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SEC Preview: Alabama Crimson Tide
By Chris Pendley | July 29, 2008
After signing Nick Saban with much fanfare, Alabama ended up crapping out to the tune of the exact same regular season record as the previous season… only this time they beat Arkansas and lost to UL-Monroe. I’m not going to lie - last year filled me with an incredibly high level of glee over seeing Alabama fall flat on its face with the anointed savior. This year should be an improvement over last, although Alabama is still going to be dealing with losses on both sides of the ball - like breaking in an all-new corps of WR.
The head coach here is some guy you’ve probably heard of a few times. He’ll be expected to lead Alabama to three national titles in football this year. The new OC is Jim McElwain, who comes from Fresno State after previous OC Major Appelwhite went to eventually steal Mack Brown’s job in Texas. DC Kevin Steele returns.
QB John Parker Wilson should leave Alabama as the all-time leading passer, barring some kind of unforeseen injury. That’s more a statement of him getting over two seasons’ worth of starts before his senior year, not that he’s especially talented. Wilson should put together a pretty decent season under center, but that may not make him viable in fantasy leagues. At best, he’s a backup QB in most leagues except for the deepest ones, whether or not he actually makes strides. That’s partly because the leading receiver is Mike McCoy and his 207 yards.
Fortunately, the RB situation seems to be pretty solid. Terry Grant enters this season as the starting RB and should put up numbers in the 900 yard, 9-10 TD range at worst. What will impact his production most is how Glen Coffee and the rest of the RB corps takes carries. Grant only had about 1/3 of the team carries last year and he’ll need to increase that number closer to 40% to really become anything more than a deep-league RB2.
At WR, look for hotshot freshman Julio Jones to become a larger part of the offense as the season wears on. That’s partially because he should be that good and because there’s really nobody else around to stop him. Don’t expect Jones to be anything more than a late-season WR2 or WR3 in most leagues, but dynasty leagues should pay attention to him. TE Nick Walker could be solid in most leagues. He’s the only functional returning starter and receiver, meaning Wilson probably has the most experience with him. This could be a difference-maker early.
Alabama’s D/ST is a mixed bag; while they lose sack master Wallace Gilberry on the line, they do retain most of their interception crew from last year. Actually, losing Simeon Castille might be a blessing in disguise from a fantasy perspective, as teams just stopped throwing near him last year. This is a tentative D/ST recommendation, made only passable due to Javier Arenas’ return capabilities and the likelihood we’ll see a pick six or two from them.
K Leigh Tiffin should improve on his accuracy a little bit, but it’s no guarantee that he’ll even end up with the 36 XP opportunities he had last year.
Summary
There’s talent to be found in Tuscaloosa, but it’s likely a year away or more. The good news for dynasty owners is that Grant and Jones are both underclassmen, but for those playing for this year only there’s not as much to be found. There’s potential here, but most of this team should be viewed as a wait-and-see situation.
Topics: Chris Pendley, College Football, Preview, SEC |
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