SB Nation - Brandon Fanney

SEC 2009 // Elephants Answering Questions About Alabama Football

cocknfire — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:30:09 -0000

While we might not always see eye to eye about some things -- as you will witness soon enough -- Roll Bama Roll is one of the better blogs out there about any team in the SEC. Unabashedly pro-Alabama and sprinkled throughout with photos of dictatorily appointed site sweethearts and Gospel YouTubes, it is also its own kind of sports blog. As part of Alabama week, RBR answered a few questions for us.

Greg McElroy. Discuss.

What to say about young McElroy...I guess we can start with the basics. A native of Southlake, TX, McElroy came to Tuscaloosa after originally comitting to to Texas Tech, but the Tide's victory over the Raiders in the 2006 Cotton Bowl swayed him our way. After redshirting his freshman season, McElroy waited behind John Parker Wilson to assume the reigns, and has seemed poised and ready to do so since spring camp. He's drawn favorable reviews from the coaches and his teammates, and talks and acts like he's the leader of the team. He isn't going to blow you away with his arm and pass it 60 times a game, but word is he knows the playbook and offense inside out and, even though he can make all the throws he needs to, his greatest strength is being able to read the opposing defense and know which throws to make. Saban has favorably compared him to Matt Mauck, who won him a national title at LSU despite being a dubious passer at best. The two biggest keys to success for McElroy will be whether or not the offensive line can stay healthy and function as a single, cohesive unit all season long, and if the ground game can be as ferocious as it was last year.

First, last year's o-line was the best Alabama has fielded this century, and the biggest reason they were so dominant wasn't necessarily that they were the most talented. Sure, Andre Smith was an All-American and Antoine Caldwell was All-SEC, but Marlon Davis, Drew Davis, and Mike Johnson weren't overly special or supremely talented. All they did was work their asses off, do their jobs, and manage to stay healthy (for the most part) the entire season. Off the top of my head I can't remember a Crimson Tide offensive line that managed to take just about every significant snap from the spring game to the end of the season in the same grouping and positions like last year's did. The two games they didn't play in that particular grouping (against Tulane and Utah)? Worst offensive performances of the season. We have plenty of talent and competition for the starting five, but the group that comprised the first team on A-Day is likely the one that will open against Va. Tech (with maybe one D.J. Fluker shaped shift), and if they can stay in that grouping and remain healthy all year, they should be just as solid as last season's bunch. Second, with Mark Ingram back, Roy Upchurch finally healthy, and Trent Richardson (who many think is even better than Ingram) on campus and ready to go, the ground game shouldn't experience any drop off in production either. Given all that, the nature of our offense (more pro-style and straightforward than anything the rest of the SEC is running, save Spurrier), and OC Jim McElwain's stellar track record of developing QBs, there is plenty of reason to believe McElroy can be successful right away.

The defense this year looks to be absolutely ferocious, while the offense is in flux to say the least. Is this going to be a 1992-style year, where Alabama has to win on defense and (essentially) defense alone?

I don't really think so. Youth and inexperience aside, the offense arguably has more raw talent than last year's unit and has a number of playmakers at wide receiver that have shown a lot of flash and promise over the past two seasons. If they can step up/stay healthy/be more consistent/etc., then we should actually be able to cash in on some of that explosiveness and be an even better unit. Remember, despite a non-flashy run oriented attack Alabama finished at or near the top of every significant offensive category in the SEC last season. Just duplicating that is entirely within reason, and if we can get some better production out of the receiving corps and are able to utiliize Julio Jones in more ways than we were last year then the offense has the makings of a very dominant unit.

Whom are you more worried about in the SEC West: LSU or Ole Miss?

That's actually a pretty tough question. I'm not buying the top ten hype of Ole Miss and doubt they win the west, but at the same time they will be a good team that is going to win a lot of games and make it to a good bowl again. More than that, of the last five Tide victories in this series only one was by more than a single score (a 28-7 win in 2004) so even during the Orgeron years we were barely scraping by the Rebels (though, to be fair, most of those were also "Shula" years...). Meanwhile, simply having John Chavis running the defense should completely help LSU turn a big corner this season. They had the talent to be a solid unit last year, yet their two headed DC was clearly in way over it's heads and they should get the same boost Ole Miss did last season, namely improving on the field simply through increased competence on the sidelines. So yeah, that's kind of a toss up. I'd say I'm more worried about the overall SEC West than any particular team. Arkansas should be this year's Ole Miss; they have a competent QB now, one of the best RBs in the league in Michael Smith, one of the best pass catching TEs in D.J. Williams, and return the entire front seven on a defense that can only go up. Say what you will about Petrino, he's an excellent coach and he'll rain on someone's parade this season, and just having that one extra team that's a threat week in and week out could throw the whole division into chaos by season's end.

What's the goal this year? Atlanta or bust? Pasadena or bust?

First, you can't talk Pasadena without talking Atlanta, so "Pasadena or bust" is just putting the cart before the horse. Second, just making it to Atlanta isn't enough; we started out 12-0 last year, but the two game skid to end the season pretty much put "bust" on the season no matter how awesome the start was. I'd say the goal is "hold a significant trophy over our heads or bust," with that significant trophy either comign from the SEC Championship or, at the very least, a New Year's Day bowl.

Is there anything we've said this week that you feel the need to debate or correct?

You mean beyond the several (and wholly unimaginative) "Bammers don't know Bear is dead" gibes?

C&F: A moment for a response, because this has come up over and over again over the course of this week. There were not "several' of these jokes -- there were two. One of those was a Sprints item about a Roll Bama Roll review of a book about Alabama after Bear's death. And I wonder if Todd wrote this answer at about the same time kleph put the finishing touches on his post about the author of a play about Bear Bryant, which meant there were as many posts about Bear-related literature on RBR this week as there were jokes on this site about Bama fans being unable to accept Bear's death. This site is meant to be irreverent; we have fun at the expense of all programs and all fan bases. And unless we do something in poor taste -- for example, I will not post the Bear carcass photo, which I find repugnant -- we will make no apologies. (Or at least I won't. And since I was the one who made the jokes, I doubt Year2 is going to be offering any mea culpas.) We now return you to your regularly scheduled Q&A.

Not really, though I do think you probably overestimate the effect of Brandon Fanney's transfer on the front seven. Yes, he was a starter at Jack last year and a stat line that reads 66 tackles (2nd among returning LBs and first among the D-Line) isn't always production one relishes losing, but at the same time (as our own OTS was quick to point out) only 26 of those were solo while the rest were a function of the entire front seven collapsing a play and Fanney getting credit for half a tackle when all he really did was jump on the pile. Further, he was an absolute non-factor where the pass rush was concerned and getting to the QB is a big point of emphasis for this year's defense. Not being able to effectively rush the passer really came back to haunt us during the two game skid that ended the season, and it isn't like losing Fanney off the edge is suddenly going to make us a bad pass rushing team. In fact, with Dont'a Hightower working at Jack during the spring (and Courteney Upshaw showing promise as a pass rusher from the Jack as well), it may have actually opened the door for a better athlete to move into his place and actually make the front seven that much better.

Again, check out Roll Bama Roll during the season for Alabama news and analysis. Whether or not you've accepted Bear's death. Okay, so that's three now ...

MONDAY: Alabama Aims for Something Special
TUESDAY: Tuscaloosa Nights (and Days); Nick Saban Runs for Congress
WEDNESDAY: How About That Defense? We Also Have to Play Offense?
THURSDAY: Tomorrow's Tide
LATER TODAY: Nick Saban, Alabama and History

Five Players Alabama Can't Afford to Lose to Injury: The Five That Missed the Cut

Todd — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:00:11 -0000

Previously:

#5 - James Carpenter
#4 - Justin Woodall
#3 - ~~Orlando McCain~~ Rolando McClain
#2 - Julio Jones
#1 - Greg McElroy

With any kind of list like this there are always going to be some objections about who was included and who was left out, and there were a couple of guys that I really had a hard time leaving off the list, so I thought I'd throw them in here before we move on to the "Five Players That Need to Step Up" later in the week. First up:

Mike Johnson - LG

Why is he so important? On an offensive line that lost three starters at key positions, every ounce of experience helps and Johnson has plenty of it. Starting last year at LG after spending 2007 at RT, Johnson has 27 straight starts to his credit and has played in 40 games since coming to Tuscaloosa. Though he struggled at Tackle (of both the left and right varieties), his run blocking is superb and the move to LG not only helped him earn second team All-SEC honors, but also helped the Tide ground attack become one of the best in the nation.

Why was he left out? Though he certainly has the most experience of any lineman on the roster, Guard is a position where we are pretty well stocked. Brian Motley, he of the buried on the depth chart at C and never able to take off at NG due to injury fame, filled in for Johnson during the spring and surprisingly did so to such acclaim that the coaches moved him over to RG after Johnson returned and let him start there on A-Day. Whether or not he stays there once the season starts remains to be seen, but considering he, David Ross (our top backup lineman last season), Chance Warmack, Taylor Pharr, and John Michael Boswell have all worked at guard and are all solid linemen in their own right (plus the added X-Factor of where the heck we are going to put D.J. Fluker), there is just too much depth at G to truly sweat an injury at that position.

Dont'a Hightower - LB

Why is he so important? Notice how I just put "LB" next to his name instead of "OLB" or "Will" or "Jack" ? That's becaues he's all those things, and that's why he's so important. With Brandon Fanney having transferred and our production from the Jack being woefully inadequate the past two seasons, Hightower is a kid who will be leaned upon to contribute all over the front seven this season. What makes him so important is the fact that he can be leaned upon to play all those roles, and likely better than anyone else on the roster.

Why was he left out? Now that I'm thinking about it, I don't really know. We do return two seasoned starters in Rolando McClain (who we definitely can't do without) and Corey Reamer, and there are also a couple of guys that could make a huge impact this season (Jerrell Harris, Courteney Upshaw, Chris Jordan, not to mention incoming guys like Tana Patrick, William Ming and Nico Johnson), but without anyone that can play the Jack like Hightower or switch around to so many different positions, losing Hightower actually would be a pretty big blow to the front seven.

Javier Arenas - CB/KR

Why is he so important? Under Nick Saban's tutelage, Arenas blossomed into arguably the best CB in Tuscaloosa but also one of the best in the SEC after receiving his only other scholarship offer from Florida Atlantic and generally being considered a return man only by the previous staff. Now he's a veteran who's knowledge and leadership will be key in a secondary that lost it's leader in Rashad Johnson and will be facing some high powered offenses in the coming season. Beyond that though, his skills as a return man have routinely helped set up the Tide offense in favorable field position (though his judgement in some cases is certainly open for debate) and in cases like the Tulane and Mississippi State games, helped carry the team while the offense floundered.

Why was he left out? As a corner, Arenas is physical enough to play the kind of tight press coverage Nick Saban asks of his DBs while also having the kind of recovery speed necessary to keep from being burned while being so aggressive. As a return man he has the type of vision and elusiveness in the open field to turn a negative into a huge positive. Problem is, he's not the only one on the roster. As maligned as he may be at times (and I'm guilty of it myself), Marquis Johnson was the 3rd corner last year for a reason, and if you take away the handful of glaring errors (really, no more than Arenas or Jackson committed themselves) that he gets taken to task for over and over, he was a solid DB and could fill in for Arenas without a significant drop off in production, and that's not including the development of BJ Scott, Tyrone King, Robert Lester, and Chris Rogers, all of whom will get every opportunity to shine at CB in their own time. And as far as returning kicks go, we have athletes galore that can step up there. Both Marquis Maze and Julio Jones showed during the A-Day game that they have just as much flash and speed as Arenas in the open field, while the aforementioned Scott was a hell of a return man himself in high school. As much as I would hate to lose Javy for any stretch of time this season, it wouldn't spoil the defense.

Mark Ingram - RB

Why is he so important? With Glenn Coffee in the NFL and Roy Upchurch a walking injury risk, Mark Ingram is the only real known quantity we have in the run game. Coming off of an impressive true freshman season that saw Ingram rush 143 times for 728 yards (12 TDs), Ingram is the leading returning rusher and the likeliest candidate to carry the workload for the offense this year.

Why was he left out? The aforementioned Upchurch should be healthy and ready to finally live up to his recruiting hype this season; the neck injury that held him out of the latter half of last season has been repaired and, despite not taking part in contact during the spring, he should be able to show what he can do once fall camp starts. Further, Trent Richardson is set to pull an Ingram of his own; He has roughly the same build and skill set as Ingram, but he's got better open field speed and is considered more of a "home run threat" than Ingram.

Terrence Cody - NG

Why is he so important? Last but not least, the mammoth Mt. Cody helped turn the Alabama defense into one of the top units in the country, making it almost impossible for opposing offenses to run on us and generally being a nightmare for offensive linemen to keep up with. The only team that successfully ran inside on us last season was LSU, who did so with the advantage of an ailing Cody (still recovering from a knee injury against Ole Miss) and the best offensive line we faced. Everyone else? Not so much.

Why was he left out? Though teams weren't often able to run against us with Cody in the middle, passing wasn't too much of a problem as we learned the hard way against Florida and Utah. Cody has slimmed down to try and stay on the field during passing situations this season, but he's still a long shot to be an every down NG, while Josh Chapman (the preferred backup last season), Marcel Dareus, and Kerry Murphy have shown plenty of promise as NGs on their own. None of them has the size of Cody, but they are all still fully capable of clogging the middle while also helping to generate a better pass rush this year.

Brandon Fanney Transferring

outsidethesidelines — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:02:08 -0000

Another day, and another one bites the dust. According to published reports by the Tuscaloosa News, Brandon Fanney is close to transferring, with UNA being the likely destination. You can probably file this one under the "mild surprise" category. Fanny was a starter, and an established name, but many did wonder about his status after he spent most of Spring practice suspended for an unspecified violation of team rules.

At any rate, Fanney was pretty highly-touted when he signed with the Tide in 2005, but his career never really took off. The move to the 3-4 in 2007 would have seemingly benefited him, but he could not beat out former walk-on Keith Saunders for the starting Jack linebacker job in 2007, and while he did start there in 2008, he never played very well. He had one sack all season, rarely pressured the quarterback, and was basically a pure run defender.

As for the impact this one will have on the Tide, it's hard to see it being too detrimental. Fanney was no guarantee to start in 2009 anyway, and as mentioned earlier he was a non-factor in rushing the passer. I figure a worst-case scenario is that we could stick a bulky Jack linebacker replacement in his position to be stout against the run, and it wouldn't be any real drop-off. Realistically speaking, I imagine this means that Courtney Upshaw is likely the starter at Jack linebacker (assuming Hightower doesn't move there full time), but again he may very well have gotten the job regardless of what Fanney did. The biggest impact, I imagine, that this will have is that it will greatly increase the possibility that Ed Stinson plays as a true freshman and avoids a redshirt.

And they're all in Alabama

Truzenzuzex — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 15:55:18 -0000

Alabama. Birthplace of Bocephus' unique sound, and inspiration of the lyric above. Heart of Dixie. Legacy of the Bear. Home of the Crimson Tide, and a football culture unsurpassed anywhere in America. Home of one of, and possibly the, greatest football program, tradition-wise, in America, and #2 ranked in all the land.

Kentucky. Home of Montgomery-Gentry. Border state. Legacy of the Baron. Home of the Kentucky Wildcats and the Big Blue Nation, a basketball culture unsurpassed anywhere in America. Home of a rising football program that once had the Bear prowling the sidelines.

Today, you can find them all in Alabama. Tuscaloosa, to be exact. Bryant-Denny Stadium, to be more precise, at 3:30 PM EDT. Both teams will be ready. Both teams have had some attrition. Both know what the stakes are for this game and both are ready to do battle on the gridiron.

There is no tradition between the two schools other than sharing Bear Bryant as coach. Alabama has dominated Kentucky in football, sporting an almost nonsensical 33-2-1 record against the 'Cats in a series that stretches back to World War I. No rivalry can develop from such a statistic, ever. However, a confluence of events including an Alabama slide in recent history and the gradual rise of Kentucky from the depths of Mummefication has conspired to produce a rising Tide under head coach Nick Saban, and a rising Wildcat program under Rich Brooks, meeting as undefeated contestants in a battle with national implications.

Of course, the Tide will be favored. They are the more talented team. They have more Rivals 4 and 5-star recruits on their team right now than Kentucky has had in the last ten years. They have the biggest and best offensive line in the SEC, a fantastic young receiver in Julio Jones, a proven quarterback in John Parker Wilson, and a solid defense that is ranked 15th in scoring defense in the nation and is proven against SEC and ACC competition.

Kentucky, on the other hand, has a completely rebuilt offense from the quarterback on up. Only Dicky Lyons Jr and the running backs are proven against SEC competition. But Kentucky does sport the #1 scoring defense in the nation, albeit against inferior competition. There is nothing exciting about Kentucky, nothing sexy, nothing special except for their defensive and special teams statistics, which are gaudy and impressive.

So with all that, let's take a quick look at how I think this game shakes out:

Offensive line

Many casual football fans do not understand how important the lines are in football, because what we see are backs running down the field and quarterbacks slinging touchdowns to athletic receivers, but all that begins with the line. If you have a poor line, you will have a poor football team.

Alabama has arguably the best offensive line in the entire nation. It will take an overwhelming effort by the UK defensive front to disadvantage them, and I'm not even sure that any amount of effort will be enough.

Advantage: Alabama

Defensive line

Kentucky's defensive line is proven in SEC competition, and has dominated lesser competition to an astonishing degree. Alabama's defensive line has not been quite as dominant except against the run, where they have been special. Terrance Cody, a JC transfer, is the root of this line, where his 6'5", 365# mass has disrupted the running game of every team they have played.

Kentucky has one of the best defensive lines in the nation, as does Alabama. They go about it differently, but both are equally effective. Corey Peters, Ventrell Jenkins, Jeremy Jarmon and Myron Pryor are proven, effective SEC linemen. The likely return of Ricky Lumpkin from injury just makes this D-line better.

Advantage: Even

Offensive skill positions

Alabama has solid but unspectacular skill positions except for one -- Julio Jones. The true freshman was ranked #1 by Rivals as a wide receiver coming out of high school, a true 5* game-changer that has lived up to his billing completely.

Kentucky has a 4-deep offensive backfield of proven players. Derrick Locke and Alfonso Smith are speed merchants who can gain yards in huge chunks. Tony Dixon and Moncell Allen are bruising runners who punish linebackers with their physicality. Alabama also has proven runners in Glen Coffee, Roy Upchurch and Terry Grant. Mark Ingram is a true freshman, a 4-star out of high school.

Advantage: Slight Alabama

Quarterbacks

John Parker Wilson is a senior quarterback who is proven in the crucible of the SEC. For the last two years, he has been the man in charge of Nick Saban's attack, and is coming into his own.

For Kentucky, Mike Hartline is a sophomore with very limited experience, except this year. The cerebral type, Hartline excels at game management and making smart decisions, and has been a proven leader in Kentucky's first 4 victories. He is not at all proven, though, and this will be his first start against an SEC foe.

Advantage: Strong Alabama

Linebackers

Kentucky has truly found a niche in the SEC at getting good linebackers, and developing them into game-changers. Unfortunately, the best UK linebacker, Micah Johnson, will likely see limited if any action against Alabama. But Braxton Kelley, Johnny Williams, Michael Schwindel and Sam Maxwell are an outstanding group that will fly all over the field on Saturday.

Alabama has a young but talented linebacking corps, and in their unusual 3-4 scheme, they are a bit more able to absorb their youth and inexperience. Leading the group are juniors Cory Reamer and Bandon Fanney, and the younger guys are Rolando McClain and Don'ta Hightower.

Advantage: Marginal Kentucky

Defensive backfield

Alabama has the outstanding Javier Arenas, an impressive speedster at one corner, and Kareem Jackson at the corners. Both are extremely fast and athletic, but both are small at 5-9 and 5-11 respectively, rendering them somewhat vulnerable to larger receivers. At the safeties, Justin Woodall is leading the Tide D-backs with 3 interceptions. Rashad Johnson is the second-leading tackler for the Elephants with 17 solo and 9 assists.

At corner, Kentucky has the all-SEC candidate Trevard Lindley on one side and David Jones on the other. Lindley is a proven cover-corner who is big enough to handle most receivers at 6'0", and co-leads the team in interceptions with 2. The other corner is David Jones a senior who is having a solid year in relief of the academically ineligible Paul Warford. At safeties are senior Marcus McClinton, co-leader in INT's with 2, and Matt Lentz, newly elevated to the position over Ashton Cobb.

Advantage: Even

Special teams

With the exception of field goal kicking, Kentucky has been excellent on special teams this year. Senior kicker/punter Tim Masthay has been a weapon, allowing only 11 kicks to be returned all year. The combination of Ryan Tydlacka and Masthay have allowed only 3 punt returns all year, and pinned the opposition inside their own 20 many times (I can't find this stat anywhere). Kentucky is #1 in the nation in kickoff returns and #48 in punt returns.

Alabama special teams are less special. Despite the obviously dangerous Javier Arenas returning kicks and punts, he is only 93rd and 29th respectively in kickoff and punt returns. at #111 in net punting vs. UK's 62nd, Alabama hasn't exactly impressed in that statistic either. Leigh Tiffin has been solid but unspectacular as a field goal kicker.

Advantage: Strong Kentucky

Intangibles

This game is being played at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Alabama where 92,000+ fans once turned out for spring practice. Nothing further need be said.

Advantage: Strong Alabama

In the final analysis, this game is going to come down to the lines. If Alabama's more talented line dominates the 'Cats on defense, Alabama will have to give up big plays in order to lose the game. If this is a war of attrition, Kentucky will have a slight advantage because of their marginally stronger defense. In a shootout, Alabama has a big advantage because of their more experienced quarterback and better wide receivers.

In the end, it will be an upset if Kentucky wins, make no mistake. Kentucky is capable, but if Alabama executes solidly, it is unlikely that the 'Cats can pull the upset. But I think Alabama is more overconfident than is being portrayed in the media, and I think that overconfidence will manifest itself negatively. The Tide can point to a number of good reasons why they should win this game, not the least of which is the fact that UK has never won at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Be sure to visit Roll 'Bama Roll as well for updates as the game progresses

My pick: Kentucky, 21-20 in an upset.