Alabama Crimson Tide
Overall Rank: #1
#1 SEC
Alabama Team Page
2010 Record: (10-3, 5-3)
2010 Bowl: Capital One Bowl vs. Michigan State (W 49-7)
Coach: Nick Saban (43-11 at Alabama, 134-53-1 overall)
Offensive Coordinator: Jim McElwain
Defensive Coordinator: Kirby Smart
Returning Leaders:
Rushing: Trent Richardson, RB, 700 yards
Passing: A.J. McCarron, QB, 389 yards
Receiving: Marquis Maze, WR, 557 yards
Tackles: Mark Barron, S, 75
Sacks: Courtney Upshaw, LB, 7.0
Interceptions: Robert Lester, S, 8
Other Key Returnees: DT Josh Chapman, OT D.J. Fluker, WR Darius Hanks, LB Dont’a Hightower, LB Nico Johnson, G Barrett Jones, CB Dre Kirkpatrick, CB DeQuan Menzie, CB Dee Milliner, DE Damion Square, C William Vlachos, G Chance Warmack, TE Michael Williams
Key Losses: OT James Carpenter, DE Marcell Dareus, TE Preston Dial, RB Mark Ingram, WR Julio Jones, QB Greg McElroy, LB Chavis Williams
By Alabama standards their 10-3 season was a disappointment. However, it was quite understandable with the entire defense needing to be rebuilt. The offensive line was also a problem and the dynamic one-two punch of Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson failed to produce the results most expected. Losing at South Carolina and LSU and to eventual national champions Auburn is understandable, but not to Alabama. They will get their revenge this year.
Strengths:
It is hard to say that the defense underperformed last season. They did rank third in the nation allowing a mere 13.54 points per game. Those are some pretty tough standards to live up to apparently. However, the unit did give up some uncharacteristic big plays…and usually at bad times. This year the unit returns ten starters and the only significant loss is Marcell Dareus. The front line, even without Dareus, will be very good. Nose guard Josh Chapman is a superb run stuffer and Damion Square is ready to be the dominate Crimson Tide pass rusher. Junior college transfer Quinton Dial and former linebacker Ed Stinson will add a little more punch to the front three. The linebackers may just be the best group in the nation. Courtney Upshaw is a great pass rusher from the outside linebacker spot, tallying 7.0 sacks in 2010. Sophomore C.J. Mosley will man the side of the linebacker corps. He quietly had a superb freshman campaign, ranking third on the team with 67 tackles and breaking up ten passes. While Upshaw is getting into the backfield, Mosley is getting back towards the secondary and helping out there. In the middle of the linebacker corps are juniors Dont’a Hightower and Nico Johnson. Hightower was still getting healthy following a knee injury last year, but he still managed to tally 69 tackles and get into the backfield when needed. The secondary has a few future first round picks just like the linebackers. Cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick is one of the best in the conference and sophomore Dee Milliner quickly emerged as a quality counterpart. With DeQuan Menzie around as well, Coach Nick Saban has a trio of superb corners. The news gets even better at safety where Mark Barron, who led the team with 75 tackles, and Robert Lester, who picked off eight passes, are back.
Weaknesses:
It is difficult to lose Mark Ingram, Greg McElroy, Julio Jones and Mark Carpenter and get better. Ingram has a Heisman Trophy on his shelf, McElroy only threw ten interceptions in is entire collegiate career, Jones was the sixth overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft and Carpenter was also a first round selection. The scary thing is that this group could actually be more productive. The reason is because of a much more experienced offensive line. Losing Carpenter hurts, but everybody else is back. That does bode well for the ground game led by Richardson, but there are questions behind him. Dee Hart was expected to be the backup running back, but he is likely out for the year with an injury. Eddie Lacy is dealing with an injury of his own, but may not even miss a game. Either way, Richardson will be carrying a large chunk of the offense on his shoulders. In the meantime, quarterbacks A.J. McCarron and Phillip Sims will battle it out for the starting job during the early part of the season. The new signal caller just needs to keep things under control. However, even without Julio Jones, the Tide has some decent receivers. Marquis Maze figures to be the new go-to-receiver, but Duron Carter, if eligible, and Darius Hanks, when eligible in week three, should provide plenty of options.
The Bottom Line:
This is Alabama like they were in 2008 and 2009. They will play superb defense and pound the ball. That is Alabama football and that is how they win championships. With such a great defense returning, the offense will not have to do much. However, they can do plenty with Richardson and the talented offensive line paving the way. The Crimson Tide are among the few favorites to reach the BCS National Championship game in New Orleans, Louisiana and this will not be a championship game with spread offenses and a ton of points. It will be Alabama smash mouth football.
Projected Bowl: BCS National Championship
2010 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 182.92 (29th in nation, 5th in conference)
Passing Offense: 261.15 (27, 3)
Total Offense: 444.08 (22, 3)
Scoring Offense: 35.69 (18, 3)
Rushing Defense: 110.15 (10, 2)
Pass Defense: 176.23 (13, 3)
Total Defense: 286.38 (5, 1)
Scoring Defense: 13.54 (3, 1)
Turnover Margin: .92 (11, 1)
Sacks: 2.08 (54, 6)
Sacks Allowed: 2.46 (88, 10)
Madness 2012 NFL Draft Rankings:
#8 Don'ta Hightower
#9 Mark Barron
#11 Trent Richardson
#18 Dre Kirkpatrick
#40 Courtney Upshaw
#63 Kerry Murphy
#100 Robert Lester
Madness 2011 Football Recruit Rankings:
#2 Cyrus Kouandjio
#10 Hasean Clinton-Dix
#36 Trey DePriest
#49 Demetrius Hart
#61 Xzavier Dickson
#75 Brent Calloway
#95 Jeoffrey Pagan
#98 Shannon Brown
#107 Bradley Sylve
#110 Marvin Shinn
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