Alabama has talent, coaching and experience

The defense that led Alabama to the 2009 national title is gone. Make no mistake about it, the Crimson Tide — thanks to a combination of graduation, the NFL draft and suspension — is now missing 10 starters from that unit. However, this isn’t your usual mass-loss situation, as any Alabama fan will quickly point out. The Tide played a ton of backups last season, and it played them throughout games in every situation. The second-string players, in some cases, logged more playing time than the starters. And they often made bigger impacts (See: Marcel Dareus in BCS title game). There’s little doubt Alabama has the talent, coaching and experience to recover quite well from these losses. But the Tide will need a few guys to step up in order to do so. [More]

Recruiting: Alabama continues to roll with Ryan Kelly’s commitment

Alabama continues to roll on the recruiting trail, gathering top recruits from all over the country. The latest flex of the collective Alabama muscle is the reach into the fertile Ohio grounds to pick up one of the most versatile lineman in the country. “Basically it was down to Florida and Alabama for the most part,” the Under Armour All-American said. “They are two of the best in the country and the SEC. They both offer good education and good football. I committed to Alabama because I have a great relationship with the coaches and players. They made me feel at home. They always treated me first class when I was there. I was just down there for the weekend. I took one last trip to be sure. I sat down with Saban and told him I wanted to be here.” [More]

Alabama will be a threat once again

With a full two weeks to prepare, Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn drew up schemes and trick plays that sent the perennial Alabama defense into a tizzy, making the nation’s best point-preventing unit look mortal for a portion of the 2009 Iron Bowl. So with that same two weeks of rest looming on this year’s schedule, combined with the fact that Alabama will be replacing a whopping eight defensive starters this season, Malzahn and Cameron Newton should have no trouble running circles around the Tide in November, right? It’s not as foregone of a conclusion as it might seem. When you’re the defending national champions and Nick Saban is your top recruiter, you don’t rebuild. You reload. “What we have to do now is adapt,” Saban said in an April Sports Xchange article. “Our players have to adapt, to change or be changed by these new circumstances. “I don’t think there is any question that this is the most challenging (situation), from a human nature standpoint. … No question, I think it’s easier, sometimes, to deal with adversity. And players usually respond better when they lose than when they win.” [More]

Will Alabama’s front seven dominate?

If Nick Saban is asked, ‘Can the front seven dominate?’ the answer is a definite yes. They are supremely talented. Whether they will control teams like last year’s national champions did remains to be seen. Linebacker Dont’a Hightower will take Rolando McClain’s spot, and a group of noseguards will try to fill the void left by Terrence Cody, but replacing the production will be difficult. [More]

Roll Tide!

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