We've Got Ourselves a Kicker Guys (Scrimmage Discussion)

JDCrimson said:

I think we can pretty much close this discussion based on CNS's post practice comments today. Its not often that you impress coach and he go as far to say it matter of factly. But he did that today in his comments. Scott must have some real ability because coach wasnt bashful in saying he was our best punter by a long shot.

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Who was his competition though? Alec Morris? Do we even have another punter on scholarship or on the roster at all?

CrimsonForce said:

Who was his competition though? Alec Morris? Do we even have another punter on scholarship or on the roster at all?

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If you listen to his comments he wasnt making them as if he has the job by default because everybody else sucks. There is a difference. He is genuinely impressed with this freshman's ability. I took it to mean that he is going to be a weapon for us.

JDCrimson said:

If you listen to his comments he wasnt making them as if he has the job by default because everybody else sucks. There is a difference. He is genuinely impressed with this freshman's ability. I took it to mean that he is going to be a weapon for us.

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That didn't answer my question at all. Thanks for the reply though.

I'll be so glad when we can turn our attention to WV.

I don't remember the Philip Sims v. AJ McCarron battle being this contentious amongst the fans. What's the deal?

rgw said:

I don't remember the Philip Sims v. AJ McCarron battle being this contentious amongst the fans. What's the deal?

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Umm, where were you back then?
:biggrin2:

We had a few people take a few days of vacation from the board - involuntarily - due to the contention over that battle.

rgw said:

I don't remember the Philip Sims v. AJ McCarron battle being this contentious amongst the fans. What's the deal?

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It was a pretty big debate, but it wasn't quite as big, because they were kind of equals in a lot of ways - similar styles, they had been on campus a comparable length (I think AJ was a semester ahead), they were both heralded QB prospects...

In this battle, it seems they are different in every way -
Blake is a better runner, Jake is a better passer.
Blake has been here 4 years, Jake just got here a few months ago.
Blake can play 5 positions and QB might not even be his best position and Jake is a natural QB.
Blake is somewhat of a known quantity, Jake is an unknown quantity.

So, naturally, people tend to side with one aspect of one of these guys. With AJ or Phillip, it was more, "So, who do you think is a better passer? Uh... Well, how about AJ?"

Now, it's more of a philosophical discussion... "I like Blake because he's been here for four years, knows the offense, and has learned under AJ." Or, "Jake has a better arm and has a future in the NFL so surely he has a future here." Or, "Blake adds a new element to the position since he can run." Or whatever.

CrimsonForce said:

Who was his competition though? Alec Morris? Do we even have another punter on scholarship or on the roster at all?

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JD did an excellent job of answering your question just not directly. Don't believe we have another punter on scholarship, but who has two punters on scholarship? I believe there are two walk ons and Morris. And like JD said, from Coach Saban's press conference it was very obvious he is impressed with him. The question was has he separated himself? His answer was something like "Yeah, yeah he has. He's the best punter on our team. Have you seen him kick? Well yeah then, that was an easy one, yall were easy today."

I was certainly excited to hear it. If we have a weapon and punter combined with what our defense could be we are even harder to beat. LSU in 2011 with Wing and that defense was able to crush people with a mediocre at best offense.

crimsonaudio said:

A great kicking game wins championships. I'm really, really excited to hear we have a boomer punting the ball. Talk about a regular game-changer...

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I agree, Mandell was under-appreciated at times.

Most teams wouldn't have 2 titles over the last 4 years with our kicking game. It just hasn't been at the caliber you'd expect on a contender. It's been good at times but overall we haven't had a reliable kicker from 40+ since 2009.

uafan4life said:

Umm, where were you back then?
:biggrin2:

We had a few people take a few days of vacation from the board - involuntarily - due to the contention over that battle.

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X2 It was pretty much the same thing. A lot of people wanted Phillip Sims to win the job because he was thought to have a higher ceiling (Elite 11 winner) and looked better in the A-day game, but AJ had been here longer and had more experience. It was a heated debate, and a lot of people saying that Bama fans don't want Blake Sims being our QB because he's black should go back and dig through those threads. Probably the majority of people thought Phillip Sims had the potential to be the better QB, and that's who they wanted. That's what most people think about Coker (especially based on all the hype of him coming in). He just happens to be the white one this time, and some people seem to want to make it a race issue.

I want the best QB on the field regardless of color.

rgw said:

Most teams wouldn't have 2 titles over the last 4 years with our kicking game. It just hasn't been at the caliber you'd expect on a contender. It's been good at times but overall we haven't had a reliable kicker from 40+ since 2009.

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Jeremy Shelley was pretty reliable.

TideFan in AU said:

I want the best QB on the field regardless of color.

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We only have 2 colors: crimson and white. We use both, at the same time; just change the ratio.

RTR!

Yeah, the issue was that he had a limited range that probably cost us some points on stalled drives on occassion. One thing that was killer about the 2009 team was that they could almost score 3pts off an Arenas punt return to the other side of the 50.

Saban must of gave ESPN the depth chart lol

CrimsonForce said:

Saban must of gave ESPN the depth chart lol

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I want Sims to start just because of things like this.

DzynKingRTR said:

I want Sims to start just because of things like this.

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Yea. Sounds like they both are going to play. It sure work itself out with in-game action.

Re: We've Got Ourselves a Kicker Guys

Drewy26 said:

Were you also at the part where everyone in attendance was warned not to post any information to the internet?

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Absolutely not. I was with the A-club group, and no one said anything about what you are talking about. Maybe you were in the REC group or another group, but no one said anything of the sort to our group. We were never addressed as a group. Maybe you are meaning that someone said that AFTER the scrimmage at the gathering where Saban spoke - I did not attend that this year because i had to get back home to other obligations. And by the way, I'd bet if Saban read my comments, he wouldn't think twice about it because i didn't say anything that specific or anything that would surprise anyone.

DzynKingRTR said:

I want Sims to start just because of things like this.

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I am beginning to see your point and Sip's argument.