BAMA Finally getting numbers back that the NCAA had taken away for a number of years. We're still lacking a few scholarship players from what we're allowed by the NCAA, but that should change starting in 2007 with this senior class being as small as it is. New QB and 7 starts on defense are replaced. Could be a tough year if we're not careful.
	AUBURN The war birds are preseason #6 which can only mean one thing - OVERRATED. They, like Tennessee, when ranked high at the start of the season, end of choking early on (see USC and Georgia Tech the last 2 years). Though they are ranked high, this actually might be a good year for them. They are definitely a favorite to win the SEC along with LSU once again. They just better watch out for that first game against Washington State. Could it be a 3-peat year for a big L to start the season?
	OLE MISS Orgeron is in his 2nd year in Oxford, and this year I don't see much change. I honestly don't know how long he'll last in the SEC, but being at Ole Miss won't help his case. Still without Eli Manning, the rebels join the rest of the SEC Celler Dwellers. They shouldn't be much of a threat except to Mississippi State.
	ARKANSAS The last 2 years has not been kind to Houston Nutt. He got the best recruit in the country in Mustain, but will that be enough to win big in the SEC. Probably not. True freshman don't normally head up championship teams in the SEC. McFadden is a good RB, but he's out after surgery. Where does that leave Arkansas? 4th best in the West. Possibly a 3rd straight season with no bowl game. Can you say Hot Seat?
	LSU Miles has this high-octane beast running on all cylinders. At this point he just has to find a way to keep everyone happy, especially at QB. I'm surprised one of those guys hasn't jumped ship yet. They have all kinds of talent all over the field and this year, we gotta to to Baton Rouge to try and pull out a win. And this year, there's no Katrina to interfere with their home game schedule... well, at least, not yet. They will compete once again with Auburn for the SEC West title.
	MISS. ST Huh? They're still in the SEC? Croom better get it together in his 3rd year at state. Granted, State isn't Alabama, but I think everyone is feeling good about getting Shula instead of Croom, me included. From my vantage point, he seems like a lot of hot air. When things don't go his way, he's gotta point fingers and criticize. When he loses, he needs to point to himself instead of the other team cheating. Lame Lame Lame. Won't be long till he's ousted... and maybe they'll bring Jackie Sherrill back. At least Sherrill won a few games.
	FLORIDA Oscar, er, I mean Urban Myer is in his 2nd season with this option pass, mystical Utah offense that scored 3 points against Bama last year. It's definitely not Chris Leak's type of offense, and fans are going to be calling for Tim Tebow if Leak can't get it done. Tebow is definitely a better fit for Myer's offense, but as a true freshman, well, like I said before - it's hard to be a championship team in the SEC with a true freshman QB. He lost to South Carolina/Spurrier in his first year. He definitely doesn't want to keep up that track record against the old UF coach who just turned 61 years old.
	TENNESSEE Orange is still as ugly as ever. They have had quite the shakeup in the coaching staff, bringing back David Cuttcliff as the offensive coordinator. That in itself will reap benefits for UT as Cuttcliff is a great OC, but not a good HC in my opinion. They have talent returning, but dicipline will be the key. For the first time in Fulmer's career, UT didn't go to a bowl last year. It was great to beat them in T-town last year finally - reminded me of that game I went to in 1990 with the battle of the FG's. This year, UT should be better, but how much better remains to be seen. I think they will go to a bowl game, but I still think they are a ways off from competing for the SEC East title.
	GEORGIA I don't know how Mark Richt does it, but they somehow just keep winning games under the radar. Before you know it, UGA is in the championship and nobody even realized it. With the East power shifting to the West, I guess that's understandable. LSU, Auburn, and Alabama seem to be yesterday's UF/UT/UGA. But with Myer in his 2nd season and Spurrier getting his troops in line with a full recruiting class under his belt, getting the East title this season is going to be tight. I don't see any team running the table in the East, so I look for a close finish with UGA taking it by a hair.. maybe even a vote by the conference via 3-way tie.
	KENTUCKY UK fans are still just waiting for November. Hoops time. Football? What is that? The most we'll hear from Lexington till then is a bunch of mumbles.. and even that is basketball talk. If they could sell their football team, they would - only they'd have to pay someone to take it.
	S. CAROLINA Spurrier did the unexpected. He got smacked around by the Tide and every other team early on, but then went on a tear to end the season going to a bowl game. Who'da thunk it? Well, with all this winning going on, look for South Carolina to make some serious noise in the East. Spurrier doesn't settle for 2nd place. He'll do everything he can to beat his old school and UT (again) and somehow beat the Dawgs of Georgia this time. If he can do that, he might make it to Atlanta - but still with a couple of SEC losses. The schedule is just too brutal this year for everyone.
	VANDY Dang. You had your chance last year and blew it. Cutler was your only hope of making it to a bowl game and you just couldn't finish with 6 wins. With Cutler gone, it looks like Vandy and UK will battle it out for 5th place in the East. I think Vandy might just place 5th this year - but still no bowl for the Dores as they have a brutal starting schedule.

OFFENSE

QB: At QB, Shula no longer has the luxury of having Brodie Croyle. Now John Parker Wilson, also known as JP, is the head man. Shula hopes that JP can grasp the Tide offense quickly this fall. He's a redshirt sophomore, but has shown some good play-making decisions in limited duty in 2005. He made some things happen in the Iron Bowl last year after Brodie couldn't hardly get a pass off. He played for a great high school (Hoover), so he is used to winning, and he is used to being in the spotlight. Now let's just hope he can stay clean in the public's eyes (no DWI's, etc.). Behind JP are 3 players who have haven't really done anything in college. Marc Guillon is officially 2nd string, but we have all seen him play, though that was a couple of years ago. No one was really impressed, so how far Barnes is from Guillon is really unknown until JP is replaced in a game. Barnes was redshirted last year, and newcomer Greg McElroy will likely be redshirted this season unless he somehow wows the coaching staff. But as a whole, it's a decent group - just not a lot of experience. Hopefully all the reps JP got last year/spring and this year's spring drills will roll over into fall and make Bama a championship contender. Right now, they are all just unproven and have to show us what they've got.GRADE: C

RB/FB: This is the position for the Tide where talent is abundant. Even without All-SEC performer Ken Darby, our stable of RB's is something the coaches are happy to have, especially with all the RB injuries we had a couple of years ago. You just never know when you're going to be down to your 4th string RB, right? But behind Darby is Glen Coffee and Jimmy Johns. Coffee is probably the most dangerous RB of the two since Johns is really a converted QB to RB... but one thing is for sure - Johns is a load to take down and has played very well in the time he has accumulated. Throw in the mix Roy Upchurch who was injured last season and redshirted and then Terry Grant and you have a young, but capable group of guys that can handle the ball for us this year. We look good here - about as good as you'll see on the whole team.

At FB, we have 2 future NFL players in my opinion. Tim Castille and McClain are 2 punishing bruisers who plan on making a statement in each, their senior year. Beneath them are unknowns, but I don't expect to really see anyone else besides these 2 this season unless one gets hurt.GRADE: A

WR/TE: At TE, Nick Walker and Travis McCall will battle it out for the starting position. Walker played most of last year but saw limited action in receptions. But when he made a grab, it was usually a good one. I look for his receptions to increase this year, but by how much is not known. With a new JP back at QB, Nick might get a few more dump-off passes than we have seen in the last 2-3 years. Those tend to go for pretty good gainers. We have a lot of talent at this position - it's just all young. Harvey, Dial and Hoke are the next three and all hope to contribute in some form or fashion. Just need more playing time here.TE GRADE: B-

At WR, we have 2 go-to guys and one guy, Caddell that may or may not show up. Brown and Hall are definitely the 2 WR's defenses will key on, with DJ being the most dangerous of the two. Brown, however, has big-play potential as he had numerous big plays for TD's last season though Hall got more receptions and big first downs (ie. UT game). Hopefully these guys will start coming into their own as Juniors this year. They have 2 years behind them so now it's time for them to start acting like veterans and make a lot of big plays. With JP in at QB, we're going to need these guys to play great more than ever. Other guys that hope to get in the mix are Nikita Stover and Will Oakley who has been hounded by injuries since he got to Bama. Freshmen have the best chance to make the cut here as last year, WR was not what Bama wanted it to be when Prothro went down. If Shula can find another playmaker or two, look for a freshman or two to get some significant playing time... like Alexander and McCoy. As far as Prothro goes, he likely won't play this season... and coaches definitely won't waste his last year if he's not 100%. Seeing how he probably won't be close to 100% until mid-season, I look to see the human highlight reel back in action in 2007 when JP is a Junior QB. Who knows what we'll get to see?! So good talent here, but is it just potential like last year - or will it finally blossom all over? WR GRADE: B

OL: This was the biggest question mark last season besides whether or not Croyle could make it thru the entire season without getting hurt. Well, they started strong, but when Prothro went down, it seems like everyone on offense went down, including the line for some reason... especially at the end of the season when Brodie was getting sacked so much, he didn't know what day of the week it was. This season, the OL has a full year under their belt and much improvement is expected, especially with the move of Antoine Caldwell to the center position. It worked for the Cotton Bowl, and the coaches feel with the added spring practice, that the OL might be a force to deal with. And with the addition of Andre Smith, that's just going to push the older guys even more. Smith may not play, but he'll push them to the limit if he doesn't. I look for good things here... and a nice road for Darby to break the Alabama rushing record currently held by NFL MVP Shaun Alexander. GRADE: B

DEFENSE

The DEFENSE: The defense as a unit lost 7 starters. Now it's up to the backups from last year to step into the starting role and make this defense one of the best in the country. No one will replace Ryans and Harper and Peprah, but the guys coming on will have a good bit of experience to make a difference. In the middle, Juwan Simpson will be a force, but who knows when he'll play due to the off-the-field trouble he got in a while back. Then there's Ramzee Robinson at DB. He'll be the Tide's #1 man in the 2ndary as a senior. He can talk the talk too. As a freshman, many teams picked on him and got burned quite a bit... but now, teams avoid him because they know what could happen should they throw the ball on his side of the field. The big man on the DL is clearly Wallace Gilberry and he's only a Jr. We have a lot of talent here as well in Saunders, Clark and Harris. Coaches are hoping that some of the young talent will blossom this year like Greenwood did a year ago. This includes Fanney, Deadrick, Washington, Adams and Lee. And don't forget the 3rd down speedster - Zeke Knight who played WR previous to this move. He might see a bit more playing time if he bulks up during the year. I look for this to be a strong suit for the Tide this year on defense. And we're going to need it with all the LB's and 3 DB's out for the Tide.

At DB, the Tide has signed many and often. There is no telling who will get the look at the other 3 positions, but I definitely look forward to seeing more of Gray, Castille, Dukes, and Carter. Other guys will definitely get some looks to keep the 2ndary fresh. Look for Coger, Reamer and freshmen Arenas and Woodall to try and strut their stuff for Joe Kines.

At LB, Simpson is a given, but who else will step into the limelight? Looks like Jones and Collins will probably get the other 2 spots with Waldrop and Hall getting some playing time as well. If Higgenbotham and Kirschman can impress, they could see action as well. Jones could be a serious impact player. Last year, when he did play, he showed some serious speed and could really hit the ball carrier. I look for Jones to be one of the defensive surprises this season.

So overall, we still have talent and they have played snaps in the past. But they definitely won't be last year's team who was ranked #1/#2 in the country depending on who you ask. Big question mark here, but they definitely will come to play.... and play hard. Kines won't accept anything less. GRADE: B+

SPECIAL TEAMS

Kickoff/punt returns: Punt returns is what killed us last year after Prothro got hurt. Once he went down, we might as well have just put all 11 men on the line and let the ball go. At least the coaches won't have to debate putting Brooks in there this season as he has graduated. Now the coaches are looking for another small guy that has good hands and can make good things happen. Arenas (a freshman) will probably be high on the coach's list of punt returners as he did it in high school very well. We might even see another freshman step into this role as no one last year could field a punt either - so it's gotta be somebody new. At kickoff returns, Coffee will probably be one of the guys... and Caddell could be the #2 guy. Hard to say right now, but I definitely feel better on kickoff returns than I do punts. GRADE: B-

PK/punter: At placekicker, it's a no-brainer. Jamie Christensen will be the FG specialist and kickoff guy, especially after last year's performance in winning 3 games by a FG including a huge win over UT and then Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl. Ole Miss was the other victim. He was kinda spiratic last season when it came to his first kick of the game... but somehow, he usually settled down to make everything after the first attempt. And his leg on kickoffs is much needed as well. It's been a long time before Jamie since we had a guy that could kick into the endzone... I guess it was William "Wild Thing" Watts... At punter, Fitzgerald looks to be the starter, but it's early right now. I just want someone who can make good decisions should the blocking scheme break down. Can we do that, people? Good. GRADE: A-

COACHING

On the coaching scene, Shula continues to keep a continuity on the staff to keep these kids all on the same page. This is helping to create some serious stability in the program. I still would like to see a little more trickeration on Shula's part. It's still very NFL fluffy to me and still semi predictable. No gadget plays except for the rare Prothro at QB stint. Now we Jimmy Johns who played QB in High School. I'm sure we could work him into some kind of good QB sneak play or something. Shula likes to play it safe, and that's a good thing - but when you surprise your opponent when they least expect it (see Tuberville, Spurrier, and Nutt), it can pay dividends. I don't know about a reverse on kickoffs/punts, but definitely something on the offensive side of the ball. All in all, they have done a good job, even if the last 1/2 of last season was just a giant ball of stress. They still won 10 games with a lack of scholarship players, but mostly senior-laden. Let's see how they make the transition when they lose a ton of talent. Then we'll see how this coaching staff should be in the future. We can't seem to get multiple years in a row where we do good, though a LOT of that has to do with the fact that coaches have come and gone quicker than anything. Now it's time to see the coaches establish the Tide as a year-in and year-out contender for the SEC and National Title. With the weak home game schedule we have this year, we should go to a bowl game, but winning 10 games will be tough this year as our road games are probably the toughest of any other team in the country. Good luck, guys... GRADE: B+

It's time for the Tide to rise, so support your local chapter(s), go to football games and make Bryant-Denny one of the loudest stadiums in the country. It better be, as we're now the 5th biggest stadium in college football. Roll Tide Roll!!!

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