Can Alabama three-peat?
by Jesse J. Lewis, Sr.
The answer to this question is yes. They can. The broader question should be, will they? The answer to this question is no. Playing football is the same as playing golf… in order to win, two things have to happen: you must play well and the ball must bounce your way frequently. In other words, you must play good and have some luck.
It just so happens that Alabama had all their luck last year. They should have lost two more games than they did. They should have lost to Georgia and LSU. I have seen the Alabama /LSU replay at least three times. Every time, I think LSU is going to win the game and I know they didn’t because I was at the game.
Do I think Alabama will improve? Yes, they will. What has happened is Alabama approached the game with Virginia Tech believing their own hype from the press that they are too good to fail. The teams that look as though they will win a National Championship are Oregon, Clemson, Louisville, and LSU, and most impressive is, Florida State.
When I make my final statement regarding Alabama, Mrs. Jackie Washington, the wife of George Washington, retired from Alabama Power Co., will go to the emergency room at Princeton with an anxiety attack. THANK GOD ALABAMA DID NOT PLAY TEXAS A&M FIRST. FOR IF THEY PLAYED THEM LIKE THEY PLAYED VIRGINIA TECH, THEY WOULD HAVE LOST.
There is no way you can write an article about football unless you mention Johnny Manziel, the insane, spoiled quarterback of Texas A&M. Not only is he spoiled, his support personnel are the ones who spoiled him. His father bought him a Mercedes S500 at 19 years old, he got four speeding tickets. Once these were settled, he got in his Mercedes and drove away at 115 MPH. He should not be disciplined by the police, but his parents. His parents also bought a house right outside the campus , so they could be near Johnny while he practiced football.
Last week, the most pitiful and gutless organization in the world, the NCAA Rules Committee, gave Manziel the punishment for receiving money for signing autographs, suspended him for 1/2 game. This decision is mind boggling; beyond comprehension. It would have been better for them to say we could not find any evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that Manziel profited from signing autographs, therefore he received no punishment. Last week he was benched because of an altercation with a player, referee and coach. This young man is totally disrespectful to the game of football. He is under the impression that nobody should tackle him or rush him, and he should be allowed to run for touchdown after touchdown and the front line of the defensive backs should just move out of his way. If Alabama kicks off to Texas A&M and the defensive players hit him real hard three straight times, I do believe that he will walk off the field and accuse the Alabama players of targeting him and roughing him up. In the event that Alabama roughs him up a little bit, he’ll quit.
Last week was filled with impressive performances by Hiesman Trophy favorites and National Title contenders:
C.J. Brown (98.1 QBR – quarterback rating), the Maryland quarterback, posted the highest QBR of Week 1 for Maryland in the past 10 years.
Marcus Mariota (97.7 QBR) averaged more than 23 yards per play in the first half of Oregon’s 66-3 victory over Nicholls State.
Teddy Bridgewater (97.2 QBR) tied a career high with five touchdown passes against Ohio.
Brett Hundley (96.9 QBR), the nation’s leader in sacks taken last season, did not take a sack or turn the ball over in UCLA’s 58-20 win over Nevada.
Derek Thompson (96.6 QBR) surpassed a career-best performance against Indiana in 2001.
Had it not been for Jones, Alabama wouldn’t have been mentioned.
e-mail: jjlewis@birminghamtimes.com
