The Jumbo Package │07.17.14

SEC Media Days 2014: Day 4 Schedule - Team Speed Kills

The Bingo sheet for his press conference is pretty standard: aight, Process, feigning ignorance to shut down a line of questioning, tearing the head off of whichever poor rookie reporter asks him about a depth chart, etc. We can add Finebaum's $100 million from Texas story to the list too. There will be insight, death stares, and more humor than you'd expect. It's the perfect way to cap off the event. The players Saban brought with him are Amari Cooper, Christion Jones, and Landon Collins.

SEC Media Days have been a bore so far (like most years), and I don't expect that to change even with Saban on tap. What we need to liven this thing up is for someone to get subpoenaed or Kiffin to make a surprise visit..

On Texas' Supposed $100 Million Offer to Nick Saban - Team Speed Kills

"Texas was dead serious about trying to money-whip Saban," Finebaum and Wojchiechowski [sic] write. "Depending on whom you talk to -- Bama big hitters or Texas big hitters -- the Longhorns were prepared to give Saban somewhere between a $12 and $15 million signing bonus and a salary package worth $100 million (plus performances)."

Hey, Pawl..

This is why I hate (and I may just mean that in the literal sense) Paul Finebaum. Rumors of Texas willing to go up to $100 million have been out there for a while yet he uses the day before Saban is to appear at SEC Media Days to drop this bomb? Okay, bro. I honestly have no clue why any Alabama fan would subject themselves to his nonsense on a daily basis..

However, Brandon makes a good point in the article that we have no clue the length of the contract Texas was going to offer. For all we know it could have been 5 million over 20 years. The number is more likely 10 for 10 but it's funny how Finebaum leaves that key piece of information out of his book. And if Texas had offered $100 I'm quite confident 'Bama would have matched the offer..

The question is, and this is one I think we discussed months ago, how high should/would 'Bama be willing to go to keep Saban around? Is there a number too high where Battle would have to say no? Is it 115? 125? Where does it stop? My personal feeling is $100 million is too high but I'm sure many of you will disagree and I can't wait to hear your arguments...

Alabama-USC in Dallas is good, but it would be twice as nice in T-town and Tinseltown | AL.com

Alabama has turned Bryant-Denny into a showplace with two well-done expansions since 2006, but how entertaining is it for the fans who buy the tickets and budget an entire day for the experience to watch their favorite team flex its muscles against Chattanooga? Wouldn't it be nice to see USC or Wisconsin or some other Power 5 team with a pulse run out of the tunnel in Tuscaloosa? Wouldn't it be a treat for Alabama fans to take a road trip to LA or Madison or some other classic location as part of an old-school home-and-home?

At the SEC spring meeting in Destin, Nick Saban and Bill Battle both complained about the difficulty of lining up non-conference opponents, regardless of location, but other SEC schools have been able to put together quality home-and-home deals in recent months.

Georgia's going to play Notre Dame in Athens and South Bend. LSU will meet UCLA in Tiger Stadium and the Rose Bowl. Outside the SEC, Michigan and Oklahoma recently announced a two-game series in Ann Arbor and Norman.

Why can't Alabama do the same?

Well, the question likely isn't why can't but more likely why won't . And the answer is probably wrapped around $$$$. Home and homes, while great for the home fan base, aren't money makers for the University. Neutral site games are a win/win for everyone, at least financially. So it makes sense that Alabama would want to focus on high end neutral site games.

I agree, I want to see 'Bama play in the Rose Bowl or even South Bend but unfortunately when it comes to making these types of decision, the desires and wants of the fan base are rather low on the totem pole.

USC To Face Alabama In 2016 Cowboy Classic - Conquest Chronicles

"The 2016 Cowboys Classic not only brings together two of college football's most tradition-laden and successful programs, but teams that in 1970 played a significant role in shaping the history of the game." Alabama and USC have met seven times (Alabama 5-2), and Bama won the last meeting 24-3 in the 1985 Aloha Bowl. The Trojans did win two monumental games against the Crimson Tide however, first in the racially integrating 1970 Sam Bam Cunningham game and then a monumental victory in 1978, when the school's split the national championship.

Seriously, what are the odds Kiffin is still the 'Bama OC come 2016? Probably less than good.

STUPID QUESTIONS: Third-day questions from SEC Media Days | TuscaloosaNews.com

Q. You’re opening at a neutral site that hasn’t sold out. As a head coach, I would expect you would want to exploit that home-field advantage as much as possible.

A. We like to play at home, there isn’t any question

AJ McCarron's Special Bond with Starla Chapman an ESPY Moment - Cincy Jungle

"It is with an overwhelmingly heavy heart that I type this status. Today, after a seizure, Starla left us. And after two minutes of chest compressions she was revived. We later found that another ECHO showed even more decreased heart function than before. She is now on life support and we need a miracle!!!!!! I'm so hurt, and please don't ask any questions as I will not share any more information. I love my beautiful daughter with EVERY fiber of my being, GOD knows this, EVERYONE knows this. Please pray!!!! Pray for a MIRACLE!!!!"

Starla would eventually recover, and began several bouts of chemotherapy. As Starla recovered, she and McCarron continued to form a bond that eventually led to Starla becoming McCarron's goddaughter. Starla was finally ruled to be cancer free on April 11, 2012. Recently,

AJ's then-fiance, Katherine Webb, invited Starla to be their wedding flower girl.

Damn you dust...

This is a great reminder for everyone who seems to have forgotten the type of off-the-field person AJ is...

SEC Media Days 2014: Bret Bielema Wants to Make Himself Clear - Team Speed Kills

Have I softened in my view of fast‑paced offenses? The only thing I'm going to say to that, if you ask me in that tense, you're asking me have I softened my view on player safety. The answer would be no. If I recruit somebody, bring them into my family, I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure they're the most well‑equipped, educated to make player safety a premium in our program

The player safety excuse for why the HUNH offense is dumb is, well, dumb. So Bret (and yes Saban too) stop talking about it, please.

Greg McElroy responds to backlash after picking LSU to beat Alabama on ESPNU | AL.com

But McElroy says he has to keep it real. "Like I said from the very beginning, my opinion my might not always turn out to be correct, but I do have to give my opinion in real time and I'm more than happy to do that," he said. He lists a few reasons for his LSU-over-Alabama pick. The last two games in Baton Rouge were close with Alabama needing a last-second drive to win 21-17  in 2012. McElroy was the starter in 2010 when the Tide left with a 24-21 loss.

Is Greg going out of his way to be unbiased? Probably but picking LSU over 'Bama isn't that far-fetched of a prediction. It's a road game and like GMac mentions, the last couple trips over there have been closely contested.. It's not like he said we were going to lose to Auburn or Tennessee.

College football rule changes focus on targeting, quarterback safety - LA Times

Under the old rule, a player cited for targeting — using the crown of the helmet to tackle or initiating contact to the head or neck of a defenseless opponent with the helmet, forearm or fist — was ejected from the game, with a 15-yard penalty assessed, pending a review from the instant-play booth

The problem: The team was still assessed a penalty even if replay overruled the targeting call on the field. How was that fair? It wasn't, and thus the rule has been amended.

The second change is designed to protect a defenseless quarterback in the pocket. Defensive players can no longer hit a quarterback below the knees when he is in the passing motion. Since targeting the head is also illegal, tacklers will be restricted to a specific area of contact. "People have said, ‘Do you have a strike zone for quarterbacks?'" Shaw said. "And there really is. Now you hit them above the knee and below the neck."

Sigh..CFB is now one step closer to becoming the NFL.

Look, I'm glad they amended the targeting rule but this "hit them (QB) above the knee and below the neck" deal is getting out of hand. Did CFB all of a sudden see a high amount of QB, in the pocket, ACL injuries in recent years? Not that I'm aware of. And if you're going to protect the knees of QB's, who again seem to have a low percentage of knee injuries, then they need to look at how HUNH offensive lines cut block d-lineman...