'Bama Will Win If…
1) The offensive line can dominate, and take advantage of Florida’s woes, thus controlling the clock and keeping Florida’s offense on the sideline.
The Tide offensive line has been great this year, and there is little doubt why.
If my memory serves me correctly, center Antione Caldwell, senior and co-captain, has started at all five positions on the offensive line during his career.
His experience at each position, along with the fact that he has been a starter since his freshman days, provides leadership and guidance for the big uglies up front, and he anchors what many consider the best offensive line in the nation.
The left side has been our strong side all year, with All-American Andre Smith pancaking and making holes that even I could run through at times. There is no wonder this guy is in the top-10 of the NFL’s underclassman making the draft. This giant of a man is hard for any defensive lineman to get around.
Now that defenses have started keying and sending extras to the left side, we are witnessing some great play calling from the booth, with Coffee and Co. running counter plays to the right side.
This has allowed our talented backfield to run behind the much-improved Drew Davis, just like the play that broke the Auburn game open when Coffee rumbled for 41 yards and the game’s first touchdown.
Factor in that Florida is banged up on the defensive line and this could spell trouble for the much-improved Gator defense from just a year ago. The news of Gator defensive lineman sustaining injuries has been front and center for several weeks now.
Defensive tackle Matt Patchan is done for the year after suffering a torn medial collateral ligament. The proclaimed “comeback player of the year,” DT Brandon Antwine, who had been a key backup player for the Gator defense, is also out for the year after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament tare.
The good news for Florida is that DT Lawrence Marsh has just been deemed 100 percent healthy, thus putting the starting interior defensive line intact again, and ready for this week’s colossal clash up front. Will it be enough to slow the threatening rush attack of the Tide?
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