Pre-Season Analysis

Tide Fans -


The greatest time of year is upon us…can you believe it? I feel like I just got back from Pasadena, watching The Tide win their 13th National Championship!!! The anticipation of the new season, the completion of the new addition to Bryant-Denny, and the pressures of being the defending National Champions are almost overwhelming! We have huge expectations from everyone this year…we are ranked pre-season #1, and every team we play will be gunning for us. Everyone will want to see if we can repeat as National Champs, and the majority of those will want to see us fail. People say it is extremely hard to repeat…no doubt about that. We have a brutal schedule, with many of our toughest games on the road. It will truly take our team playing on all cylinders for every play of every game, but it is possible. It will always be possible as long as Coach Saban is walking our sidelines. We are truly blessed to have the greatest coach in modern day college football at Alabama. We may not win championships every year, but you can guarantee that we will be in the hunt with Saban as our coach. Thank you again Mal Moore for doing whatever it took to bring him here…thank you!

The Tide is back for another season, and I have big hopes for this team. Yes, we lost a lot of great players who I will dearly miss, but guess what…we got a lot more where they came from! Set your swagger on high Tide fans, because The Alabama Crimson Tide is about to make another championship run! If you don't believe me, then just go watch "Nick Saban - Gamechanger". You will be ready to suit up, run through a brick wall! I highly recommend you go see this, and watch the "Training Days - Rolling with The Tide" that aired on ESPN before the season starts…which leaves you like 4 days. Any doubt you had about our ability to field a championship team this year will be erased. We have the weapons, we have the leadership, and we definitely have the coaching! Some of you may think I am over confident…but I have studied this in depth. We may lose a game this season…but it won’t be the one out in Arizona! It's time to get it started...it's time to get focused...it's time to make it happen!

Let's take a quick look at our team:

Offense - We have never in my lifetime had as talented of a group returning this year! I mean look at our weapons on offense…Mr. Heisman - Mark Ingram…Trent Richardson…Julio Jones…Greg McElroy…Marquis Maze…Darius Hanks…the list goes on! If you are worried about the offensive line…don’t be. They may be better than the group we had last year. We have so many different things we can do now…we will not have to rely on either the pass or the run…we have solid games in both!! This may be the first time Julio has been at 100% as well. Most people don't realize his time so far at Bama has been injury plagued…he is just tough enough to play through it! A healthy Julio could be scary!! McElroy did a great job last year…imagine how good he will be with a year under his belt…I am very confident in his ability, and we have strong backups if needed. This is going to be an explosive offense, and one that will be very fun to watch!

Defense - lots of changes and new names here, and the biggest area of concern for some fans. Do not forget who watches over and plays a very “hands on” role in coaching our defense…Nick Saban. People are worried about stopping a high powered passing game. Look at it this way…if a team is beating us on the pass, we will just simply have to outscore them! (I for one am not worried about our secondary, as most quarterbacks will not even have the time to get a pass off - and don't forget…they are learning from the best!). Having Donta Hightower back is awesome! He will fulfill the huge void that Rolando left, and then some. We have so many new weapons on defense with our line and pass rushers…I can't wait to see how Saban mixes these guys in. I envision a swarming defense with a relentless pass rush, which keeps teams off balance. We have so much talent and depth here now…it is just incredible. Our defense will be young…but they will be brutal!

Our Schedule at a glance:

San Jose St. - Seriously?
Penn St. - First test of the season…don't think those Yankee boys can handle us and the humidity! Close, but Bama wins by 10 at least.
Duke - Uh huh….
Arkansas - Saban unleashes the non-stop all out pass rush on Mallet…Arkansas is the Ole Miss of last season…way overrated…Tide wins by 14
Florida - Gators have had this date circled since we whipped that ass in the SEC Championship. Saban gets our team ready and we take care of business. A very hard fought game, with The Tide coming out on top!
S. Carolina - People are worried about this game…why?? They will play like they have the last several years…very average…Tide by 14…probably more
Ole Miss - Tide by 21…maybe more
Tennessee - Closer than it should be…but Bama pulls out a win in Knoxville
LSU - This game is the one that makes me nervous. Late night…drunk Cajuns…the Mad Hatter…you never know…but I think Bama squeaks it out!! Saban does not ever want to lose in Baton Rouge!
Miss. State - Yawn…Tide by 21
Ga. State - Curry gets crushed…plenty of time for backups to play
Auburn - Bama unleashes the pain on Auburn this year…Cam Newton gets crushed…Bama wins big in this one. Don't fall for the Auburn hype.

It’s hard to believe another season is upon us. So much to look forward to! There is nothing better than waking up on Saturday, pouring a cup of coffee, and watching Game Day while getting ready to head to Title Town. I am smiling just thinking about it!
What will this season bring? Only time will tell, but I can tell you this…I have hotel and plane reservations to Phoenix, and I hope to see you there!

Roll Tide!

Jason