Morning Kickoff: Crimson Tide News 9/19

Happy Friday everyone! Time to get our day started with the latest Alabama news and notes leading up to Florida.

College football pick of the week

"The Tide went 11-2 straight-up but just 6-6 against-the-spread last year against the 39th ranked overall schedule. Always a favorite of the public, the Tide has been over-bet recently, losing against-the-spread in five of the team’s last six games. Alabama lost six starters from last year’s defense (10 starters overall), including both starting safeties and a starting cornerback. It shows. Florida is getting the Tide at the right time as the Gators’ offense is playing well and Alabama’s young secondary has yet to materialize."

Yeah because Florida has been so dominant against who exactly? Many people are predicting a close game, closer than what Vegas says. Alabama matches up fairly well against the Gators, considering our pass defense has been suspect so far. It’s not like the Tide are playing Texas A&M this weekend. If Jeff Driskel manages to make us pay, then perhaps we have bigger concerns than we thought.

H-word no longer banned at Alabama football practice

"The Tide hasn’t practice in anything cooler than the 90s since the season opened. It was 97 degrees when it went outdoors Sept. 1 after a week inside prior to the Georgia Dome opener with West Virginia."

It may suck for the players right now but playing in the heat is actually an advantage later on in the season. It creates a higher resilience for the players and they develop more energy and stamina. It is nice for Saban to actually give them a break. If the Alabama heat keeps up, it could become quite the issue. With physical SEC play going on and tough practices every day, Saban made a good call by limiting team’s exposure to the heat.

Cooper a ‘confusing’ study of talent

"Kiffin: “Amari sometimes would work out two hours before the workout started. I thought it was a really hard workout we were doing — the Fourth Quarter program that we do here — but he worked out two hours before that.”"

What I love about Amari Cooper, is that he seems like a no nonsense guy. He doesn’t talk much but instead he lets his play do the talking. He shows up to practice early and he stays late. He’s not the biggest or the fastest but plays like the best. He wasn’t the most hyped recruit but he’s here breaking school records. It’s just hard to not love the guy. Cooper is in line to go down as the best Alabama wide receiver in school history, statistically speaking. Julio Jones may be the most popular but it’s time to give Cooper his due. We’re witnessing something special.

Tide offensive line searches for consistency

"The offensive line is still building chemistry after shuffling some parts at the start of the season. For two of the three games, the line has featured Shepherd at right tackle, Leon Brown at right guard, Ryan Kelly at center, Arie Kouandjio at left guard and freshman Cam Robinson at left tackle. There was a competition at right guard between Brown and Alphonse Taylor, but as of Wednesday’s media viewing period of practice, Brown has taken the snaps with the first-team offense."

This is my feeling about the offensive line for the past year now. The talent is there but the consistency and chemistry have been lacking. During Alabama’s national championship runs, the offensive line was dominating. The unit is good this year but you don’t really get that feel yet like back in 2011 or 2012. With a new starting quarterback and new offense, the offensive line will need to come up big when needed most.

Alabama offense more efficient with Sims

"For now, Sims is expected to get the nod Saturday when Florida heads to Tuscaloosa. It will be a major step up in competition for Sims. The Gators rank fifth in the FBS in points per drive allowed (0.67) this season and lead all Power Five defenses with three interceptions on passes thrown 20 yards or longer. If Sims rises to the challenge, he just may end up being declared the full-time starter."

We can all agree Sims has performed better than any of us really expected at least from an efficiency stand point. The time will come where Sims will have to sling the ball around a bit more but every week he just seems more and more comfortable. If the run game dominates and the offense controls the tempo, it will be very hard to beat this Alabama team. The defense will only continue to improve, by even leaps and bounds with some of the younger guys getting more experience. All Sims has to do is be the usual Alabama QB, which isn’t a knock. Manage the game, make a couple key throws, and put the Tide in the best position to win.

That’s all for this morning. Have a fun Friday and remember we’re on CBS at 2:30 CT tomorrow with Uncle Verne and Gary. So either make sure you have the radio tuned or you have a new drinking game ready.