t believe that Alabama should be the eleventh ranked team in the country (this is from Clemson win love and attrition). The Coaches’ rank of 17th is probably closer to reality. Doug Gillette dropped Alabama twelve spots to 25th in his poll which I think is too big a drop in comparison to other teams’ performances and rankings. I want to believe that Alabama is a top twenty-five team and I believe that their body of work warrants that but I’m not as sold on it as I was last week. That’s one of the negatives of week non-conference games; if you don’t perform relative to outsiders expectations then you suffer in reputation. Ultimately that doesn’t matter. If this question continues on the Roundtable you’ll notice this trend; the only poll that matters is the one at the end of the season.2. What aspect of the game did Alabama control that shocked you the most? What aspect of the game was Alabama dominated in that shocked you the most? The Tide Druid:
Um…. special teams? As for being dominated, I’d have to say just about everything else. We allowed ourselves to be dominated, and we were. The Sousaphone line could’ve blocked better.And Alabama Gameday:
It's hard to say Alabama dominated in any area of the game. That said, the Tide did a great job of keeping Tulane out of the end zone, despite being picked apart at times. Clearly injuries played some part in the poor showing by the offensive line, but Alabama just couldn't get anything working on offense for most of the game. Relentless pressure by the Tulane defense kept John Parker Wilson on his heels, and the running game didn't get going until late in the game.Picture me Rollin':
Without a doubt, Special Teams. Arenas is no doubt amazing and I’m not taking a thing away from him (or Upchurch and Rogers for that matter) but Tulane practiced all week without a scout team and I’m certain that had an effect on their Special Team’s performance in Saturday’s contest. Still it was great to see and will affect the way other teams approach Alabama on Special Teams for the rest of the season. I was really disappointed in the lack of physicality of both lines. Especially in comparison to last week’s performance.3. Name your player of the game on Offense. Also name one on Defense. Those slackers at the Bama Sports Report:
Although Mark Ingram looked sublime in limited action, I’m naming Javier Arenas as our “offensive” player of the game. He generated as many points as any one, and piled up more yards than the entire “offense”. Without Javier, we may be talking about Tulane as the next Louisiana-Monore.Uncle Rico's Time Machine:
given that offensive performance i should probably hold onto this award until next week, but in the spirit of the roundtable, i'll give it to mark ingram just for sheer effort.The Tide Druid:
Defense has to be Rolando McClain. This guy was all over the place, showing very few signs of having slide under a moving vehicle while falling of a motorcycle. Take my word for it…. the dude is tough.Third Saturday in Blogtober:
On defense, Cory Reamer. I’m not going to lie: during the fall when all reports indicated that he was going to start, I panicked. If Reamer was a starter, that meant no one behind him was better. That scared me to death. Two weeks in, Reamer looks All-SEC. It’s not just that he’s more physical than his size says he should be, but he’s really smart away from the ball. He reads the play as it develops and he finds a way to be there. He doesn’t have any picks yet, but I expect that to change soon. I’m guessing three by season’s end.And, us again:
Except for the fact that Rolando McClain wouldn’t have let that happen. He had 15 tackles (two for a loss) and a pass broken up in the game. Chris Low of ESPN names him his SEC Defensive player of the week, and there aren’t superlatives enough to describe his one man wrecking-ball of a performance. However, let it be said here - for not the first and not the last time - that nearly any outstanding performance by any linebacker in our 3-4 defense is keyed by line play. If the linemen are filling gaps and forcing action elsewhere, the linebackers make the plays and rack up the stats. So, McClain needs to share his game ball with his D-Linemen who shouldered the load admirably up front.4. John Parker Wilson has been called a number of things - most of them not so nice. What do you see in your crystal ball for #14 for the balance of the season? The Tide Druid:
Listen, I like JP. If John Parker called me up right now, I’d take him out for a drink or two (I’d drive of course). But he has his limits, which means some will never like the guy. I for one say accept the fact that he can’t do certain things on the field, because then we’ll all be better off. He isn’t Tim Tebow or Matthew Stafford, and that is ok. What John Parker will need to do is accept this fact, and manage the games the best he can, using his skill talent around him properly. If he can keep from trying to re-live his Superman days, he’ll play some-what mistake free football. I think he can do it, as long as that O-line gives him some protection. Do I think it will happen? For the most part, but you never know when it comes to Alabama football.And Third Saturday in Blogtober:
I’ve always been a doubter regarding Wilson. He looked good against Clemson, completing short routes and basically not blowing it. But he actually impressed me against Tulane. In past seasons, he had a tendency to get lazy with a lead, and he had one very early in the Tulane game. He didn’t play well against the Green Wave, but he didn’t make bad decisions either, and even his bad passes had zip to them. It’s good to know that even with an off night, he’s not turning the ball over, he’s not throwing into coverage, and he’s actually delivering the ball when the opportunity comes. This season, I’m expecting him to resemble Clemson JP more often than Tulane JP, but Tulane JP isn’t going to get us beat. I’m good with that. I don’t need a first round draft pick at QB this year. I just need someone who’s turnovers can’t be blamed for half our losses in a season.5. Considering that we rushed for 6.5 yards per carry against Tulane, and only averaged 1.6 yards on pass plays, why do you suppose that we passed 27 times and only ran 22 times? Picture Me Rollin:
I hope it is to keep future defensive coordinators guessing. I just don’t know. I do believe that Alabama never established a rhythm early and the Special Teams spectacular plays kept them off the field. The offense though at this point is still an enigma to me. Was it play calling? Was it the patchwork line? Was it the defense Tulane was playing? Was it an attempt to establish a different look to confuse future opponents that didn’t go as planned? I just don’t know. I’d like to see Alabama put up some big numbers in the next two weeks against less than stellar defenses that haven’t been licking their chops for us all summer but we’ll just have to see.Uncle Rico's Time Machine:
i have no idea. its not like bama should feel the need to "trick" tulane with their play calling. they should just be able to line up and do their thing. part of me chalks it up to being like a preseason game in the nfl. as long as you're in control of the game you to work on some things at true game speed...something you just can't duplicate in practice.Great work, everybody. I enjoyed reading the posts, and putting together this "best of" was rough - they were all quite good. These are some of the best Bama blogs out there guys - you should be keeping up with them.
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