FINALLY!!! Some respect for Darby.

[jblackb042]

This is the first little bit of respect I have seen any of the national media give the best back in the SEC, Ken Darby.

http://www.athlonsports.com/college-football/8805/kenneth-darby-runs-for-bamas-first-heisman

 

[Alanbama27]

I agree with all of that, except he is forgetting that when Darby took over and ran for all of those yards from the 7th game on, we didn't have Brodie! We were starting Spencer Pennington, who was not a throwing threat at all either. Granted, we had a hell of an offensive line, but it is my opinion that all we need is a few games to grow together and this line (with Smith and possibly Ross) could be VERY special!!!

 

[IMALOYAL1]

The 5.2 yard average is impressive considering how many times he was hit at the line of scrimmage. We are going to need the threat of a passing game as I don't know if we're ready to line up and play smash-mouth.

 

[Crimsongator]

The 5.2 yard average is impressive considering how many times he was hit at the line of scrimmage. We are going to need the threat of a passing game as I don't know if we're ready to line up and play smash-mouth.

The way some were wanting to get rid of BC last year and install JPW - now we are worrying about a passer?

 

[RunBamaRun]

The way some were wanting to get rid of BC last year and install JPW - now we are worrying about a passer?

That is the nature of the beast.....this year they will be wanting McElroy.

 

[Crimson Hawk]

There are a lot of things that make KD special to me, not the least of which is the fact that he chose to come back for his senior year. Also, in doing so, he got that human tank , by the name of McClain, to return with him to help pave (or should I say bulldoze) his path to history. Besides, I really like talking to his mom! :biggrin2: :biggrin2:

 

[Dakotatider]

You did not see the Roll-er Darby Streets and Smith magazine. The mag is giving Ken Darby alot of props.

 

[IMALOYAL1]

The way some were wanting to get rid of BC last year and install JPW - now we are worrying about a passer?

I must have missed out on those threads last year. I remember some threads during the Watts - Zow years that really created some heated discussions.

 

[TIDEFAN17]

That is the nature of the beast.....this year they will be wanting McElroy.

The backup quarterback is ALWAYS the most popular player on the team.

 

[BamaBobo]

You did not see the Roll-er Darby Streets and Smith magazine. The mag is giving Ken Darby alot of props.

Yeah, but they praised Irons a lot as well. That really burns me up!:mad2: Darby is so much better than he is!:BigA:

 

[Jack Bourbon]

Seeing as how the Heisman winner is basically selected prior to the start of the season, I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were Darby.

 

[TexasTideFan]

Seeing as how the Heisman winner is basically selected prior to the start of the season, I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were Darby.

Yeah, that's true. Adrian Peterson, Brady Quinn, Troy Smith, and Dwayne Jarrett are all clear cut front runners simply because they play for high profile teams that are all media favorites. Darby is also in the hole because he isn't even considered the best back in the conference right now with Irons and McFadden getting all the hype this year. In order for him to get on the radar, Bama must pretty well win all it's games, he has to lead the SEC in rushing, and get the Alabama rushing title.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Yep...

What was the name of the chubby fellow who beat out Shaun?

 

[FitToBeTide]

Re: Yep...

What was the name of the chubby fellow who beat out Shaun?

Earle, at 5'10" and 221 lbs, I'm thinking maybe LaDainian Tomlinson from TCU was the player.

:biga2:

 

[IH8Orange]

Re: Yep...

What was the name of the chubby fellow who beat out Shaun?

You're thinking Ron Dayne from Wisconsin, I assume.

 

[FitToBeTide]

Re: Yep...

You're thinking Ron Dayne from Wisconsin, I assume.

I believe you're correct.

:biga2:

 

[Crimson-Blitz]

Re: Yep...

I believe you're correct.

:biga2:

It was Dane. A straight ahead, bruising runner in college. In the pro's, Dane hasn't done squat. He has no moves, and the difference in talent level means he gets stuffed at the line.

He's considered by some not to be NFL caliber talent, and he's not even in SA's league.

 

[TexasTideFan]

Re: Yep...

he's not even in SA's league.

Although it's nice to own the statue, that statue ain't worth much if you can't cut it when you make it to the show.

 

[Jack Bourbon]

That was pretty frustrating to see SA lose out to Dayne. I believe that's the year Wisc won the Big 10 without even playing Michigan, and this was back before Iowa or Ohio State were good. In other words, Dayne appeared to have padded his stats vs a cupcake schedule IMO. He was also apparently rewarded for the career rushing mark, which was a reflection more on the other RBs on his team when he was a freshman and sophomore than how good he really was.

On the other hand, there were some other really good players that year nationally, IIRC.

My overall feeling is that if UA hasn't won a Heisman by now, forget about it, basically. Only chance is if someone out of the Bo/Herschel mold emerges.

 

[IH8Orange]

Ron Dayne ran behind a huge offensive line, headed by Aaron Gibson and Chris McIntosh. He usually was three or four yards past the LOS before contact was a possibility.

I remember that someone had stats on yards gained before contact and yards gained after contact. SA and RD were pretty even on the yards after contact, probably owing to SA's escapability and RD's momentum, but Shaun was usually averaging first contact at approximately a yard or so before Dayne.

Dayne averaged around 300 carries per season for 4 seasons. I can't remember what the stat was for absolute yards before contact, but it had to be greater than 1 and it was possibly as high as 3 or so. If it was 3 yards, then Dayne would have been a 900 yard rusher by just running behind his line and going down on contact... owing nothing to his own talent.

Looking at Dayne's high-school stats, he didn't have eye-popping numbers (1785 yards and 24 TDs as a senior, 1566 yards and 27 TDs as a junior). His pro numbers are dismal (2,337 TOTAL CAREER yards in 6 seasons... that's only 303 yards more than he gained in his Heisman season at Wisconsin(1999). Dayne had much more success at Wisconsin than he's had in all the other years of his career combined. That has to do more with the situation that he encountered at Wisconsin than with his actual talent.

He was at the right place at the right time. But, that's life and everything usually sorts itself out in time.

It has. "Alexander the Great" is the NFL MVP and "Great Dayne" is just an average running back trying to justify his salary.