2016 Alabama Crimson Tide

[ryby6969]

In 2015, the Crimson Tide looked to rebound from a terrible 7-6 campaign the season before. After a slow start to the season, the Tide were able to rebound and finish the season 9-4 and an Outback Bowl victory. Coach Davis feels the next two seasons give the Tide a shot at returning to the championship form that led them two back to back titles in 2012 and 2013.

Quarterbacks
After a rough beginning to last season, redshirt Sophomore QB Darrell Anderson found his grove and led the Tide on offense while accounting for close to 3,000 yards passing and 34 TD's. His signature game came in the last, as he surpassed 300 yards through the air and 4TD's as he led the Tide past a top 5 Texas Longhorn team. Backing him up will be fellow redshirt Sophomore Ryan Shroeder and redshirt Freshman Bryan Williams. Shroeder has a decent arm, but his legs are his best weapon and may be brought in in certain situations. Williams is a favorite of the coaching staff, and looks to be the future and could possibly push Anderson this season if he has another slow start.

Pos	Player Name	YR	OVR	SPD	AGI	ACC	BTK	CAR	THP	THA	INJ
QB	Darrell Anderson	SoRS	89	80	82	87	86	88	90	88	91
QB	Bryan Williams	FrRS	83	70	75	76	66	51	88	93	88
QB	Ryan Shroeder	SoRS	88	90	83	82	83	53	88	85	90

Halfbacks
At Halfback, the Tide look to use a two back rotation resembling a "Thunder and Lightning" duo. Redshirt Sophomore HB Dustin Bell will provide the "Lightning" aspect after the coaching staff decided it was best to redshirt Bell last season. Bell has all world speed and agility, and will look to add a big play threat the Tide offense has been missing the past few seasons. In the "Thunder" role will be redshirt Senior HB TJ Yeldon. At 6'1 and close to 220lbs, Yeldon will be counted on to wear down the defense as well as get the tough yards between the tackles. Behind Yeldon and Bell will be two more big backs in Derek Chavez and Jon Roland. They will look to get playing time only in blowout situations barring any injuries this season.

Pos	Player Name	YR	OVR	SPD	AGI	ACC	CAR	BTK	TRK	JKM	SPM	ELU	STF
HB	Dustin Bell	SoRS	89	98	95	99	72	85	69	94	94	99	78
HB	TJ Yeldon	SrRS	91	91	87	92	86	89	80	88	88	90	96
HB	Derek Chavez	SoRS	86	87	83	87	82	88	83	90	87	87	90

Fullbacks
This season the Tide will be starting a True Freshman at fullback. The coaching staff was excited when Tyler Brown decided he would play for the Tide as it gives them a true FB for the next 4 seasons. Brown is a big, road grading fullback and will allow the tide to pound the ball in the upcoming seasons. He also has soft hands for sneaking out of the backfield to catch a pass or two. Tight ends Abrams and Jacques will also get time at fullback with last year's starter Paul Smith redshirting.

Pos	Player Name	Yr	OVR	SPD	STR	BTK	TRK	CTH	PBK	RBK	IBK
FB	Tyler Brown	Fr	78	74	78	68	71	71	81	79	83
FB	Paul Smith	So(RS)	71	83	71	73	72	64	71	69	55

Wide Receivers
Alabama has a good mix of experience and youth at the Wide Receiver position for the 2016 season. Leading the group is Redshirt Senior Eddie Williams. Williams has a combination of size and speed that have NFL scouts just drooling, as well as soft hands and great route-running abilities. Opposite of Williams will be Redshirt Sophomore Grant White. White has great ball skills and can run any route even at his young age. Taking over the duties of slot receiver will be Senior Chris Black. Chris is small but extremely quick and is dangerous once he gets in the open field. Backing up the starters are 4 big body guys all at least 6' with good ball skills. With the studs at tight end, Coach Davis likes to keep at least 1 tight end on the field at almost all times so they will see playing time sparingly.

Pos	Player Name	Yr	Ht	OVR	SPD	AGI	ACC	CTH	SPC	CIT	RTE	RLS
WR	Eddie Williams	SrRS	6'4"	92	92	82	89	93	90	87	91	94
WR	Grant White	SoRS	6'2"	89	87	87	88	88	84	88	93	88
WR	Chris Black	SrRS	5'11"	88	94	83	99	84	86	79	85	74
WR	Daniel Miles	SoRS	6'0"	87	95	85	96	83	76	78	87	83
WR	Brett Bennett	SoRS	6'2"	84	89	84	84	83	83	84	88	87

Tight Ends
Tight End is a position of strength for the Tide, with two road graders in the blocking game that are also very good receivers. Jordan Abrams and Jason Jacques are like mirror images of one another. They are both big and fast men who just dominate in the run game. But as a added bonus, they both also very good hands and route running abilities which make Coach Davis smile whenever their names are brought up. If that is not enough, Redshirt Senior Kurt Freitag is a Wide Reciever in a Tight Ends body as he would be the best Receiver on most teams.

Pos	Player Name	Yr	Ht	OVR	SPD	STR	CTH	SPC	CIT	RTE	RLS	RBK	PBK	IPK
TE	Jordan Abrams	JrRS	6'7"	91	83	81	75	73	83	85	76	86	82	88
TE	Jason Jacques	JrRS	6'8"	91	83	82	76	74	83	84	78	86	82	86
TE	Kurt Freitag	SrRS	6'3"	85	87	76	91	79	90	89	87	72	71	70

Offensive Line
The Offensive Line has been a weak spot for Alabama the last few seasons, but it looks like things are starting to turn around. There is a nice balance of upperclassmen and underclassmen, which gives Coach Davis the hope that his O-line will be a strength for years to come. Brandon Greene and Josh Pickens will start at Left and Right Tackle respectively, and will look protect Anderson in the passing game while paving the way for the Tide's talented backs on the ground. Backing both up will be Redshirt Freshman Dan Scott as Scott Gibson will redshirt this upcoming season. At Guard, Tyrone Welsh and Courtney Clark look to work with Center George Crawford to solidify the center of the offensive line. With only Greene being a Senior, the Offensive line looks to be returning to a position of strength for forseeable future.

Pos	Player Name	Yr	Ht	Wt	OVR	STR	AGI	ACC	PBK	RBK	IPK
LT	Brandon Greene	SrRS	6'5"	296	86	91	72	99	86	86	87
LG	Tyrone Welsh	JrRS	6'3"	310	93	95	76	93	96	87	83
LG	Donald Weaver	FrRS	6'0"	299	79	84	74	85	81	86	73
C	George Crawford	JrRS	6'3"	300	89	88	67	92	89	89	86
C	Luke Johnson	SoRS	6'2"	316	86	85	65	85	87	86	82
RG	Courtney Clark	SoRS	6'3"	298	85	86	67	93	87	88	87
RG	Caleb Gulledge	SrRS	6'5"	294	84	85	73	95	79	93	77
RT	Josh Pickens	SoRS	6'8"	306	85	85	68	94	86	87	86
RT	Dan Scott	FrRS	6'6"	331	84	86	59	93	87	86	85

I am going to try and do the defense tomorrow but definitely some time this weekend.

[ryby6969]

Defensive Ends
Alabama comes into this season extremely deep at the Defensive End position, and because of this they will have a new starter at Left End. Redshirt Sophomore Derron Bennett beat out Brandon Dixon in spring, after coaches noticed all he did was make plays last season when given the opportunity so he was given a chance to see what he could do. At Right Defensive end will be Senior Thomas Shaw. Both bring a great burst off the line, as well as the ability to get off of blockers. Dixon will still see some playing time, as well as Matt Stallings and Johnathan Washington. Coach Davis hopes another offseason of conditioning and weight training will lead to more production on the field this season.

Pos	Player Name	Yr	Ht	Wt	OVR	SPD	STR	AGI	ACC	PMV	FMV	BSH	TCK	PUR
LE	Derron Bennett	SoRS	6'0"	256	89	83	76	77	92	90	93	86	83	86
LE	Brandon Dixon	Sr	6'0"	249	89	82	77	75	95	90	92	85	81	86
RE	Thomas Shaw	Sr	6'0"	242	92	82	79	71	93	81	94	89	95	82
RE	Matt Stallings	SoRS	6'5"	257	87	81	76	72	85	87	94	85	83	97
RE	Johnathan Washington	SoRS	6'4"	268	85	80	73	76	90	90	90	84	81	84

Defensive Tackle
At Defensive Tackle, the Tide will have two big bodies that just look to take up blocks and stuff the run. Dalvin Tomlinson and Alphonse Taylor will look to improve the run defense, and area Coach Davis was not happy with after last season. Taylor is like a tree in the middle with his 6'5", 351lb frame just asking for a double team to help some of the fastest Linebackers in the country. Although Tomlinson is nowhere near as big, he pocesses incredible brute strength and should command a double team also leaving the opposing Offensive Coordinator with a delima. Who do you leave one on one? Backing them up will be Sophomore Quinton Moore and Freshman Marcus Faulk who look to get some experience before jumping into the starting role next season.

Pos	Player Name	Yr	Ht	Wt	OVR	STR	ACC	PMV	FMV	BSH	TAK	PUR	HPW	PRC
DT	Dalvin Tomlinson	SrRS	6'2"	283	90	91	80	99	64	97	85	79	85	75
DT	Alphonse Taylor	SrRS	6'5"	351	90	99	79	89	56	94	82	87	87	89
DT	Quinton Moore	SoRS	6'1"	316	87	85	77	90	90	82	85	79	82	80
DT	Marcus Faulk	FrRS	6'2"	303	79	80	92	78	93	82	73	91	74	78

Linebackers
The Linebacker position may be the strongest on the entire team. Playmakers are everywhere, including 2 possibly 3 future first round draft picks. Anchoring the middle is Junior MLB Thomas Allen. Allen won the Bendarik award his Redshirt Freshman year and followed it up with an equally impressive Sophomore campaign. When in the 34 defense, Redshirt Sophomore Chris Stone will get a chance to play alongside Allen. Redshirt Sophomore Casey Parham will look to build off his impressive Freshman campain at LOLB. Senior Dillon Lee beat out previous starter Chris Massey for the ROLB position. Coaches are hoping Lee's athleticism will give the defense a chance to generate more turnovers this upcoming season. Massey will look to back up at ROLB and possibly even MLB. Senior Tyler Hayes and Freshman Clayton McKinney may also see playing time this season.

Pos	Player Name	Yr	OVR	SPD	STR	AGI	ACC	TAK	HPW	PUR	PRC	PMV	FMV	BSH	MCV	ZCV
LOLB	Casey Parham	SoRS	89	87	79	74	94	82	81	90	86	77	83	81	87	90
LOLB	Tyler Hayes	SrRS	85	87	77	81	94	82	85	74	80	68	74	81	80	77
MLB	Thomas Allen	JrRS	92	90	83	80	98	91	90	98	83	80	75	83	77	79
MLB	Chris Stone	SoRS	88	89	82	79	98	89	87	96	80	78	73	80	76	77
MLB	Ryan Moses	SoRS	87	80	78	63	91	84	90	89	93	67	66	88	71	76
ROLB	Dillon Lee	SrRS	86	87	76	68	95	84	88	84	86	58	57	86	79	85
ROLB	Chris Massey	JrRS	90	79	82	59	93	90	93	90	91	68	75	92	75	80
ROLB	Clayton McKinney	FrRS	82	83	82	72	92	83	79	79	89	67	81	72	78	74

Cornerbacks
For the third season in a row, the coaching staff has no clue what to expect from their corners. The talent is there, it is just getting players to play to their ability. The group is led by John Gandy, a highly touted recruit that has not quite lived up to the billing. He has shown flashes of brilliance, but has lacked consistencey and hopes to wreak havoc on opposing SEC offenses. Also starting will be Seniors Cyrus Jones and Geno Smith, both pocessing lock down abilities on the outside. Coach Davis hopes an improved pass rush will help out his experienced corners and give them the opportunity to create turnovers.

Pos	Player Name	Yr	OVR	SPD	AGI	ACC	MCV	ZCV	PRS	TCK	PUR	PRC	CTH
CB	John Gandy	Sr	91	99	90	97	94	93	89	70	89	94	67
CB	Cyrus Jones	SrRS	87	91	80	92	99	92	90	77	89	81	67
CB	Geno Smith	SrRS	82	91	91	94	89	88	85	66	82	75	70
CB	Brian Weber	JrRS	82	90	86	83	92	93	79	69	96	90	72
CB	Mike Thompson	FrRS	78	91	90	97	87	84	78	62	76	79	65

Safeties
Alabama has two starting safeties that can just flat out fly around the field, and Coach Davis hopes this can lead to big plays for his defense. At Free Safety will be Junior Adam Hooper, a Blue Chip recruit and an absolute stud in the secondary. Hooper has blazing speed and very rarely misses a tackle. On top of that, he has good hands for a man his size. Starting at Stong Safety will be Sophomore Julian Miller. Miller is not as big or quite as fast as Hooper, but is no slouch his self. Miller is very good at making the one on one tackle and pocesses some of the best hands you will find on a Strong Safety. The main backup for both positions will be Redshirt Sophomore Cody Levine. Levine is a very good tackler that also can catch the ball. Matt Parks will see playing time only in emergency situations or on special teams.

Pos	Player Name	Yr	OVR	SPD	AGI	ACC	MCV	ZCV	TCK	HPW	PUR	PRC	CTH
FS	Adam Hooper	Jr	88	98	85	95	79	81	87	83	88	78	73
FS	Cody Levine	SoRS	84	91	93	92	76	80	85	80	80	76	74
SS	Julian Miller	So	83	96	86	98	73	77	84	81	80	77	77
SS	Matt Parks	SoRS	78	88	86	84	86	88	62	73	74	87	66

Coach Davis thinks he has one of the fastest defense's in the country. If everyone does their job and plays to their potential, this could be a dominant defense in the SEC.

[JeffHCross]

Note to self: Do not plan to throw any passes against Alabama.

[ryby6969]

Cannot wait for next week!

[JeffHCross]

Next week. Ffffffffffff.

[ryby6969]

I am glad it is a home game.

[JeffHCross]

I'll be happy to go 7-5 the next two years