Luke Del Rio is gone - Blake Sims / QB discussion

CoolBreeze · Jan 17, 2014

Re: It appears Luke Del Rio is leaving

Ahhhh, quarterback controversy. Man, I don't think we've had such a heated debate like this since the Shula era.

nx4bama · Jan 17, 2014

Re: It appears Luke Del Rio is leaving

Well, I'm pulling for Sims. He's put the time in. He (as far as I know) has stayed out of trouble. He's apparently done what the coaches have asked him to. If he gets beat out, so be it, but I'm hoping he hangs on to the job.

Bamabuzzard · Jan 17, 2014

Re: It appears Luke Del Rio is leaving

nx4bama said:
Well, I'm pulling for Sims. He's put the time in. He (as far as I know) has stayed out of trouble. He's apparently done what the coaches have asked him to. If he gets beat out, so be it, but I'm hoping he hangs on to the job.

It doesn't matter who it is, for anyone to have success in our offensive system the most important thing is to be efficient. Being "great" is not a requirement by a long shot. Completion % in the 60's, single digit turnovers and don't try to force something that isn't there. If Sims can do this he doesn't have to be great to make another run. We marched undefeated to the Pasadena with the same type formula. Granted Sims more than likely will be called on at least one time to make a game critical play. But other than that he just needs to be efficient.

bamaslaw · Jan 17, 2014

Re: It appears Luke Del Rio is leaving

Regardless of what everyone's super secret actual depth chart says, the best player will be playing on Saturday.

If Luke is on his way out before spring, it is probably because someone with authority to make such a decision said he was unlikely to win the position. With that being the case, I do not see a reason why there is a 16 page thread on this. The timing gives a pretty clear indication that he did not factor in to any long term plans, otherwise he would wait until after the QB battle in the spring/fall camp. If he did factor in to plans/is better than Blake Sims & other QBs currently at Bama and he is leaving - why isn't Luke getting the same criticism we give guys we're recruiting about being scared of competition when they choose someone else?

It honestly looks like some people WANT anyone other than Blake to win the QB competition. Blake has earned the right to compete for the job and he will do just that. If Blake wins the job and is as terrible as many here are making him out to be, then what does that say about our recruiting evaluation? My apologies for the rant.

runtheoption22 · Jan 17, 2014

Re: It appears Luke Del Rio is leaving

just for fun....

crimsonaudio · Jan 17, 2014

Re: It appears Luke Del Rio is leaving

Bamabuzzard said:
It doesn't matter who it is, for anyone to have success in our offensive system the most important thing is to be efficient. Being "great" is not a requirement by a long shot. Completion % in the 60's, single digit turnovers and don't try to force something that isn't there. If Sims can do this he doesn't have to be great to make another run. We marched undefeated to the Pasadena with the same type formula. Granted Sims more than likely will be called on at least one time to make a game critical play. But other than that he just needs to be efficient.

This. Not to mention that he changes the dynamic completely for the defense vs any QB we've had under Saban - he challenges the D as he can beat you BADLY with his legs. Sure AJ, Greg and even JPW occasionally made critical plays running when the avenues opened up, but Blake is a whole other ballgame wrt what he can do with the ball in his hands. While he may not have the arm that AJ has, he's got a more dynamic toolset to work with.

At this point I hope he wins the starting position because I want to see some of these detractors eat crow.

rgw · Jan 17, 2014

Re: It appears Luke Del Rio is leaving

How much do you think we miss Phillip Sims at QB? He could have been a four-year understudy with A LOT of garbage time snaps. Perhaps they would have switched out McCarron earlier in some games because they trusted Phillip to run the full offense and give him even more preparation.

Phillip is a story of why sometimes QBs need to be patient. I think he went down to an FCS school to finish his career after losing his job at Virginia and slacking on class work. Yeah, one year as a starter is not what a highly-ranked prospect at QB wants but the alternative turned out to be worse. Imagine the level of confidence we'd have in starting a 5th year senior with a highly veteran skill positions group. He might have even played himself into a decent draft pick spot with a good season. Instead, his college career went nowhere post-Alabama.

Bamabuzzard · Jan 17, 2014

Re: It appears Luke Del Rio is leaving

crimsonaudio said:
This. Not to mention that he changes the dynamic completely for the defense vs any QB we've had under Saban - he challenges the D as he can beat you BADLY with his legs. Sure AJ, Greg and even JPW occasionally made critical plays running when the avenues opened up, but Blake is a whole other ballgame wrt what he can do with the ball in his hands. While he may not have the arm that AJ has, he's got a more dynamic toolset to work with.

At this point I hope he wins the starting position because I want to see some of these detractors eat crow.

I'd love for him to win the job. My only concern (and I fully believe this can be fixed in the offseason) is passing efficiency. But the great thing about Sims is if he's having an off day passing we can change things up by going to the read option.

bfg3rd · Jan 17, 2014

Re: It appears Luke Del Rio is leaving

Phillip SIms couldn't win the job at Virginia. That should answer your question.

Bamabuzzard · Jan 17, 2014

Re: It appears Luke Del Rio is leaving

bfg3rd said:
Phillip SIms couldn't win the job at Virginia. That should answer your question.

What question are we answering?

rgw · Jan 17, 2014

Re: It appears Luke Del Rio is leaving

He didn't win the job here either but what kind of person would he have been with commitment to this program? I never thought Phillip or AJ differentiated themselves that much in the Kent State game. AJ got far more snaps than Philip but both made a ton of mistakes as a passer. The offense seemed to work better as a unit with McCarron and that probably involved things beyond just being the passer (line checks, run direction flips, the way he managed the huddle, etc). Those things probably have more to do with AJ's extra year within the scheme over Phillip at the time than Phillip being a bad fit.

CrimsonEyeshade · Jan 17, 2014

Re: It appears Luke Del Rio is leaving

Buzzard, people like Danielson and Blackledge go on and on about how hard it is to be a "game manager" in Alabama's system. If Blake comes anywhere near the statistics you cite, he'll, in fact, be great, or in the police jurisdiction.

Bamabuzzard said:
It doesn't matter who it is, for anyone to have success in our offensive system the most important thing is to be efficient. Being "great" is not a requirement by a long shot. Completion % in the 60's, single digit turnovers and don't try to force something that isn't there. If Sims can do this he doesn't have to be great to make another run. We marched undefeated to the Pasadena with the same type formula. Granted Sims more than likely will be called on at least one time to make a game critical play. But other than that he just needs to be efficient.

rgw · Jan 17, 2014

Re: It appears Luke Del Rio is leaving

I think Blake Sims could be a good enough QB to get through 2014 with a decent record and maybe conference champion capacity if the guys around him and on the other side of the ball step up their play to an elite level.

The issue with Blake is that he just isn't a naturally gifted passer. At least that is how I feel when I see him pass when on the field. Guys like McCarron have this almost natural ability to judge the kind of throw they need to make against a defense with respect to the WR's route. Some of his poor throws aren't just a bad decision (should have never thrown it into that sort of coverage) but also there were a few I noticed where he just wasn't making the right kind of throw for the route against the coverage. I think it would take an exceptional coaching job from the offensive staff to scheme him into a comfort zone on throws. It would also require having an exceptional year from the run game to manipulate the defenses into easy coverages for Blake to read and attack.

Blake Sims is really probably pretty close to Nick Marshall in terms of natural throwing ability but is probably a bit more polished today than Marshall was in year one at Auburn. They were able to make it work because their OL and Mason made things easy on him. They found a few passing concepts he was comfortable with executing and were able to get by offensively in regards to the pass.

My point is that Blake Sims could be successful but it would truly be on the other 10 guys around him to step their game up. He adds some aspects to the QB position that hasn't been seen since Tyler Watts but it would require the OL and tailbacks to be the real pulse of the offense.

rgw · Jan 17, 2014

Re: It appears Luke Del Rio is leaving

Also, I'd note that I'd prefer that we be a traditional pro-style offense because of the offensive skill talent. 4 good WRs, 3 good TEs (counting Fowler there), 3 good backs. We have the skill position talent to be an elite pro-style scheme but it hinges on the QB. If none of the QBs seem like a guy to flourish in that then maybe the best idea is to get a runner at QB who can change the blocking scheme a bit to shake Yeldon/Henry/Drake loose.

crimsonaudio · Jan 17, 2014

Re: It appears Luke Del Rio is leaving

Worth remembering what Saban has said his philosophy is regarding offense and defense - he says you build the offense around the talents the players have, but on defense you build the players to play your system.

In other words, if BS is the guy, Saban won't try to fit a square peg into a round hole.

CrimsonForce · Jan 17, 2014

Re: It appears Luke Del Rio is leaving

crimsonaudio said:
Worth remembering what Saban has said his philosophy is regarding offense and defense - he says you build the offense around the talents the players have, but on defense you build the players to play your system.

In other words, if BS is the guy, Saban won't try to fit a square peg into a round hole.

Yea I just don't see why we would switch to an offense that only plays to the strengths of one of the QBs on roster and commitments. I don't see Town/Cornwell/Bateman etc being able to run a read option or whatever kind of offense it is that Blake would run. If we have 1 scrambling QB and 4 or 5 pro style it would make more sense to play pro style offense. I get mixing in spread/read option stuff for Blake, but not a complete overhaul of offensive philosophy. Seems like it goes against what we've recruited at all the other positions on offense. Then again, we have a new OC so maybe we will see a completely different offense.

RTR91 · Jan 17, 2014

Re: It appears Luke Del Rio is leaving

CrimsonForce said:
Yea I just don't see why we would switch to an offense that only plays to the strengths of one of the QBs on roster and commitments. I don't see Town/Cornwell/Bateman etc being able to run a read option or whatever kind of offense it is that Blake would run. If we have 1 scrambling QB and 4 or 5 pro style it would make more sense to play pro style offense. I get mixing in spread/read option stuff for Blake, but not a complete overhaul of offensive philosophy. Seems like it goes against what we've recruited at all the other positions on offense. Then again, we have a new OC so maybe we will see a completely different offense.

That's not what CA is saying. He's saying Bama can tweak its offense enough to help Blake out while still running its offense.

Let's not pretend the majority of our players/recruits haven't run something similar in high school, either. It's not like Bama recruited players from a pro-set offense and is going to change to a triple option. The majority of high schools run the offense many fear we would transform into if Blake becomes QB. We won't transform, though. There will be some tweaks but not a complete transformation. Blake ran the offense against Georgia State in October just fine.

CoolBreeze · Jan 17, 2014

Re: It appears Luke Del Rio is leaving

Think maybe we can change the thread title now? BTW, does anyone know where Luke is transferring yet?

crimsonaudio · Jan 17, 2014

Re: It appears Luke Del Rio is leaving

CrimsonForce said:
Yea I just don't see why we would switch to an offense that only plays to the strengths of one of the QBs on roster and commitments.

We don''t have to massively change it - we run the read-option a LOT already, it's just that AJ never kept the ball as he wasn't really a threat running.

gtowntide · Jan 17, 2014

Re: It appears Luke Del Rio is leaving

CoolBreeze said:
Think maybe we can change the thread title now? BTW, does anyone know where Luke is transferring yet?

I understood it was Oregon State. His dad and coach Mike Riley are friends.

Luke Del Rio is gone - Blake Sims / QB discussion

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