De Facto A-Day Game Thread...

Re: Am I missing the A-Day Game Thread?

CrimsonForce said:

I don't think OJ Howard had a single catch this game. It's been awhile since I've seen a player with that much physical ability and talent be such a non-factor. Thought he would thrive with CLK here..

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Actually, Kiffin's offense does not use the TE position to maximum potential.

Re: Am I missing the A-Day Game Thread?

I wasn't really excited by what I watched but I wasn't last year either.

QB play will definitely have to improve a great deal to be a championship caliber team.
Maybe splitting fall reps between 2-3 guys instead of 5 guys will help. I think it's highly possible one of the QB's will transfer.

RB position is dangerously thin. After Henry/Drake talent drops a level or two and Drake is a hybrid type player. Flowers, Harris, Clark really need to step it up.

WR's are young and inexperienced but there is a lot of talent. Should be OK.

Oline should be OK. They will improve.

OJ Howard was a no show. Can't explain why.

Defense will be championship caliber before years end. The DB's look promising.

JK Scott is still awesome.

PK may still be questionable. Griffith needs to heal to 100% and get his head straight.

Re: Am I missing the A-Day Game Thread?

TideWatcher said:

Coker looks like the man, or at least the best of Bama's QB's. I would say Morris may end up being the backup. D. Jackson looks good run blocking, but speed rush is a problem. Bama looks good overall. Don't know if the Qb is good enough to win it all. But it is early. Lots of talent on the field though.

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These are two of the same thoughts I had after seeing the game. Cornwell looked good/looked bad which is inconsistent and I expected. The posters talking about Barnett starting I believe will now realize he needs time to get used to the offense and speed of the game. Another thing I cam away with is Marlon Humphrey is a big hitter and huge talent. He will be on the field sooner than later.

Re: Am I missing the A-Day Game Thread?

BroadwayJoe777 said:

Actually, Kiffin's offense does not use the TE position to maximum potential.

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Right. But Kiffin's offense does do a great job of getting the ball in the hands of playmakers. I just find it hard to believe that it looks like we may waste the talent of OJ Howard. He still has 2 years of eligibility left so he may get it turned around but I haven't seen much to make me think so..

Re: Am I missing the A-Day Game Thread?

CrimsonForce said:

Right. But Kiffin's offense does do a great job of getting the ball in the hands of playmakers. I just find it hard to believe that it looks like we may waste the talent of OJ Howard. He still has 2 years of eligibility left so he may get it turned around but I haven't seen much to make me think so..

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Alabama isn't wasting the talent. It's up to Howard to get better and reach his potential.

Re: Am I missing the A-Day Game Thread?

CullmanTide said:

Alabama isn't wasting the talent. It's up to Howard to get better and reach his potential.

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That's true. But most games last year he didn't get any targets. That may be because he isn't producing in practice. IDK. I'll just be highly disappointed if he doesn't make some big contributions this year or the next..

Re: Am I missing the A-Day Game Thread?

Saban on OJ " - Ty Flournoy-Smith is playing with confidence now. Dakota Ball is making progress, had some catches today. O.J. Howard "had a really good spring" but didn't many looks in the game."
Per al.com

I think Howard will get some looks in the fall.

Re: Am I missing the A-Day Game Thread?

In my humble opionion I'd rank the QB's..
(1) Coker
(2) Bateman
(3) Morris
(4) Cornwell
(5) Barnett
Coker truly showed NFL arm strength, and Bateman showed a bunch of confidence.
Both threw I.N.T.S., but when was the last time one of our QB's didn't in an A-Day Game?
In my opinion, it's Coker by a mile and Bateman the mile behind!
I can't see the others contributing at this point.
Just relaying what I saw and just my opinion.
RTR!
sip

Re: Am I missing the A-Day Game Thread?

DVR'd your spring game and watching it now. Really, really impressed with your defensive line. They are really controlling the line of scrimmage on both your crimson and white teams. Lots of quality depth. Also, your secondary looked great, but they didn't have to cover for extended periods of time because your QBs didn't roll out much to extend plays (and your D-line was too fast).

Hard to judge your o-line because the d-line was so good.

Re: Am I missing the A-Day Game Thread?

Howard not being targeted yesterday is not necessarily his fault. It was hard to tell if the QBs ever looked his way.

Stewart and Robert Foster looked good.

Re: Am I missing the A-Day Game Thread?

Hate that I missed the game yesterday, I have my youngin with me. Love seeing everybody praise the defensive line, it's probably the most important piece in stopping these gimmick offenses. Coker has been slow on his reads and timing most of his appearances, how was he yesterday? Was really hoping for more from Cornwell, he still has time. How was Foster's tackling technique? Knowing the right calls won't do us any good if he's on the sidelines 5 games in with a "stinger" or some other above the shoulder injury. I look forward to more posts from those who watched the game and I hope to find the game on somewhere.

"Coker will be the starter" was the theme of last year's spring game as well. (Even though he didn't play in it).

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: Am I missing the A-Day Game Thread?

My opinion only. Coker looks to have command of the offense, but he is still late on a lot of throws and does stare down the receiver at times. Think it's going to be hard to unseat him though. I would then rank them, Morris, Cornwell, Barnett and Bateman. Receivers looked good, lots of talent just need experience. OL had their hands full, but still a lot of work to do in the trenches. Defense, it is still the secondary. Lots of untested talent and Cyrus did not play. We have to improve in these areas and hopefully avoid further injuries if we plan on being in Atlanta.

Re: Am I missing the A-Day Game Thread?

I'd rank them, at this time, Coker, Cornwell and Morris.

I don't think Bateman will be playing qb much longer. Sorry Sip.

I also think Cornwell and Barnett have the hightest ceiling for improvement.

JMHO, but if Cornwell could settle down just a little I like his game better than Coker's.

However, all of us remember that at this time last year, the buzz was the Bateman looked the best in the A-day game.

So all of this is just speculation and with the summer passing skels and weight training and then fall camp it will be a new day and IMO the race for the top two spots will be wide open!

Re: Am I missing the A-Day Game Thread?

BamaMoon said:

I'd rank them, at this time, Coker, Cornwell and Morris.

I don't think Bateman will be playing qb much longer. Sorry Sip.

I also think Cornwell and Barnett have the hightest ceiling for improvement.

JMHO, but if Cornwell could settle down just a little I like his game better than Coker's.

However, all of us remember that at this time last year, the buzz was the Bateman looked the best in the A-day game.

So all of this is just speculation and with the summer passing skels and weight training and then fall camp it will be a new day and IMO the race for the top two spots will be wide open!

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You nailed it with this post. Coker is the starter if he gets more consistent. He's still has work to do. Cornwell and Barnett have the talent to make it to the league someday. Bateman, who I always liked, is a very good athlete and could start for a lot of teams. Just my opinion he is the most likely of the group to consider a transfer. Morris is solid and a team guy but I think he has reached his ceiling. It's all just my opinion but then I don't see them at practice or in the meeting rooms. Just from what I saw yesterday.

Re: Am I missing the A-Day Game Thread?

GrayTide said:

My opinion only. Coker looks to have command of the offense, but he is still late on a lot of throws and does stare down the receiver at times. Think it's going to be hard to unseat him though. I would then rank them, Morris, Cornwell, Barnett and Bateman. Receivers looked good, lots of talent just need experience. OL had their hands full, but still a lot of work to do in the trenches. Defense, it is still the secondary. Lots of untested talent and Cyrus did not play. We have to improve in these areas and hopefully avoid further injuries if we plan on being in Atlanta.

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I thought Brown, Sylve, and Humphrey all played pretty well at corner..
I really liked Sylve's coverage on the deep routes.

Re: Am I missing the A-Day Game Thread?

Some A Day critique of Coach Saban

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaafb/sabans-spring-game-attire/vi-AAbhrCA

Re: Am I missing the A-Day Game Thread?

I don't think we're terrible at WR but attrition during the season is the big concern. Really need Ridley to come in and contribute even with Foster and Stewart looking like quality starters.

Re: Am I missing the A-Day Game Thread?

rgw said:

I don't think we're terrible at WR but attrition during the season is the big concern. Really need Ridley to come in and contribute even with Foster and Stewart looking like quality starters.

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Robert Foster and Arderrius Stewart are going to do big things this year. I'm not worried about WR.

Re: Am I missing the A-Day Game Thread?

Sounded like a good day for defensive ball hawks. I hope the quality of our secondary weighs more than the decision making skills of our QBs!