Thoughts on the bye week: RBR round table

A week without a game??? Only week 3????

What a strange world we live in. Usually, the week off is a good opportunity for us RBR staff to write “mid-season report card” style articles about the Alabama team – whether it’s evaluating the new coaching staff or looking at the Tide’s roster. This time, however, it really feels like we just finished the “preseason” and the real season starts next week (sorry, Wisconsin).

So, this week off, we're doing something special. Josh, Erik, and I took turns giving our thoughts on a rather random collection of topics related to Alabama football. Enjoy!

1) We're three weeks into the season, but Alabama hasn't followed the SEC schedule yet, so overall there's still some uncertainty about who the new coaching staff will be. How have your opinions on the state of the program/staff/team changed compared to what you expected over the summer?

Josh

There has been reason for optimism since the spring because all indications are that players have embraced what the team has been selling, and that is always the critical first step. The most important thing a coaching staff does is develop talent. I think we can already see some progress with Jalen Milroe and, at least in the one game the starters have played together, the offensive line. The front seven players seem to be working well, and the secondary has made some progress from Week 2 to Week 3. But like you said, that story is far from written. We will know more in the coming weeks.

Eric

I think Sheridan is who we envisioned (or rather, who I envisioned). He's not the best at putting drives together, prone to mind farts and bad series, but he's very aggressive and willing to work with what JM4 does best. The real revelation, however, has been the position coaches. I couldn't be happier with a complete improvement in WR and OL play. But the real The jewel was Kane Wommack.

I know we should be very brief here. But look at this. Against No. 32 SOS (so far), Alabama has caught the sixth-most passes of any college football team this year, but they lead the nation in yards per attempt (3.2!), are third in pass rating allowed, second in passes defensed, and first in passes intercepted. They have allowed only three plays of 20 yards and none of 30+ or ​​more yards. They are better than Georgia in overall defensive efficiency and defense per play; they have forced 7 turnovers; and the Tide are allowing only 8.7 PPG. What an absolute monster. I love him so much.

Brent

I think overall things are to as I expected. I've been singing Wommack's defense's praises since January and it has lived up to expectations. The cornerbacks still make me a little nervous, but that's to be expected.

On offense, the biggest mistake I made was probably expecting a lot more passes and thinking Kobe Prentice would be Alabama's primary wide receiver this year. It turned out to be Ryan Williams.

2) Try your luck – how many All-Americans will Alabama have on the First Team at the end of the season?

Josh

First team? Parker Brailsford and Tyler Booker seem likely. I'd say Alabama adds one more, making it three total. Jihaad Campbell springs to mind as a possibility.

Eric

Five or six, and maybe seven or eight: Tyler Booker, Malachi Moore, Brailsford, Ryan Williams (or Fr. All-American), Jihaad Campbell (if there's justice in this world), and James Burnip — if they're reasonable (and these kicker awards don't). Maybe Overton, if he keeps it up. And Jalen Milroe has plenty of big stages to earn first-team honors on in the coming months. My guess, though, is he'll finish second or third, no matter how good his year was. There's been way too much inertia over the last month, with guys playing at random (Jaxson Dart, Texas) and the offseason hype machines (Carson Beck).

Brent

I'll take three: Parker Brailsford, James Burnip and Ryan Williams.

3) Do you believe in the Tennessee hype? Is there a chance they are actually the best team in the SEC this year? If not… who will win the league in the end?

Josh

Tennessee looks great so far, with the caveat that, like Alabama, they haven't played anyone yet. Nico Iamaleava had an inconsistent day against NC State, throwing two interceptions and passing for 211 yards, but they still won 51-10. Both sides of the ball have looked excellent so far. But seriously, Josh Heupel averaging 70 points against Chattanooga and Kent State is just shabby. He fits their brand. As for who wins the division, I'm going to go Full Gump and say Alabama is making enough progress to do it, but admittedly Texas looks the best so far.

Eric

I've been yelling about the Vawls in the blog poll for a month. They play great defense, the OL is mean as hell, the running game is terrifying, the wide receivers are huge and fast, and Nico is as advertised. The schedule might be a little too tough, and Heupel is way too unreliable as a road coach to win it all. So we're going with an SECCG with Texas and Alabama. Tide gets them in the end; I think not Trust Texas's defense. You get the feeling that somewhere, somehow, Lane will be caught flat-footed or bullied. At this point, I would like to remind you that the Rebels Do play against Georgia in October. Jaxson Dart is battling bad teams, but he's still the same player he always was. And that's probably not enough for a title. So Roll Tide and all that.

Brent

I believe Tennessee is a lot scarier without Joe Milton… But I also believe that in the current era of football, an innovative scheme that surprises the league only has a year, MAYBE two, before it gets incorporated into other offensive strategies and defenses have more practice against it.

In other words, yes, I think the Vols are among the top teams in the SEC, but I still expect Texas to win the SEC.

4) Which college football player (regardless of team) would you give anything to have on Alabama's team to make the Crimson Tide the clear favorite to win the overall championship?

Josh

Harold Perkins from LSU, and I'd put him outside at Wolf where he belongs. Qua Russaw has shown some potential, but an experienced elite pass rusher would be huge for this defense. As an alternative, I'd like to take a senior player from Dallas Turner.

Eric

If I don't get Will Reichard back, I'll gladly take Michigan's Dominic Zvada — perfect this year and 3/3 of 50+. FSU's Fitzgerald is similar, and Norvell is a great special teams coach, so I'd gladly put him in the purple and white, too. You get the feeling Bama will need some long FGs at some point to win one of these nasty games. Do we trust Bama's kicking game right now? I don't. There's a reason Graham Nicholson doesn't take kickoffs: his leg is weak as a piss.

Brent

There are some great options out there. Malachi Starks of Georgia is one of my favorite players in college football, but I already like Alabama's safety group, so I'm not sure how much he would really add to the team. James Pearce of Tennessee is another easy choice, as the Tide hasn't shown a truly dangerous edge rush yet. And then Michigan has cornerback Will Howard.

But ultimately, my pick is defensive tackle Deone Walker out of Kentucky. Alabama's defensive tackles haven't been bad, but they haven't been that good for a few years now, and a 340-pound man with 12.5 TFLs and 7.5 sacks last year would be a great addition to Wommack's scheme, which could really use a disruptive big guy.

5) You could make a single change to the rules of college football (whether on or off the field) to improve the game… what would that change look like?

Josh

I will always argue that the three-yard buffer for offensive linemen on pass plays needs to be eliminated. The NFL tightened up its no-buffer rule this season, and penalties for illegal man-playing downfield have increased significantly as a result. Linebackers have the option to read RPOs when they're not dealing with guards charging at them. And while we're at it, let's also adopt the NFL rule for passes behind the line of scrimmage. In college ball, ineligible players can go as far downfield as they want on those. In the NFL, the same rules apply to any forward pass, which gives blocks more time.

Eric

We could go with the worst rule in CFB, touchbacks on fumbles outside the end zone. But instead I think I'd like to see a return to the old overtime rules. This two-point conversion crap is terrible. It's not about who the better team is, it's about who is better at the goal line (which means who is usually bigger). The old rules said: all in the game: defense, offense, defense and offense in the red zone and kicking. Make overtime great again!

Brent

I'm with Josh on this one – the ability to block shots behind the line of scrimmage drives me crazy. And teams take full advantage of that, often throwing their screens behind the LOS and getting away with it.

Also, quite bluntly, I think all spikes and throwaways should be considered “intentional grounding” under the rule. Instead, I propose we eliminate the penalty for intentional grounding and consider any incomplete pass that doesn't cross the line of scrimmage a fumble. That would significantly increase the risk of horizontal passes and push the league back toward middle of field and medium passing, while accomplishing the same goal of preventing quarterbacks from simply throwing the ball in the dirt when they get sacked. If you can get the ball across the LOS… you're fine. Otherwise, it's a fumble.