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Steve Spurrier Thinks Alabama Can Beat An NFL Team

Those Alabama Crimson Tide are pretty good. Very good, in fact, better than every other college football team in the land. But let’s say they took the gridiron against the dregs of the NFL. You and I know there’s absolutely no way they could hold their own. Even the best bunch of amateurs could not defeat the worst of the professionals, but Steve Spurrier’s here to tell you otherwise. Via ESPN.com:

“Alabama, gosh, they look like they could beat a couple of those NFL teams that I’ve watched on Sundays,” Spurrier said Wednesday on “The Dan Patrick Show.” “I think a lot of the oddsmakers out there that usually know what’s going on, I’d guess Alabama would be favored by a little bit.”

Spurrier’s notion that Alabama would be favored over a pro team is not shared by oddsmakers in Las Vegas. According to RJ Bell of Pregame.com, the Crimson Tide would be a 24-point underdog against the 1-6 Jacksonville Jaguars on a neutral field.

The old ball coach must be sipping on some strong back-country Kool-Aid. The argument that even the strongest college teams, across any team sport, could beat even the worst pro teams, is just wrong. The only NFL team the Alabama Crimson Tide could possibly beat are Spurrier’s own Washington Redskins, though I’m sure Patrick Ramsey would still have a great game.

Just do the math. Every player in the NFL was one of the best college players in their day, and that’s across hundreds of colleges and tens of thousands of players. Even those lowly Jaguars, or the Cleveland Browns or Carolina Panthers (whose quarterback used to beat Alabama single-handedly) boast players who were at the top of the college game. Sure, Alabama has maybe four, five of those guys, but Spurrier’s assumption is downright silly.

Beyond the numbers game, the sheer size and speed advantage professionals have over college players is unimaginable. Again, maybe this is something Spurrier could never tap into in Washington, but dude, it’s true. Alabama has a great football team, but Steve, you’re comparing apples and something that is definitely not apples.

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