Whats up guys!
I've been contributing to some threads as of late that are along the lines of "The Sky is Falling!" and such.... But I think its time to talk about what is good about this football team.
1) DRAFT Saban had a fantastic draft, and it seems like thats something we have to look forward to year after year, especially with the addition of Mueller.
- Ronnie Brown: Who else could possibly be ROY at this point, other than Brown? Everyone that was freaking out about him after his first two games sure shut up. This guy can do it all. I am SO happy with our #2 pick. He is going to be a beast for this franchise for years. Its not fair to compare anyone to LT -- but if you look at how Ronnie runs, the amount of tackles he breaks, etc.... This guy is a gem.
- Matt Roth: He has been in on some situations and shown that he can play. Obviously he needs to learn some pass rushing techniques. This stuff doesn't come over night though. He has the best teachers in the game, if Kevin Carter and JT will share half their knowledge, we've got another steal. I look for him to start the season after next and put up 10 - 12 sacks.
- Channing Crowder: STEAL of the draft. If there weren't some other beasts taken and had they not been doing so well, this guy would have a bid for DROY. He has a mean streak, makes sound tackles, and looks like he'll be a playmaker. He can play all the LB positions and is a quick learner.
- Travis Daniels: Another steal. Sure, he isn't the best CB out there. But we drafted him in the FOURTH ROUND! He is only going to get better, and we need him to do so. I remember when Surtain was a young guy... He wasn't the best but was serviceable. To get a starter in the 3 and 4 rounds is awesome.
2) O-LINE Lets face it guys, our line isn't the laughing stock of the league any more. And that says a lot in terms of improvement. Our guys are playing physical football, and giving our QB time to throw the ball. Our RB's have a high average per carry too.
With some more tweaking in the off-season, we're actually going to have a STRONG o-line. And the best part is: they are YOUNG. A young line that has nowhere to go but up is a great thing. And Houck is doing his job.
3) PHILOSOPHY No matter what the outcome of this season so far, everything seems different. We are more physical, we are a lot of the things that Saban wanted out of our team. We are committing a lot less penalties now as well. It will be interesting to see what happens with the Linehan situation... But I like the general direction of our team's philosophy.
4) INJURIES It seems we've avoided the injury bug a lot better than most teams.... knock on wood. Is this due to better coaching and practices? Better training? A lot of arguments could be made in this area. But it seems like its a positive to me.
5) SALARY CAP The biggest improvement... We are going to have serious dough to spend next year. I think it will make us an instant contender combined with whomever we draft. I think we'll resign Schulters and shore up with a few more veterans, and go after 2 big name guys.
I don't want to be a doomsday guy on here. I'm usually very positive, and I like a lot of the things I'm seeing with this team. Look what the Bengals and Marvin Lewis had to go through. I just hope it doesn't take that long.
I've been contributing to some threads as of late that are along the lines of "The Sky is Falling!" and such.... But I think its time to talk about what is good about this football team.
1) DRAFT Saban had a fantastic draft, and it seems like thats something we have to look forward to year after year, especially with the addition of Mueller.
- Ronnie Brown: Who else could possibly be ROY at this point, other than Brown? Everyone that was freaking out about him after his first two games sure shut up. This guy can do it all. I am SO happy with our #2 pick. He is going to be a beast for this franchise for years. Its not fair to compare anyone to LT -- but if you look at how Ronnie runs, the amount of tackles he breaks, etc.... This guy is a gem.
- Matt Roth: He has been in on some situations and shown that he can play. Obviously he needs to learn some pass rushing techniques. This stuff doesn't come over night though. He has the best teachers in the game, if Kevin Carter and JT will share half their knowledge, we've got another steal. I look for him to start the season after next and put up 10 - 12 sacks.
- Channing Crowder: STEAL of the draft. If there weren't some other beasts taken and had they not been doing so well, this guy would have a bid for DROY. He has a mean streak, makes sound tackles, and looks like he'll be a playmaker. He can play all the LB positions and is a quick learner.
- Travis Daniels: Another steal. Sure, he isn't the best CB out there. But we drafted him in the FOURTH ROUND! He is only going to get better, and we need him to do so. I remember when Surtain was a young guy... He wasn't the best but was serviceable. To get a starter in the 3 and 4 rounds is awesome.
2) O-LINE Lets face it guys, our line isn't the laughing stock of the league any more. And that says a lot in terms of improvement. Our guys are playing physical football, and giving our QB time to throw the ball. Our RB's have a high average per carry too.
With some more tweaking in the off-season, we're actually going to have a STRONG o-line. And the best part is: they are YOUNG. A young line that has nowhere to go but up is a great thing. And Houck is doing his job.
3) PHILOSOPHY No matter what the outcome of this season so far, everything seems different. We are more physical, we are a lot of the things that Saban wanted out of our team. We are committing a lot less penalties now as well. It will be interesting to see what happens with the Linehan situation... But I like the general direction of our team's philosophy.
4) INJURIES It seems we've avoided the injury bug a lot better than most teams.... knock on wood. Is this due to better coaching and practices? Better training? A lot of arguments could be made in this area. But it seems like its a positive to me.
5) SALARY CAP The biggest improvement... We are going to have serious dough to spend next year. I think it will make us an instant contender combined with whomever we draft. I think we'll resign Schulters and shore up with a few more veterans, and go after 2 big name guys.
I don't want to be a doomsday guy on here. I'm usually very positive, and I like a lot of the things I'm seeing with this team. Look what the Bengals and Marvin Lewis had to go through. I just hope it doesn't take that long.
