Sorry I’m just getting this out, but I had to think and reflect a little bit more on the past weekend before I posted. Here are my thoughts:
Alabama in terrific shape for a national championship title. Just no flaws. Some writers, including a Sports Illustrated writer, are calling this the best Alabama defense ever, even going as far as to say this might be the best defense ever in college football. That’s a big statement. Let’s just say these guys are phenomenal and let the season play out. They could very well be the best ever at Alabama and maybe the best ever in college football. That is a huge statement and almost impossible to quantify; but they could be one of the five or six best ever if they keep this up. I’ll go as far as say that. Nebraska had some great defenses as has Ohio State. Penn State, too. Miami. Florida State. So it’s hard to say that. But ‘Bama has had some amazing defenses through the years. Lee Roy Jordan’s defense in 1961 gave up 24 points all season. The ’78 and ’79 defenses were incredible. And, of course, 1992 with Eric Curry and Antonio Langham among others.

I read where seven of the 10 players on the defense are first or second round draft picks in 2012. I can see that. Know Hightower, Upshaw, Barron, Chapman, Nico and Jerrell are first or second round material. Maybe Damion Square. Not sure if Jesse Williams would come out after this year being a junior college transfer, but he’s certainly got the physique and mindset to be a very good defensive tackle in the NFL. And Nick Gentry. They just keep coming at you. Robert Lester is a junior as is Dre Kirkpatrick. They’re going pro for sure; probably in the top two rounds. Would like to see Lester start making his mark again like he did last year. He’s quite a player when he’s playing well.

That’s impressive, but they’ve all got some important college football left to play. They want an SEC championship and a national championship. It looks like a national championship elimination game will take place in Tuscaloosa on Nov. 5 unless something highly unexpected happens in the next two weeks. LSU is for real as we know. So is Oklahoma. Wisconsin, Boise State and Oklahoma State are right behind them. Clemson and Georgia Tech are not out of it thought they’ll need to be perfect and get some help.

Back to the NFL, quickly. I’m also pretty sure the offense is going to have some first round picks. I think Barrett Jones and D.J. Fluker could go in the first round. William Vlachos should be picked in the first three or four rounds. Chance Warmack is a fantastic player. He should go in the first five rounds. The weakest link on the oline is probably Anthony Steen, but he’s getting better. Then there’s Trent. Probably a top five pick if he keeps this up. Maze should go in the first three or four rounds. Sure he’s not big at 5’10”, 180, but neither was Javy who is now playing for Kansas City and neither is Santonio Holmes (5’11”, 192), who is having a pretty good NFL career. Maze has that speed and playmaking ability. Hanks could get there if he improves and Michael Williams has got prototype size for a tight end at 6’6, 270; actually the ultimate size. He may come back another year to improve his pass catching and help improve his draft status.

That was just some NFL thoughts. It’s pretty exciting watching your colleges’ players play on the big stage. I’ve had a good time watching the Vandy guys, Jay Cutler and company, play for the Chicago Bears. It gets me a lot more interested in the pro game. Have enjoyed watching Mark Ingram so far. He is in a loaded backfield. Wow, that New Orleans offensive arsenal is something special. Apparently, Drew Brees had all of his offensive teammates working together during the lockout and that’s paid off. The Saints are going to have a big season. Possibly another Super Bowl year. With Mark, Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles running and catching the ball out of the backfield and that passing game with Brees and his pass catching mates, this team will be right there at the end with the Packers. I’m hoping the Bears can get back in the hunt. They’ve got a lot of work to do, especially on the oline and on defense. Their defense was so good last year, everybody is back and they’re struggling. I have faith in’em though. Think Jay Cut and company can get it going.

OK, back to ‘Bama. Looked fine agains Vandy. First half was not too good and S was hot; you could tell. But the team really picked it up in the second half. A.J. was great in my opinion. Twenty three-of-30 for 237 yards and four touchdowns. Are you kiddin me? Those are exceptional numbers. He’s a lot more than a game manager in my book. He’s a playmaker. DeAndrew White could be the next Julio if he keeps this up. He’s built well, has great speed and has a very nice vertical. I’m not saying he IS the next Julio, but he could be pretty darn close. Made a couple of beautiful receptions for TDs against a pretty good Vandy secondary; at least they were good going into Alabama. C.J. Mosely was out injured, so Nico Johnson and Jerrell stepped up. I thought Nico played a terrific game and Jerrell seemed to be in on a lot of plays. Barron had a couple of nice hits and Dont’a was good. Courtney is an incredible player. Just an intimidator on the outside. He’s a game changer. ‘Bama has quite a few of those. Good to see the team get a couple of interceptions. Dee Milliner’s was a great individual play by Dee. Very athletic player. Nico got the other pick. It’s just athlete after athlete on defense. This defense has the exceptional physical talent, the desire and the leadership in Hightower, Upshaw and Barron. They have it all. Just need to get through these next two games at Ole Miss (Saturday, 5 P.M. CT ESPN2), and at home against Tennessee (6:15 CT, ESPN or ESPN2) to set up a colossal, epic matchup with the LSU Tigers. This will be the game of the millennium if both ‘Bama and LSU take care of business. LSU is at Tennessee this Saturday and hosts Auburn the following Saturday before both teams have a week off to prepare for each other. Both teams need to take care of the business at hand first. There are no guarantees. You’ve got to go out and earn it. I think that was S’s message to his team at halftime and after the game Saturday Night. Basically, there are no free lunches; everything must be earned. You can’t take a night off. If you do you’ll lose. He knows that as well as anyone. He’s been in the business for a long time and understands the level of focus and intensity it takes. Miles and Stoops are the same way. All three of these teams are national championship worthy, but they’ve got to get through their regular season schedules to get there. One team, LSU or ‘Bama, will probably be out of the picture after Nov.5, so there are no days off from now till early January for any of those three. Wisconsin, Boise and Ok. State are just chomping at the bit to get a shot at it. So if you let down, you’re sunk. S always has a sense of urgency. His team needs to follow suit every practice and every game. It’s October and there are no redos.

I thought AU would do better on Saturday; I really did. But losing Emory Blake and with the quarterback situation where it is right now, the Tigers are struggling. I didn’t realize how hard it would be to replace all those seniors, along with Cam and Fairley. It has taken its toll. By the way, Cam is doing very well in the NFL. He looks like he’s going to have a stellar career. Watched him the last two weeks against Chicago and New Orleans and he’s been sensational. Cam is proving the critics wrong again. They have some dynamic players in that Carolina offense with Cam , Steve Smith and DeAngelo Williams. The Panthers have a bright future if they can build up their defense. Nick played some last night against Chicago. Looked pretty active. With him, the unblockable Ndamukong Suh and Kyle Vanden Bosch, this Detroit dline looks unstoppable. The future is now for the Lions. They’re 5-0 and they’re for real. Nick is in a very good situation.

Back to the Tigers. It’s just a new group of players and there are some growing pains. Quarterback looks pretty suspect, but I think the best bet would be to go with Kiehl for the rest of the season and put him in good throwing situations. I hope he’s not the next Kodi throwing the ball. He looks like he’s got a decent arm, but his passing is not there yet. But he can really run. I’ve heard he was a great passer in high school, so we’ll see how he develops. Trotter just looks like his confidence is gone. I think he’s pretty lost out there. Not having Blake also hurts. Hopefully, Blake can make it back for Florida. He looks questionable. Travante Stallworth, DeAngelo Benton and Quindarius Carr have just not stepped up. The offense is just kind of a mess right now. But the Tigers are still 4-2 and have a shot to redeem themselves this Saturday against Florida ( 6 PM, ESPN). Then, AU goes to LSU. Tough. 2:30 PM on CBS, Oct. 22. Defense played better last Saturday, but it’s a work in progress as well. The whole team is. There is potential. I know it doesn’t look like it now, but it’ll get better. I just don’t understand why the defensive line isn’t any better. If you look at those guys, they’re physical specimens. Lemonier and Whitaker, Nosa, they’re stout guys physically. They look like they should dominate. Auburn just needs experience. I hope that’s the problem. If you remember, last year Alabama struggled with a relatively new defense and lost three games. So it happens with new players. Ted Roof needs to start getting better play out of his defense or people are going to really wonder about him. I have my concerns. Maybe Saturday will be better.

South Carolina kicked Stephen Garcia off the team. Looks like Connor Shaw can play now, so Garcia is expendable. He’s been a problem for a long time and should have been kicked off the team a while ago. Spurrier better hope Shaw doesn’t get hurt. It’s kind of unusual timing to kick Garcia off now after Shaw threw for 311 yards and four TDs. Spurrier wasn’t so quick on the trigger during the summer. Guess he was desperate then. But Shaw could be the answer for Spurrier and the offense. I saw him in the spring and wasn’t that impressed, but he threw all over Kentucky. That’s Kentucky. We’ll see how it goes against State this weekend. State has a pretty decent secondary though the defense has struggled overall. That game is on at 11:21 AM on the SEC Network.  State could really use this one, too, to try and salvage their season.

One more thing for the locals. Mountain Brook High School is playing stellar football right now. This program was amazing under Joey Jones and has kept it up under Chris Yeager. Made the state semis last year losing to perennial Achilles Heel Hoover, but looks to me to be even better this year. The Brook plays Hoover in a week and a half in what could be colossal. I’ve heard Hoover’s quarterback is hurt; maybe a broken collar bone. This is from my daughter, a Mountain Brook student, but she gets some pretty good inside information. Anyway, another fantastic season going so far for the Spartans. They’re just a bunch of smart, good athletes who are extremely well coached and want to excel. Maybe not the athletes of the Major Ogilvie, Richard Burg, Brombey, Cullom Walker teams, but a great group of kids who are underrated athletes and are in it to win a state championship. They will settle for nothing less. If you’re in B’ham, circle Oct. 21. Hoover at Mountain Brook at 7 PM. Epic.

I’ll have more later this week.

(Barrett Jones could be a first round selection; certainly one of the unquestioned leaders on this loaded Tide team.)