Crimson and White Roundtable: The Season Is Here!!!

Well, Today is Friday… Roundtable time. Memphis Tider is the host today. we’re all really excited for football season and the media attention that we’ve been receiving. But, is that something we truly want right now? The topic is:

For the entire offseason, the national media has talked about Alabama being a 6 or 7 win football team. This past Saturday, on the College Gameday preseason show, both Kirk Herbstreit and Lou Holtz picked Alabama to win 9 (and Holtz said 10) games this season. Would you prefer to stay under the radar and let everyone continue to think we’ll only win 7, or do you appreciate the national recognition we’re already beginning to receive before the season kicks off? …and, of course, why?

 

High dining for gameday food. I’m dieing for some Memphis BBQ right now…

So click, read, and be amazed!! I cannot wait for tomorrow. I’ll be at the game tomorrow, so I will not be live blogging or anything like that. But, if you would like to see a live blog, go click the Roll Bama Roll link to the side and read what the Todd has to say during the game.(I’ve been wanting to pull a Scrubs reference on him for a while now).

I’ll try to have a few pictures of the atmosphere and the game tomorrow. I hope you have a great day. ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!

You Must Click The Link!!!

Why? Because Saturday Sound Offs offered me a few questions to answer, that’s why. Hopefully you’ll go visit SSO more often since this site is always bringing different opinions together on one stage.

THE LINK!! CLICK IT!!

Time to Step Up: The Review

Like OutsideTheSidelines said, I know I’m no LSU or MSU blogger, but I have some comments. We’ve all been so football deprived, most of us are just wanting something to analyze and discuss.

Mississippi State

Michael Henig- I don’t know where to begin with this guy. To give you an idea of how bad his night was, he threw 6 interceptions. What makes that number worse in the fact that he now has 67% of the INTs he threw in 2006. Is he the worst starting QB in the SEC? Well, I hate to make a statement like that after just one game, but he’s making a strong campaign for it. Besides, we still have to see how the Ole Miss QB does (no offense Hotty Todders). If Simeon Castille can’t get 2 INTs off of this guy, he isn’t trying hard enough. His biggest job now is the learn how to control his emotions, which can be tied to at least 3 of his interceptions. Score: F

Titus Brown- Probably the most gusty performance of the year for a Mississippi State player. He really stepped his game up big, chasing around Matt Flynn like he stole his wallet. He showed the leadership that MSU really needs, but he cannot do it all by himself. Let’s not ignore the troubles he gave that LSU O-line either. For full disclosure, I did go to high school with the guy; So yes, I am biased. But, you can’t deny that he was the best player of the game for the Bullies. Score: A-

LSU

Matt Flynn- Solid performance, but he really didn’t do anything that was super impressive. He calmed down from his first half jitters and put together a nice performance. His job at the start of the season will be keeping the mistakes to a minimum. I do like his running ability and his down field vision. He did well with what the defense game him, but he needs to develop a few more drives down the field in the future. Score: B

Rahim Alem and Tremaine Johnson – Both did well, but didn’t stand out; however, they really didn’t need to stand out with the performance the rest of the LSU defense gave us. I imagine they won’t have too much trouble fitting in. Score: B+

Random Thought: When Ryan Perrilloux isn’t breaking the law, he is an outstanding QB. I’m still amazed he is on that team, but this isn’t the time of the year to get into the police record of opposing players. I just wonder how long his “last chance” will last.

Time to Step Up

Before I get started, I feel that I must point out one of the funnier things I’ve seen in a while. Maybe it’s due to having to walk everywhere in the sweltering heat because the UA buses are too busy following each other instead of actually having a set pattern where people are able to ride them every 5 minutes…. I’m rambling now. Anywho, EveryDayShouldBeSaturday.com has provided the perfect actor to portray Nick Saban. I’m sure coach would agree that if you ain’t first, you’re last. Now, to the post at hand.

Well, today is gameday for certain schools out there. The biggest game tonight is LSU at Miss. State. It might not be the best opening game in recent memory, but it is the best game today so we’ll just have to live with it. There are players both on offense and defense that will need to step up for both LSU and MSU if they are to have what they consider to be successful seasons.

LSU

Offense- Matt Flynn. While he has a Peach Bowl whipping of Miami under his belt, Flynn is still a relatively unproven player. Certain Tiger fans felt that Flynn was the best QB on the team last year during the pre-season. Well, JaMarcus Russell won that battle and is now with the Oakland Raiders (maybe). Flynn may have the talent, but the question remains if he can lead this team through the SEC gauntlet on rout to the BCS Championship game. It certainly won’t hurt Flynn’s chances with that monstrous Bo Pelini defense covering his back, so he will have a good shot to be very successful. He just needs to limit his mistakes and prove that he can be the leader that LSU needs.

Defense- It’s extremely hard to find a weakness with the LSU Defense; arguably the best college football. The only area that may be of concern for LSU is on the right side of the D-line, where Rahim Alem and Tremaine Johnson will be splitting time. They replace Chase Pittman. Glenn Dorsey is the best player on the entire team, so don’t worry about whether or not he’ll be making the plays on the D-line. Baton Rouge is rich with talent on defense, so I don’t think this will cause much grief for the Tiger faithful.

Mississippi State

Offense- Michael Henig is the player that the Bullies need to shine this season. They have two steady Running Backs in Dixon and Elliott, but they will still have some major issues on offense. If Henig can stay healthy, make smart decisions, and inspire his team, the Bulldogs might just have a chance to win more than 3 games this season. I know most people are down on MSU, and rightfully so. But, there is some potential hidden deep in Starkville for a respectable season.

Defense- One of the better defensive players in the SEC, Titus Brown (DE) will be the verbal leader on the Defensive side. Will MSU’s offense has looked horrid at times over the last few years, the Dawg D has gotten better and better over time. If Mississippi State is to have any sort of success, the defense will have to step up in a big way. The best thing for MSU right now is confidence, and Brown needs to make sure that his teammates stay determined, focus, and strong. If not, expect another poor season for Mississippi State. This side of the ball should be decent at limiting the big plays.

Musical Time Out

What better way is there to enjoy your time at work than to listen to Country Bears? Well, it isn’t the BEST thing to do, but it is time consuming. Don’t bash the bears man, they can be oddly entertaining when your at a certain level of fullness after downing pepsi and cheese pizza for a few hours. Besides, it’s not like I’m playing into any Southern stereotype; these bears aren’t playing your grandpa’s music.

The guy who programed these bears and gorilla has many different songs on the play list, including “London Bridge” by Fergie, “Ms. New Booty” by Bubba Sparxxx, and “Puff the Magic Dragon” by Peter, Paul, and Mary. He got this group from a Chuck E. Cheese; it’s his hobby to program the band in his basement…. hey, if it works for him it’s none of my business.

Posting Since I Feel Like It

Well, the city of Tuscaloosa has decided to close all establishments that serve alcohol by 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Personally, I like this bill since I believe that if you stay in a bar past 1-1:30 am, you have some serious issues.

By the way, if I ever see anybody wearing a shirt that says “Sabin Sucks!” I’ll probably end up passing out after laughing harder than ever before.

Outside The Sidelines at Roll Bama Roll took it to Arkansas earlier today. Houston Nutt then decided to seek revenge by text messaging him so much his cell phone blew up. R.I.P Motorola (or whatever brand you have).

We can rebuild it: stronger, faster, able to defend the Wildcat formation.

TD’s Game Corner

Have you ever stopped to notice how many different bloggers out there that start a series or two for the season? Well, this is my first official season as a blogger, so I’ll be attempting a few here and there to see how they go.

We’ve all started to figure out our game plans for this weekend. Some plan on driving their RVs down around Thursday evening, others will stay in hotels or just drive early in the morning to the game. But, for those of you who are not able to make it to the game, I have decided to peruse through the TV listings for you. I will list the games I feel are the best overall experience while watching from your sofa. The games I list won’t include Alabama, since I’m already assuming that you plan to watch UA play. I promise I won’t recommend games that conflict with the start of the Alabama game that week.

Thursday

Louisiana State @ Missisippi State (ESPN 7:00 Central)

–Synopsis: A no brainer for most College Football fans. This is the first big conference game of the season, meaning that there will be plenty of build up and special features to discover. The Mad Hatter attempts to squelch the dreams of Coach Sly in the middle of Scott Field.

–Broadcasting Team: Chris Fowler, Doug Flutie, Craig James, and Erin Andrews. Yes, I know he does work for the evil ESPN, but Chris Fowler does a very solid job when you consider how the network ships him to every horse race, tennis match under the sun. I do not subscribe to the church of Erin Andrews worship, but I know people who do. If you’re into watching a game for just a sideline reporter, well this is your lucky day. Thinking of Doug Flutie talking causes me to fall asleep, so I don’t know what he actually brings to the table. Craig James is another one of those “insert generic line here” kind of commentators. Overall, it is an ok broadcasting line-up.

–Broadcasting the Game: Since this is the season opener for a team playing for a national title, I imagine the Starkville crowd will be pretty excited. The Bulldog fans are hoping for 6 wins this season, which means that they will want to get off to a good start as quickly as possible. Remember how bad they looked against South Carolina? Croom and the dawgs will be doing everything they can to avoid another night like that. Unfortunately, they’re playing against the most talented team this side of California, so that might be harder than it sounds. ESPN will have plenty of crowd reaction to hype up the game since it is their first game of the season. Just turn your volume down low at the start of the game in order to ignore those stupid cowbells.

–Likelihood of a Competitive Game: Well, I would have to say the odds aren’t to good if you want to see a tie game in the 4th quarter. At best I’d say it will only be close for 2 quarters since this is the first game of the year for LSU. Hey, stranger things have happened, but I doubt you’ll see a tight game Thursday night.

–Watchability: I give this game a High watchability rating. It’s College Football! We haven’t had any since Florida bucked the nuts. Of course you should watch the first big game of the year. Some of us will watch the entire game even if LSU wins by 30.

Friday

You could watch Washington play Syracuse, but I wouldn’t recommend it. First off, both teams are still going to be horrible. Wouldn’t you rather watch the local high school team play? The next reason to avoid this game is the fact that Colin Cowherd will be in the broadcast booth. Yes, ESPN has decided to force the scrutebag on the poor fans who live in Washington and New York. Take the wife out for dinner and movie, or go support your kids are they participate in cheer leading, playing in the marching band, or playing on the football field.

Tide Pride Rap

I promise you I will have a much better post up either this afternoon or tomorrow morning. Until then, enjoy this video of Crimson Tide fans rapping. No, these playas are not Alabama fans. They are fans of the Concord High Crimson Tide in the great state of New Hampshire. I hope you enjoy the mediocre rap style , poor camera work, and bad syncopation as much as I did.

The Depth Chart Is Out. We Can All Relax Now

Well, the depth chart has finally been released. Be warned that this is only for the first game. As mentioned before, Keith Brown and Prince Hall will not be playing against Western Carolina since they have officially been suspended. There was plenty of discussion regarding the depth chart throughout the entire summer. Now that this situation has been addressed, we can move along to the actual season.

Move along folks…. there’s nothing to see here.

So, what do you think of the new depth chart? Think D.J. Hall should be kept out of punt returns? Wondering why Chris Capps is as high as 2nd string? Feel free to leave your comments.

Also, take a look at the Crimson and White Roundtable from a few weeks ago at Roll Bama Roll. Did we as a blog community get it right? (Or at least close enough to feel right).

Confused, I Elect to Post

Well, it appears that Prince Hall and Keith Brown have been suspended for the first game of the season. Both players have apparently broken team rules and apparently did not do enough to correct themselves.

This leaves certain fans wondering (myself included) what the future holds for Roy Upchurch, Brandon Deadrick, and Brandon Fanney. Will they be suspended? Or, have they done enough in Coach Saban’s eyes to correct their mistakes and attitudes? We’ll have to wait and see. Maybe the folks at Bama Nation have a clue…

Team rule #1: Do not steal the coach’s hat!

(HT: Bama Nation)