2008 optimism

bamacharlie · January 1st, 2008, 12:42 PM

Based on what we saw in the first 1+ quarters last night, I feel good about next year. Coach still hasn't got the message to many of the players, but let's go thu another spring and add 25 more of "his" people and I think the first quarter attitude will also include the 2-4 qtrs as well.

Your thoughts?

BamaCharlie

HitMan54 · January 2nd, 2008, 02:04 AM

I'm not even close to an expert but, I'll add my .02 for what it's worth.

It's common knowledge that when any new coaching staff has a different coaching style, the type of players (attitude and talent) that are desired for their program are needed.

I remember when CNS took over LSU and how they seemed different after his first year. They slowly started gaining momentum (winning) but stayed under the radar until his third year. That's how I picture Bama being.

2008 will probably be a little better with all the talent he's bringing in. I don't know what our schedule looks like exactly but, I'm sure we're all in for a sweet ride.

jps1983 · January 2nd, 2008, 02:50 AM

	Quote:	HitMan54
	2008 will probably be a little better with all the talent he's bringing in. I don't know what our schedule looks like exactly but, I'm sure we're all in for a sweet ride.

We have a pretty tough road schedule next year going to Ark, UGA, and Tenn. We'll at least have AU at home. We lose Vandy from the schedule, but I forget who we pick up from the East and where the game will be played. I think we'll do better than 7-6 but it'll be very tough. 2009 is the year I look for the jump to an SECC game.

LCN · January 2nd, 2008, 04:41 AM

KY is the replacement for Vandy .

I'll add ........

As CNS would say - the guys have to learn to finish . After xcms , confidence had to be at quite a low level for the players . Low enough that 1 year certainly wasn't going to be the cure . Count me in as another '09'er who believes our defense will have begun to play pretty darn strong but , still be fairly young across the board . Then , onward & upward . JOMO

bamaslammer · January 2nd, 2008, 07:20 AM

This years class will be a much needed shot in the arm talent wise. Saban's going to improve the players he has, but you can't coach speed.

Bamafan78 · January 2nd, 2008, 07:25 AM

I'll be depressed until we finally beat Auburn.

NYBamaFan · January 2nd, 2008, 07:47 AM

I saw nothing in the bowl game to make me any more confident going into next season. I have confidence that we will turn it around, and that confidence is tied to the recruiting efforts of Coach Saban and his staff, but we will still be too thin to get excited next year, IMO.

IOW, I am excited about the future, but not about 2008...

RT3413 · January 2nd, 2008, 07:55 AM

Looking at the lack of SEC-caliber depth on the lines, the scheduling matchups and the recruiting classes I don't see a whole lot of immediate relief heading into 2008.

The one bright spot might be that we should be in a position to get our first win over the Barn in Tuscaloosa and break that streak. Overall I see us at 9-3 at best (L to Clemson, Georgia, Tennessee) with 7-5 very possible (MSU and Auburn).

BUT - if we can find a way to coach some of the confidence issues out of JPW and can finish strong on recruiting (esp at DB) to get some early contributors I think we just might go into the LSU game with 1 conference loss (Georgia) and have a chance to win the SEC West.

Regardless, IMO a good season would be a Music City/Liberty birth; a great season would see us in the Peach Bowl and a phenomenal season would see us in Atlanta.

2009? Different story. The base line for a good performance that year should be an early December game in Atlanta.

BAMAFAN IN NY · January 2nd, 2008, 09:20 AM

I said in another thread that I see our season next year being very similar to Floridas season this past year. Flashes of greatness, but relying on underclassmen too much to make a huge impact. I do think that we will win some games and the team will be a lot more fun too watch.

M2J · January 2nd, 2008, 10:01 AM

Im very optimistic about the upcoming season. We weren't a bad team this year, we had some bad breaks (JP was involved in most of them in terms of a turnover). We had no losses by more than 7pts playing teams like LSU/Georgia/Auburn and we blew out Tenn. Just a few tough breaks away from the SEC title game.

The bottom line is our success will only go as far as our QB takes us. JP can be a top 3 QB in the SEC next season and have a far improved season, just from getting more comfortable with CMA and the talent around him getting better. Our offensive line had something to do with his struggles, and our lack of consistency running the ball. It would be awesome to move the ball consistently and if he could find the open guys, but the big issue was his gamechanging turnovers and decisions. That's what lost us the games

We have a lot of talent on the O line and hopefully they are dominant next season. We have a good young stable of RBs and WRs. And our defense was top 30 with no depth and only losing like 3 big seniors. I think it has the opportunity to break into the top 20 next season. I think it could've come close to being top 20 had our thin D not been on the field most of the game because of all of our 3 and outs.

But if JP doesn't mature and lead this team like a senior should, the team will struggle. If Star isn't ready next season or even in 09 as a first year guy if he redshirts, we could struggle, sadly could even happen some as a rs sophomore. We need either an amazing running game or good QB play, hopefully both.

Bamabuzzard · January 2nd, 2008, 10:30 AM

I with NYBamaFan I didn't see much of anything in the bowl game to get me excited about 2008. Sure we've got a great recruiting class coming in but odds are most of them won't be impact players from day one. Many will be backups and redshirts.

We'll some a subtle influx of depth on the DL with some of Saban's 07 recruits beginning to play more but I saw no signs of improvement from our OL and QB situation and this was after having basically a month off and all that extra practice. That's what is disheartening.

MNBamaFan · January 2nd, 2008, 10:32 AM

	Quote:	M2J
	We need either an amazing running game or good QB play, hopefully both.

I couldn't agree more. We must find a back that can pound the line for 2-3 tough yards plus possess some breakaway speed (e.g. Audrea Dean type). And we cannot go through a whole season with up and down QB play.

But we also must find some tough shutdown LBs and a shutdown CB opposite Kareem.

Overall, I'm more concerned about the offense than the defense. Isn't it ironic how we were all saying the opposite this time last year?

teamplayer · January 2nd, 2008, 11:05 AM

	Quote:	MNBamaFan
	I couldn't agree more. We must find a back that can pound the line for 2-3 tough yards plus possess some breakaway speed (e.g. Audrea Dean type). And we cannot go through a whole season with up and down QB play. But we also must find some tough shutdown LBs and a shutdown CB opposite Kareem. Overall, I'm more concerned about the offense than the defense. Isn't it ironic how we were all saying the opposite this time last year?

I'm also looking forward to our defense getting back to being our dependable bread-and-butter. If we have a strong defense and running game, the QB play isn't as magnified. I hope Wilson, McElroy, Fanuzzi, and Jackson all develop and are able to push each other. Competition will help at all positions, but we have a pretty tough schedule for next year. I am hoping that we can improve by at least two wins in the regular season to go 8-4. A bowl win could take us to 9-4 in 08. I think this would be solid for next season and prepare us to get to the 10 or 11 win level in 09. We shall see.