Alabama Saturday Scrimmage

[WorkHorse]

Quarterback AJ McCarron threw for 319 yards and 5 scores and his backup Blake Sims, added another 183 yards and 2 touchdowns as the offense played turnover free football in its final organized scrimmage before Saturday's annual A-Day Game. McCarron completed 23 of 28 attempts with no interceptions. Sophomore running back T.J. Yeldon added 101 yards rushing on 14 carries, with touchdown runs of 65 and 7 yards, and sophomore Kenyan Drake rushed for 71 yards on 12 carries . True freshman Derrick Henry had 79 yards on 17 carries. WR Amari Cooper had 108 yards and four scores on just 6 receptions while redshirt freshman Chris Black led all receivers with 113 yards on 10 catches.

Defensively, Bama returns 7 starters and several key backups from last season. A number of starters missed the scrimmage because of injuries. Quite a few guys are banged up on the defensive side but that didn't stop Saban from expressing his disapointment with the tackling and individual responsibilities for the players.

Alabama will return to practice Tuesday for the 13th of 15 practice sessions. After another practice on Thursday, the Tide will hold its annual A-Day Game on Saturday at 2 p.m., in a game that will be televised by ESPN2.

[CrimsonTideFan]

Roll Tide!

[WorkHorse]

TideFan, this will be the best offense Saban has had during his 6 years at Alabama. McCarron is having a great spring and is playing with a lot of confidence. The depth and talent at receiver is the best in many years for the Tide. Running back is also solid with depth and talent. Second team RB Keyan Drake has been outstanding and will be a solid second runner to T.J. Yeldon. McCarron, barring injury will leave Alabama with all the passing records. The offensive line, which lost 3 starters have jelled with each other and really impressed this spring. Again, talent and depth.

Bama will be in the hunt again this season!

[suicidekings]

Bama will be in the hunt again this season!

And with another cupcake schedule, they've made it easy for themselves as well.

Date Opponent Site

Aug. 31......... Virginia Tech.............................. Atlanta, Ga.
Sept. 14......... *at Texas A&M............................ College Station, Texas
Sept. 21......... Colorado State............................. Bryant-Denny Stadium
Sept. 28......... *Ole Miss.................................... . Bryant-Denny Stadium
Oct. 5............ Georgia State............................... Bryant-Denny Stadium
Oct. 12.......... *at Kentucky............................... Lexington, Ky.
Oct. 19.......... *Arkansas............................... ..... Bryant-Denny Stadium
Oct. 26.......... *Tennessee.............................. .... Bryant-Denny Stadium
Nov. 9........... *LSU.................................... .......... Bryant-Denny Stadium
Nov. 16......... *at Mississippi State................. Starkville, Miss.
Nov. 23......... Chattanooga............................. .... Bryant-Denny Stadium
Nov. 30......... *at Auburn.................................. . Auburn, Ala.

Tennessee loses Tyler Bray, Arkansas loses Tyler Wilson and Knile Davis, and Auburn is still a mess and has a new coach. MSU's early success in 2012 proved to be smoke & mirrors, but have a good place in the schedule following the Bama/LSU game.

I count 2 tough opponents for a team that will likely prove to be even better than last year. Another 2-3 teams could put up a bit of a fight, but are largely out-gunned. Barring severe injury problems, they should cruise through 8+ of their games on their way to a 10/11 win season.

[WorkHorse]

Mr. S....as a Bama homer........

I think you probably nailed it other than cupcake. SEC games cupcape?

....appreciate your post my friend.

[bubblebuttluv]

These Bama boys are going to run through everyone once again. Roll damn tide!!

[WorkHorse]

Yeah Bubble...if the QB can stay heathy...Bama will be difficult to beat.

McCarron is the most valuable player on the team because there is no one behind him who can
fill his shoes.

Ole Nick knows he's loaded again.......Bama will be in the picture for the SEC and BCS title.

[suicidekings]

Mr. S....as a Bama homer........

I think you probably nailed it other than cupcake. SEC games cupcape?

....appreciate your post my friend.

Well, it's all relative. From the Tide's perspective, it's smart scheduling, and coming into this season as the uncontested #1 team gives them little to prove to anyone. But when you break it down, it's probably an SOS of around #45-50, which I would consider fairly weak for a SEC team. Kentucky and Auburn are the worst in the SEC, and Georgia State/Colorado State/Chattanooga are basically practice games.

Arkansas have a lot of rebuilding to do, and I really don't respect Bielema. Butch Jones is a great coaching hire, but it's hard to imagine the Volunteers being more than average as they rebuild. Virginia Tech is revamping their offensive coaching staff and even if Logan Thomas gets the nod, they're going to have a very hard time fielding a decent offense in Week 1. Too much turmoil for all of these teams at the moment. Ole Miss and MSU are the only other teams on the schedule with a pulse after TAMU/LSU.

Not that this takes anything away from Bama. They're going to have to be extremely unlucky for their talent/coaching not to carry them at the top of the rankings for most/all of the season. Your team is poised to have a great year.

[suicidekings]

And thanks for getting the CFB conversation rolling here. The spring schedule and other CFB news is infinitely more interesting than NFL mock drafts...