re: Thoughts on the 2023 team?

At virtually every level above high school you have the question of the mediocre passer with the big mobility. He can win a bunch of games yes, but those type virtually never win a championship. We even saw a few examples of that in the USFL this year where they were trying to win with a guy who could run and occasionally get lucky with a long throw. They were good enough to add drama but the litmus test of 60 minutes always left them on the low end of the score.

I have nothing against Milro but I care virtually nothing about his ability to run. If I'm choosing the QB in practice I would count all running plays as zero gain. Because that's what he will get against Georgia, zero I don't evaluate as if my opponent is going to be Middle Tennessee

If Milro is that guy then great. nice wheels are a nifty tool to have. but a Georgia is NOT going to let him out of the pocket. not if you played them 100 times back to back.

I feel good about the team. There are some question marks, and we'll see how camp buzz changes things, but I think we can win it all.

Rees could be a miss, but I'm optimistic about what he can be with more offensive talent, and Saban seems to really love him so I'm hopeful. Steele is better than Golding, IMO.

QB will continue to be a bit of a concern until we see someone go out there against live bullets and make plays. I think this QB will not be asked to as much as guys have since 2018, but hopefully we still have the ability to air it out at a fairly high level. I expect the WRs to be improved. RydeOut territory? Nope, but better than last year for sure.

The RBs and OL speak for themselves. I think we'll probably see something of a three headed monster akin to 2018 when Harris/Jacobs/Harris all split time. Jase/Haynes/Jam. I feel REALLY good about the OL, especially if Proctor comes along and finds his way into the mix at LT or LG.

Defensively I think we can be as good as we've been since 2016. The secondary should be excellent and I think overall this DL has the potential to be the best unit we've had since around the same time. That's more potential though. I'm interested in seeing whether or not James Smith has a big role, I think he will. I love our OLB unit, losing Will sucks, but we have so much at Edge. And ILBs is definitely a mystery, but again there's a lot of exciting talent there and I think not having Golding as ILB coach may steer us back towards the ILB play we're used to.

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QB situation is an absolute toss up

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You've seen Milroe play, right?

If the QB situation is truly a toss-up, BAMA loses 4-5 games in 2023. That is to say, if Milroe starts 12 games for BAMA, the ceiling is 9-3. I'd bet 8-4.

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This played out two years in a row with Hurts (moreso the 2nd). We all know how he's developed since...but Georga had his number.

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In 2018 Jalen's running ability was crucial to beating UGA in the 2018 SECCG.

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You've seen Milroe play, right?

If the QB situation is truly a toss-up, BAMA loses 4-5 games in 2023. That is to say, if Milroe starts 12 games for BAMA, the ceiling is 9-3. I'd bet 8-4.

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(A) An absolute toss up in terms of whether it goes adequately or poorly, not necessarily who the QB is.

(B) Even if you remove Milroe from the equation, it's still a toss up between Simpson and Buchner at this point.

Gideon, when has Alabama lost more than 3 gamesnunder Saban? This has happened once while he was at Alabama and this was early in his career when he came to Alabama.

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no established top end skill talent

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Last year we had 3 top 100 offensive skill players, we have 12 this year.

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and a defense that has taken a couple of steps back from the standard

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Steel was part of that former standard, Pete was bad, his scheme was bad, and most football lifers will tell you that. I could give you a ton of examples but you already know.

QB wise the race is very tight between Simpson and Buchner. I think Buchners game experience might take over but it’s anyone’s job.

I think our offensive skill talent is fine. I dunno if the WRs are bunch of NFL guys talented or not, but I think there are a bunch of upper level SEC talents there. And I think they're seasoned now and that Rees will draw all sorts of stuff up to get them open in space (maybe too much and overthink it, which is the most consistently mentioned negative in his young coaching career).

Running back room is going to be fantastic. The line could be great, but I think floor is solid but inconsistent.

QB is a huge question. At worst the guy needs to take care of the ball, be able to grind out some yards with his legs and make easy throws. I think both Buchner and Simpson are capable of #2 and #3, but #1 is a huge wild card.

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Even with a QB who can scramble you run the risk of injury to the QB...how many of these QBs make it to the end of the season? Tua didn't...not whole, anyway.

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Tua had a nasty habit of hanging onto the ball too long and trying to make the big play happen literally every time. It eventually led to his hip injury against State. Jalen ran the ball every other play and never missed a game.

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Having said that, we haven't seen enough of Milroe to say he can't be the guy to complete passes. Getting thrown in after an injury to Bryce isn't the greatest of circumstances.

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Milroe playing a half against Arkansas and having the following week to prepare himself to be the starter doesn't count as being thrown in.