Bill from NYC

Alabama is far from a "dum dum" school. It has grown academically in leaps and bound since Coach Saban arrived and delivered hundreds of millions of dollars to the school. And please, are you trying to say that all Notre Dame players are Fulbright Scholars? Sure, ok! Notre Dame and Stanford were already rich schools. They have won titles, no? Did they do so with a squad full of intellectuals? I recommend patience. At some point down the road, maybe one of these teams will belong on the same field as Alabama. Perhaps if you combined the best players from these 2 schools they could even keep it somewhat close against the Crimson Tide. This might be possible in the future but not today. Hate as you will but this championship was sweet. Saban runs the best program in the country. This is why our own coach tries to imitate him. I don't blame him. ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The 2018 Crimson Tide Team is almost certain to be better than the current National Champion Crimson Tide Team. It will be hard to replace Payne but Buggs looks very promising. Minkah and Harrison are gone at safety but Coach Saban focused on the secondary in this class. Coming into the season there are no weaknesses that I can see. It's hard to imagine just how good Tua can be with all the talent around him. His receivers will be great, and Najee Harris has Heisman type talent. And, keep an eye on RB Bryan Robinson, who is a star as well. The above is not to say that they are guaranteed another championship. Remember, the 2016 team was considerably better than the current champs. That said, it sure is great to have Coach Saban coming back to dominate yet again. He is the best and it isn't even a little bit close. The haters will have their hands full this season.

I suppose. I was hoping that they acquired Alex Smith AND drafted a 1st round qb.

I never heard that story but it doesn't surprise me.

Hand sat mainly because of the talent on last season's Crimson Tide defense. You see I respectfully disagree and think that last year's defense was far better than this one. Clemson beat them fair and square. I want to make this clear but the Tide had some tremendous defensive players hurt. Ryan Anderson once said that Hand was the fastest lineman on the team. He might be but he doesn't get an especially quick start (which is why I see him as a 4/3 DT). Hey, the kid is a monster. He might have been the top recruit overall, if not he was close. He does, as you say, appear to be boom or bust. I look forward to your projections about the next Alabama class.

The Bills do not seem to need a safety, let alone a 1st rounder. I don't want a first round corner either. As always, I want QBs, OL, Pass Rushing DEs and LBs. I do however think that Harrison will get drafted by a team that picks late and make some huge plays. John, he reminds me of Atwater.

Listen, this post was absolutely outstanding. Tell me, are you a closet Alabama Fan? I see that you have Payne graded in the top 10. Imo this was a daring yet accurate projection. After the title game, people now know how athletic he is. He is also lightening fast in close quarters and as strong as an ox. I hope he lasts long enough for the Bills to draft. All of the mocks love Minkah, but most omit Ronnie Harrison from the 1st round. I have been watching football even before Ronnie Lott and I'm telling you that Harrison hits as hard as any safety has in decades. He can cover, blitz, and is great against the run. Trust me, I loathe drafting 1st round defensive backs as a rule, but RH is going to win football games for his NFL team. Good call! A quick word about Bama LBs: Coach Saban says that many of the LBs who now excel on the Tide might not have made the team several years ago because they would have been thought of as too small. This group they have now will leave school pro-ready because they excel at coverage. I hope that Shaun Dion-Hamilton does last until round 4, even if we had to wait for him to return to 100%. And, you properly list Da'Shaun Hand as a DE and he might be a great one. He is huge, and he sure has fresh legs whereas he sat a lot on Bama, but I have a hunch that he would be a standout DT in a 4/3. Just a hunch. Once again, thanks for a great, well thought post.

If you watch the Senior Bowl, you might want to take a look at Da'Shaun Hand. He played DE at Bama but he interests me as a 4-3 DT. He's 6'4'/290 and fast. He was a 5 star recruit but didn't see all that much playing time. But, he is as strong as an ox and very fast. He might last until Round 3 or 4. It's hard to say.

Somewhere around Round 4, but I want to see what he does with the 225 at the combines. Imo, the bench numbers tend to be meaningful for offensive linemen (although it didn't help Mike Williams )

I am going to add Bradley Bozeman into the mix from the Crimson Tide due to the horrible news about Wood.

Fantastic avatar!!!

I think you mean Raekwon Davis, #99. He was only a sophomore this year. He's listed at 6'7" / 305. He is very quick and has exceptionally long and strong arms. I don't remember him at all as a freshman. The kid is still learning. Also, Anfernee Jennings is sort of a tweener. He's 6'2" / 262 and lightning fast. Saban gave him the highest grade for 1 game (Sugar Bowl) of any Tide player this season. He was hurt for the title game.

He does need more time and I'm sure he will see lots of it if he stays healthy. In fact, I suspect that Hurts will transfer. I hope not but I do expect this. I first saw Tua in a televised summer practice game. Imo the kid is a very special player. I liken him (for the sake of early conversation) to a more talented Russell Wilson, and I'm serious. He is mobile, an agile power runner, has a cannon arm, and is VERY accurate. Not enough? He is smart and a serious, deeply religious kid. Will Fromm turn out to be better? I think not but we both know that I am extremely partial.

Alabama Crimson Tide: Da'Ron Payne is a great DT. Last season, Ryan Anderson said that he was the 2nd fastest defensive lineman on the team. Da'Ron penetrates on virtually every play and the Bills need a DT. He is a quiet kid and to my knowledge has never been in trouble. Ronnie Harrison has the potential to be a great safety. He is listed at 6'3/215 and is a human missile who can cover all day, blitz, and is great against the run. Is he as good as Minkah Fitzpatrick? No, but Minkah is going to be a top 10, maybe even top 5 selection.

Early, yes but at some point we are going to have to include Tua in this conversation. Hey, let's not forget who beat who.

Absolutely. Clemson really sucked on defense.

Sorry if it seems like I am ducking the question, but I have seen him run all of the above. He was also good at utilizing a running qb but we shouldn't read much into that. Remember, Coach Saban likes to keep opponents at 3rd and long, and then force mistakes and pounce on them and again, I believe he put heavy pressure on Daboll to keep things conservative. He even got angry at him in the Clemson game for 2 incomplete passes in the 4th quarter when he thought that Daboll should be killing the clock. In the Championship Game, Coach Saban had no choice and had to turn Daboll loose. He (imo) put on a coaching clinic. At one point there were 6 freshmen on the field on offense. 6 FRESHMEN, and look what happened!!!! Daboll was schooled by the best and will be superb, or so I say.

Coach Saban can adapt, but he is primarily an old fashioned coach. He likes to run on offense and on defense he believes in stopping the run before stopping the pass. I think that having Kiffen as Offensive Coordinator caused Coach Saban some nervous frustration because Lane was WAY more into the passing game than he was. . I can't prove it and obviously have no inside info but I strongly believe that Daboll was ordered to focus more on the run when he was brought in. That said, he called some very interesting pass plays, this with Jalen Hurts as QB. I predict that Daboll will bring a strong, well balanced offense to Buffalo. As a lifelong Crimson Tide Fan I am very sorry to see him go. As a Bills Fan I am thrilled to have him in Buffalo, and I do mean thrilled. I strongly suspect he will silence the critics, except for perhaps the most chronic of jealous haters. GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hard to imagine why.....:)

I am guessing that both Alabama and Georgia will be clearly superior but that's just me.

I agree with this.

I was utterly pleased with Daboll. He has spent a long time with Bellichick, and now Saban. He's used to strong head coaches and showed me how well he can adapt. Remember, Saban did NOT want another pass happy Lane Kiffen. Daboll was under pressure to be more conservative and was successful. And I hate to admit it but Hurts did very little to progress as a passer this year, and he had plenty of weapons, trust me. Obviously, the team still performed well. Whether he stays on at Bama or comes to the Bills, I have full confidence in him. It's a win-win situation for me and I'm certain that you will like him.

Isaiah Buggs returning to University of Alabama.

No surprises there. It's going to be very hard to replace Payne, who I wish would drop to the Bills for an immediate impact imo. Btw, I saw that Damien Harris is staying. Thanks SO much for the updates!

RTR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Next year they will be a MUCH better offensive team despite losing Ridley and Scarborough. Not even close. On defense, they lose a pair if great safeties and DT Payne in the middle. This is a concern but the pass rush should also improve.