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Which defensive units do you see being better/worse in 2014? A-Day thoughts
Posted on 1/20/14 at 9:04 am
Posted on 1/20/14 at 9:04 am
Better or worse? Which units on the defense do you think will get better/worse from 2013 to 2014 season?
D-Line: Better. Ashawn and Allen will have a year more experience. We have guys like Dashawn Hand, Jarran Reed, and Josh Frazier coming in. And we have a few on the bench that I've been curious about their development. Dee Liner and Tomlinson come to mind.
Linebackers- Worse. We lose CJ Mosley, who may have been the best linebacker of Saban's tenure. Depriest has shown improvement. There will be a position battle for Hubbard's spot, but most see that as addition by subtraction. Newcomers that may see the field include Hand (should we keep him there) and Pettway. Curious to see how Dillon Lee plays during meaningful time. Also excited about Reuben Foster.
Secondary- Wash. The only returning starter is Landon Collins. We have lost HaHa, Vinnie, and Belue. The other corner spot was never solidified. The only reason I call this one a wash is the corners can't be any worse than they were last year, right? The position battle is wide open. Jarrick Williams and Geno Smith seem to be the front runners for the safety spot. Eddie Jackson, Mo Smith, Bradley Sylve, and Cyrus Jones look to earn the starting cornerback position. In terms of bench warmers, I'm wondering what Jonathan Cook and Anthony Averett will bring to the table. Will Ardarius Stewart switch to safety? With incoming freshman, will Tony Brown stay out of Saban's doghouse and be able to contribute? How much time will Hootie see? How much playing time will Humphrey see?
ETA: Wanted to hear your thoughts now that A-Day has passed.
D-Line: Better. Ashawn and Allen will have a year more experience. We have guys like Dashawn Hand, Jarran Reed, and Josh Frazier coming in. And we have a few on the bench that I've been curious about their development. Dee Liner and Tomlinson come to mind.
Linebackers- Worse. We lose CJ Mosley, who may have been the best linebacker of Saban's tenure. Depriest has shown improvement. There will be a position battle for Hubbard's spot, but most see that as addition by subtraction. Newcomers that may see the field include Hand (should we keep him there) and Pettway. Curious to see how Dillon Lee plays during meaningful time. Also excited about Reuben Foster.
Secondary- Wash. The only returning starter is Landon Collins. We have lost HaHa, Vinnie, and Belue. The other corner spot was never solidified. The only reason I call this one a wash is the corners can't be any worse than they were last year, right? The position battle is wide open. Jarrick Williams and Geno Smith seem to be the front runners for the safety spot. Eddie Jackson, Mo Smith, Bradley Sylve, and Cyrus Jones look to earn the starting cornerback position. In terms of bench warmers, I'm wondering what Jonathan Cook and Anthony Averett will bring to the table. Will Ardarius Stewart switch to safety? With incoming freshman, will Tony Brown stay out of Saban's doghouse and be able to contribute? How much time will Hootie see? How much playing time will Humphrey see?
ETA: Wanted to hear your thoughts now that A-Day has passed.
This post was edited on 4/20/14 at 10:44 pm
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Posted on 1/20/14 at 9:24 am to chattabama
D-Line: Better. Agree with pretty much everything you said. I think A'Shawn and Allen will be monsters. It needs to be a wide open competition at Nose though. Ivory/Lake shouldn't be grandfathered in, they didn't play well this past season.
LB: Worse, but still one of the best in the country. Losing Mosley hurts big time. We still have DePriest, who in the last five games of the season played just as good if not better than Mosley. He's the second best ILB in terms of coverage we've had under Saban, but I think he'll have to compete with Lee for the Dime LB job. Devall will probably take more Jack snaps, but don't be surprised if Hand ends up earning PT at the position, if he even plays it. Reuben Foster at Will will be interesting. We know he has a lot of talent, and he is good in space from what we've heard despite some thinking he's just a downhill thumper, I think he could secretly be an amazing blitzer. At Sam, you'd think Dillon Lee and Ryan Anderson may end up sharing the spot, but I'd like to see Christian Miller get a chance to play some, and if we were to land Evans him too.
Secondary: Wash. Better CB play with Eddie Jackson, Tony Brown, and hopefully Marlon Humphrey getting the most PT. Safety play will take a hit, but Landon Collins is probably the best Safety in the SEC now that some guys left for the NFL. Jarrick played the Star well for the most part. Should be open competition at every position. Wouldn't mind seeing Hootie get PT at Safety or Money.
LB: Worse, but still one of the best in the country. Losing Mosley hurts big time. We still have DePriest, who in the last five games of the season played just as good if not better than Mosley. He's the second best ILB in terms of coverage we've had under Saban, but I think he'll have to compete with Lee for the Dime LB job. Devall will probably take more Jack snaps, but don't be surprised if Hand ends up earning PT at the position, if he even plays it. Reuben Foster at Will will be interesting. We know he has a lot of talent, and he is good in space from what we've heard despite some thinking he's just a downhill thumper, I think he could secretly be an amazing blitzer. At Sam, you'd think Dillon Lee and Ryan Anderson may end up sharing the spot, but I'd like to see Christian Miller get a chance to play some, and if we were to land Evans him too.
Secondary: Wash. Better CB play with Eddie Jackson, Tony Brown, and hopefully Marlon Humphrey getting the most PT. Safety play will take a hit, but Landon Collins is probably the best Safety in the SEC now that some guys left for the NFL. Jarrick played the Star well for the most part. Should be open competition at every position. Wouldn't mind seeing Hootie get PT at Safety or Money.
Posted on 1/20/14 at 9:42 am to chattabama
We should have a dominant DL as long as we get solid play at NG. We have DE's running out our arse.
Losing Moseley will hurt but we'll just plug and play another 5 star there and our LB corp will still be the best around.
CB? Easily see improvement here. A year under the belt of the freshman and Cyrus Jones who I think will really impress this year. Plus some talented newcomers coming in that could impact.
Safety? Should be very good with our starters but God forbid an injury. Maybe coach can develop some depth there this spring or maybe Hootie can come in and learn his assignments and play early.
Bottom line. Even with a small drop off we'll still field the best defense in the SEC again.
Losing Moseley will hurt but we'll just plug and play another 5 star there and our LB corp will still be the best around.
CB? Easily see improvement here. A year under the belt of the freshman and Cyrus Jones who I think will really impress this year. Plus some talented newcomers coming in that could impact.
Safety? Should be very good with our starters but God forbid an injury. Maybe coach can develop some depth there this spring or maybe Hootie can come in and learn his assignments and play early.
Bottom line. Even with a small drop off we'll still field the best defense in the SEC again.
Posted on 1/20/14 at 9:13 pm to chattabama
I think all 3 units will be better. With the secondary making the biggest improvement.
Posted on 4/20/14 at 10:46 pm to chattabama
A-Day overreaction bump.
I'm almost ready to say that our secondary will be better than it was last year. Almost. Problem is that we haven't seen them tested very much.
What are your thoughts about the defense now that we have seen A-Day? Who are your standout players? What worries you the most about our defense?
I'm almost ready to say that our secondary will be better than it was last year. Almost. Problem is that we haven't seen them tested very much.
What are your thoughts about the defense now that we have seen A-Day? Who are your standout players? What worries you the most about our defense?
Posted on 4/20/14 at 11:38 pm to chattabama
D-Line - Better. I think davis is a much better coach than rumph, and i think our guys have the talent, drive, and physical ability this year to be the best saban has had at alabama
Linebacker- I actually think this will be a wash. Mosely is a big loss, but i still think our inside linebackers are going to be the best in the country again. depriest has played a ton of really good football and is ready to be the man, ragland looks like he is ready to blow up, foster can be a terror if he stops knocking himself out, Lee looks to be super versatile, and we will have plenty of young super talented and athletic guys who should be able to contribute situationally as they learn.
Secondary- Better. I think we will see a big improvement is cb play, and perhaps a slight dropoff in safety. Collins is ready for primetime, and geno looks to be a really good cover option at FS. Williams and perry both have lots of time in system. Corners, we have lots of guys who got good experience last year and who will know where they should be in the scheme, so fewer mental mistakes (guys like geno, mo smith, eddie jackson), plus some super athletic and talented freshman who will probably make big contributions and provide great depth. I fully expect brown to be a starter this season. But the biggest thing i think that will change is that the DL will not allow everyone so much time to pick the secondary apart with an improved pass rush. Im optimistic that if the work ethic this squad has shown so far persists, we have the potential to be saban's second best defense of his alabama tenure in 2014.
Linebacker- I actually think this will be a wash. Mosely is a big loss, but i still think our inside linebackers are going to be the best in the country again. depriest has played a ton of really good football and is ready to be the man, ragland looks like he is ready to blow up, foster can be a terror if he stops knocking himself out, Lee looks to be super versatile, and we will have plenty of young super talented and athletic guys who should be able to contribute situationally as they learn.
Secondary- Better. I think we will see a big improvement is cb play, and perhaps a slight dropoff in safety. Collins is ready for primetime, and geno looks to be a really good cover option at FS. Williams and perry both have lots of time in system. Corners, we have lots of guys who got good experience last year and who will know where they should be in the scheme, so fewer mental mistakes (guys like geno, mo smith, eddie jackson), plus some super athletic and talented freshman who will probably make big contributions and provide great depth. I fully expect brown to be a starter this season. But the biggest thing i think that will change is that the DL will not allow everyone so much time to pick the secondary apart with an improved pass rush. Im optimistic that if the work ethic this squad has shown so far persists, we have the potential to be saban's second best defense of his alabama tenure in 2014.
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