Saban names Top 3 QBs based on Scrimmage

RTR91

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But our last 2 seasons with senior qb's have been the ones that we didn't the championship. Who knows?
Technically, you could go back several years for that (AJ, Greg, JPW, Brodie, and more).

Then again, last two times we had a first starter a national championship was added.


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KrAzY3

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I have a hard time imagining Blake having improved his long ball that much.
It simply was never as bad as a lot of people have imagined. People are taking very limited, biased data, and from that saying he has trouble throwing the long ball. It's become almost a desire to see this manifest into reality, much in the same way people have been so determined that he never would have been second string and never had a shot at starting for Alabama.

Yeah, ok, and scouts are saying AJ can't throw the long ball either, but he did it well enough for suit Alabama's needs. Blake, in his first A-Day, did air the ball out some and show that he can throw the long ball, at least to the extent that Alabama would need him to. But, his development has been hampered and Alabama fans (who missed seeing his first A-Day), only have recollection of his throwing the ball in very isolated circumstances and are trying to reach conclusions based on that.

There's a reason Blake has managed to stay in his position thus far, and it isn't because he can't throw the ball...
 

Padreruf

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Analogous situation -- after PM left UT a QB from Mobile led UT to the NC.

Can you tell that I am at Fort Morgan and it is cool and cloudy? Never let a man with a computer and internet access get a little bored...:)

I am rooting for the best person -- but Sims would please me only because so many have already handed the job to J Coker. Nothing against Coker, but I like the player who has been here for 4 years and showed loyalty.
 

Alasippi

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There's not only the consideration of who gives us the best chance to win. There's also the variable of which QB is least likely to give a game away.
That leans towards a player who knows the system and has some experience. That's why I tend to think it will be Blake.
 

bamakeeb

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There's not only the consideration of who gives us the best chance to win. There's also the variable of which QB is least likely to give a game away.
That leans towards a player who knows the system and has some experience. That's why I tend to think it will be Blake.
Anybody else remember AJ being considered a loose cannon and gunslinger? I do. He throttled that back and is now considered a game manager. Whatever. If Saban trusts Sims to be the least likely candidate to cost us the game, he'll start. Period. I'd say Coker will have to gain a lot of trust in a short period to over take him. Apparently, Sims is in it to win it.
 

BamaMoon

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Do you even Tidefans bro?
haha!!! Apparently not enough!

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.

The issue of concern, at least for me, is that he doesn't fit the typical qb for the CNS system. That's not to say he can't, but up to this point, he hasn't been that type of player. Even when he got pt last year, we almost exclusively ran the read option and when he did pass let's just say he didn't give everybody the warm fuzzies.

I remember the AJ vs. Philip Sims debate and I remember how everybody seemed to decide who they thought it would be and gave their reasons for it. That's what we do on here!

But it is reasonable to suggests that until we see Blake Sims running the full package; all types of passes, audibles, etc. there will be some doubt about whether or not he can. It's fair to say that it may be that he hasn't had the opportunity to do it and therefore hasn't had the opportunity to prove it to us (which is one of my few beefs with CNS when he would play BS last year...I wish he would have let him run the same set of plays we usually did with AJ).

I think it is also natural to assume that Jake Coker is more of the typical qb for a CNS system. No doubt he wouldn't be coming here for two years unless he is that type of player. So it's just natural to assume he has a better than average chance to get significant minutes.

I'm not against Blake. I'm not necessarily for Coker. Sims just needs to prove he is a drop back passer and game manager and not a running back in disguise. We know Coker is more of the drop back, traditional qb. He needs to prove he's almost as good a Jamis Winston, which has been the scuttlebutt from FSU folks.

May the best man win OR we might just see a two qb system, especially early on, which is what I'd bet on right now.
 

KrAzY3

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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...
 
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Alasippi

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Anybody else remember AJ being considered a loose cannon and gunslinger? I do. He throttled that back and is now considered a game manager. Whatever. If Saban trusts Sims to be the least likely candidate to cost us the game, he'll start. Period. I'd say Coker will have to gain a lot of trust in a short period to over take him. Apparently, Sims is in it to win it.
I'll agree with that in a heartbeat. Coker hasn't shown me anything at all. Blake has.
 

JessN

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I have a hard time imagining Blake having improved his long ball that much. I know he worked during spring break. I like Blake and would be happy if he can do the job, however, wouldn't it be better to have a guy playing this year that will be around more than just this season. Breaking in another guy in 2015 again.....
It's not Blake's long ball that worries me. I've seen him practice enough to believe he has the arm strength necessary to make that throw.

It's the intermediate stuff, the bread and butter of the pro set, that he needs work on. I wrote about it in this week's article, but to restate it here, he has some accuracy issues on those routes but he also has some confidence issues. Those are typically tight throws, especially the slant-in routes, and sometimes he just needs to trust his arm to get them there. But his biggest hurdle to overcome is that if he makes a mistake or throws a pick, the next time he has to make that same throw he gets really tentative -- understandable, but you still can't have that.

The problem with Coker, though, is that if you look at his FSU tapes, he's not that much different. Just because he's a "pro-style quarterback" and is coming from a pro offense, doesn't automatically make him a better fit at this point in his development.
 

Bamabuzzard

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It's not Blake's long ball that worries me. I've seen him practice enough to believe he has the arm strength necessary to make that throw.

It's the intermediate stuff, the bread and butter of the pro set, that he needs work on. I wrote about it in this week's article, but to restate it here, he has some accuracy issues on those routes but he also has some confidence issues. Those are typically tight throws, especially the slant-in routes, and sometimes he just needs to trust his arm to get them there. But his biggest hurdle to overcome is that if he makes a mistake or throws a pick, the next time he has to make that same throw he gets really tentative -- understandable, but you still can't have that.

The problem with Coker, though, is that if you look at his FSU tapes, he's not that much different. Just because he's a "pro-style quarterback" and is coming from a pro offense, doesn't automatically make him a better fit at this point in his development.

I also believe the FSU coaches were making the QB "battle" sound closer than it actually was. I don't believe for one second it was that close. I think they were trying to help the kid get into another top school.
 

TIDE-HSV

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I also believe the FSU coaches were making the QB "battle" sound closer than it actually was. I don't believe for one second it was that close. I think they were trying to help the kid get into another top school.
I hope this was a suspicion and a personal opinion...
 

TUSKtimes

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So many intangibles make the QB position hard enough to evaluate. If push came to shove, with the talent already at the Capstone, we could be making a lot more than lemonade, if we had to. We just don't have to, yet. With the addition of Coker, we got options coming out our ears. In that coach Saban went to the trouble to put the cards in the deck, he will play them close to the vest. It's what he always does.
 

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