TCY: Alabama Crimson Tide

[alexr5111]

The year is 2004. The Alabama Crimson Tide haven't won a major bowl game in 12 years. Mike Shula has been fired, ushered out from pressure by an impatient fan base.

I've received the call. I'm in. Follow along.

[alexr5111]

The highlights of the upcoming 2004 schedule are without a doubt the Week 12 matchup with LSU and as always, The Iron Bowl. It will be a softer start to a schedule with a fierce ending. We do luck out with a very easy non-conference schedule and no Florida or Georgia matchups.

[alexr5111]

We'll be running the single back formation this season with the Crimson Tide. Our strength will absolutely be our passing game with three really good pass catchers in Bishop, Peters and Chapman.

Don Witt will start the season as the starter at quarterback but we have two solid backups in redshirt juniors Mike Watanabe and Austin Frost.

The running back spot doesn't have a real stud and may change on a week-to-week basis. Massey and fellow junior Moe Boatwright will get the bulk of the carries.

[alexr5111]

The offensive line isn't the dominating unit that we hope it will be in the future. This group is led by Gabe Durham and Herb Jeans, both All-SEC type players.

[alexr5111]

The defensive line is another position group that will need to be built up over time. The elephant in the room is the glaring lack of size, particularly inside, for a team that is going to be running a 3-4.

[alexr5111]

The linebacking core is going to be the strength of the defense. All 4 are really good players and 3 of the 4 are seniors. Again, the size is underwhelming but the talent makes up for it.

[alexr5111]

Another really good group of experienced football players. Beamon is probably the best player in the back 4 and there's depth here as well. The defense in general should be solid this season.

[alexr5111]

Jose Peters has the potential to be one of the best return men in the country..he is electric. The special teams unit is solid. Morton will handle the field goal duties while Junior Irving Nichols will take care of kickoffs.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

Troy Pickens, anyone?

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

I'm more or less copying the layout I did for my Navy dynasty but if anyone has suggestions for things to cover, definitely let me know. I think I'm going to export the class into FOF and just do a draft summary at the end of the year but that's the only change I've thought of so far. Pretty open to ideas.

[alexr5111]

If nobody plays Week 1..is it really Week 1?

[alexr5111]

This really shouldn't be too close of a matchup unless we really lay an egg. Utah State will try to control clock with junior Running Back Adam Mayes but their offensive line isn't good enough to do that.

[alexr5111]

A solid start to the season. The offense performed well in all facets. Don Witt played solid in bad weather, as he completed 72% of his passes and we had 35 points at half.

The run game was more of a supplemental piece but Otis Massey averaged nearly 7 yards a carry and got the job done. He also got the job done in the passing game as he caught 7 passes for 62 yards.

The receivers were as impactful as expected. The freshman Rich Chapman did lead the team in yardage but it was Jose Peters that did most of the damage with 3 touchdown catches and 125 yards.

Herb Jeans was the anchor on the offensive line, going 6 for 9 in run block opportunities. As a group we only allowed one sack.

Defensively it wasn't quite as rosy. The Aggies rushed for 141 yards and 2 touchdowns. This was slightly deceiving as one carry accounted for 80 yards but still way too many to a lower level team.

The surprise in the front seven was sophomore Bernie Lowe, who did not get the start but had 3 sacks and another TFL.

The pass defense was very good. Utah State's QB's completed just 39% of their passes and Kelly LaBounty added an INT.


The warmup game is out of the way and now we host Ole Miss this upcoming week. They're coming off a convincing 44-3 win over Memphis.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

[Chas in Cinti]

I'm looking forward to following along... Personally, the graphics don't matter to me as much as the data... so however you want to provide it works for me!

[alexr5111]

This was a wild one that we pulled off in double overtime after a big defensive stand.

It's hard to believe we scored 41 points when we only totaled 315 yards and were outgained by Ole Miss by over 100 yards.

The passing game was up and down as Witt was sacked 7 total times but managed to spread the ball around well enough to keep drives alive.

The run game couldn't get much going all day. Otis Massey and Moe Boatwright combined for less than 100 yards and neither scored. Don Witt actually had the longest run of the game, a 33 yard TD.

As mentioned, the offensive line played terribly. RG Byron Hay allowed 4 of the 7 sacks. Gabe Durham allowed 1 and Duane Lang allowed 2.

Defensively we were beat up on the ground for the second straight week, allowing 223 yards to Duane Castillo. Like last week, the big play killed us as Castillo ripped off a 92 yard touchdown run early in the 4th quarter.

Ole Miss' passing game was effective as well. They threw for 207 yards and no interceptions. Kenneth Beamon was beat the most, allowing 4 catches.

Special teams ended up being a game changer for us. Jose Peters returned a kick 97 yards for a score. Leslie Morton hit the game winning FG and Warren Phillips averaged over 40 yards per punt.

Overall, it was an exciting but ugly win. Nevertheless, we're 2-0 and heading into what should be an easier matchup against Anaheim.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

Obviously not the stiffest of competition but hey, we didn't make the schedule this year. Really good all-around performance.

Don Witt threw for 326 yards..half of which went to Jose Peters. Those two seem to be getting better as the season goes on.

The running game was serviceable. Otis Massey ran for 80 yards on 15 carries and then gave way to Moe Boatwright (13-34) and SR Sean Parrish (78 yard TD run).

The offensive line bounced back in pass pro, allowing only 2 sacks. Herb Jeans (1 for 6) and Gabe Durham (3-10) could've performed better on key run block opportunities.

The run defense was stellar. Anaheim rushed 24 times for 40 yards (Before sacks....-32 after). We had 15 TFL's overall and 8 sacks. Troy Hammond and Bernie Lowe both had 2.5 sacks each.

The pass defense was just as good, forcing Anaheim QB's into 11 for 42 and 4 Ints. Carlos Valencia had two of those, Lester White returned one for a TD and freshman walk-on Darryl Latschaw added the fourth.


We return to National Television in Week 5 with a matchup against 2-1, Arkansas.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

Well, you could kind of feel that one coming. The things that had threatened to bite us in previous weeks finally did. This was back and forth all game long and we eventually lost in the second overtime.

The passing game continued to be a bright spot. Don Witt was great once again. Jon Bishop's performance was really encouraging as he showed we can still produce when Jose Peters is shut down (2 rec, 19 yards).

Otis Massey was brutal, rushing 20 times for 40 yards and he was stuffed 7 times on the day. Moe Boatwright was better once he got some more opportunities. We may need to look into making a change here in the coming weeks.

We once again allowed 8 sacks and again Byron Hay was the main culprit, allowing 4 of them. There will be a change at his guard spot next week. One bright spot was Gabe Durham, who went 6 for 14 on KRO's.

Overall the rush defense was improved. Arkansas' starting RB only averaged 3.7 ypc. MLB Shawn Bridges led that charge by making 7 tackles with 3 for loss. Troy Hammond had another nice game with 3 TFL's himself.

Hammond also added a sack but we didn't get enough pressure on the Arkansas QB as his was the only sack of the game. Lenny Cassidy and Lester White both intercepted passes but Bobby Herttna still managed to throw for 3 TD's.

This was a tough loss. It drops us in the rankings and isn't how we want to get going in conference play. Luckily it happens early enough in the season that we have time to recover. There will be one or two changes to the lineup next week and we have a home matchup with South Carolina.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

First commit of the 2005 class! We knew we had to take at least one CB in this class and Broderick Walters was our top target. He's long with a frame to put on weight .He plays with an attitude and has a ballhawk mentality as he's intercepted 13 passes this year at Middletown. Offensively he's averaged 28.2 yards per catch.

[alexr5111]

Obviously Troy Pickens is our top choice at RB in this class but we wanted to take two and Trevor Hrynewych should be a solid option. He's a tough kid from a solid program here in Alabama. He's got breakaway speed and shows some ability to catch the ball out of the backfield as well.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

We can only hope this is rock bottom.

Everything came crashing down in this one. We really didn't do anything well.

We couldn't run the ball despite making the change and giving Moe Boatwright the majority of the carries.

Don Witt played his worst game of the season by far, completing less than 50% of his passes and throwing two interceptions.

We were better in pass protection and SR Rob Flynn who replaced the struggling Byron Hay at guard this week was much better. He allowed 0 sacks on 28 dropbacks. Unfortunately, our other guard, Harvey Brisman went down with an injury so Hay will be back in the lineup regardless.

South Carolina's run game absolutely gashed us to the tone of 226 yards and 5.7 ypc.

Their passing game was efficient, completing 70% of their passes.

It's hard to find many bright spots defensively. Troy Hammond added another sack and Kelly Labounty picked off a pass.

This game was an eye-opener and sort of changes the mentality of the rest of the season. I think initially we had hopes of challenging for a spot in the playoff but I think now we shift more to maintaining respectability and understanding we don't have the personnel yet to do the things we want to do.

Next week is a matchup with 1-3 Kentucky.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

Despite a bad week on the field, Week 6 brought us two massive commits. Troy Pickens was our top target from Day 1. The best player in the country at a huge position of need and from our home state. It was imperative that we signed him and we locked it up early. He has electric speed, has rushed for almost 2000 yards in 9 games and has nearly 1000 yards receiving to boot. We'll expect him to compete for the starting job as a freshman.

[alexr5111]

Signing the number one player in the country is a massive coup. Our offensive line has been a weakness for us this year and Kerry Fiset should change that in the future. He's particularly dominant in the run game. He also brings a great attitude, is fantastic from the academic side of things and Madison Park HS is an athletic powerhouse. Another guy that could easily play as a freshman.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

Just as the wheels were threatening to come off on the season, the Kentucky Wildcats showed up on the schedule.

Although it was a big scoring effort and a nice victory, there were still some fairly major issues.

Don Witt wins player of the game as he throws for nearly 400 yards and spreads the ball around nicely to Jose Peters, Jon Bishop and Rich Chapman. However, he did throw 3 picks, including one that was returned for a TD. That will lose you games against most SEC opponents.

Moe Boatwright had his best outing as a member of the Crimson Tide. His 128 yards rushing were composed of solid run after solid run and he allowed us to control the clock.

The offensive line performed well. Gabe Durham led the way in the ground game, going 6 for 9 in KRO. The only two sacks allowed on the night were via RT Duane Lang.

The defense performed very well. Kentucky managed a total of 9 yards rushing. That defensive effort was led by the front 3, with Bernie Lowe, Troy Hammond and Bryant Walters combining for 8 TFL's.

Lowe also added 3.5 sacks and Troy Hammond had 2.5 himself. The coverage locked down Wildcat receivers all game as they passed for just 108 yards. Our starting defensive backs allowed just 2 completions all game.

Our kickers struggled in this one. Leslie Morton missed 3 FG and Warren Phillips lone punt had a net of just 29 yards.

Next week's matchup is a non-conference tilt with Southern Mississippi. They sit at 2-3 on the season.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

The safety spot will be very thin for us next year, as we currently have just 3 scholarship players and Kelly LaBounty will graduate. We need at least 2 in this class and Derrick Logan is the first. Another northeastern-get, this one from Long Island, he was our top choice at the spot. He's an all around athlete at the position, with 70 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 11 interceptions. He also has 5 TDs on offense. He will have no problem playing the box and being a force in the run game.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

A good win in which we dominated in every category. We scored 5 TDs on 5 trips to the redzone and forced Southern Miss into 9 three and outs out of 12 possessions.

Don Witt wins player of the game again, despite not having the gaudy numbers he's been known to put up. It was good to see him avoid any interceptions in this one. In a pleasant surprise, our TE, Barry Dawson was the leading receiver. We did have Jon Bishop leave the game due to an injury and he is questionable for next week.

Moe Boatwright had another productive week and led the run game. He just consistently gains yards in chunks. Otis Massey continued his disappointing season, rushing 11 times for 28 yards.

Boatwright made a lot of the runs happen on his own, as the offensive line graded out just okay in the run game. Gabe Durham again led the way going 3 for 8 on KRO. Byron Hay went just 2 for 8. The line did allow 3 sacks on the night but 2 of those were via the backup group that came in late.

As mentioned, the defense was phenomenal. Southern Miss ran 47 total plays and gained just 69 yards.

Kenneth Beamon made 5 tackles. Troy Hammond made 4 with 2 for loss (1.5 sacks). Freshman DT Leonard Vallet also got in on the action, making 2 sacks in backup duty.

The secondary played well again as no one allowed more than one catch.

The going gets a little bit tougher next week as we host 3-3 Tennessee.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

Les Bush doesn't come with a high ranking from a recruiting service but we're confident he'll be one of the sleepers of the class. He's a huge kid already who has great hands and can use his body well. He's got 619 yards receiving and the lower level of his high school is probably why he didn't get much attention.

[alexr5111]

Nice to get our first LB on board in this class because it's a big need for us. Ryan Russell comes with the kind of size we currently lack at the spot. He's a good student and a hard worker and despite being 227 lbs, can really run in coverage. He's got 10.5 sacks to go along with 3 interceptions and plays a little TE at Cedar Mountain as well.

[alexr5111]

Although offensive line isn't an immediate pressing need, we're trying to slowly build up each spot along it. Adam Brewer is this year's addition at center. He's an in-state kid who was our only offer at the position. Doesn't have elite size yet but we're confident he'll get there in our strength program. He's at his best in the run game and his coaches rave about his work ethic. He does come from a smaller program but we believe it won't be a hard transition.

[alexr5111]

[Vegas Vic]

Alex, I was wondering if you planned on continuing this dynasty? You obviously put a lot of time and effort into it, and I enjoyed reading through it.