Hence the frustration with polls. Dozens of people rank them differently -- some for how they would do on a neutral field, some for a how they will finish, etc.
cue the 800 reposts of the bud light presents real american genius commercial presenting mr. non realistic notre dame football fan, or whatever that is...... as long as we are in the top 15 i really dont care, if we take care of business we should be right where we want to be.
It is because it doesn't tell you how good they really are. However we know from past experience that rankings preseason and during season are largely based on a teams record and not how good that team is. Therefore preseason polls based on a teams schedule will likely mirror the polls during the season. Bama has a much easier schedule than they usually do and this poll is obviously based on what the person making the poll thinks their record will be. Bama loses their 3 best offensive players from a team that was very overrated to begin with. No way they get a #4 preseason record based on how good the team is compared to the rest of the field.
Well at least our "Issue" is a good one to have. Issue: Where does mega-recruit Russell Shepard, fit in?
I really don't see the knock on 'Bama. I mean last year they were around #25 in the polls coming in and look how they did. This team is like the Pittsburgh Steelers and doesn't really need a play-making QB. It doesn't seem too much to ask of a new QB to protect the ball, and they say that Ingram was their best back last year. Saban is also one of the best coaches in the game. They have to replace QB and OL and other than that, they are rather stacked. I can't see them not in the top 10.
Saban followed up his best seasons here ('01 and '03) with rather disappointing campaigns. I see no real reason for that trend to suspend itself. No, protecting the ball shouldn't be too much to ask of a QB, but look at our '08 season as proof that it's easier said than done.
They didn't belong in the top 10 last year and they lose their 3 best offensive players. They will also be breaking in a new QB.
You should. It's damn near impossible to replace a QB that threw for 150 yards a game, had 10 TD's with only 8 ints, and a Colt McCoy like 57% completion percentage. And since LSU had a QB problem this year you should know every other school on earth will have the same problem...even if their offensive coordinator protects his QB's where as Crowton exposed the **** out of ours. ...it falls on the OL. If Bama can run the ball they will win. That is up in the air.
