2015 Will Bring even more question marks than 2014

WMack4Bama

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This will be lengthy. I've been thinking about this since Thursday and I'm just now getting the patience to sit and try to type it out.

As Coach Saban says repeatedly, each year, a team creates its own identity. Since Coach Saban has been here, pundits talked about how much we lost, but we had so much coming back. The following will show what we lost at the end of each season and the comfort we had with what was coming back. And by that, I mean...if it comes down to it, these people could almost definitely shoulder the load and carry the team to success. I'm doing this off the top of my head, so I'm pretty sure I'll miss somebody, but here goes.

2007

Big losses: DJ Hall, Keith Brown, Wallace Gilberry
Proven key returnees: Andre Smith, Antoine Caldwell, JP Wilson, Rolando McClain, Rashad Johnson, Kareem Jackson

2008

Big losses: Andre Smith, JP Wilson, Glen Coffee, Antoine Caldwell
Proven Key returnees: Rolando McClain, Kareem Jackson, Javier Arenas, Terrence Cody, Justin Woodall, Mike Johnson, Big stars of the 2008 class (Ingram, Jones, Hightower, Dareus)

2009

Big losses: Rolando McClain, Kareem Jackson, Terrence Cody, Mike Johnson, Javier Arenas, Holla Mcghee (his real name always escapes me)
Proven Key Returnees: 2008 class stars (Ingram, Jones, Hightower, Dareus, Upshaw), Trent Richardson

2010

Big losses: Julio, Ingram, GMac, Dareus
Proven Key Returnees: Richardson, Hightower, Upshaw, Barron, Barrett Jones, Fluker, Warmack, Kirkpatrick, Nico Johnson, Eddie Lacy

2011
Big losses: Rest of the 2008 class stars (Hightower, Upshaw, Barron), Richardson, Nick Gentry, Josh Chapman, Brad Smelley
Proven Key Returnees: CJ Mosley, Eddie Lacy, Barrett Jones, Warmack, Fluker, Dee Milliner, Kevin Norwood, Kenny Bell, Christion Jones, Jesse Williams, Michael Williams, Robert Lester

2012
Big losses: Eddie Lacy, Barrett Jones, Warmack, Fluker, Dee Milliner, Nico Johnson, Jesse Williams, Michael Williams, Robert Lester,
Proven Key Returnees: AJ McCarron, TJ Yeldon, Amari Cooper, Cyrus Kouandjio, CJ Mosley, Kevin Norwood, Kenny Bell, Christion Jones, Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix, Vinnie Sunseri, Anthony Steen, Brian Vogler

2013
Big Losses: CJ Mosley, AJ McCarron, Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix, Cyrus Kouandjio, Vinnie Sunseri, Kevin Norwood, Kenny Bell, Anthony Steen, Ed Stinson, Adrian Hubbard
Proven Key Returnees: Amari Cooper, TJ Yeldon, Landon Collins, Jalston Fowler, Kenyan Drake, OJ Howard (?), Trey DePriest, Christion Jones, DeAndrew White, Xzavier Dickson, A'Shawn Robinson, Arie Kouandjio, Brian Vogler

So now here we are at the end of the 2014 season..Let's talk first about who we're for sure losing because eligibility has expired.

Blake Sims
Austin Shepard
Christion Jones
Nick Perry
Jarrick Williams
Arie Kouandjio
DeAndrew White
Trey DePriest
Leon Brown
Brian Vogler

Those guys are definitely gone. Now...three guys who have a year left, but if you think for a second that they're staying, I have some ocean front property to sell you in Iowa.

Landon Collins
Amari Cooper
TJ Yeldon

Now..some guys who have a decision to make..some for good reason.. Others because family members are pushing them. I won't say who is doing what.

Jarran Reed
DJ Pettway
Reggie Ragland
Denzel Devall

Now..the short list of near certainties that we have (that could shoulder the load and carry the team)

A'Shawn Robinson, Cam Robinson, Ryan Kelly, JK Scott, Derrick Henry, Cyrus Jones, OJ Howard (?????), Kenyan Drake (?????), Ryan Anderson

Each one of those years, we were losing either a QB or a defensive leader, but never both without a solid understudy (i.e. losing McCarron & Mosley, but having DePriest still as a defensive QB). But now...we lose our QB and our defensive play caller (Both of them...he and Collins).

Glaring holes and glaring questions to be answered between now and April. Despite the fact that we're stacked with talent like never before in our history, this is as vulnerable as I've ever felt headed into an offseason.
 
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WMack4Bama

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Ragland will be the guy on D. We have 3-4 understudies at QB.
50/50....seriously...50/50 on Raglanda


Regarding the QBs........right....same understudies from before...I'm not inspired.

I really like Bateman. Love Cornwell. Love Coker's release. But no matter who we put out there, NONE of them are proven at this level. And yeah, I know Blake wasn't either at QB. But Blake was proven as an athlete. And more times than not, it was his athleticism that extended plays and got us out of jams. He bailed out his o-line a lot. None of the understudies bring that to the table.
 
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RollinTider1335

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50/50....seriously...50/50 on Raglanda


Regarding the QBs........right....same understudies from before...I'm not inspired.

I really like Bateman. Love Cornwell. Love Coker's release. But no matter who we put out there, NONE of them are proven at this level. And yeah, I know Blake wasn't either at QB. But Blake was proven as an athlete. And more times than not, it was his athleticism that extended plays and got us out of jams. He bailed out his o-line a lot. None of the understudies bring that to the table.
If not Ragland then who??? Give me someone????
 

WMack4Bama

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Has anyone else seen our recruiting class? Last I checked we had a lot of four and five stars offensive lineman coming. That should tell you something also.
I saw the ones from last year too...and the year before..standing on the sideline

Please read the entire post. I clearly mention our unreal talent. The concern is lack of experience at key positions
 

WMack4Bama

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If not Ragland then who??? Give me someone????
That's the entire point of the post. I don't know who.

Ragland has a real chance to leave, whether he gets a good draft grade or not. And if he does, we're stuck with a guy who's currently a true freshman and another one who can't stay healthy.
 

Atl Joe

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Thanks for the thread WMack. It is a very good point. New leaders will emerge with playing time, expectations and experience. I have often heard it mentioned on this board that Coach Saban and staff like to recruit kids of high character in addition to ability. because of this, I feel confident players like Ronnie Clark, Grant Hill, Tony Brown and Rashaan Evans will always exist in the pipeline and be ready to step up and lead. Currently, the roster is so loaded with kids with playmaking ability. As they produce, leaders will be produced.
Sorry, forgot to include Cam Robinson.....
 

RollinTider1335

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That's the entire point of the post. I don't know who.

Ragland has a real chance to leave, whether he gets a good draft grade or not. And if he does, we're stuck with a guy who's currently a true freshman and another one who can't stay healthy.
Well then start giving possible solutions instead of focusing on the gaping problems everyone already knows about. Discussing only the problem is pointless in my opinion. It's fine to discuss a problem as long as there is a brainstorming session for the solutions follows.

Focusing on JUST the problem is for losers.
 

Rush

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That's the entire point of the post. I don't know who.

Ragland has a real chance to leave, whether he gets a good draft grade or not. And if he does, we're stuck with a guy who's currently a true freshman and another one who can't stay healthy.

I stand to be corrected, but I believe I may have seen a reference in another thread to a tweet from Chase Goodbread about Reggie having had told him that he got a "nice little grade" from the NFL Draft Advisory Board...

TIFWIW
 

WMack4Bama

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Well then start giving possible solutions instead of focusing on the gaping problems everyone already knows about. Discussing only the problem is pointless in my opinion. It's fine to discuss a problem as long as there is a brainstorming session for the solutions follows.

Focusing on the problem is for losers.

Click Me

OH...and here's a solution for you. If discussing this is pointless to you, hit the back button on your browser.
 

DzynKingRTR

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I am not expecting a great year next year like some people with their Crimson glasses. I expect a "down" year. I expected that this year and think Saban did his best coaching job ever this year. If he does it again next year, he deserves double his salary and he is the greatest coach ever.
 

CrimsonEyeshade

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I saw the ones from last year too...and the year before..standing on the sideline

Please read the entire post. I clearly mention our unreal talent. The concern is lack of experience at key positions
Quarterback and linebacker -- we have no idea if any of them can play. Foster appears to have trouble with the playbook. Lee carries the scrawniest 240 pounds I've ever seen. The others have barely played. If Ragland leaves, depth becomes a glaring problem. Quarterback? Despite Jake's improvement, we still don't know if we have The Guy. The same goes at receiver.

Am I optimistic that we will find what we need? Always. But after watching our defense struggle despite guys having two years in the system or more, I'm not as confident as before.
 

Con

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This will be lengthy. I've been thinking about this since Thursday and I'm just now getting the patience to sit and try to type it out.

As Coach Saban says repeatedly, each year, a team creates its own identity. Since Coach Saban has been here, pundits talked about how much we lost, but we had so much coming back. The following will show what we lost at the end of each season and the comfort we had with what was coming back. And by that, I mean...if it comes down to it, these people could almost definitely shoulder the load and carry the team to success. I'm doing this off the top of my head, so I'm pretty sure I'll miss somebody, but here goes.

2007

Big losses: DJ Hall, Keith Brown, Wallace Gilberry
Proven key returnees: Andre Smith, Antoine Caldwell, JP Wilson, Rolando McClain, Rashad Johnson, Kareem Jackson

2008

Big losses: Andre Smith, JP Wilson, Glen Coffee, Antoine Caldwell
Proven Key returnees: Rolando McClain, Kareem Jackson, Javier Arenas, Terrence Cody, Justin Woodall, Mike Johnson, Big stars of the 2008 class (Ingram, Jones, Hightower, Dareus)

2009

Big losses: Rolando McClain, Kareem Jackson, Terrence Cody, Mike Johnson, Javier Arenas, Holla Mcghee (his real name always escapes me)
Proven Key Returnees: 2008 class stars (Ingram, Jones, Hightower, Dareus, Upshaw), Trent Richardson

2010

Big losses: Julio, Ingram, GMac, Dareus
Proven Key Returnees: Richardson, Hightower, Upshaw, Barron, Barrett Jones, Fluker, Warmack, Kirkpatrick, Nico Johnson, Eddie Lacy

2011
Big losses: Rest of the 2008 class stars (Hightower, Upshaw, Barron), Richardson, Nick Gentry, Josh Chapman, Brad Smelley
Proven Key Returnees: CJ Mosley, Eddie Lacy, Barrett Jones, Warmack, Fluker, Dee Milliner, Kevin Norwood, Kenny Bell, Christion Jones, Jesse Williams, Michael Williams, Robert Lester

2012
Big losses: Eddie Lacy, Barrett Jones, Warmack, Fluker, Dee Milliner, Nico Johnson, Jesse Williams, Michael Williams, Robert Lester,
Proven Key Returnees: AJ McCarron, TJ Yeldon, Amari Cooper, Cyrus Kouandjio, CJ Mosley, Kevin Norwood, Kenny Bell, Christion Jones, Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix, Vinnie Sunseri, Anthony Steen, Brian Vogler

2013
Big Losses: CJ Mosley, AJ McCarron, Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix, Cyrus Kouandjio, Vinnie Sunseri, Kevin Norwood, Kenny Bell, Anthony Steen, Ed Stinson, Adrian Hubbard
Proven Key Returnees: Amari Cooper, TJ Yeldon, Landon Collins, Jalston Fowler, Kenyan Drake, OJ Howard (?), Trey DePriest, Christion Jones, DeAndrew White, Xzavier Dickson, A'Shawn Robinson, Arie Kouandjio, Brian Vogler

So now here we are at the end of the 2014 season..Let's talk first about who we're for sure losing because eligibility has expired.

Blake Sims
Austin Shepard
Christion Jones
Nick Perry
Jarrick Williams
Arie Kouandjio
DeAndrew White
Trey DePriest
Leon Brown
Brian Vogler

Those guys are definitely gone. Now...three guys who have a year left, but if you think for a second that they're staying, I have some ocean front property to sell you in Iowa.

Landon Collins
Amari Cooper
TJ Yeldon

Now..some guys who have a decision to make..some for good reason.. Others because family members are pushing them. I won't say who is doing what.

Jarran Reed
DJ Pettway
Reggie Ragland
Denzel Devall

Now..the short list of near certainties that we have (that could shoulder the load and carry the team)

A'Shawn Robinson, Ryan Kelly, JK Scott, Derrick Henry, Cyrus Jones, OJ Howard (?????), Kenyan Drake (?????), Ryan Anderson

Each one of those years, we were losing either a QB or a defensive leader, but never both without a solid understudy (i.e. losing McCarron & Mosley, but having DePriest still as a defensive QB). But now...we lose our QB and our defensive play caller (Both of them...he and Collins).

Glaring holes and glaring questions to be answered between now and April. Despite the fact that we're stacked with talent like never before in our history, this is as vulnerable as I've ever felt headed into an offseason.
Wmack, while I appreciate your post I can't decide if I should like it, thank, or give it a thumbs down because of the all to real part at the bottom. It is hard to replace experience and leadership on a team. Like when Ragland was hurt the other night for instance. He started the night off getting blocked by the receivers on those crack back blocks, then he figured it out and started getting through them to make plays. Hamilton comes in cold and was cracked down on immediately and the result was a touchdown. Experienced players can make those plays when needed. Leaders keep everyone focused on their job.


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