Happy Father's Day to all my fellow Dads!

Ya know, Father's Day shouldn't be in June. I should be in September. On a Saturday. So we could get a free pass to watch all the CFB we want with no interruptions. Be allowed to set up multiple TVs in the living room. Our wives and children would be tasked with making sure we have plenty of munchies, grilled steaks, cold adult beverages, that we would need. And when we finally OD on football (or the adult beverages) late into the evening (gotta stay up for those west coast games) they just cover us up and let us sleep in the Lazy Boy.

Now that would be a great Father's Day!

Then again, I guess we should just be glad that they put up with us every day!

Ahhh, Divine Design? I guess that I can go with that.

We Southerners have always said that we were God's Gift to the rest of the country!

A Southern football fan died and went to Heaven. As St. Peter was giving him the grand tour, he noticed an older, distinguished man wearing a houndstooth hat and an Alabama football jacket.
"Is that, that...?" he started to ask
"Yes," St. Peter said. "It's God. Sometimes he likes to pretend he is Bear Bryant."

Hmmm, your research raises a question: why did these coaches have to go to the SEC to win titles?

A logical extrapolation might be that the SEC has far superior players thus allowing these coaches to be successful.

What say you, oh Guide Bear?

Howdy Table!

Woo-woo! Bama gets a really good QB commit.

But enough of the recruiting crap, he-said-what, and scandal of the week, off-season stuff.

I AM READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL! Can't wait for kick-off. Especially Sept 21 and the payback!

My heart goes out to all of the people in Oklahoma. How tragic.

Tornadoes can be the cruelest, mostly deadly thing you have ever seen. Living in central Alabama, we are unfortunately all too familiar with them. If you have never seen one, I hope that you never do.

Amen! What is it? 106 days till kickoff? Can't come soon enough!

My point was that OK & Stoops have won nothing lately. They have been perennial underachievers finishing an average of 6.7 games LOWER in final rankings than where they started. Stoops should spend more time worrying about how to win with HIS team rather than worry about "propaganda" about other conferences.

Yep. Losers. Saban IMMEDIATELY booted them from the team. School immediately booted them.

Oh, and they won the last 3 of 4 BCS titles. So maybe they were a wee bit more focused than Stoops' team.

http://college-football.si.com/2013/05/10/kendal-thompson-offseason-arrest/?sct =uk_t2_a4

Maybe Bob Stoops should worry less about the bottom half of the SEC and more about his own players.

Good luck to your daughter and her team!

Best thing that could happen to Driskell would be a strong, consistent running game to take the pressure off of him. Last year he got thrown to the wolves and he needs time to grow into the position. And better WR play.

Mr. Daniels or Mr. Dickel are not helping you type are they?

You should have gone back a few pages. You could have enjoyed some Bama propaganda as well. Would have really made your day!

Good read Stu. Excellent stuff there. Just backed-up what I have been thinking: there is too much talent to think that LSU would have much of a drop off this season. Mettenberger did his best Joe Montana imitation against Bama last year and played well the remainder of the season (Chik Fil A exception noted). If he continues to improve the LSU offense will no longer be the weakness of that team.

I still contend that the years that everyone discounts LSU is when they are most dangerous.

Good. I want to get your take on the Tigers. Lots of new faces on the defensive side, gotta keep Jeremy Hill out of trouble. What other issues?

I do believe that if Mettenburger progresses as much as he did last year, he could be a force. AND whenever everyone seems to discount LSU, that is when they have the best seasons. Plus they are coming to T-town and it seems that over the past 10 years or so, the visiting team has the edge. I look forward to getting your take.

The Vols have a tough road ahead. New coach, new QB, replacing an NFL caliber WR. And the schedule sure isn't very kind: Oregon, Georgia, SC, Florida, and Bama at T-town. That is five top 10 teams in a major rebuilding year. I am afraid it is going to hurt a lot folks that prefer orange.

Thank you. This wrestling thing has been a learning curve for me. To begin with, I had no idea how it was even scored. Now I find myself watching the NCAA championships and understanding what the hell they are saying.

I also had no idea that with club teams it is a year round sport. This has kept ol Dad hopping - I don't miss a single match that he is in. But it has been fun!

Damn, I didn't mean for that to come out like a blog post! Sorry if I got carried away.

Now, it is time for everyone else to tell us about their teams.

ALABAMA CONTINUED:

SPECIAL TEAMS: The biggest question here is how Cade Foster will do as the full time PK. He has a very strong leg, but has had accuracy issues on short kicks. Behind him is a redshirt FR that was rated as one of the top kickers in the nation a couple of years ago. Cody Mandell has the potential to be a Ray Guy candidate at punter - he is very good and, more important, very consistent. I think we will see Dee Hart have a great season as a return specialist and I won't be surprised if we don't see a couple of the incoming FR like Altee Tenpenny do some return work.

MY BIGGEST POST-SPRING CONCERN: A lack of intensity in the spring game. Lots of mistakes during the scrimmage that are way out of character for Saban's team. To me, it almost seemed like the players were not taking it all very seriously. I hope this team has not developed some sense of entitlement and take for granted the hard work that has earned previous teams success. On the other hand, a sloppy spring gives Saban something to kick **** about during the summer.

SEASON OUTLOOK: Make no mistake that the Tide will be strong. But will they be 3-peat strong? The first two games will be a big indication how good this team can be. The Hokies have a lot of returning talent, a new OC, and a lot to prove after last season. And we all know about A&M. If Bama takes care of business in the first two games, it should be clear sailing till LSU comes to T-town for another "Game of the Century". Although there is no sure thing in the SEC West. Ole Miss is much better, Arkansas and Belima will be an unknown as will Auburn and their new HC. Provided they get thru the regular season, UGA, SC or FL will be waiting in Atlanta. A sure-fire cinch for another title? I don't think so, but the championship potential, and talent, is there.

ALABAMA: We have all heard, ad nauseum, about the three big pillars Bama lost on the O-line. Yes, that was a big blow, but not the only spots of concern for the Tide.

OFFENSE: As you all know, the RB corps is loaded - and crowded. Undoubtedly, some of the young freshmen will be redshirted. I think we will see a steady rotation of Yeldon, Drake and Henry during the season. I look for Jalston Fowler to play mostly at "H" back and FB. I think we'll see Dee Hart mostly in the slot and on special teams (where he could be great - a la Javier Arenas). The TE and WR corps should be both talented and deep. Amari Cooper should continue to be and incredible talent, but with Chis Black and Kenny Bell healthy, this could be the best receiving group Saban has had at Bama. AJ McCarron should be dreaming about the potential - if he is not having nightmares about the protection. Last year, AJ played most of the season with a very clean uniform, but I don't think that will be the case this year. It is not so much a lack of talent as it is a lack of cohesiveness. This group has not played together for 2-3 years like last year's group and there will be some growing pains. This was evident during the spring game and a lack of a strong running game. The opener against Va Tech and their 9 returning defensive starters will be telling.

DEFENSE: Lots of players returning with tons of game experience. Saban & Smart did a good job of getting a lot of players on the field last season and that experience will pay dividends this fall. To me, the biggest shoes to fill will be that of NG Jesse Williams. In Bama's 3-4 scheme, the NG is an unheralded but vitally important position. The NG's ability to command double and triple teams is the key to freeing the fast LB's to do their damage. It remains to be seen who will seize the position. Otherwise, the LB group looks solid and extremely athletic. Very good at Safety, the CB's appear to be the biggest point of concern for the D. Geno Smith, Deion Blue, and John Fulton showed glimpses of being very good during the season, but also had some shaky play at times. We will see if Saban can work his magic (again) on this defensive backfield. But overall, the Tide defense will again be a very strong unit. Time will tell if they can be as dominate as the past couple of seasons.

Tablers, spring football has come and gone, and we have all gotten some glimpses of our favorite teams. Now we have the summer to speculate on how well they will do come fall.

Already we have seen the media pundits sound off on their early picks. I have to wonder if some of them even watched anybody's spring game - their preseason picks seem a little whacky.

A challenge to everyone at the Table: as loyal fans, we know our teams better than anyone else does. So how about everyone do a preseason report on their teams? An honest evaluation of where you think your favorite team is coming out of the spring and what you anticipate for the fall.