The link is here.
Here’s how the numbers break down per school, in order of total offensive and defensive players listed on his four teams:
TEAM TOTAL 1st TEAM Alabama 14 8 Georgia 12 2 Florida 10 1 Ole Miss 9 1 Vandy 8 2 Tenn. 8 2 LSU 8 2 TAMU 5 3 MSU 5 1 S. Car. 4 1 Missouri 4 0 Auburn 4 0 Ark. 3 1 Kentucky 2 0
There are a few things that jump out at me…
- Alabama has as many or more first teamers than ten teams have total.
- Tennessee has no skill position players listed. I wonder when the last time that happened.
- Loucheiz Purifoy is listed on both the fourth team offense and fourth team defense.
- Robert Nkemdiche makes the third team defense as a true freshman. His brother is a first teamer. And Ole Miss shows out with the fourth-best total.
- Anybody else surprised by South Carolina’s total? How ’bout Vandy and LSU showing out equally?
- TAMU has no defensive players on the list.
- Very thin crop at tight end, so why not Jay Rome at fourth team?
- There’s something not right about Jeff Driskel lining up next to Aaron Murray.
What do y’all see there?
Get The Picture 
I see LSU as lower than they should be! Lining up Vandy….Not buying it.
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The perceived lack of defensive talent for UGA is kind of frightening. Hope they play well as a unit.
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I get so tired of seeing Murray behind Manziel and McCarron on these “lists”. Johnny “Football” won the Heisman (worthless popularity contest) because he has a catchy nickname and beat Bama last year. Let’s see how he does this year when defenses have a year of film on him. McCarron is a good QB but I think I could pass for those numbers behind the NFL line that they had at Alabama last year. Did he even have to wash his uniform last year? I seriously don’t think he ever got touched. By comparison Murray will hold every SEC passing record by the end of this year while playing behind marginal at best O-lines and with the exception of last year no dependable running game to speak of.
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I like AM, too, but let’s get real about Manziel. He led the conference – not just quarterbacks, but the entire SEC – in rushing, threw for almost as many yards as AM did and finished in the top twenty nationally in passer rating.
He’s pretty darn good.
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That is what a really, really, good offensive line can do for you. Honey Bobo step up to the plate, it is time.
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“Johnny ‘Football’ won the Heisman (worthless popularity contest) because he has a catchy nickname”
Not only that, he’s got more than one nickname
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SKIP > “MANTI IS GOING TO BE THE NEXT RAY LEWIS”
Heh.
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You mean he’s gonna kill somebody and get off because he’s a football player?
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“There’s something not right about Jeff Driskel lining up next to Aaron Murray.”
Well if you listen to Andre Ware, Driskel’s the best QB in the SEC. Murray should feel honored to be mentioned in the same breath.
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My response to Steele: Jadeveon Clowney.
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Clowney covers a multitude of sins (or lack of talent).
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Murray at third team just doesn’t seem right. I would place him above McCarron and right there with Manziel. As another poster stated, the film from last year should help defenses out as he lofted some passes quite a few times last year. Lynch as first team TE is a little surprising.
On D, I could see Swann and Jenkins jumping up a notch
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Yall this Mookie Blaylock situation has me worried about his fate to come.
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I tend to view pre-season all america/conference teams as kinda silly given the range of outcomes (i.e., guys over/underachieving, new guys emerging, etc.). that said, it is the closest proxy for returning talent. the silly point is the precision that is implied by a first or second team. Is there any WR you would rather have in the conference than Mitchell? Cooper perhaps, but Mitchell has been an exceptionally productive receiver in two seasons. further, if you have depth and spread the ball around, a group of WRs are likely to be highly efficient might be left off an all-SEC team done by idiots who focus exclusively on absolute numbers. The QB debate is silly. The top three are all very productive QBs for their teams, with the notable point that Mccarron’s job is considerably different than Aaron or Manziel.
More broadly, I tend to think the more interesting comparison is how “complete” teams are or are expected to be. My point being that GREAT teams generally have very few weaknesses. No one could credibly look at UF and suggest that they have experienced play makers on offense and a QB who is “fully developed” and not acknowledge that achieving their goals in 2013 will require better offensive play across the board (which I think they will get – but I struggle with estimating the magnitude). As we sit, we have a good deal of confidence that we have a pretty deep team on offense. I think 2 RBs is plenty if they stay healthy. i would NOT have expected kamara or henry to get many carries even if we signed either or both. Bottom line- I tend to think there is not much info in Steele’s estimates of individual players
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The disparity between Bama and the rest of the league on the first team is eye-popping.
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I would put Murray ahead of McCarron. It would be hard to put him ahead of the Heisman Trophy winner though. That said, it will be interesting to see how Johnny Football performs behind an offensive line that on paper does not does not look as good as the one he had last year.
Loucheiz Purifoy being listed as 4th team on defense is interesting. I think he might well be Florida’s best defensive player. Or lat least in the top two or three.
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I agree with you. I wonder if that’s Steele’s subtle way of saying playing him both ways will hurt his effectiveness on defense.
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If that dude is expected to carry Florida as far as WRs go, the Gators’ offense is even worse than I thought.
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Well, don’t forget he’ll have the conference’s fourth-best QB throwing to him.
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Damn…what does that say about the SEC if it’s true? To answer my own question I suppose it’ll either mean Driskell got a lot better, or the rest of the league is terrible. I’d put Shaw/Thompson over Driskell for sure. Bo Wallace? Quite possibly. Mettenberger? Quite possibly.
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Driskell, for all his struggles at QB last year, has all the physical tools to be an outstanding SEC QB. He is big, he is fast, he has a reasonably strong arm. He just lacks good decision making and the ability to read defenses.
One cannot coach size and speed. Strength can be improved, but only on the margin.
The hope that I carry in my lizard heart is that decision making and reading defenses CAN be coached, or at least improved through practice, coaching and repetition. Last year, Pease was forced to be the OC, the QB coach and the WR coach. This year he does not have that third burden. I hope he uses the extra time to improve Driskell. And the hope that having a full time WR coach will help them too.
But the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
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“The hope that I carry in my lizard heart is that decision making and reading defenses CAN be coached,”
?WHF?…….. tissue?
“Sympathy is between shit and syphillis in the dictionary.” That was what Coach Orgel told me in HS. You are way past HS.
At any rate ….. we bleed Red and Black here at Get the Picture.
Just sayin’.
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You guys are Dog fans? Damn, I must have gotten lost.
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Good on ya mate for being true to your school.
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Diplomacy was never my strong suit. But it is nice to see someone reaching out across the border on occasion.
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Speaking of Steele, he has Florida 18th and LSU 17th in his preseason polls. I think both are spot on. I’ve seen so many preseason pieces with UF in the top 10 (and even top 5) and it blows my mind. It’s as if people aren’t doing any half-assed research when looking at them.
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I agree with that and I am a Gator.
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Let the InDeepchee hype begin…again…
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It bothers the fans more than it does Murray…he just goes out and plays…Snake out
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I agree with you, I think he is a warrior and tells the world to “bring it on”. I definitely would put him over McCarron, and not sure it is real close, but fully understand manziel being rated #1. He is a gamer and a dual threat that got it done last year on the big stages. It will be interesting to see how he and the offense do without those stud tackles this season. I think the Tide puts a major ass whipping on A&M in College Station this year and would love to see a line under 7 points.
I am a Steele fan and buy his magazine every year, the only one I buy, but he may have POed our defense enough to make them play as well as last season’s was supposed to. Pre-season AA and All Conference rankings are about as valid as Pre-season team rankings, taking them seriously is pretty pitiful….unless it helps the UGA defense come out against Clem’s Son and the Cocks like they are lions after raw meat.
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Manziel-McCarron-Murray = what an incredible conundrum.
I think Manziel comes back to earth a bit.
Murray is going to smash the record book. Hard not to see him as the SEC’s best.
McCarron is the best to ever play QB at Alabama and has two title under his belt. Hard to believe a guy with that resume could be 2nd or 3rd team all conference.
Like him or not, there’s a decent chance McCarron won’t be eligible for the college HOF despite two nattys.
Have a good evening,
BD
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AJ the best QB to play at Bama? All subjective, and I respect your opinion but man that is some statement with the likes of The Snake, Namath, Starr, etc. to compare him to. I can appreciate the SEC titles he has QBed the team to being a factor to consider but he has had quite the surrounding cast to work with. Perhaps I don’t place as much weight on that as others when talking about QB skills. I think he is a little stiff as a QB but will credit him for not forcing the ball and his ability to hit open receivers. I just don’t see him make the “tough” throws into tight coverage enough, sure, that can result in INTs but those throws have to be made sometimes. It will be interesting to see how he is evaluated by the NFL. BTW, I expect him to go pretty high because he is smart and strong in the “intangibles” area. Having a 12-0 or 11-1 season to go with his past accomplishments won’t hurt either and I have trouble seeing where Bama can stumble this year. Good luck, I will be putting my money on you guys in College Station.
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I know, Mac, it’s kind of tough even for me to believe. But if you look back at it, Starr was pre-Bryant and played on some bad teams, Namath was incredibly talented but hurt and Stabler played on two great teams and one bad one. Statistically and accomplishment-wise, so far McCarron’s the best.
We’ll see, I guess.
Have a good one,
BD
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Starr barely played while at Alabama.
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For what it is worth, and it ain’t much, Stabler is still my all-time favorite NFL passer. Uncannily accurate on deep throws but a true dart thrower on short passs. The way he stood in the pocket at Oakland amidst a fierce rush, with his hands down like a gunslinger, then struck as quick as a snake to fire a bullet is a memory I will always carry. Don’t care so much for him as a person but always admored his ability to deliver the mail.
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