Written by: Crimson2007
9/9/2009 12:50 PM

Well, it has been a long off-season and football is, finally, back.  I don't know about you guys, but waiting for the season to start, almost, became physically painful for me.  After Alabama's first game, all that pain is gone and there is only eager anticipation left.  I cannot wait for the Florida International game.  I know it is a cupcake game, but I just can't get enough Alabama football.  And for the first time, in a long time, I can say that I am not worried about losing the game.  Last year, I was worried before every game.  However, this year, I finally feel that Alabama is back.

Thoughts on the Alabama-VT game... 

The offense...  I was very impressed with the offense.  The big questions, that many people had during the off-season, were:  How can they possibly replace three, superb, offensive lineman?,  Will a WR, not named Julio Jones, step up?, and How will a QB with so little starting experience perform in the SEC?

The offensive line started off looking decent, considering they were playing a top defense, but didn't look great.  They looked about how I expected them to in the first half.  Then the second half started.  From I what I saw, the off-season training and conditioning worked, extremely, well.  They completely wore down the Hokie defense in the fourth quarter.  As long as they stay healthy, they will continue to improve.  And one of my favorite parts about all of this...VT will be one of the toughest defenses they play all year.

Yes, a WR not named named Julio did step up.  A few did!  Maze and Hanks made some great catches that helped Alabama win the game.  Colin Peek also looked very nice.  He is going to be an important outlet for McElroy this year.  I expected to see McCoy in the action, but I don't think I saw him.  I am not sure what is going on there because he is our most experienced WR.

I felt very confident about the last question, even though inexperienced QBs, typically, don't have a ton of success in the SEC.  McElroy, definitely, looked like a first-time starter in the first half, but he came out composed and ready to play in the second half.  That is a very positive sign.  I was also very pleased with his deep ball.  This adds another dimension to our offense that did not exist last year.  It should do wonders for the, already potent, running game.

Now, onto the defense...  First off, five sacks against a very mobile QB is very impressive to me.  What's more...this was against one of the most experienced offensive lines in college football.  That was a weakness of the Alabama team last year.  If they can do it against VT, it does not look like they are going to have much of a problem with it this year. 

The defensive back field looked very good.  The power of Hightower and Barron really impressed me.  They had some solid hits.  I knew the were both good, but it was nice to see them in action again.  Besides McClain's mental breakdown, at the end of the first half, he looked like one the best LBs in the SEC.  I think he will go down as one of the best LBs I have seen at Alabama.

Besides a blown assignment on that passing TD, and that long TD run, the defense looked fantastic.  Take away those two plays and VT only had 80 yards on their other 49 plays.  That's 1.6 yards per play.  Alabama's defense looked bigger, stronger, and faster than last year.  I can't wait to see what they have in store for us this year.

This week's predictions:

Alabama-47      Florida International-3

Javier Arenas will also have his first return for a TD.

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