Filling In The Blanks
Top Ten Countdown -- #4 Alabama
Do the reigning national champions deserve this high ranking?
Let's face it, much of preseason hype is related directly to the results of the previous season. I must admit that Alabama's finish in 2009 has influenced this selection, but until they are proven unworthy Bama deserves to be ranked among the nation’s elite.
Alabama is, in some regards, similar to a team I've already ranked in the top ten, Virginia Tech. Tech returns three defensive starters, Alabama two. Both teams have a pair of extremely talented tailbacks, both teams return talented senior quarterbacks and both teams have a history of strong defense. I don't know if there is one common denominator that all great teams possess, but both the presence of a strong running game and senior leadership at quarterback, I think, play an important role.
Alabama has, arguably, the best tandem of running backs in the nation.
The Tide returns all of their starting "skill" position players, including Heisman trophy winner Mark Ingram. Ingram rushed for 1,658 yards in 2009, averaging 6.1 yards per carry while scoring 17 rushing touchdowns. His backup, Trent Richardson, was the top-rated running back coming out of high school in 2008 and ranked the number one impact recruit in the 2009 recruiting class by Rivals.com. He was more than just hype. Last year, Richardson added 751 rushing yards and EIGHT TD's on 145 carries, giving the Tide quite a one-two punch and making starting quarterback Greg McElroy's job much easier.
McElroy, who hasn't lost a game as a starting quarterback since middle school, guided Bama to a perfect 14-0 record last year, including a 37-21 victory over Texas in the Rose Bowl to win a national title. McElroy completed 198 of 325 passes for 2,508 yards, with an excellent touchdown to interception ratio of 17 to 4.
That last number might be the most significant. Alabama likes to control the clock and wear teams down with their physical running game. Having a quarterback that doesn't make mistakes is an important part of that strategy. It doesn't hurt that McElroy has a strong, accurate arm, and a talented group of wide receivers.
Alabama returns all three starting receivers, including preseason All-American wide receiver Julio Jones. Jones, a junior, led the team with 43 catches for 596 yards and four touchdowns, even though he was injured for much of the year. A healthy Jones, along with Marquis Maze (31 rec., 523 yds., 2 TD's) and Darrius Hanks (17 rec., 272 yds., 3 TD's) give Alabama one of the best wide receiving corps in the Southeastern Conference.
Although the Crimson Tide must replace their top two tight ends, they return three starting offensive linemen, including the guy that is trusted with protecting McElroy's blindside, senior left tackle James Carpenter. Center, William Vlachos, and right guard, Barrett Jones, also return, while highly regarded redshirt freshmen D.J. Fluker and Chance Womack will likely start at right tackle and left guard, respectively.
Alabama's offense averaged a respectable 32.1 points per game in 2009, fourth best in the SEC. With McElroy under center, Ingram and Richardson sharing the load at tailback and all three starting wide receivers back in the fold, the Tide's offense should be very good.
There aren't a lot of questions surrounding Alabama's offense, but the same can't be said on the other side of the ball.
As mentioned, there were only two starters returning on defense and one of those, Dont'a Hightower, was lost in the fourth game of the 2009 with an injury. The other, safety Mark Barron, had an impressive sophomore season, finishing the year second on the team in tackles (76), broke up 11 passes and led the team in interceptions with seven.
Of course the Tide lost linebacker Rolando McClain, a first team All-American, SEC defensive player of the year, first round draft choice of the Oakland Raiders and the teams leading tackler, Terrance "Mount" Cody, an All-American, first team All-SEC nose tackle and second round draft choice of the Baltimore Ravens, along with Javier Arenas (cornerback) an All-American, first team All-SEC selection and second round draft choice of the Kansas City Chiefs, just to mention a few.
So obviously the question marks are on the defensive side of the ball. How well those defenders play will go a long way to determining whether or not Alabama will be able to defend their national title. Not an easy thing to do, especially with the daunting schedule that includes Penn State, Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee, LSU and Auburn.
