Crimson & White Roundtable – Smoked Hawg Edition

Halfway to Arkansas week, and the message boards are rife with exhortations to ‘focus’ and ‘send positive energy’ to the team. These are all great suggestions, just as helpful as carbon offsets are to stopping global warming.

Now, with that weird rant out of the way, on to this week’s roundtable, hosted by our pallies over at 3rd Saturday in Blogtober:

What are your feelings on Alabama’s current position in the polls? Are we overrated? Underrated? Just right?
For the first time this season, we’re ready to say yes. Alabama is a top ten team. Not that we think they are up there with USC or Oklahoma, but we think they’ve done enough against a couple of lightweights (Tulane and WKU) and one middleweight (Clemson) to be in the conversation. Look, polls are subjective, and if Ohio State was ranked #5 and got clobbered like they did, then a 3-0 Tide deserves their spot, at least this week.

What aspect of the game did Alabama control that shocked you the most? What aspect of the game was Alabama dominated in that shocked you the most?
Alabama is far superior to WKU, with better players, and more weapons than the Hilltoppers. What pleasantly surprised us was the way the players heeded their coach, and jumped on WKU from the start, not letting up until the final gun. If Bama can continue to play their best on every play, regardless of the opponent, we’ll be closer to seeing a truly dominant team.

Name your player of the game on Offense. Also name one on Defense.
You have to give it to Mark Ingram. The guy is playing at a level beyond his freshman status. He’s no Reggie Bush yet, but he’s clearly a guy that likes to run hard and take the hit if it means an extra inch.

On defense, we loved Courtney Upshaw’s play in general, and his bone-jarring hit on Alabama’s second kickoff of the game.

Who on each side of the ball has been the biggest surprise to you so far?
Again, on offense it’s Mark Ingram. This kid stepped up and claimed the top spot on the depth chart through hard-nosed play and a willingness to grind out the yardage. He seems to thrive on contact, and it’s going to be exciting to see him develop.

On defense, it’s Terrence Cody. Not that it’s a shock that he’s doing well, but that he has almost lived up to the hype that surrounded him in the preseason. He’s a behemoth, but he plays fast, tenacious ball, and he’s damnnear immovable.

The last three weeks were fun, but now it’s time for conference play. What area of play concerns you now that we’re getting into the more physical stretch of the schedule?
It’s not a particular area of play we’re worried about. It’s depth and injuries. Tulane was able to manhandle our offensive line because of the depth issues there, and SEC play is unforgiving. Alabama is only a freak accident or rolled ankle away from seeing John Parker Wilson running for his life and throwing the ball into the stands.