I think there are 2 mindsets being spoken in this thread that need to be reconciled lest we all keep talking past one another.
Some seem to be taking Skeeterpop's critique to mean that there are SERIOUS issues and Tua has glaring flaws that will be used to undo the entire team.
I don't think that's what he is saying. I think we all understand how special Tua is as a player and how special this offense is as a unit. Generationally good as far as Alabama teams go for certain. There can be no doubt about that.
But Skeeter isn't the first I've heard mention this and I don't think it's coming from a place of fear or trepidation. I've heard multiple pundits talk about Tua needing to let go of that 1st read on a more consistent basis. No one is saying he is bad at pre-snap reads. He's likely the best in CFB at them. But skilled secondaries can key on that with shell looks and other baiting techniques. LSU, MSU and Georgia are stacked with pro-players. I think it's fair to call this a nit-pick but it's exactly what Saban does. Even a Formula 1 car needs a front wing adjustment depending on the track and conditions. Tua is better than all the rest, but that doesn't make him perfect. I think it's ok to analyze where he could improve.
Here is the rub, IMO. Tua makes these pre-snap reads all season long against the likes of Lousiville, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Missouri, Tennessee etc ,etc - and those are all garbage to very mediocre defenses at best. So the fact that he CAN consistently move on from the 1st reads when necessary becomes muted over time when the protection is so good and the receivers are so open so immediately against inferior competition. Frankly, he could almost always trust his pre-snap read because those teams were inferior in every way.
Now, against MSU, LSU, Auburn, GA, that wasn't always the case. DB's hug the receivers more tightly, the pass rush is quite a bit better, the schemes are more complicated and executed with more discipline. That 1st read that has been open all season isn't as open. And while he has the ability to come off of it, maybe he hangs on longer than he should because of being conditioned a litlte bit against bad defenses. Tua even just said in an interview that in the last few weeks he feels he has improved his decision making from the end of the season.
HOWEVER, 2 things have to be pointed out. Tua played admirably against LSU and Auburn and adjusted very well. It also has to be pointed out that he was quite inured for most of that time. To know to what extent his injury was affecting his decision making against Ga I do not know. It obviously had big consequences on his game but he also seemed to force it at times. But, as some have pointed out, just before he left the game with injury he had settled down a lot and was taking what the defense was giving him. Against MSU I thought the game-plan was poor and it seemed obvious that Tua didn't have the time needed to execute the play calls. He did also hang onto the ball a little long in that game - not something he usually does.
The long and short of it is that we have been so much better than everybody else along the way that there have been small hiccups here and there where we are not executing in areas that we CAN execute simply because we hadn't been challenged in that way before.
Now, as I said before, I personally don't think it will be as much of a factor in this game because A: We played very good defenses already to help get our mind right. B: I think it will depend more on game-plan than the specific critique levied here. If Tua plays to his full potential and brings forth everything he is already capable of then the game is over right now.