My Early Take

[jmar]

1 Alabama-Deep and talented losing key players on defense but still the team to beat. McClain and Arenas were terrific while kicker needs replacing.

2 LSU- Even handicapped with Miles this is a very good team overall. A good staff might be enough to save them.

3 Florida- Losing Tebow and defenders similar to UA makes them beatable. Brantley has to be as good as advertised. Still the Eastern rep.

4 Auburn- If a pass rush develops with some new depth, this team soars. Need to cut defensive deficits almost in half to really contend.

5 Arkansas- Mallett is seasoned and they will produce offensively, but I have more confidence in Auburn finding a way to stop other teams from scoring.

6 Georgia- Returning OL but weaker on defense than in recent years. I see no overall improvement really.

7 So. Carolina- Garcia might be the next Tanneyhill but running game depending on rookie.

8 Mississippi -Nutt almost interchangeable with Miles without the horses yet finds a way to neuter a decent team.

9 Kentucky- Phillips takes over for a very good coach in Brooks. This team might make the most improvement  overall in a years time and I rate them just ahead of the rest because they are currently in stable hands.
 

The final three are in limbo because I didn't have the heart to rate them.
 
 Miss. State- I look for this team to improve in time but it is located in Starkville.
 Tennessee-The Vols can still be respectable but losses are heavy with Dooley in damage control.
 Vanderbilt- It's the Commodores!
 

[Townhallsavoy]

Townhall will have his own in-depth analysis of the upcoming season fairly soon.

However, I'll give you all a special sneak peek.

LSU won't be the #2 in the conference this year.  I think Miles gets canned. 

Mississippi State will shock some people. 

Tennessee won't be as bad as everyone is predicting.

[boartitz]

Townhall will have his own in-depth analysis of the upcoming season fairly soon.

However, I'll give you all a special sneak peek.

LSU won't be the #2 in the conference this year.  I think Miles gets canned. 

Mississippi State will shock some people. 

Tennessee won't be as bad as everyone is predicting.

I think LSU will be fourth in the west, not 2 in the SEC.

[Birmingham]

1)  Alabama 10-2 (Drop 2 games along the way heading in to the Ironbowl.  It could be from too many teams for me to pick.)
2)  Auburn 10-2 (???, AL)
3)  Arky 8-4 (AL, AU, A&M, M. STATE)
4)  LSU 8-4 (FL, AL, AU, AK)

Auburn could very well win the west, the only reason they're 2nd instead of 1st is because they have such a long stretch without a bye week.  If the injury bug hits it can be devastating.  With that said, I like they're schedule and think they only drop 1 game heading into the Ironbowl against a 2-loss Alabama team.  The loss could be from anyone and probably only due to the length of time without some rest.

[jmar]

LSU will accept some 9-3 seasons with a top tier BCS game every other year or so. Miles and Nutt are a good fit.

[boartitz]

1)  Alabama 10-2 (Drop 2 games along the way heading in to the Ironbowl.  It could be from too many teams for me to pick.)
2)  Auburn 10-2 (???, AL)
3)  Arky 8-4 (AL, AU, A&M, M. STATE)
4)  LSU 8-4 (FL, AL, AU, AK)

Auburn could very well win the west, the only reason they're 2nd instead of 1st is because they have such a long stretch without a bye week.  If the injury bug hits it can be devastating.  With that said, I like they're schedule and think they only drop 1 game heading into the Ironbowl against a 2-loss Alabama team.  The loss could be from anyone and probably only due to the length of time without some rest.

LSU is playing Alaska this year? Coool.
3)  Arky 8-4 (AL, AU, A&M, M. STATE)
I'm pretty sure we win the last 2 you have listed. Feel good about winning 3-4 and don't consider winning 4-4 out of the realm of possibility. Yall lose a bunch on defense and we get yall early. Even if yall beat us, I bet we expose some shit for latter teams. Bama will not have the dominating defense in the SEC this year like they had last year. It'll probably still be better than our defense overall, but it will have places to be exploited and we have a man who can find those places.

[Birmingham]

LSU is playing Alaska this year? Coool.
3)  Arky 8-4 (AL, AU, A&M, M. STATE)
I'm pretty sure we win the last 2 you have listed. Feel good about winning 3-4 and don't consider winning 4-4 out of the realm of possibility. Yall lose a bunch on defense and we get yall early. Even if yall beat us, I bet we expose some shit for latter teams. Bama will not have the dominating defense in the SEC this year like they had last year. It'll probably still be better than our defense overall, but it will have places to be exploited and we have a man who can find those places.

I deserve whatever criticism I get so I won't even edit the post.  Good eye. 

[boartitz]

I deserve whatever criticism I get so I won't even edit the post.  Good eye. 

It's a common mistake made by the state abbreviation challenged. 50-50 confusion between Alaska and Arizona as pertains to us.
The last Marshall amplifier I bought on ebay was shipped to myhometown, AZ instead of Arkansas. It got here in record time thanks to the 71xxx zip code.
I mean, I had AR in my addy and this stupid fuck told the folks at UPS that it was going to Arizona instead of using the prefix I sent him. So they put AZ on the label. Good ole zip trumped they ass.

[Birmingham]

LSU is playing Alaska this year? Coool.
3)  Arky 8-4 (AL, AU, A&M, M. STATE)
I'm pretty sure we win the last 2 you have listed. Feel good about winning 3-4 and don't consider winning 4-4 out of the realm of possibility. Yall lose a bunch on defense and we get yall early. Even if yall beat us, I bet we expose some shit for latter teams. Bama will not have the dominating defense in the SEC this year like they had last year. It'll probably still be better than our defense overall, but it will have places to be exploited and we have a man who can find those places.

I hear what you're saying about the defense and by all indications I think you're spot on.  However, if it was easy to predict this stuff than the search feature on this forum wouldn't be as fun as it is.  I think what you can say about Alabama's defense is that it won't feature Rolando McClain.  Terrence Cody either and 7 other starters as well.  Who it will feature is some kids who haven't been given an opportunity to make a name for themselves as starters yet who've been in Nick Saban's program for 3 years.  That's more than any of the 9 starters previously mentioned were.  I expect a Nick Saban defense to be a tough disciplined defense, regardless of the parts, because he coaches them that way.  That he brings in quality parts is a big part of the success also so he helps himself out in that regard.  I'm not willing to say that now that Rolando's gone nobody's left to guard the house.  

[boartitz]

I hear what you're saying about the defense and by all indications I think you're spot on.  However, if it was easy to predict this stuff than the search feature on this forum wouldn't be as fun as it is.  I think what you can say about Alabama's defense is that it won't feature Rolando McClain.  Terrence Cody either and 7 other starters as well.  Who it will feature is some kids who haven't been given an opportunity to make a name for themselves as starters yet who've been in Nick Saban's program for 3 years.  That's more than any of the 9 starters previously mentioned were.  I expect a Nick Saban defense to be a tough disciplined defense, regardless of the parts, because he coaches them that way.  That he brings in quality parts is a big part of the success also so he helps himself out in that regard.  I'm not willing to say that now that Rolando's gone nobody's left to guard the house.  

Nick Saban is a little bitty cocksucker who runs away when things don't go to suit him. He's done it a bunch of times.

[jmar]

I hear what you're saying about the defense and by all indications I think you're spot on.  However, if it was easy to predict this stuff than the search feature on this forum wouldn't be as fun as it is.  I think what you can say about Alabama's defense is that it won't feature Rolando McClain.  Terrence Cody either and 7 other starters as well.  Who it will feature is some kids who haven't been given an opportunity to make a name for themselves as starters yet who've been in Nick Saban's program for 3 years.  That's more than any of the 9 starters previously mentioned were.  I expect a Nick Saban defense to be a tough disciplined defense, regardless of the parts, because he coaches them that way.  That he brings in quality parts is a big part of the success also so he helps himself out in that regard.  I'm not willing to say that now that Rolando's gone nobody's left to guard the house.  

Agreed, Saban will field a defense as good as any team in the conference, perhaps better. These guys are hungry for some pt and have paid their dues. Everyone aside of Bamer's should be glad so many of those guys will not plague them any longer. For me it was Arenas. And Saban will never run away from Tuscaloosa because they will give him anything he should want. If he runs away, it will probably be due to burnout or boredom.

[Birmingham]

Nick Saban is a little bitty cocksucker who runs away when things don't go to suit him. He's done it a bunch of times.

Twice if my memory serves me right.  Whenever I have trouble remembering that I remind myself it's also the same number of teams he's made National Champions. 

[Birmingham]

Agreed, Saban will field a defense as good as any team in the conference, perhaps better. These guys are hungry for some pt and have paid their dues. Everyone aside of Bamer's should be glad so many of those guys will not plague them any longer. For me it was Arenas. And Saban will never run away from Tuscaloosa because they will give him anything he should want. If he runs away, it will probably be due to burnout or boredom.

The dudes getting pretty old.  I don't think it's a far reach that eventually the guy's gonna retire.  He obviously doesn't need the money.  It'll be interesting to see how he handles it when the time comes.  I don't think I've ever seen it handled well. 

[jmar]

The dudes getting pretty old.  I don't think it's a far reach that eventually the guy's gonna retire.  He obviously doesn't need the money.  It'll be interesting to see how he handles it when the time comes.  I don't think I've ever seen it handled well. 

Well he's hard shelled and often abrasive but the kind of guy you want even if your first choice was RichRod. I don't see him ever being satisfied if that is possible and he might think Alabama is the the last best place to finish.

[boartitz]

. And Saban will never run away from Tuscaloosa because they will give him anything he should want.

HA HA HA, That's exactly what the coonasses said. HA HA HA.
He won a NC there, too. HA HA HA.
OH YEAH. HA HA HA.

[Birmingham]

Well he's hard shelled and often abrasive but the kind of guy you want even if your first choice was RichRod. I don't see him ever being satisfied if that is possible and he might think Alabama is the the last best place to finish.

Alabama's had some "coaching situations" occur in its history that have altered its course.  That sounds obvious but it seems Bama does it in dramatic fashion.  With that said, I don't think anything in the last 30 years has been as big as whatever made Rich Rodriguez walk after all signs pointed toward him having accepted the job.  That move may have had a bigger impact than either of the D sized titties clapping against Mike Price's face in '03.  

[Birmingham]

HA HA HA, That's exactly what the coonasses said. HA HA HA.
He won a NC there, too. HA HA HA.
OH YEAH. HA HA HA.

What year do you think he's gonna leave?  Time's running out on it still being considered an early departure. 

[jmar]

"What year do you think he's gonna leave?  Time's running out on it still being considered an early departure."


I think Mal Moore gets a huge pass at UA moreso from his Wishbone heydey with Bryant. I think everyone knows he is a stand-up guy with his heart in the right place but I think he has bungled some situations and got it right quite by accident at least with Saban. I think Nick stays at Alabama till he tires of coaching. That doesn't mean that he won't pull a Bill Parcells afterwards just to check it out, but I think Tuscaloosa is where he will do the bulk of his work and be identified with contrary to what many people say about his previous wanderings.

[Birmingham]

"What year do you think he's gonna leave?  Time's running out on it still being considered an early departure."


I think Mal Moore gets a huge pass at UA moreso from his Wishbone heydey with Bryant. I think everyone knows he is a stand-up guy with his heart in the right place but I think he has bungled some situations and got it right quite by accident at least with Saban. I think Nick stays at Alabama till he tires of coaching. That doesn't mean that he won't pull a Bill Parcells afterwards just to check it out, but I think Tuscaloosa is where he will do the bulk of his work and be identified with contrary to what many people say about his previous wanderings.

Everything was about timing and Mal Moore had not an inkling of control over the timing.  That said, the story Mal tells and Saban confirms is that Mal went to visit Saban to offer him the job and he simply wouldn't be going back to Tuscaloosa without him.  He closed the deal to his credit, regardless of it probably not actually being as good a story as he tells.

In 2007 I thought Saban and Alabama would in the grand scheme of things have more of a "crossing paths" relationship.  I believe Saban may have seen it that way as well in the beginning.  I don't think the fans minded for that matter if the trade off meant something that looked like what he was able to do for LSU.  Then he achieved unparalleled success that rivaled the time table and optimism of Alabama's most unrealistic fans.  He's going into his 4th year at Bama, the last time he's lost to a team that didn't finish the season undefeated was in year number one, and even then we're talking about two losses.  I believe he may have very well began his relationship with Alabama in 2007 as a "hired gun", but somewhere over the three years the two became married.  I think he'll retire and be remembered as "a great Alabama coach" while his time in Baton Rouge will be used for little more than padding stats in conversations when he's being compared to other great coaches.

[jmar]

The rivalry has more bite with Saban in Tuscaloosa. Makes thinks more interesting.