Alabama would be crushed by any NFL team

Last week, South Carolina football Coach Steve Spurrier said he thinks Alabama could compete in the NFL.

I think the coach needs to think before he speaks such an absurd statement.

Don’t get me wrong, Alabama is a terrific football team. If any college squad could defeat someone in the NFL, Alabama would be it. The Crimson Tide had eight players drafted this past year, four in the first round.

During the past four years, 24 NFL draft picks have come from the 14-time national champion.

Let’s assume Alabama keeps up on that average. This means that right now, there would be 24 future draft picks on this team. Surely they could keep with the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars or the pathetic Kansas City Chiefs, right?

Wrong.

It’s not like all 24 of those picks will be legitimate stars. Probably only 18 will end up staying in the league for more than three years. Of those 18, I’d say only nine or 10 will be regular starters. And of those starters, probably only five or six will be genuine difference makers.

On game day, that’s 46 to 18 in favor of the Jaguars in terms of NFL-quality players, 26 counting punter and kicker starters to max 10 and about even in difference makers.
But the biggest advantage any pro team would have against the Crimson Tide would be experience.

The number of rookies that make an immediate impact in the NFL are few and far between. Running backs usually contribute the fastest. Besides them, it takes at least a year or two to grow accustomed to the NFL not only physically, but mentally.

Take Julio Jones, for example. The former Biletnikoff Award finalist and All-
American was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons with the sixth overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft to help fix their passing attack. While he’s now proven himself to be one of the best receivers in the league, he went through growing pains as a rookie and wasn’t the elusive pass-catching threat he was in college or will be the remainder of his NFL career.

Think about how long it normally takes to develop a quarterback into a trustworthy leader of the offense. Alabama’s current quarterback, A.J. McCarron, probably won’t ever start an NFL game. Some of the league’s best passers even struggle reading NFL defenses. You think McCarron could pick apart even the worst of the league’s defenses? No way.

Offensive and defensive linemen would have the biggest advantage against their collegiate opponents. They’ve had many more years to grow extra muscle and learn all the little tricks that make linemen successful. They would have no problem manhandling any collegiate line.

Football is a game of strength and smarts. There’s no way a bunch of 18 to 22-year-olds would have a shot of defeating grown men that have studied the game as a profession rather than as extracurricular activity.

Despite being one of the best college coaches ever, Spurrier struggled as a head coach in the NFL. I think now we know why.

Stick to college, coach. You obviously know more about it than the professional level.

­— tlstutzm@indiana.edu