Sportaholic NFL Draft Spectacular



In anticipation to the draft this year, I scanned every so called draft expert’s picks, including Peter King’s on Sports Illustrated, Mike Mayock from NFL.com, Rich Gosselin of the Dallas morning news and of course Mel Kiper and Todd McShay of ESPN. After witnessing the first round of the draft I can say with confidence these guys are guessing just like the rest of us. Four QBs went in the first round (To Kiper’s credit, he did predict four would go) with your classic over-reaching in the Titans picking Jake Locker at 8 and Minnesota picking Christian Ponder at 12. Jacksonville’s GM Gene Smith made a bold move in trading up for Blaine Gabbert, which officially puts David Garrard on the hot seat. This was an example of the effect of the lockout. The Titans, Vikings, and Jags were directly affected because they couldn’t count on signing a veteran QB like they could in normal years. Now these teams turn to rookie passers to lead or eventually take over their franchises. We all knew the Cam Newton experience would be going to Carolina. The Panthers and GM Marty Hurney are mortgaging their future on the former Auburn star. Now can he lead them to the promise land is another thing.

Another trend this year was the run on pass rushers. 7 of the 32 picks in the first round were used on sack specialists. Another 4 picks were used on defensive tackles, making it 11 picks for defensive linemen in the first round. Teams know that if they can grab an elite pass rusher it can pay big dividends. When you look at teams such as Dallas with Demarcus Ware, Pittsburgh with Lamar Woodley, and Green Bay with Clay Matthews you understand the importance of having a game changing edge rusher who can get to the Qb at any given time. Speaking of pass rushing, how about the Detroit Lions? They had Nick Fairley fall right into their lap. That defensive line now features Fairley, Ndamakong Suh and Kyle Vaden Bosch. That noise you heard last night after the Fairley pick last night was Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler’s jaw dropping. Those guys have to be shaking their heads thinking of what life going to be like when the Lions come to town. The boldest move of the entire draft so far though has to be Atlanta giving up the 27th pick along with its 2nd and 4th round picks of this year’s draft and their 1st and 4th round picks of next year to obtain Alabama’s Julio Jones. A lot of people are questioning this move. The Falcons gave up a lot for the services of Jones but it brings drool to my mouth thinking about an offense that features Roddy White, Jones, Tony Gonzalez, Michael ‘Burner” Turner and Matt Ryan. You are looking at a bona fide explosive offense with those weapons at Ryan’s disposal.

Now for the biggest surprises of the NFL draft and the local perspective of the Titans pick:

Biggest Surprises:

1. Julio Jones to Atlanta: Hands down it has to the Atlanta Falcons. As I stated above, the Falcons paid a steep price for wideout Julio Jones but when you look at the possibilities, how can you not like it? This offense now has top 5 written all over it. Every since Matt Ryan and Roddy White developed into one of the best QB-WR tandems in the league, most people were saying they still needed one more threat on the outside to bring it all together. When I watched Falcons games last year I would always notice the double press coverage used on White. It forced Matt Ryan to find Tony Gonzalez probably more than he liked to over the middle. Jones will free up the opposite side of the field for Atlanta and will open up holes for Turner with his physical blocking. The more I look at this for the Falcons the more I like it.

2. Nick Fairley to Detroit: This pick had to make Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler quiver. Jim Schwartz has always been known for his defensive line schemes since his days here in Tennessee. He now has a potentially devastating assortment of talent with Suh, Fairley and Vaden Bosch. They guys are going to hurt someone this year, mark it down. The physicality and nastiness that Fairley and Suh will bring every game will set the tone for the Lions defense. Both guys are known for their rough borderline dirty playing styles and it should be fun to see how they play off each other.

3. Blaine Gabbert to Jacksonville: Jaguars GM Gene Smith is a man who sticks by what he believes in. He proved that last year by picking Cal’s Tyson Alaulau who turned out to be one of the better rookie defensive ends last year. After countless experts weighed in and called the pick an over reach, Smith never wavered and at no time even worried about what others thought. So I have to trust a man of such conviction as he must have had a hunch about Gabbert, who he moved up to take 10th. It cost the Jags a 2nd round pick but they now have their future franchise QB. Gabbert was predicted all over the board from 3rd to the Bills all the way down to 10th by the Redskins. There is no way he could have thought he would be a Jaguar at the end of the day. I trust Smith knows what he is doing. David Garrard your days are numbered in Jacksonville.

Best 1st round: New Orleans Saints. The Saints grabbed defensive end Cameron Jordan of Cal, who some say was a potential top 15 pick and the Saints got him with the 24th pick (Value, Value, and Value) They followed that up by trading with New England for the 26th pick and landing former Heisman trophy winner Mark Ingram. They now have a dominant in-between the tackles runner that Reggie Bush will never become. But the most intriguing thing about the Bush-Ingram tandem is the endless possibilities. Sean Payton is one the brightest offensive minds in the game. He will incorporate both to the best of their abilities. I envision Ingram softening up the defense with his down-hill running style, only to have Bush take a toss sweep and turn the corner on a stunned defense. Ingram should help bring better balance on offense for the Saints and anytime you give Drew Brees another toy to play with it’s a good thing. Jordan will solidify the defensive line for the Saints who at times last year had problems getting to the QB. It’s just been a great draft so far for Sean Payton and company.

Worst 1st round: Minnesota Vikings. The draft is all about value. Each slot in the draft has a certain expectation of market price at its position. This is what makes the Vikes decision to go with Christian Ponder of Florida State so perplexing. Ponder was thought to be a late 2nd rounder at best in most projections and the Vikes over reached because they reacted the Qb bonanza that was taking place in the early 1st round. There is a lot to like about Ponder who is probably the most pro ready out of all the QBs drafted in the first round. He played in a pro-style offense at Florida State and is one of the most cerebral players in the entire draft. But the value was just not there to justify taking him that high. The number of quality QBs still left in this draft is another thing. Ryan Mallet, Ricky Stanzi , Andy Dalton, and Colin Kapernick all are still on the board. Minnesota has the 43rd pick in the second round which they could have used on one four named Qbs left. For all we know Ponder could have still been there, which makes this pick such a stinker.

Local Perspective: Titans select Jake Locker with the 8th pick. I could have easily placed Tennessee in the worst 1st round slot that is currently filled by Minnesota. For the very same reasons I didn’t like the Vikings pick is the same reasons I don’t like the Titans pick as well. Locker seemed like a reach at 8. The first thing I did when the pick was announced was to go straight to my phone as I received numerous texts, twits and facebook statues asking one simple question. Why Locker? It was projected that he would go in the first round but just not in the top ten. The Titans need defensive help just as much as they need QB and they were staring at a potentially dominant force in Nick Fairley in the face. Now I know a lot of people will say that the Titans need a QB more than anything and that may be true but over reaching for a guy with a career 56% competition rate in college? They could have selected Fairley in the 1st round and had plethora of choices at QB in the 2nd round with the 39th pick.



However, contrary to my beliefs, this is a guy who would have been the number one pick in last year’s draft. He has tremendous upside if the Titans staff can correct his accuracy problems that plagued his draft status this year. He has all the intangibles you look for in a QB. As Jon Gruden said he is as tough as a two-dollar steak and this guy means business when he tucks the ball and takes off running. Todd McShay put it best when speaking of Locker. He stated that his potential ceiling could be as high as Aaron Rodgers and his bottom could be that of Heath Shuler. This is the rub I have with the pick. Why roll the dice on such a high risk high reward player? In the first round you want to absolutely without a doubt make sure you get the best player you can at your position. Most are saying that the Titans have been in love with Locker since the combine but I just question entire front office if that is the case. Even if they were so enamored with Locker, I’m pretty sure they could have traded down and got some more draft picks in return. It’s just so many different ways the Titans could have went with the 8th pick but they seem to know something we don’t about in Locker.



Hopefully Locker is more Aaron Rodgers than he is Heath Shuler because he is now the face of the franchise for the Tennessee Titans for the foreseeable future.

College Football Weekend Finale Spectacular

Last week due to being under the weather, I was unable to post my usual picks for the weekend (out of all weekends to be sick, it would be on championship Saturday). But thanks to a little Nyquil and some chicken noodle soup, I am good to go now. I did get to witness the massacre that was the SEC championship game, a thriller in the last Big 12 championship game and Virginia Tech holding its annual ACC invitational.




Championship Saturday always is special as it is the last week before the bowl season. Most bowls games are set and the national championship will be Auburn vs. Oregon. That one has all the makings of one the more interesting championships match-ups we’ve had in years but more on that later. As for now, lets breakdown the championship games.

SEC Championship: Auburn 56 South Carolina 14 - This one was actually interesting until the second half, as it turned into the Cam Newton show from there. The projected Heisman winner was just sensational as he displayed his talents in the Georgia Dome. He would prove that he can do it with his arm as he finished 17/28 for 335 yards and 4 touchdowns to no interceptions. He made plays are over the field, dropping beautiful passes to various receivers including a lucky Hail Mary at the end of the first half. The Hail Mary pass seemed to shift the momentum going into the second half and poor South Carolina could do nothing but watch as Newton put a stamp on his Heisman campaign. The Tigers beat the Gamecocks in every conceivable way as they rolled up 589 yards of total offense. The game was put out of reach on a Stephen Garcia interception, as he tried to lob a screen pass but was heavily pressured and T'Sharvan Bell of Auburn took the easy pick to the house. The look on Steve Spurrier’s face was priceless. He looked like a man who had no answers. Auburn goes on to face Oregon in BCS championship game.

Big 12 Championship: Oklahoma 23 Nebraska 20 – I didn’t know much about the Sooners Travis Jackson but by the end of this one I knew he was a playmaker. Jackson had 2 fumble recoveries and an interception in the win against the Cornhuskers. Nebraska shot out to an early 17-0 lead off the strength of its power run game. Roy Helu Jr. won a footrace and bolted for a 66-yard run up the gut and the Cornhuskers tacked on a field goal. Nebraska would also pull out a trick play as the former high school QB and now RB Rex Burkhead would find Kyler Reed down the middle for a 5-yard touchdown. Don’t call it a comeback though as the Sooners would strike back with Landry Jones finding an open Kenny Stills down the middle for a 42-yard touchdown. The Boomer Sooners would add their own field goal after Jackson intercepted Taylor Martinez to tie the score at 17-10. Nebraska would have another turnover on their next possession as they fumbled and the Sooners would take advantage as Landry Jones would lead Oklahoma on a short field drive and take it in on a 1-yard touchdown run tying the score at 17 all. Nebraska would get the back with 1:26 and would be able to add on another field goal to make it 20-17 at halftime. The Sooners would be the only team to score from their as they added two more field goals in the second half. Nebraska continued to shoot themselves in the foot as Martinez fumbled on their first possession and again Jackson was spot on for clean up duty. The Cornhuskers would fumble yet again as Rex Burkhead coughed it up and guess who scooped it up? You guessed right with Jackson. Oklahoma would take it down field and kick the go ahead field goal. The Cornhuskers had so many chances to take control of this game but couldn’t hold on to the ball. It’s fitting though as the title stays in the Big 12 with the Cornhuskers going to the Big 10 next year. Oklahoma will now face Uconn in the Fiesta bowl.

ACC Championship: Virginia Tech 44 Florida State 33 – As I stated above, the annual Virginia Tech invitational was held in Charlotte, North Carolina this year instead of Florida and the result was still the same. After starting the season 0-2 as everyone knows, The Hokies ran the table and took home the ACC championship for the third time in four years. This game belonged to Tyrod Taylor. He may not be the second coming of Michael Vick as he was perceived at the beginning of his career at Tech, but the senior exposed the FSU secondary going 18/28 for 263 yards and 3 touchdowns. His top target was Danny Coale and he finished the day with 6 catches for 143 yards and 1 touchdown. If there was an excuse for FSU it was that Senior starting QB Christan Ponder was unable to go after sustaining an injury last week. E.J. Manuel filled in admirably for Ponder and made a few good plays but also some very bad ones including two interceptions, with one being returned for a touchdown. His numbers weren’t that bad as he passed for 288 yards and one touchdown, but this game belonged to the Hokies. The Seminoles had a good first year for new head coach Jimbo Fisher finishing 9-4 and headed to the Chick-Fil-A bowl. The Hokies will be on their way to the Orange to face a tough Stanford team lead by Andrew Luck.



Other notables and news:

Oregon 37 Oregon State 20 – The old civil war lived up to its billing in the first half before the Ducks pulled away in the Second. LaMichael James did what LaMichael James always does rushing for 134 yards on 28 carries. Darron Thomas looked solid going 14/24 for 145 yards and two touchdowns. The win setups the match-up everyone wants to see with Auburn. Oregon State started the year with such high hopes but won’t even be bowling this year. I’ll touch on the Auburn-Oregon game later in this column. Man I loved those Jersey's Oregon had on in this one.

SEC Power – The SEC had a total of 10 schools selected to bowl games this year. That’s remarkable when you consider there are only 12 schools in the league. The match-ups include: Music City Bowl (Tennessee vs. North Carolina), BBVA Compass Bowl (Kentucky vs. Pittsburgh), Outback Bowl (Florida vs. Penn State) Liberty Bowl (Georgia vs. UCF) Chick-fil-A Bowl (Florida State vs. South Carolina) Gator Bowl (Michigan vs. Mississppi State) Capital One Bowl (Alabama vs. Michigan State) Cotton Bowl (LSU vs. Texas A&M) Sugar Bowl (Arkansas vs. Ohio State) and of course BCS Championship Game (Auburn vs. Oregon)



Auburn vs. Oregon – These are two very similar teams from the outside looking in. Both feature a spread option attack that keeps the tempo of the game at a high pace. They both have bend but don’t break defenses. The one thing the separates the two is none other than Cam Newton. I haven’t seen Oregon (Or any team that hasn’t played Auburn for that matter) face someone with the talents of the Auburn phenom. He will present a different set of challenges for the defensively stout Ducks. He has proven that he can beat you with arm as well as feet now as well. I’m interested in the scheme Oregon DC Nick Allotti comes up with. Luckily he will until Jan 10 to figure that part out. Auburn will have a tough time containing James but they have seen similar backs in the SEC after facing the likes of Marcus Lattimore, Mark Ingram, and Trent Richardson so I think they will be able to deal with him. The game will come down to Newton in the end and I believe he will be up to the challenge.



Next week I will be predicting each bowl game on a week to week basis and that should be fun. The college football regular season has ended and it’s a bittersweet moment for me. This has been a wild and unpredictable year to say the least. From the Cam Newton Bombshell to Joe Pa winning his 400th game we saw it all. The game brings out the best and worst in people but most of the time good over runs the bad. Here is to another fine college football season, now let the bowling bonanza begin.

College Football Weekend Finale Spectacular

The Thanksgiving weekend is always one of the best gauntlets of games of the entire year. It features some of the best rivalries the sport has to offer. No matter what part of the country you’re in, there is a guaranteed match-up that will draw your attention. It could be the classics such as Michigan vs. Ohio State, Texas vs. Texas A&M. Florida vs. Florida State. USC vs. Notre Dame, Mississippi vs. Mississippi State in the Egg bowl just to name a few or named games like the backyard brawl between West Virginia and Pittsburgh, The Bedlam Battle between Oklahoma State and Oklahoma and the battle for the Palmetto state featuring South Carolina and Clemson.




As you can see, this was a mega weekend in college football. You had your upset as Nevada took down Boise State, your classic Iron Bowl as Bama let an golden opportunity slip away to ruin their arch rivals dream season, and Notre Dame finally toppled USC and gave Brian Kelly his signature win of the season.



Now lets breakdown the best games of the weekend:



Auburn 28 vs. Alabama 27– This was just an epic game. Bama really jumped out on the Tigers and could have put this one away early, if it wasn’t for some missed opportunities in the red-zone. The Crimson Tide dominated the first two quarters. They led 21-0 before Auburn had even recorded a first down. Alabama QB Greg McElroy started hot by hitting his first 12 passes including a 68-yard touchdown to Julio Jones and a 12-yard touchdown strike to Darius Hanks. Alabama had all the momentum and it looked as if they would go up 28-0 as defending Heisman winner Mark Ingram rumbled towards the end-zone after catching a short pass from McElroy. Ingram however would stumble and the hustling Antoine Carter came in from behind and stripped Ingram at the 19 yard line. The ball would roll all the way into Auburn’s end-zone and would be recovered by Demond Washington of the Tigers. Auburn would stall again on offense and Bama marched right down the field to the Tigers 4-yard line only to manage a field goal, after Trent Richardson dropped a sure handed TD pass from McElroy. Alabama would have yet another chance in the red-zone but would fumble again as Greg McElroy this time coughed up the ball after being hit by Nick Fairley, who would also recover the ball as well. The score could have been 42-0 at this point but with the miscues from the Tide it remained 24-7 going into halftime. What ever Auburn coach told his players at the half should be put on paper and framed in the halls of Auburn lore. The Tigers would storm back as Cam Newton got hot. He found an open Terrell Zachery for a 70-yard bomb touchdown pass to make it 24-14. On the Tigers third drive after halftime, Newton would lead the Tigers from their own 25 yard line to another TD as he found the end-zone on a one-yard run making it 24-21 Alabama. Bama would be forced to punt on their next possession but would get a present from Auburn as the punt was fumbled and recovered by the Crimson Tide. The turnover would lead to another field goal by the tide and made it 27-21 in favor of Alabama. Cam Newton would not let his team lose though as they got the ball at the end of the 3rd quarter and drove it down field. Offensive Coordinator Gus Malzahn drew up a beautiful play as he designed a tight end throwback and Phillip Lutezenkirchen delayed his route and eventually escaped out and was wide open for the go ahead score. From there Bama would challenge but never score again. The Tigers much maligned defense held serve and now with a win over South Carolina in the SEC championship game, Auburn should be playing for the national championship. This one will go down as one of the all-time classics in Iron Bowl history. Say what you want about controversial Newton, but I bet you wish he was on your team.



Nevada 34 Boise State 31 – It all came crashing down for the blue field Cinderella’s from Idaho. The Broncos were well in control of this game as they were handing it to the Wolfpack 24-7. That was until the 3rd quarter when Colin Kaepernick and the pistol offense started rolling. Nevada would go on to out rush the Broncos 238-9 in the second half, against the No.1 statically ranked run defense in the nation. The Wolfpack came back and tied the game twice, before the Broncos hit a long pass with 2 seconds left that appeared to set up the game-winning FG. But senior kicker Kyle Brotzman, who missed only three attempts all year, yanked it wide right sending it into overtime. Brotzman even got another chance to attain for the miss but pulled another try left on the first possession of overtime for the Broncos. Nevada got their chance and put it through the uprights as a local product, Anthony Martinez spoiled Boise’s perfect season. The win validated a Wolfpack squad that didn’t get much respect, even though they have been ranked much of the season. The loss for Boise now takes them out of the national title picture and relegates them to the Kraft Fight Hunger bowl. That just isn’t right. The Broncos deserve a BCS bid way more than the eventual Big East champs who will have at least four losses, but that is just how it goes for the have-nots in college football.



Notre Dame 20 USC 16 – The 8-game losing streak had to end one day didn’t it? The Irish snapped the skid to the Trojans with a stunning victory as the football gods finally shined on the Golden Domers once again. Freshmen Tommy Rees accounted for 4 turnovers but was able to lead the Irish on game-winning 77 yard drive. Former Arkansas QB Mitch Mustain got the start for the injured Matt Barkley and had a decent game, going 20/37 for 177 yards and 1 INT. The game-changing play or should we say non-play came when the usually sure-handed WR Ronald Johnson dropped a for sure TD pass for the Trojans. Even with the drop Mustain was able to convert on 4th down and get the Trojans in position to retake the lead; however he would be intercepted as he made a bad decision and Harrison Smith of the Irish clinched the game with the pick with just 36 seconds remaining. It was truly a great victory for the Irish as they season has been filled with tragedy with the death of a student videographer during a windy practice last month. The Irish finish the regular season at 7-5 and it doesn’t get much better than beating their arch rival in the Coliseum.



Other notables and notes:



Bedlam in Stillwater: Oklahoma and Oklahoma State staged a scoring spree that would drive a defensive coordinator crazy. The Sooners looked to be in control but a furious come back by the injured Justin Blackmon and Cowboys got turned this one into a barn burner. The two teams traded blows for the entire second half but it would turn out to be a Sooners victory as the Cowboys defense let the team down again and again. In one stirring sequence in the fourth quarter Oklahoma QB Landry Jones found Cameron Kinney for an 86-yard touchdown pass. Oklahoma State responded on the kick-off with Justin Gilbert taking it to the house. Jones would come right back to find James Hanna for a 76-yard bomb to make it 47-38. The Cowboys would tack on a field goal to make it 47-41 but that would be as close as they would get. The Sooners, based on BCS rankings should now take over the Big 12 south and face Nebraska in the championship game. So close but no cigar once again for Oklahoma State



Coaches Canned: Miami’s Randy Shannon was shown the door after his team limped to the finish line with a 7-5 record after expecting to compete for the ACC title. Shannon was able to recruit well and land some of the best classes the Hurricanes had seen in years but in the end it wasn’t enough to keep his job. Early rumors have Jon Gruden as the leading candidate for the job but isn’t he always the leading choice when a job opens up.



Robbie Caldwell steps down at Vandy – This one was coming a long time ago. After taking over as the season began, when long time coach Bobby Johnson stepped down, Caldwell already was in a bad position. To make things worse his team finished 2-10 and the rumors were already swirling about his job security. Caldwell did the smart thing by announcing before the Commodores last game against Wake Forest that he would resign effective immediately after the game. I haven’t heard of any early favs to land the job and it usually hard to find a good candidate to take over an academic school smack in the middle of SEC country. Only time will tell who will take over for the struggling Commodores.



TCU going to the Big East: According to sources, TCU will be headed to play with the Big East beginning after the 2011-2012 year. Yahoo sports reports that a Monday afternoon news conference will announce the decision to move to the BCS conference. This will make the Horned Frogs insiders instead of outsiders, as the Big East receives one of the six automatic bids for a BCS bowl. Good move for the Horned Frogs. Doesn’t it seem they are always one step ahead of Boise State?



Arkansas gets the best of the Mad Hatter: The pivotal play in the Arkansas vs. LSU game came when the Razorbacks appeared to be prepared to take a knee and go into halftime tied at 14-14. However with three seconds left in the half, the Razorbacks pulled off some mad hatter magic of their own as Ryan Mallett hit Cobi Hamilton over the middle, and two LSU players ran into one another and next thing you know, Hamilton is racing for an 80-yard touchdown pass and Arkansas takes a 21-14 lead going into halftime. That play would end-up shifting momentum to the Razorbacks side and they would go on to win 31-23. The win sets them up for a possible Sugar bowl appearance.

UT report

vs.

Alabama vs. Tennessee is a game that dates back to back to 1901 and is referred to as "The Third Saturday in October. It is one of the best rivalries in the south and usually has championship implications on it. Let's just say this year not so much. UT was handed its 4th consectutive lost in the series after being bulldozed by the Crimson Tide 41-10.The Alabama offense had its way with Tennesse. Julio Jones shredded the Vols secondary for 12 catches and 221 yards receving (but failed to get a touchdown, weird huh?) and the Crimson Tide running backs combined for 210 yards. Trent Richardson finished with 119 yards on 12 carries and defending Heisman winner Mark Ingram had 14 carries for 88 yards.

The bright spots for far and few for the Vols.Tennessee was actually in this game in the first half. Matt Simms lead a drive at the end of the 2nd quarter that ended up with a field goal and UT went to the locker room down just 13-10. But their fortunes quickly turned in the 2nd half of play. The first play of the 3rd quarter for Alabama resulted in a 38-yard strike from Greg McElroy to Jones. The next play after Mark Ingram ran for a 12 yard gain, McElroy found Jones again for 19 yards.From there Mark Ingram punched it in and the game began to slide for the Vols from there.  Michael Palardy missed a 52-yard field goal on the next possession. Alabama in turn scored on its next drive with a 65-yard rumble from Richardson.

The game was not in doubt after that. Tauren Poole ran for 117 yards and a score on 14 carries and looked especially strong in the first half game. Matt Simms finished 11 of 22 for 117 yards and one interception. Tennessee did have some big plays in the game including a 59 yard burst for Poole for a touchdown. That was the longest rush of the year for the Vols. UT would go on to have carries of 59, 15 and 13 yards on Bama. They just cannot sustain those drives enough to get scores out of them. Matt Simms as tough as he is, does not have the arm of most SEC quarterbacks. He can only make a limited amount of throws and thus limit the offense. The offensive line seems to be getting better every week and was very strong in the run game this game.

All in all, it is about what I anticipated this game to be. Alabama's talent and depth eventually took over as the game went on. UT fought a good battle but wasn't able to contain Bama's stable of athletes. It will take awhile and a few more good recruiting classes from Derek Dooley and staff to be able to compete with the Crimson Tide.