How big of a jump can we realistically expect from Jalen?

JaxTider

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I don't know how much better he'll get, but if he gets considerably better, he will be a nightmare for defenses. A sub 4.5 forty QB who runs like a back and can pass would be a dream come true.
 

bamacpa

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The kid is a winner who has the confidence of a pretty darn persnickety head coach and his team. He has the IT factor that allows him to make big time plays at huge moments. I really think he's going take a huge step forward and be a great QB.
 

Ole Man Dan

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My biggest concern, which started late last year when it dawned on me, is that a significant portion of the completion percentage and yards were really "1-yard-pass" jet sweeps. They could just as well have been handoffs, like an end-around. The point is, this play was almost completely diagnosed and defeated by the defenses we played against at the end of the season.

So I think (really, hope) the jet sweep is going away. This starts us at a lower baseline from last year, which means we are hoping for a bigger increment overall, into more of a "standard" passing game, with drop backs, play actions, and QB draws.
We do have a different Offensive Coordinator this year. Got to remember those are the guys who call the plays. If a QB doesn't run the plays called, he's gonna be in the Dog House.
 

IMALOYAL1

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I wouldn't overlook how our running game can help the passing game. As stated above Kiffin was the best at setting up touchdown plays but it came at the expense of clock management.
 

dadleyblane5

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I wish over the summer break that he would go and get with that QB guru that Blake Sims got with before his last season. I think it would help his game. I saw tremendous improvement in Blake that next year.
 

Tideflyer

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The kid is a winner who has the confidence of a pretty darn persnickety head coach and his team. He has the IT factor that allows him to make big time plays at huge moments. I really think he's going take a huge step forward and be a great QB.
Agree wholeheartedly. Particularly if the staff can find a couple of guys who can play consistent, winning football on the right side of the O line.
 

tattooguy21

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I wish over the summer break that he would go and get with that QB guru that Blake Sims got with before his last season. I think it would help his game. I saw tremendous improvement in Blake that next year.
Quite frankly, that was the most improved QB from one season to the next I've ever seen in my life. I'd have bet my life that Coker would be starting, given Sims prior history of just......ugh. That being said, as much as Namath, Mcarron, etc have been great (and Hurts will be too) Sims might be my favorite, just because if we're all being honest, no one expected that season out of him.

And holy crap, the auburn game where he shook off those three interceptions and the comeback. [emoji43]
 
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Padreruf

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Quite frankly, that was the most improved QB from one season to the next I've ever seen in my life. I'd have bet my life that Coker would be starting, given Sims prior history of just......ugh. That being said, as much as Namath, Mcarron, etc have been great (and Hurts will be too) Sims might be my favorite, just because if we're ask being honest, no one expected that season out of him.

And holy crap, the auburn game where he shook off those three interceptions and the comeback. [emoji43]
Couldn't agree more...whatever Lane Kiffin did wrong...he got that year right.
 

gtgilbert

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We don't really know how weak he might have been in the middle. At one point, I got curious and looked back at his UT and USC tenures. He's never been known for either the deep ball or routes across the middle, either one. At one point, at USC, he had the #s 2 and 3 recruiting-ranked pro QBs on his squad and the USC fans were screaming for deep balls, and not getting them. After the exhibition at A-Day, not using the fly pattern seems a travesty. Also, all routes across the middle don't have to be crossing routes. There are curls and hitch and goes, lower risk and lower timing routes. IOW, I think it may have been just in Kiff's DNA not to utilize the middle or deep ball, probably compounded by doubt in his QB...
Even if he didn't use the deep ball a lot, he used it enough with Sims and Coker to at least force the defense to respect that part of the field. Who could forget him throwing up the TD sign so early (with both Sims and Coker) because he KNEW the deep ball was open and that the QB would connect. Even without the strongest arm, Sims had a beautiful deep ball...

For whatever reason, Jalen didn't/couldn't connect on those last year. We tried it a good bit early in the season, he has the arm to get the ball down the field so more than likely it was a timing thing with the receivers because he'd typically overthrow it. From A-day it appeared to be clicking and if that holds and defenses have to respect the deep parts of the field also, Jalen should have a great year, even if the stats change due to a change in play-calling with fewer jet sweeps and such.
 

RollTide_HTTR

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I think the playcalling was partially due to perceptions on limitations in Hurts' game. To be honest, Kiffin's offensive approach worked well with veteran year one starters but I don't think his system is great for a truly young guy. Kiffin is one of the best. He's a true playcaller and less of an offensive strategist in my opinion. He's one of the best at finding touchdowns but it requires a guy at quarterback who knows a lot of plays. Hurts needed a pared down playbook and Kiffin kinda suffered for it against the best defenses.

Hurts really could have used one of those OCs who has about a 1 page front and back playbook but layers the calls on one another in a way where the defense is rarely right.
I saw a quote somewhere that described Kiffin as a guy who could pull out a play that beat you 3 weeks ago or some gadget play that will wreck you but he's not much of a developer. And I think his playcalling showed that last year. To me it was Kiffin trying to win games at the possible expense of Jalen's development. Hopefully, Daboll will be a bigger help this year.

For every negative, there's a, "Yeah but...." Likewise for every positive, there's also a, "Yeah but..."

There's no question in my mind that Tua has a higher ceiling as a passer. I seriously doubt that Tua will ever be the runner Jalen is today.
Disagree here. It's clear Tua has a higher floor but I don't think we have seen enough of either of them to know who has the higher ceiling as a passer.

Listen people, take Jalen Hurts from last year and multiply him by 10, maybe even by 15 and that is what you are going to have this year. He is a freak talent both physically and mentally and by the end of the first game all the doubt expressed in the above posts will be gone forever.
This is bold. Although I do think his down field passing will be a strength this year. His scouting reports coming out raved about his deep ball accuracy and touch. The fact that he struggled with it last year means to me that he was struggling to adjust to college speed. With a year under his belt I think his deep ball will see a HUGE jump.
 

bamaslammer

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It's a difficult question because last year was almost a step back from the beginning to end. The staff just screwed up, I know Kiffin didn't do a very good job and it's possible the staff as a whole took a too safe approach, The most egregious mistake was not improving him over the weeks of practice heading into the playoffs. I was floored at how bad a game he had against Washington.

Now we have a new day, The staff gambled and lost on the biggest stage imaginable, They can't use the "Hurts is young" excuse any more. They better have him ready to play big boy ball. If I'm the new OC I figure if I go down I aint going down like that, Hurts is a GREAT FOOTBALL PLAYER and he has CHARACTER. If you were going to bet on someone, this kid is the type you want to bet your rear on. Play I'm afraid to make a mistake ball and you eviscerate him as a playmaker. Like I said, if I fail it aint gonna be like that. But I'm not the coach.
 

BadgerTidefan

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Excellent post. I agree 100%

It's a difficult question because last year was almost a step back from the beginning to end. The staff just screwed up, I know Kiffin didn't do a very good job and it's possible the staff as a whole took a too safe approach, The most egregious mistake was not improving him over the weeks of practice heading into the playoffs. I was floored at how bad a game he had against Washington.

Now we have a new day, The staff gambled and lost on the biggest stage imaginable, They can't use the "Hurts is young" excuse any more. They better have him ready to play big boy ball. If I'm the new OC I figure if I go down I aint going down like that, Hurts is a GREAT FOOTBALL PLAYER and he has CHARACTER. If you were going to bet on someone, this kid is the type you want to bet your rear on. Play I'm afraid to make a mistake ball and you eviscerate him as a playmaker. Like I said, if I fail it aint gonna be like that. But I'm not the coach.
 

B1GTide

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This is either totally incorrect (saw stats with his numbers when pressured and they were horrible) or skewed by adding in the shuffle passes. The only stats that mattered were the wins, but you have to take his completion stats with a grain of salt. He will not be running that offense again in 2017.
 

RollTide_HTTR

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This is either totally incorrect (saw stats with his numbers when pressured and they were horrible) or skewed by adding in the shuffle passes. The only stats that mattered were the wins, but you have to take his completion stats with a grain of salt. He will not be running that offense again in 2017.
Well, I think the key here is that when he doesn't have to think about it or read the field he is really accurate. It is probably skewed by shuffle passes as well but it makes a lot of sense to me that he would be more accurate on quick passes. He was bad against pressure but I bet you he holds the ball longer vs pressure trying to extend a play so has the ball for more than 2.5 seconds.
 

RTR91

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Also posted the link in the other thread, but here are some quotes about Jalen's performance this weekend at the Manning Passing Academy that stand out to me:

"Jalen threw the deep ball really well in that Friday workout," said Senior Bowl scouting coordinator Patrick Woo. "When you go back to last year, that was something Alabama didn't utilize all that much was the deep ball and obviously he missed a few in the playoff games, but I think that's his biggest strength is throwing the deep ball. He's big. He's obviously smart. And he definitely has a live arm. That's for sure. That ball really zips out of his hand."
The feedback was similar from Senior Bowl executive director and former NFL executive Phil Savage, who was also in attendance for that Friday workout.

"He is physically strong and has a powerful arm," Savage said of the 6-foot-2 Hurts, who is up to about 225 pounds. "I still think his deep ball is his best throw. He can rainbow it out there. I would think it was a very positive experience for him, being around the Mannings and all those other top-shelf QBs."
 

KrAzY3

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Well, I think the key here is that when he doesn't have to think about it or read the field he is really accurate.
Even if it's really short stuff, accurate is accurate. We've seen QBs that made short passes an adventure, some are harder than they look. The takeaway here, yet again is that he has an ability to get the ball where he needs to. In such a short time frame, the variables are dramatically cut down, so he has less to factor into the decision making process. Struggle under pressure or what not, what true freshman hasn't?

Kenny Hill is on that list and I always felt like his handling was botched by Sumlin (Sims has similar struggles against the same teams, only he didn't have to face Alabama). Hurts mental development isn't a given yet, but he seems to have been handled well. Lots of reasons for optimism.
 

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