Do we need an upgrade at NT?

okay i am on the terrence cody bandwagon!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally posted by 49erman5692:
okay i am on the terrence cody bandwagon!!!!!!!!!!!

I like him as a 20 year old college player, but if he is that big now, think how big he could get when his metabolism slows down.

There is no doubt that NT needs to be upgraded. It has needed it for a while, yet year in and year out, it gets ignored. I agree that Franklin is doing OK and getting better, but don't you remember the good ol' days of Bryant and Stubby in the middle? You might have ran on us then, but it wasn't going to be up the middle, cuz those two dominated that area. Now with a 3-4 D, it becomes even more important to have the right type of player there. Franklin hasn't done well enough to be off limits for an upgrade. I'm sure if there is a player available for the right price, or where ever we might pick, Scott will get Franklin competition. A dominate NT is what seperates this unit from being top 10.

[ Edited by GoldandGarnet on Jul 24, 2009 at 07:32:39 ]

Originally posted by jta854:

Originally posted by 49erman5692:
okay i am on the terrence cody bandwagon!!!!!!!!!!!

I like him as a 20 year old college player, but if he is that big now, think how big he could get when his metabolism slows down.

LOL... I wouldn't start worrying about his metabolism until he hits his 30's. Don't know about you, but I'd happily take several years of good NT play despite that inevitability. Saban has successfully pushed Cody's efforts and weight from 410 lbs to 385 lbs... from 385 lbs to 365 lbs... and NOW he's down to 355 lbs and pushing to drop another 15 lbs, though I think he'd be fine at just dropping 5-10 more. Cody will have a lot to prove this season on conditioning and polishing skills, but with Saban in his corner, he has a shot to be a great NT prospect next year.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/sec/2009-04-16-saban-three-questions_N.htm

Originally posted by oldman9er:

Originally posted by jta854:

Originally posted by 49erman5692:
okay i am on the terrence cody bandwagon!!!!!!!!!!!

I like him as a 20 year old college player, but if he is that big now, think how big he could get when his metabolism slows down.

LOL... I wouldn't start worrying about his metabolism until he hits his 30's. Don't know about you, but I'd happily take several years of good NT play despite that inevitability. Saban has successfully pushed Cody's efforts and weight from 410 lbs to 385 lbs... from 385 lbs to 365 lbs... and NOW he's down to 355 lbs and pushing to drop another 15 lbs, though I think he'd be fine at just dropping 5-10 more. Cody will have a lot to prove this season on conditioning and polishing skills, but with Saban in his corner, he has a shot to be a great NT prospect next year.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/sec/2009-04-16-saban-three-questions_N.htm

I have read conflicting stories on who is our projected starting Nose tackle. Some suggest Franklin will start, others suggest Sopoaga will move from end and start on the nose.

What do you guys know.... and who do you believe should start on the nose?

Originally posted by BigMar:
I have read conflicting stories on who is our projected starting Nose tackle. Some suggest Franklin will start, others suggest Sopoaga will move from end and start on the nose.

What do you guys know.... and who do you believe should start on the nose?

franklin. there really is no doubt about it. Hell start te season...i belive hell finish the season as our starting NT but hey maybe Ice can finally surprise

Franklin is the best bet here. To bad we did not draft one or find one in free agency.

Balmer is a possibility as well but Franklin and Ice take up most of the attention. There might be some rotation at positions too.

Manusky stated back in early June that Franklin will start, but I'm hoping Sopoaga or even Balmer can make him change his mind in August. I think Franklin's ceiling is something I can touch with both hands, and I'm 5' 11". Sopoaga would fit better in this 1 gap scheme (in any scheme compared to Franklin), and I fear that if Franklin is seeing the majority of snaps, our D will never be as good as it should be.

Franklin because i remember his play getting aggresive once with lost "NO BALLS NOLAN".

I was impressed with his play after Nolan got fired.

That's like asking "Ginger or Mary Ann"? The answer, of course, is "both"!

I'd like to think that Sopoaga, Franklin, and Balmer will not only get lots of playing time at NT during pre-season games, but during the regular season as well.

Franklin may be the pure NT while the other two will split time at end, but in the grand scheme of things I think we're in great shape to have potentially three strong NT's on the team that can be rotated in as needed.

il have to say FRANKLIN all the way Sopaoga played well at the beginning of the 08 season but, sadly his play dropped and didnt get much playing time under the NEW HC mike singleterry... so expect FRANKLIN to start

Both.

Franklin