INSIDE SLANT
When Alabama coach Nick Saban starts harping on the lack of a depth chart, it is usually a good sign.
It means there is competition at key positions, competition that Saban wants to foster.
So when Saban says he doesn't know who the five starters on the offensive line are going to be, or that he doesn't know which wide receivers will be getting the most playing time, or who will be the starting tailback, there's a good chance that what he means is there are good players pushing each other. Saban doesn't want that to end.
As No. 5 Alabama gets ready to open the 2009 season Saturday, there are questions ... but mostly, the questions are about how good this team can be.
The Tide returns eight starters from last year's defense that ranked third nationally in total yards allowed and second against the run. The front seven, anchored by nose guard Terrence "Mount" Cody, with junior linebacker Rolando McClain lining up behind him, appears to be as good as any in the nation.
The secondary is the weak in comparison to the front seven, but that front seven could be good enough to hide any deficiencies in the secondary.
There are bigger questions on offense, starting with the most important position on the team: quarterback.
Greg McElroy is a junior who watched from the sideline as John Parker Wilson set virtually every school passing record. It's not an unusual position for McElroy, who did the same thing in high school, waiting behind a guy named Chase Daniel. All McElroy did when he finally got his chance was lead his high school team to a Texas state championship.
The coaches have praised McElroy's leadership, his work ethic, his intelligence, his perseverance -- everything except his actual ability.
That's not so say McElroy isn't talented, but you get the feeling the coaches are hoping not to count on McElroy having to make big-time throws to win games. They would seem to rather that he manages the game, going so far as to make comparisons to former LSU quarterback Matt Mauck.
Not a bad comparison, considered Mauck was the starting quarterback on Saban's 2003 BCS championship team at LSU.
But McElroy will be playing behind an offensive line that lost three starters, including two stars in left tackle Andre Smith and center Antoine Caldwell. There is talent, but continuity and chemistry are the missing ingredients.
There are plenty of talented running backs, and the wide receiver position begins with sophomore Julio Jones, one of the best in the nation. Maybe that's why the plan seems to be to get the ball in and out of McElroy's hands as quickly as possible.
With a first game against No. 7 ranked Virginia Tech, it all has to come together in a hurry if Alabama is going to repeat last year's undefeated regular season.
NOTES, QUOTES
--Alabama coach Nick Saban will be receiving a contract extension, through 2017. Saban's original contract was for eight years, through the 2014 season, and paid him an average of $4 million a season over the life of that contract. Details of the new contract were not released and won't be until final approval by the Board of Trustees UA Compensation Committee. Saban says the extension means he hopes to be the head coach at Alabama for "the rest of our coaching career."
--Punter P.J. Fitzgerald has gotten off 88 consecutive punts since he last had one blocked. Virginia Tech is known as one of the best in the country every year at blocking kicks, having blocked two punts and a pair of field goals last year. Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer "is known for his special-teams tactics," said Fitzgerald, who is a starting his fourth season as the Tide's starting punter and has seen his average per kick improve every year, from 34.8 yards as a freshman to 36.5 as a sophomore to 37.1 last season.
--Junior CB Kareem Jackson has played in all 27 games since he arrived at the University of Alabama. But what he's most proud of is that in that same time, he has not missed a single practice. "I just won't let myself miss," Jackson said. "As much as I might talk about it, you better believe every day I'm going to be out there -- one leg or one eye, it doesn't matter." Jackson says his streak is not unusual, that Tide players just don't miss practice unless forced to by the team training staff.
SERIES HISTORY: Alabama 10-Virginia Tech 1 (last meeting, 1998, 38-7, Virginia Tech).
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: A year ago, Alabama had a veteran offensive line, quarterback and running backs. This year, the line has only one true returning starter (guard Mike Johnson), a new quarterback, and no proven workhorse running back. The strength is at wide receiver, led by sophomore Julio Jones. However, getting him the ball will come down to how well the line protects and how new quarterback Greg McElroy reads defenses. That lends itself to being a conservative, ball-control offense, which fits with the successful formula the Tide used last year when it led the SEC in time of possession and number of touchdown drives of over five minutes.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: The only question about the Tide defense seems to be how good it can be. The front seven is solid, anchored by nose guard Terrence "Mount" Cody with senior Lorenzo Washington at one end. Linebackers Rolando McClain and Don'ta Hightower have NFL written all over them. The secondary has experience with Javier Arenas and Kareem Jackson, plus true freshman Dre Kirkpatrick, who is pushing his way into the starting lineup. The defense was exposed somewhat in the last two games of last season, against Florida in the SEC Championship Game and Utah in the Sugar Bowl, both of which run similar versions of the spread offense. To counter the spread, Alabama has gotten faster and deeper, hoping to control the line with the front three or four, and using the back seven in multiple ways to neutralize offensive schemes.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "We want to be a team that nobody wants to play. Clearly, to me, that comes from how physical you are, how tough you are, the kind of effort and intensity you play with as well as your ability to execute. And that's certainly something that we want to continue to create as an identity." -- Coach Nick Saban.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNELTHIS WEEK'S GAME: No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 7 Virginia Tech (in Atlanta, Ga.), Sept 5 -- This is the second consecutive year the Tide has opened the season in the Chick-fil-A Classic. Last year's upset of Clemson started an undefeated regular season that saw the Tide climb to No. 1 in the nation at the end of the season. This looks to be the best match-up of college football's opening weekend, with both teams ranked in the top 10.
KEYS TO THE GAME: Alabama will want to echo last year's style. At least in this first game, ball control and defense will be the Tide's plan on how to win.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
LB Rolando McClain -- A junior who is a third-year starter, McClain is one of the most exciting linebackers to watch in college football. Fast and strong, McClain has great field awareness. This year, he'll be asked to be a more vocal leader on the field, stepping into the role of former safety Rashad Johnson.
WR Julio Jones -- After making his mark as a true freshman last year while playing through a sports hernia and a wrist injury that required offseason surgery, Jones is healthy, as well as smarter. One of the top receivers in the game, much of Alabama's offense will be geared to getting the ball into his hands.
QB Greg McElroy -- The junior gets his first start, replacing a quarterback (John Parker Wilson) who set every major quarterback record in school history. Expect McElroy to be a "game manager" in this first contest. But McElroy wants to prove he can do more.
NT Terrence Cody -- "Mount Cody" burst onto the sporting consciousness in this game last year. He's impossible to ignore because of his size and athleticism. Cody wants to prove he can be an every-down player this year. Here is his first chance to do that.
ROSTER REPORT:
--NT Terrance Cody, a senior All-American, missed several days of practice after coming down with flu-like symptoms. Several other players were limited due to upper-respiratory infections that had been going around the Tuscaloosa campus. The standard procedure at Alabama is quarantine until fever has gone. As flu-like symptoms sweep the campus, the medical staff is closely monitoring the team the week of the first game.
Previous Report: 04/27/2009
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