"The problem with (projected first-round Alabama players in the NFL draft) is..."

Re: "The problem with (projected first-round Alabama players in the NFL draft) is..."

Who cares what they say? Our guys will show them to be fools. This group of defenders was highly undervalued by the NFL.

Re: "The problem with (projected first-round Alabama players in the NFL draft) is..."

81usaf92 said:

I am going to ask you the same thing I did to sip last night, which there was no response, based on what do you make your conclusion of the NFL is an offensive league compared to college. More rules favor the defense in the NFL than they do in college.

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In the NFL, the current focus is on drafting and developing the franchise QB. In college, as exemplified by Nick Saban's style, the focus is on having a QB that is a game manager who makes few mistakes. So, in the NFL, you look first at the QB position, then at his supporting cast, and onlythen do you staff up the defense. You pointed out the reason why this is--there are more rules favoring the defense in the NFL*. So why put your focus there?

*Debatable--the emphasis on preventing head injuries is one argument against this premise. Another argument against is the extra protection given to the QB.

Re: "The problem with (projected first-round Alabama players in the NFL draft) is..."

So that is why all of the tOSU players were taken early. They don't even break a sweat during the season with their sorry schedule.

Re: "The problem with (projected first-round Alabama players in the NFL draft) is..."

ALA2262 said:

So that is why all of the tOSU players were taken early. They don't even break a sweat during the season with their sorry schedule.

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Or, maybe, just maybe, they are very good players that NFL teams are willing to invest in? Maybe?

Re: "The problem with (projected first-round Alabama players in the NFL draft) is..."

B1GTide said:

Or, maybe, just maybe, they are very good players that NFL teams are willing to invest in? Maybe?

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Didn't say they weren't. NFL is learning what I have been saying since the advent of the CFP. Bama players are worn out at the end of the season while tOSU players are not.

Re: "The problem with (projected first-round Alabama players in the NFL draft) is..."

GulfCoastTider said:

In the NFL, the current focus is on drafting and developing the franchise QB. In college, as exemplified by Nick Saban's style, the focus is on having a QB that is a game manager who makes few mistakes. So, in the NFL, you look first at the QB position, then at his supporting cast, and onlythen do you staff up the defense. You pointed out the reason why this is--there are more rules favoring the defense in the NFL*. So why put your focus there?

*Debatable--the emphasis on preventing head injuries is one argument against this premise. Another argument against is the extra protection given to the QB.

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What are you arguing because you just went all over the place with your points.

If you are asking why I think there are more rules favoring defenses it is because there are. Like an almost constantly ticking clock whereas in college a first down stops the clock. Or how bout the strict enforcement of calling eligible offensive players, or the regulations of what constitutes as gimmick plays. NFL games rarely turn into high scoring games like college games do. So it really isn't that debatable.

As far as drafting a qb first... If you are not the Browns or the Jags then how many times do you wind up in the top 10 picks to get the money picks. I can't remember when teams like the Pats, packers, and Steelers have gotten a top 5 pick. It is almost a given that a qb, de, or an ot is drafted there because you have a prority pick to instantly boost ticket sales and talent for your franchise. After the top 10 are gone it is really a mixture of positions picked.

Re: "The problem with (projected first-round Alabama players in the NFL draft) is..."

This draft looks like we're at the next stage of the NFL evolutionary, prolific passing age. Future recruits will be paid and drafted to fit that need. Plenty of Bama's own fast and furious will be paid accordingly.


But unlike so many college teams who just want to outscore the opponent, Bama is still determined to meet them at the line of scrimmage. I think it's working, how else can you explain all these shiny new trophies?

Re: "The problem with (projected first-round Alabama players in the NFL draft) is..."

LA4Bama said:

I am confused by this idea. Lot's of scouts had them as first round talent, not just first round picks. If they aren't first round caliber, how did Robinson get a first round grade? I'm not asking how a guy with a first round grade slips to the second but rather how a guy who's a second round talent gets a first round grade if he's not, especially as a junior.

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Know this has already been answered some but wanted to provide Saban's comments about it from today's SEC West coaches' teleconference:

"I think that all of our players made a good decision based on the information that we had. I'm talking about the juniors now and where they were projected," Saban said. "But this is what happens. A lot of these evaluations that juniors get, sometimes the teams don't know as much about them. As they find out more about them, and also the competition out there, there's a lot of defensive linemen this year, which probably affected our two guys (Robinson and fellow second-round pick Jarran Reed). But I think they're all going to have great careers. That's what those players should focus on, not where they got drafted but having great careers in the future."

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Re: "The problem with (projected first-round Alabama players in the NFL draft) is..."

I'm starting to believe that those people who predict who will go in the first round are just throwing the top 60 names out there figuring they will get more than half right by default. There are so many factors to consider, not just how good a player is but what teams needs are vs supply. That's how you have Kelly, a guy who a few months ago people were debating if he would be drafted at all or be a late rounder ends up in the first round. It's all supply vs demand.

Having said that I'm definitely going to see how these DL's drafted in front of A'Shawn do this season.

Re: "The problem with (projected first-round Alabama players in the NFL draft) is..."

bamaslammer said:

I'm starting to believe that those people who predict who will go in the first round are just throwing the top 60 names out there figuring they will get more than half right by default. There are so many factors to consider, not just how good a player is but what teams needs are vs supply. That's how you have Kelly, a guy who a few months ago people were debating if he would be drafted at all or be a late rounder ends up in the first round. It's all supply vs demand.

Having said that I'm definitely going to see how these DL's drafted in front of A'Shawn do this season.

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Spot on. I posted this in the NFL draft thread:

The delta between Kelly and Reed/Robinson was based on supply and demand. Kelly was the #1 overall center prospect by a wide margin and really the only center with a first round grade. Conversely, there were probably >10 defensive tackles who received a first round grade thus the slippage of Reed and Robinson. JMO..

Re: "The problem with (projected first-round Alabama players in the NFL draft) is..."

Usually anyone who is picked in the first 100 or so picks is a guy who the organization has expectations to start or at least contribute significantly from day 1.

Re: "The problem with (projected first-round Alabama players in the NFL draft) is..."

TitleWave said:

Is this a load of...codswallop?



So instead of being NFL-shovel ready, plug-and-play, their and other expected 'Bama draft choices' bodies are now maxed out and already on the downhill road that follows the law of gravity? Seems to me these scouts are positing some mendacious malarkey disseminated by half of The Bear's theory of objectivity ("Here's a twenty - bury two of 'em.")

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Saban responds: http://alabama.247sports.com/Bolt/Saban-resents-idea-UA-stars-wear-down-before-NFL-45323462

I thought the following quotation was interesting:

“I think that’s really unfair,” Saban said. “We use a catapult system here, which is a GPS system that measures wear and tear on players. We certainly keep a balance on what we do. We also keep a record of how our players progress through the season and how they finish the season based on the workload we have.
“Those players all improve their workload throughout the season. We had the lowest injury rate of any team in our conference, which is the only way we can measure it. I think a lot of those things are not even true.”

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