Was such a great spot to go to in your mid-late 20’s. Don’t think I’ve been in at least 5+ years, but those sidecar martinis led to many a great night back then.
Who are UM's potential first round picks? Trying to get a ranking of best players in the game. For this year, Bama's got: Dallas Turner, Kool-Aid, T. Arnold, Latham (maybe) Caleb Downs may be the best talent on the field as a TrFr
This is kind of a fascinating game where everything about the Bama side is about the last 15 years and everything about the Michigan side is hoping that doesn't matter. Because based on this year it's a pick em game where Michigan is probably a slight favorite based on what the teams have shown. But Bama always wins these games and Michigan (and teams like them) never does so people are running with that. And I don't blame them. But it's interesting to me nonetheless.
I think Latham is a lock in the first. Arnold probably is, and Braswell could potentially slide in late. I could see someone like Baltimore grabbing him.
Michigan DTs >>>>>>>>>>>> Bama DTs safeties and LBs are a push. Edge is definitely Bama. CBs is the most interesting group by far. You’ve got one first round lock in Mckinstry and another likely in Arnold. We’ve got Will Johnson who is projected to go top ten next year and Mike Sainristil who won’t get drafted high but just was named first team all American by ESPN and a couple others.
After those guys, I don’t think we really have many mid-rounders other than maybe McClellan and Burton. Moore potentially, but I could see his medicals getting flagged or teams just being wary of his back history. Seems like we’re really top heavy in the draft this year.
I'd give yall the edge at interior DL, but not by some huge margin. Our guys have played great this year, just not world-beaters. Edge may be the strength of our team (if not CB). I'd put our pair against anyone in the nation If we're healthy, I give Bama the edge at LB. Lawson is a game changer but was very banged up the second half of the year CBs is definitely Bama.
One of the things that really worries me is that our best weapon (Loveland) is a slightly worse version of a guy (Bowers) Bama has seen several times and is more than well-prepared for. The other thing is that our WRs, while fairly dependable, don't get a ton of separation...Combine that with the Bama DBs and JJ needs to be inch perfect pretty often. Oh and yeah...we can't block edge rushers. So yeah.
I said it in our team thread, but our top end talent is def better than UM. My biggest concern is UM has something like 80 seniors that have been in an elite s&c program for 4-5 years. UM has better depth for sure.
This is why I feel uber confident. I know Zinter was a guard, but that obviously works in our favor, too
JJ and Kris Jenkins (DT) are first rounders. Day 2 guys at WR (Wilson), LB (Colston), Edge (Harrell). Another couple of defensive tackles would be day 2 guys this year if they were draft eligible.
Our guards are really good, but our center is a straight liability. And he can't snap, so that's cool
I think I read that McCarthy has been pretty pedestrian the second half of the year. Is that due to injury, gameplan, or what? How much confident do UM fans have in him? He certainly doesn't fit the mold of QBs that generally give Bama trouble.
That's good. Our DL is well coached, talented, experienced and deep, but we don't have that first round, unblockable DE/edge. We play a lot of guys, so they don't really get worn down, but that also means we occasionally don't have our best players on the field.
Injury and gameplan. His 2 worst games were weeks he didn't practice with an injury, and the game plan against PSU was revised when our banged up OL couldn't block PSU's edges at all the first 2 drives. When he's healthy, he's incredibly accurate with a strong arm, either in the pocket or on the move. But he's been bad a couple times.
You can get championship game tickets through the Washington ticket office right now if you signed up with them already
One thing UM is certainly not prepared for is the amount of shit-talking from Jermaine Burton. If he was on any other team I'd hate him, but he's our shithead
jj + 4 sophomores(grant and graham at dt, johnson at cb and loveland at te) are the guys with first round potential. Maybe jenkins-sr dt could sneak in, hes a high character freak athlete with crazy genes(son of all pro nt kris jenkins) but doesnt make a bunch of splash plays. I do think hes better than mazi smith who went in the first last year.
this is definitely the highest upside dude we have though, hes 6ft5 340lbs+ and an absolute freak just still a bit inconsistent
You’re on crack, I was talking about Alabama and referencing your post (I believe) about winning meaning that we’ve historically been more right
I believe most places opened at 2.5-3 and it went to 1.5 pretty quick. All of those lines are from the next day after it adjusted.
This is where I'm at. I'm not going to pretend to have broken down a ton of Michigan film. If you asked me after the USF game, I thought we were going to lose 3-4 games. But they got their shit together and here we are. The whole is better than sum of the parts this year, which isn't always the case for Bama tbh. Like you said, Bama normally wins these games, especially against teams built like Michigan that want to impose their will, and Michigan has typically lost these games. I know every year is different and things can change but I'm mildly confident until I see those things change.
DL- push. I know Michigan's interior DL is much hyped but Oatis, Egoibe, Tim Keenan, etc have been very difficult to run on and they get pressure from the interior and are very solid. Edge-Bama by a large margin Linebackers-It's going to be tough to be better than a healthy Deontae Lawson, Campbell, and Marshall. Corners-Bama has the best corner tandem in CFB. Bama by a large margin here. Safety-Caleb Downs is playing at an All American level and Jalen Key is good when healthy which he should be and Malachi Moore has been extremely good this year. Alabama has the best secondary in football. Also probably has the best edge duo in football. And Deontae Lawson is one of the best ILB in CFB. This defense is infinitely more battle tested than Michigan's. Alabama's defense is better than Michigan's. QB-Milroe is one of the most dynamic athletes and players in the country and has been peaking at the right time. Has been huge in clutch moments. And his ability to pick up critical 1st downs with his legs has been huge down the stretch. McCarthy it not on the same level. Edge Alabama. OL -Alabama's OL is playing about as well as any in the country right now. Just pushed around Georgia's front. Latham, Booker, and Roberts are all elite. Proctor has improved tremendously. As previously mentioned our center is god awful. I think there will be drives where they road grade Michigan's defense and running backs are running through large holes. Also think they'll give Jalen plenty of time. RB-push WR-Alabama by a decent margin. Burton and Bond are a both very good. TE-Michigan I suppose but I really like Niblack and Dippre So of the position groups Michigan has the edge at one position, TE.