It's becoming plain to see that our issues are much deeper than the QB position this year.
I don't think the problems are as bad as they might appear at first glance. But, this is an offense that has had three play callers in less than a year, has had three different backup quarterbacks over that period of time, and had to hire their last OC as an emergency hire. Part of what I think we saw on offense not just last game, but in some tougher games was kind of the inevitable consequence of having to deal with a lot of disruption without a lot of chances to really adjust. It was from Washington with Kiffin, to Clemson with Sark, to FSU with Daboll. There hasn't been a lot of chances to go back to the drawing board (they might be doing that now) In addition, as has been mentioned there's a lot of potential cooks in the kitchen. When Alabama had Pendry and Applewhite, there were some dysfunctions on offense as well. I think though that Alabama has a lot of time and the impetus to address some of the issues.
Ok... two things that you're totally incorrect on here. Blake Sims, any way you cut it, was a better passer than Jalen Hurts. It's very obvious Kiffin played to his strengths well, but the numbers plus eye test don't lie. You can't play the "if he'd been in Blake's situation he would be better" card and make it stick here.
Ok, Blake Sims is one subject on which I feel I'm particularly entitled to speak on. I caught so much crap for
years, years, standing up for Blake Sims abilities! I came back from his very first A-Day and commented that he could actually throw the ball (by the way I came back from A-Day after seeing Hurts and said he was a viable candidate to start). When Ely was third string I argued with people who said that Sims wasn't really the backup, that Ely would come in in an emergency. I argued with people when they said the same thing about Alec. Ironically, the general disrespect that Blake Sims received has only been matched by the disrespect that Hurts has received.
There was one prolonged argument prior to Sims senior season (that stretched over multiple threads) in which multiple people repeatedly insisted Blake Sims could not throw the long ball! On this forum, repeated, unchecked except by me. I'd come in and go look, I saw him throw the deep pass at A-Day, he can do it, he might not have the best range but he can get the ball out there. I'd get shot down, they'd go back to asserting he can't do it. It was frustrating because they simply wouldn't listen to the truth, they had their minds made up. I finally gave up and told them we'd have to see. Now here we are, and the last time I saw a conversation about Blake Sim's deep pass, it was that he was one of the best ever at it, at Alabama. So, as someone that spent years standing up for the guy's basic abilities, as literally one of his biggest defenders on this forum, I'm not the guy to underestimate his abilities.
Having said that. He was always obviously limited as a quarterback. My whole assertion was he could play QB, and could win at Alabama. It was never that he could do everything. I really had a tough time holding ground after his other A-Day travesties, in which he was absolutely abysmal. Even I started to doubt him somewhat, because he just looked so bad. But Saban explained it in pretty simple and relevant terms. He said that Blake was being asked to do different things at A-Day. And he looked really bad doing it. That's not a knock on Blake Sims, it's just his limitations. What Kiffin did was strip the playbook of things Blake Sims struggled at, simplified things, and left in things he could do. It worked, well, as your statements attest to (in contrast to the many negative things people had to say for so long). But to kind of retroactively upgrade him, isn't realistic. He was carefully utilized, he was not just put in the pocket and told to make reads. That wasn't how he was used.
He DID have Kiffin as his OC last year and according to you he was even worse than the numbers he put up.
I have to empathize one thing before we proceed.
Last year Hurts was a true freshman. He was also the most prolific true freshman quarterback in history! So, comparing that to a fifth year senior is such a stretch. I did compare Hurts to Sims this year though (155 to 157 rating), but Kiffin did wonders with both Hurts and Sims, he just had them in completely different points of their development. I can't believe some people just happen to forget Hurts is still the youngest starting QB Saban has had at Alabama. That's a factor here. I said all along that Hurts would improve as a passer (some claimed he plateaued last year) and clearly he did improve.
Now, back to Hurts and what I said. I said Sims senior year he might have been a better passer than Hurts was last year. But, Sims was a better passer his senior year than the year before. People improve, and Hurts did as well. The thing you might be overlooking with this statement is this. I said Kiffin helped Blake deal with his weaknesses. He helped Hurts as well and I fully believe had Kiffin been just mentally present, that Hurts would have done better against Washington and Clemson, and Alabama would have won the title. The thing is Daboll is a pro guy and Kiffin is an NFL guy. He's helped Hurts develop, probably more than Kiffin would have. But he's not giving Hurts the easier stuff, he's not covering up Hurts weakness like Kiffin did last year when Hurts wasn't as good a passer, or like Kiffin did for Blake Sims. Daboll is asking Hurts to make more complex reads, he's allowing him to hold onto the ball longer, and you see the result. Hurts can manage against weaker defenses, but he's not
yet up to doing as much against the best defenses (and a lot of college quarterbacks wouldn't be).
It seems, from what I'm reading from you, that you're totally opposed to allowing Tua a chance in the postseason. Is that where you stand?
Absolutely. There's no justification for benching Hurts at this point in the season. You want a QB battle in the spring when you can handle the situation better. You don't blow up what's left of the season because of some issues. It's odd that you're so against just feeding Hurts some easier passes but swapping out starters? No big deal... which sounds more disruptive to you?
A lot has been put on his shoulders by the coaches. Maybe too much.
I'd agree, I think Hurts has been given too much responsibility and some of that responsibility needs to go back to the play caller.
Or, is it possible he's taken too much on himself with the options his position affords so that it is starting to hurt the performance of the offense and the feelings/attitudes of his teammates?
Since I've been using it as an example, how exactly would Hurts take too much on himself with a jet sweep? If Daboll calls a quick enough developing play that's simple enough, Hurts is going to have to get rid of the ball. If Hurts is actually just outright insubordinate, than that's another issue and must be addressed. But the longer the plays take to develop the more "say" Hurts has in what occurs. I said several games ago I wanted Hurts to run less and be "forced" to throw the ball more. That's all I'm calling for now really, and I kind of expect that to be what Daboll ends up doing.
. I can't help it.
