I like Bama's chances! In fact, if Saban had played McCarron over McElroy in 2010 the Tide would be going for 4 in a row!

You guys sure do a lot of worring over nothing. Bama has the best coach and staff in college football as well as a large group of the best athletes in the country.  

My biggest concern, if I had to nail one down, would be at H.  We've been blessed at the H position for a few years now with NFL talent.  While I desperately hope Calloway will step up, he's VERY new to the position.  I don't think Vogler or the other kid are the answers, at least not from a weapon-in-the-passing-game standpoint.

I actually don't worry too much about the D, as this is college football and turnover from year to year is part of the game.  Having said that, I think we return more than our share of talent and experience, and couple that with the fact that Saban, other coaches, the Bama fanbase, the guy that changed my oil yesterday, and everyone else is talking about avoiding the leadership issues we had 2 years ago, I highly doubt that would end up being the achilles heel of this team, should one exist.

Back to the H, I actually expect this team's identity to be a bit different in years past, in that a higher percentage of our passing attempts go to WR's.  Rumors out of Tuscalossa allude to the new OC's route tree being different and a higher emphasis on stretching the field.  I still think we'll have our traditional 50/50 split between run and pass, but I think our passing game may look a bit different.  I hope it works.

I'm hoping we are in "the Hat's" head so much, that he focuses way too much on beating us, and gets slapped by USCe, or somebody...that would make them an easier, but still formidable, target for us.

That game as we all know, is THE game of the year...

Be all what may...BEAT THE COW COLLEGE!

I agree, Tuneman. If the OL avoids injuries, Bama has a good chance to repeat. IMHO, OL is the most important group of any football team and this OL has the potential to be one of the best of all-time. Bama's RB's have great potential and physical skills, AJ should be a productive passer, and the defense will be  at least one of the 10 best in the nation. Hard to envision that Bama will slip much from last year, and might even be better.

I agree, coach, that it is a distinct possibility. However, one thing I see that is different is that there are better leaders on this defense. I have heard it said that some on the 2010 D were just marking time until they got to the NFL and there was no leadership. This year I see leadership qualities in guys like D Square, J Williams, R Lester, and N Johnson. I think they will be able to keep the young guys focused and on track. As far as title runs, I think this is the year rather than next year, because next year our OL will be almost completely new, and it is darn hard to win a title with an untested OL. Some people think next year will be the year because all of our skill players will be more experienced and our D will have more exerience. But I think it has to be this year, because of the OL. And I am really counting on the offense being a lot more explosive this year. As I said in another thread, I think we have more playmakers than we have ever had. Lacy, Hart, & Yeldon are outstanding RBs, and guys like K Bell, C Jones, and K Norwood all have explosive play-making ability. I also expect B Calloway to make some noise from the H back. AJ is going to have a lot of weapons, and the OL is going to dominate. Our offense should be able to score a lot of points this year. The only thing I really fear is an injury or two on the OL. That could be devestating.