It's funny that some want to rush to Blake's defense because he's been here four 4 years, but to me that's not the issue.
For the record, I've never rushed to his defense on the basis of seniority. I actually posted here way back when he was a true freshman about him having a surprisingly good arm. Since then I was among the people who speculated that he might be useful in a run oriented offensive package, but ultimately agreed with the logic that you just don't take the ball out of AJ's hands.
The other faction, which was quite vocal has consistently denied Blake's abilities. To go back over what happened, there was a group of people who were adamant that Ely, not Sims would be #2. Then there was a faction that were adamant that Morris, not Sims would be #2 (Morris wasn't even #3), and then there was a faction that was adamant that Luke Del Rio would jump Blake coming into next season. All wrong, but all popular opinions.
I've seen Blake's speed questioned, despite his listed 40 times being very good. I've seen his arm questioned, despite seeing him throw the deep ball, in person, adequately. I've heard a lot of people resolutely say there was no way Blake would be the starter, prior to the Coker rumors.
So, do I rush to his defense because he's been at Alabama for four years? Of course not, but I rush to his defense because honestly a lot of stuff said regarding him hasn't been based on reality. It's been biased opinions (the root of which still perplexes me), coupled with partial data.
Do we really think the coaches are suffering under mass delusions? Do we really think Blake got the nod over Ely, and Morris in the past based on something other than what he showed he could do? Do we really think he's still getting first team reps because he's been there longer? No, it's based on the merit of what he can do, and whether or not he's the starter this year, he deserves a heck of a lot more respect than a lot of Alabama fans have been giving him.
I personally do think Coker is going to be the starter, but I expect Blake to get some meaningful playing time and furthermore, had Coker not transferred in, I think Sims would have been the primary starter at quarterback.
By the way, can you tell which stats belong to which quarterback last season going just by the numbers?
18/36 250 yards 0 TD 1 INT 102.8 rating
18/29 167 yards 2 TD 0 INT 133.2 rating
I think Coker's going to be the guy, and he has a stronger arm than AJ or Blake, but he's the one with the 102.8 rating. Blake deserves more credit for what he's accomplished...