I get your concern - 3rd downs were a disaster against the stronger teams at the end of your season and he was a bad passer past the 10 yard mark. But let's not pretend that the Spring game didn't happen. Jalen looked like a seasoned veteran on every pass that he threw in that game. He never looked that good last year, even against the weaker defenses on your schedule, and this was against your defense.Any advantage to settleing who the starter is quickly is likely to be overshadowed by the hearbreak of seeing our best QB prospect since Joe Willie Namath transfer.
Yes, Jalen still struggled on 3rd down, but that was not his passing. He struggled because he was taking too long to make a decision. He has to improve here. But Tua looked just as bad on 3rd down in the second half, when he was playing against your #1 defense. So, IMO, Tua may be a better passer in some ways, but his game strengths are the same as Jalen's game strengths and his weakness is the same as Jalen's weakness - quick decision making when under pressure. And here is where the pendulum swings decidedly in Jalen's favor. On third down, Jalen has the ability to run the run portion of the RPO to perfection.
Another point - in the spring game you didn't run a single receiver screen or sweep. Those plays were your bread and butter last year, but they had a consequence of keeping the entire defense close to the LOS on every snap. The vertical passing game displayed by Hurts in the spring game totally changes that. Defenses are going to have to respect the passing game, which is going to open up lanes for your RBs. LBs and safeties are going to have to play straight up. No more 8 or 9 man in the box defenses like you saw in those late games last year. And, goodness, if your RBs have running lanes I just don't know how any defense can stop you.
I could be totally wrong, but I expect Alabama's offense to score at will this year.
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