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I think more important is the running game. Alabama's success last year was due to the running game and three RB's who could have been starters pretty much anywhere.

Bump

I think Greg McElroy is going to be an upgrade at the QB position. JPW was adequate but really had trouble throwing the deep ball.

We are still going to run the ball and do a lot off of Play Action, but I think GM brings the deep ball which is going to help the offense out immensely.

Maybe JPW in his first year!

I live 50 or so miles away from Tuscaloosa and I'm hearing things that make me think Alabama might "surprise" some people this year. Yes, they are ranked #5 but a lot of people I have seen on here have them finishing outside the top 10.

And honestly, it's better to be discussing this than discussing how bad they will be which I had to do for years.

Guess we'll know in 19 days...............Yes! I just got as excited as a democrat at an Obama Town Hall meeting. We only have 19 days left guys! and B.I.G. Speaking of lovely ladies, where's E in Austin been? You guys seen her around lately?

As much as I don't care for Alabama I think McElroy will be far more capable of the big play coming from the QB position than JPW was. The question for fans of the Tide will be can he not lose the game for them. That's exactly what Wilson brought to the table. He might not have won many games for them, but he didn't lose any for them either. When you have as good of a running game as what Bama had last year you don't have to ask the QB to win games just manage them. I think that with McElroy they have the QB to open up the playbook a little bit more at times.

McElroy will be as good as the OL allows him to be. Offense will be as good as OL allows them to be.

What happened to the thread that was pointing out why Alabama would win the West again? I purposefully stayed out of it because I was kind of getting sick of all the rivals who kept harping on how our OL was going to be bad, and we lost our starting RB, and we had a very inexperienced QB.

I stayed out partly also because I respect VT and I was afraid I'd make some wild prediction when there was really no way to know the way the game would go.

I think all three of our question marks, while not completely answered, were at least answered to the extent that Alabama is not just going to be a pushover because of the OL, the RB, and the QB situation. We have a lot of work to do, but we also have something to work with.

Our RBs and OL had some decent rushing numbers. Mark Ingram has proven he could have gained as many yards last year as Glen Coffee if he had been the featured back.

Though they struggled at first there was a vast improvement as the night went on. If they keep building that confidence over the next couple of games then they could be a force to be reccond with.

And what about Trent Richardson. Only in a couple of plays and looking good.

My main problem with Bama's win is that is was against a team from the Avoid Competency Conference. It looked good, but it's hard to tell because it was against the ACC.

QUOTE(#11):

Originally posted 01:56 AM ET  09.06 by GatorSwamp

My main problem with Bama's win is that is was against a team from the Avoid Competency Conference. It looked good, but it's hard to tell because it was against the ACC.

The ACC may be what it is, but Virginia Tech always fields at least a very, very good defense and we were able to gain 498 yards on offense.

True dat. Maybe we'll see you again in the SEC CG!

QUOTE(#9):

Originally posted 01:39 AM ET  09.06 by Joekidd1992

What happened to the thread that was pointing out why Alabama would win the West again? I purposefully stayed out of it because I was kind of getting sick of all the rivals who kept harping on how our OL was going to be bad, and we lost our starting RB, and we had a very inexperienced QB.

I'm wondering the same thing, I cannot find that tread. WIERD!!

WHo uses faxes anymore? Can Greg McElroy be a scanned pdf of John Parker Wilson?

Now that the season is six games old, we have learned a few things about McElroy and the team in general: the team is able to win against VA Tech and Ole Miss on bad offensive days when McElroy throws for only a 50% completion rate. When McElroy is good, it is even more fun to watch.

We know that McElroy is not picky about his targets. Hanks, Peak, and Maze are able to get open routinely when the opposing secondary targets Julio Jones. Ingram has caught several passes too. True, Jones hasn't put up Heisman numbers, but a team has 11 players for a reason and he contributes every time he pulls coverage away from the other receivers. Happiness is when you complete passes for touchdowns of 50+ yards to two different receivers, as McElroy did against Arkansas.

I never drank the JPW kool-aid, so I never wanted a facsimile of our former QB anyway.

Bama looked pretty darned strong whipping Ole Miss. The Bama-LSU game is setting up nicely, can't wait for that one.

QUOTE(#16):

Originally posted 03:33 PM ET  10.14 by RollTide09

I never drank the JPW kool-aid, so I never wanted a facsimile of our former QB anyway.

Rolltide,

I thought your statement was the typical Bama's evaluation of the Wilson area--average qb surrounded by some gifted skill players like Jones. From what little I have seen, McElroy looks solid.

On a side note, hoping PSU has deep-sixed the clown for the time being.

John Parker Wilson? Never heard of him.

QUOTE(#18):

Originally posted 06:09 PM ET  10.14 by PGH Buckeye

Rolltide, I thought your statement was the typical Bama's evaluation of the Wilson era--average qb surrounded by some gifted skill players like Jones. From what little I have seen, McElroy looks solid.

Maybe I wasn't clear enough in saying I like McElroy very much. I like the offense better this year than last. We had a lot of 3 and outs last year: Wilson throws the deep pass incomplete to Jones, Coffee runs for 4-5 yards, Wilson throws the moderate-range pass incomplete, and punt. The play calling has improved - I like that they use more short passes on 1st down - and Peak is a good short yardage target. The trouble with the Ole Miss and VA Tech games in particular was that McElroy picked those particular games to have his worst completion percentages. The next three weeks will be big ones.