re: #1, #3, #7, #27, and # 34

quote:

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I think those expecting Bama to fall off a cliff are going to be disappointed. Bama still has more talent then every other team in the nation with the possible exceptions of UGA and OSU. Deboer is excellent at coaching players on his roster and he's left with more talent than he's ever had before. Bama is going to be good this upcoming year. Where Bama might falter (and it's very much a "might" not a "will" at this point) is with acquiring and keeping talent going forward. Saban wasn't just good at bringing talent in, he was exceptional. If Deboer isn't also exceptional, as time passes more and more teams will have equal or superior talent to Bama. But that won't show up next year all at once. It will be a gradual shift over time.

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Completely agree. Im fully expecting a gradual talent decline from #1-2 overall to more of a top 10 program that can play with anyone but isn’t mauling you with a pure talent domination. Where I expect to partially overcome the talent drop is DeBoer is very good at roster/talent development, scheme, and winning big games. That wont be enough to win 6 titles in 15 years but top 10 talent with great coaching should be a consistent playoff team with title potential.