A Few Thoughts About The Alabama Draft Class.....

[Saxum]

On 2/11/2021 at 7:21 AM, Bill from NYC said:

This is just a post to express my views on the Alabama players. Please keep in mind that I am not trying to present myself as any sort of expert. There ARE experts posting here. I have however watched every game that the following players participated in while they were in Tuscaloosa, so I do feel qualified to make a few observations to those who it might interest. These players are listed in random order:

 

...

 

In summary, I'm very interested in Dickerson, Leatherwood, and yes....Barmore, knowing that DT is usually not the way to go. My thing is that if Barmore stays focused and out of trouble, he is a total game changer. He's THAT good imo but again, there MIGHT be risk.

 

No CBs worth taking late in first round?

[Bill from NYC]

2 hours ago, Limeaid said:

 

No CBs worth taking late in first round?

Yes, a few posts back I talked a bit about Patrick Surtain. He is good but I expect him to be gone. And as you might have guessed, I do not want the Bills to draft another 1st round corner.

 

[Arm of Harm]

On 2/11/2021 at 7:21 AM, Bill from NYC said:

In summary, I'm very interested in Dickerson (OT), Leatherwood (OT), and yes....Barmore (DT) . . .

 

 

 

I fell out of my chair after reading that. All three of the players you're interested in are either OL or DL? That's so not like you Bill! I was totally expecting you to focus on all the DBs and RBs you think the Bills should be drafting with their early picks!

[John from Riverside]

We are in a unique position where we can take a running back with our first pic and nobody would complain

 

If you told me that I could get Josh Jacobs on to this team I would jump all over that

[GunnerBill]

25 minutes ago, John from Riverside said:

We are in a unique position where we can take a running back with our first pic and nobody would complain

 

If you told me that I could get Josh Jacobs on to this team I would jump all over that

 

I think people would complain. 

 

That said, all the people who hated the Packers picking Jordan Love because they were 1 game away from the Superbowl and needed an immediate impact player should 100% want the Bills to pick Najee Harris at #30. I very much doubt there is another player likely to be there at that spot who has as big of an impact on the Bills season in 2021. 

 

Personally I'd rather take someone at a higher value position, even if I think they might be less of a difference maker as a rookie.

[machine gun kelly]

Thanks Bill for the review.  I’m hopeful for Harris in the first.  I seriously doubt he makes it to the second.

[Bill from NYC]

1 hour ago, John from Riverside said:

 

If you told me that I could get Josh Jacobs on to this team I would jump all over that

Josh is one of the hardest working players I have ever seen. He was a 3 star who barely made the Alabama team at the last minute. He is not too fast and not too big but look at what he has accomplished. At one point he was living in a car with his dad. 

 

Najee is another hard worker and as Gunner says above, would be an immediate impact player. I wouldn't shed a tear if we took him in round 1. 

 

[Wayne Cubed]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I think people would complain. 

 

That said, all the people who hated the Packers picking Jordan Love because they were 1 game away from the Superbowl and needed an immediate impact player should 100% want the Bills to pick Najee Harris at #30. I very much doubt there is another player likely to be there at that spot who has as big of an impact on the Bills season in 2021. 

 

Personally I'd rather take someone at a higher value position, even if I think they might be less of a difference maker as a rookie.

I wouldn’t be massively upset if Harris was the pick at 30. As you say though, I’d rather they take a higher value position, even if it was more risk. That 5th year option is huge on those high value positions once Josh gets paid.

[Saxum]

6 hours ago, John from Riverside said:

We are in a unique position where we can take a running back with our first pic and nobody would complain

 

If you told me that I could get Josh Jacobs on to this team I would jump all over that

 

Some would complain if we won Superbowl because they either bet against Bills or their fantasy football team did not get enough points.

 

Some just like complaining more than the Bills.

[Big Blitz]

If that Center is a Nick Mangold comp, I'm all in at 30.  Even if the 2 RBs are there.  

[GunnerBill]

19 hours ago, Big Blitz said:

If that Center is a Nick Mangold comp, I'm all in at 30.  Even if the 2 RBs are there.  

 

I don't think he is Nick Mangold. My comparison is Cody Whitehair the Bears center. 

[Arm of Harm]

On 2/13/2021 at 5:46 AM, Bill from NYC said:

Najee (RB) is another hard worker and as Gunner says above, would be an immediate impact player. I wouldn't shed a tear if we took him in round 1. 

 

 

 

If Bill from NYC is okay with using a first round pick on a RB, it's a sign. A sign the end of times is at hand! 

 

 

[Nextmanup]

On 2/11/2021 at 11:02 AM, Bill from NYC said:

Davonta has better hands than Jeudy and gets open more than Ruggs. Jeudy is a bit faster than Davonta, Ruggs is faster than almost anybody.

 

Fwiw, The Tide is said to have an incoming freshman wr who runs a 4.15 40. I didn't even know that was possible.

The recruitment system Alabama has in place now would be like an NFL team that gets 5 picks in each round while everyone else gets less than 1 each.

 

When *all* the talent on a national level comes to play on your team, you should be expected to win.

 

Saban's legacy should have *nothing* to do with being a good football coach.

It should have *everything* to do with systemic organization.

 

 

 

 

 

[Buffalo716]

Alabama is a factory for top notch college football players.. it is not a factory for top-notch NFL players by in large.

 

Saban uses up 90% of his players before they ever even reach the pros 

 

It's the special ones that come out of Alabama ready to dominate the pros.. the majority are already at or over their football peak by the time they graduate Alabama, because Saban gets every ounce out of them

 

 

Edited February 15, 2021 by Buffalo716

[Bill from NYC]

2 hours ago, Arm of Harm said:

 

 

If Bill from NYC is okay with using a first round pick on a RB, it's a sign. A sign the end of times is at hand! 

 

 

It is a late pick and we need one but no, a first round running back is generally not my thing. Especially if he is a gadget player which Najee is not.

[Bill from NYC]

2 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

The recruitment system Alabama has in place now would be like an NFL team that gets 5 picks in each round while everyone else gets less than 1 each.

 

When *all* the talent on a national level comes to play on your team, you should be expected to win.

 

Saban's legacy should have *nothing* to do with being a good football coach.

It should have *everything* to do with systemic organization.

 

 

 

 

 

When Coach Saban arrived at Alabama, the place was a mess. An absolute mess that he transformed into one of the greatest dynasties in all of sports. This is a  coach that loses his coordinators and a slew of position coaches virtually every season. 

 

Coach Saban doesn't hire assistants for what they can bring to the team. He isn't as he says trying to "reinvent the wheel." He hires based on how they will fit into his system. The term "process" that Coach McDermott likes to stand on was invented a long ago by Coach Saban and was co opted by McDermott. It seems to be working rather well at that, no? 

 

I also remind you that Alabama is not like Hawaii or Southern California, with beautiful beaches and rich folks all over the place. Players come to Alabama to work, and a slew of them buy into the system, and get rich.

 

It's working for us in Buffalo too. I like Coach McDermott and it is about time we had a highly capable coach. That said, fear not. If he should falter, Coach Saban would almost certainly give him an interview to be a coordinator. He already bought onto the "process."

 

 

1 hour ago, Buffalo716 said:

 

It's the special ones that come out of Alabama ready to dominate the pros.. the majority are already at or over their football peak by the time they graduate Alabama, because Saban gets every ounce out of them

 

OK. Not so special players from all of the other schools come out and "dominate the pros."  

 

C'mon, seriously?  

Edited February 15, 2021 by Bill from NYC

[Buffalo716]

16 minutes ago, Bill from NYC said:

When Coach Saban arrived at Alabama, the place was a mess. An absolute mess that he transformed into one of the greatest dynasties in all of sports. This is a  coach that loses his coordinators and a slew of position coaches virtually every season. 

 

Coach Saban doesn't hire assistants for what they can bring to the team. He isn't as he says trying to "reinvent the wheel." He hires based on how they will fit into his system. The term "process" that Coach McDermott likes to stand on was invented a long ago by Coach Saban and was co opted by McDermott. It seems to be working rather well at that, no? 

 

I also remind you that Alabama is not like Hawaii or Southern California, with beautiful beaches and rich folks all over the place. Players come to Alabama to work, and a slew of them buy into the system, and get rich.

 

It's working for us in Buffalo too. I like Coach McDermott and it is about time we had a highly capable coach. That said, fear not. If he should falter, Coach Saban would almost certainly give him an interview to be a coordinator. He already bought onto the "process."

 

 

OK. Not so special players from all of the other schools come out and "dominate the pros."  

 

C'mon, seriously?  

My point is Alabama is not some special NFL factory. The majority of draft eligible players from bama are jags in the pros

 

You need to really do your due diligence on Alabama players.. because most are not Julio Jones 

 

And that's not to say that Alabama isn't the best college program.. just having the best college program doesn't always put out the best pros, because they are all so good it's hard to tell the true difference makers

 

 

Edited February 15, 2021 by Buffalo716

[Bill from NYC]

2 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:

My point is Alabama is not some special NFL factory. The majority of draft eligible players from bama are jags in the pros

 

You need to really do your due diligence on Alabama players.. because most are not Julio Jones 

 

And that's not to say that Alabama isn't the best college program.. just having the best college program doesn't always put out the best pros, because they are all so good it's hard to tell the true difference makers

 

 

OK, but don't you think things have improved in that regard? There are stars from Alabama all over the league, let alone a udfa like Levi Wallace making a damn good living. 

There will always be a few players who go crazy when the get away from Saban., and fail. I get this, but; the situation has improved in recent years. 

Edited February 15, 2021 by Bill from NYC

[Buffalo716]

20 minutes ago, Bill from NYC said:

OK, but don't you think things have improved in that regard. There are stars from Alabama all over the league, let alone a udfa like Levi Wallace making a damn good living. 

There will always be a few players who go crazy when the get away from Saban., and fail. I get this, but; the situation has improved in recent years. 

A guy like Levi Wallace to me is actually the mold of guy I'd be looking for from Alabama..  as a low risk project

 

A talented high school kid who just didn't have the size.. 140 lb as a  senior... But you can't measure heart.. and work ethic.. the two biggest factors to making a football player

 

And that's the biggest difference in the pros, heart and work ethic will beat talent everyday 

 

Give me the three-star guy like Josh Jacobs, who was the best pro running back on the roster, yet didn't even start in his time in Tuscaloosa... That grind, and work ethic, and determination to play is something that you can't count physically... But it means more than any 40-yard dash time or physical talent

 

Edited February 15, 2021 by Buffalo716

[Bill from NYC]

22 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

A guy like Levi Wallace to me is actually the mold of guy I'd be looking for from Alabama..  as a low risk project

 

A talented high school kid who just didn't have the size.. 140 lb as a  senior... But you can't measure heart.. and work ethic.. the two biggest factors to making a football player

 

And that's the biggest difference in the pros, heart and work ethic will beat talent everyday 

 

Give me the three-star guy like Josh Jacobs, who was the best pro running back on the roster, yet didn't even start in his time in Tuscaloosa... That grind, and work ethic, and determination to play is something that you can't count physically... But it means more than any 40-yard dash time or physical talent

 

Derrick Henry is pretty good too.

 

For years, Saban has preferred game managers as QBs, so it appears that Bama has less stars. That said, check out the WRs.

 

Edited February 15, 2021 by Bill from NYC