The Jumbo Package | 08.21.13

The SEC's most indispensable players | AL.com

ALABAMA

C.J. Mosley, LB, Sr.

Nothing about C.J. Mosley's game fits the typical Alabama mold. He's rarely the biggest or the strongest player on the field. Next to Courtney Upshaw and Dont'a Hightower, he looked like a safety. But Mosley's sideline-to-sideline speed is outstanding, and in a league that continues to feature mobile quarterbacks that trait is invaluable. Last season Mosley became the first Alabama defender to break the 100-tackle mark since Rolando McClain, and he did it while splitting time. Now that the job is all his, it's up to Mosley to do even more in terms of production and leadership. -- Alex Scarborough, TideNation

Look, Mosley may play out of his mind this year and cement a place as the best linebacker to ever play under Saban. It doesn't matter. There is still only one person that this team absolutely can't do without, and that's AJ McCarron.

Ten Alabama, 72 SEC players on watch list for 2014 Senior Bowl | AL.com

The SEC players on the Senior Bowl Watch List are:

Alabama: WR Kenny Bell, CB Deion Belue, CB John Fulton, P Cody Mandell, QB AJ McCarron, LB CJ Mosley, WR Kevin Norwood, G Anthony Steen, DE Ed Stinson, S Nick Perry

Look at Nick Perry sneaking up in that list, y'all. Nick had a monster day on A-day. Still not sure how much time he'll spend on the field, given the depth at safety, but that performance showed hunger.

2014 SEC Football Schedule Set for Wednesday Release, According to Report | Team Speed Kills

So the schedule will be released today, and what do you know? The LSU boys are already working in some preemptive complaining.

SPOILER ALERT: LSU's 2014 sched. includes UF, UGA, SCAR, Bama twice, UK Basketball, and the Green Bay Packers; all road games

— Pod Katt (@valleyshook) August 20, 2013

My honest prediction? I bet we get a BRUTAL schedule, and the LSU fans sigh and mutter to themselves, "There. Now it's fair."

8 Need-to-Know Rules Changes for 2013 Season | National Football Foundation

2. Targeting Fouls: Automatic Ejection, Part II:
A player is at great risk of being ejected from the game for a launch (leaving his feet to attack an opponent by an upward and forward thrust of the body to make contact in the head or neck area); a crouch (followed by an upward and forward thrust to attack with contact at the head or neck area); leading (with helmet, forearm, fist, hand or elbow to attack with contact at the head or neck area); or lowering (the head before attacking by initiating contact with the crown of the helmet).

What in the holy crap does it mean that the "player is at great risk of ejection?" Could they have used a more useless string of words? If the goal is to make the game safer, that's fine. Make the rules whatever they need to be to accomplish that. This poorly worded garbage rule accomplishes nothing while giving the appearance that something has changed.

** Practice Update **

Biggest news of the day? The presence of Geno Smith (who was arrested for DUI over the weekend) and Trey DePriest (who was suspended last Tuesday). Geno was out on the practice field, but didn't participate in the drills he normally is in. Instead, he was relegated to standing on the sideline and watching with the walk-ons. Meanwhile, Trey DePriest was on the field and going through drills with the inside linebackers. In Saban's press conference (see below), he stated that Geno will be suspended for the first game, and that Trey is back with the team, but has to "work his way back up the depth chart." Again, the words "depth chart" were part of the actual quote. Saban must be slipping in his old age.

Amari Cooper was not wearing the black jersey.

Brandon Ivory was wearing a brace, but didn't seem limited.

Deion Belue (hamstring) was practicing and wearing his brace apparatus.

Arie Kouandjio and Austin Shepherd have switched places again, back to their original positions, with Arie at left guard and Austin at right tackle. I'm disappointed by this news, as I was really hoping that Arie would stick at right tackle.

Video Dump:

LB Trey DePriest and CB Geno Smith

Nick Saban Press Conference

Brace yourselves. We're in single digits.