QB Competition 2018

It's not lost on me that Auburn beat us with a QB like we normally have and we have a QB like they normally have.

Jax?

I totally agree. I am thankful for what Jalen has done for us but if you look towards the end of the season last year and now this year Jalen has obvious flaws with zoning in on one receiver and holding the ball. I'm not saying they can't be fixed, but watching Tua this year and seeing him throw with accuracy and finesse he needs to be given a shot in the spring. Tua has the arm, the accuracy, and is mobile just needs the game experience.

Jalen has progressed a lot from last year to this year, and I'd like to see Tua on the field more, but I doubt we'll see a true QB competition in the spring.

I might be the aggressive one. With jalen's performance for the last two years in key games and tua's ability, we should let tua takes the helm from now. Even if we are luck enough to make the playoff this year.

careeves said:

I totally agree. I am thankful for what Jalen has done for us but if you look towards the end of the season last year and now this year Jalen has obvious flaws with zoning in on one receiver and holding the ball. I'm not saying they can't be fixed, but watching Tua this year and seeing him throw with accuracy and finesse he needs to be given a shot in the spring. Tua has the arm, the accuracy, and is mobile just needs the game experience.

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I've been saying this for a while, but it certainly seems to be coming true. I felt Hurts wasn't used properly throughout the season and I thought that Daboll's play calling would catch up to Hurts.

Now, that doesn't mean that Hurts is without his faults, but Hurts is a tool and it is Daboll's job to put him to best use. It isn't a question of whether or not Hurts can make certain throws, because it's Daboll that is asking him to do that. The question rather is can Hurts move the ball? I think we've seen enough to say yes. You have to call plays that make best use of the weapons you have on the field, not draw up plays that in theory a hypothetical quarterback might make. Sure Tua might have executed Daboll's gameplan better, but Hurts was the quarterback that was in the game. The complete lack of a lot of shorter stuff throughout the season, and running Hurts too often seems to have caught up to Alabama. I don't think it makes sense to change quarterbacks because your OC isn't doing a very good job calling plays. It's hard to argue that the play calling situation Hurts has had to deal with the past couple of seasons has really given him the best chance to succeed.

Think about this though, Ridley doesn't get mugged on every play and Hurts might have thrown for 100+ more yards and had at least one more passing TD. We might not be complaining about the play calling or Hurts in that scenario. On the flip side, it was happening...

By putting Jalen as the starter as a true freshman, the coaches created a catch-22 that still has repercussions to this day. If we had been a 6-6 type of team, we could have just played a pro-style offense designed to prepare Jalen for the future. But right now every season is "win now". In a win now mentality, you can't just let him learn good habits. He had to rely on his already developed skills and innate talents more than a guy free to lose a game. But relying on what he was already good at is not optimal for his development. Many guys need several years to build good habits and the right instincts. Jalen never had that luxury. I have come to appreciate that what he has done is really amazing.

That said, and we don't really know what Tua would have done, but it seems like Tua is smoother on some points. It's bound to be a thing this off season.

CajunCrimson said:

I’d use packages with both QBs in the game.....
Tua in pistol with Jalen behind him....
5-8 plays a game

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Not that I agree, but it sure would be some interesting plays to watch.

CajunCrimson said:

I’d use packages with both QBs in the game.....

Tua in pistol with Jalen behind him....

5-8 plays a game

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Stop and Pop. I like it [emoji1303]


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ATLBAMAFAN said:

I really believe Jalen Hurts is a winner and I certainly don’t pin this loss completely on him. But the fact of the matter is that against elite teams he really struggles throwing the football. From what I’ve seen from Tua, his passing ability has so much more upside than Jalen. So I hope that we at least have an open QB competition in the spring and fall. Auburn beat us because they have great balance on offense. To consistently win the big time games you really have to be able to throw the football consistently. We simply have not been able to do that.

Jalen really needs to improve his ability to go through his progressions. He’s able to do that when he doesn’t have pressure. Great QB’s are able to get to their second and third reads by pocket awareness and movement that allows them to continue looking down field.

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I was led to believe that Jalen had improved as a passer, after all he went to the Manning (or someone) QB camp and was supposed to have improved a lot. Midway through the season it seemed to me that there was little, if any, improvement. In other words, the problem was not fixed, whether the problem was pass blocking, schemes or QB. So now we have another year to fix the same problem. Will we, or will it just get lip service?

We fans can't fix the problem. The coaches have to fix it, but they can't fix it if they deny we have a problem.

I sure would like to have seen Tua come in last night. He couldn't have done any worse.

Jalen just had his first bad game as a QB. Yes, I know that he has had other bad games as a passer, but not as a QB. The only questions in my mind: will Jalen improve in the off-season (because we have seen Tua improve during play this season) and will it even matter if Tua is better than Jalen next year (Saban has never benched a QB for a more talented younger player).

JMO, but I think that Jalen is your guy next year no matter what. For all his strengths, this is one of Saban's weaknesses.

Well put him in then and see how he does with zero pass blocking and play calling that does not run enough. Easy to pin this on Jalen, but imagine if he was pure great passer and little ability to run and keep plays alive. We would have lost 3-4 games this year.

You can't always play to your strengths as most of the time the defense will play to take away your strengths. If Jalen can't escape from the pocket and can't see the longer developing plays downfield over the middle with Ridley as primary receiver, it's obvious we have problems executing what's left of our offense. Think about all the things we could run but don't. I don't think it's just because our OC is just shortsighted. That defensive playbook is out there and available on Jalen. And I am in agreement with a few other posters, I am not sure what else we can do to elevate his game. It's a difficult conundrum for sure because his poise is usually beyond reproach and always can give a dagger run with his escapability. I'm not advocating for Tua but Jalen was our only option last year and the team meshed around his confidence. But it can't be ignored that our passing efficiency falls of the table in November.


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A note: While I think Tua should get a chance to start (because of Jalen's inconsistency) I really feel for Jalen. You could see he was giving it all he had and I know he feels really low right now.

B1GTide said:

(Saban has never benched a QB for a more talented younger player).

JMO, but I think that Jalen is your guy next year no matter what. For all his strengths, this is one of Saban's weaknesses.

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This what I'm afraid of.

Redwood Forrest said:

A note: While I think Tua should get a chance to start (because of Jalen's inconsistency) I really feel for Jalen. You could see he was giving it all he had and I know he feels really low right now.

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Not advocating for Tua to start, but when a game seems to be hopelessly out of hand, it would seem that you would pull out all the stops to get back in it. When time is running out and you are down by two scores and passing appears to be the only way to get back in it, why not put your better passer in ? You're losing and there is no option left.

RiffTide said:

Not advocating for Tua to start, but when a game seems to be hopelessly out of hand, it would seem that you would pull out all the stops to get back in it. When time is running out and you are down by two scores and passing appears to be the only way to get back in it, why not put your better passer in ? You're losing and there is no option left.

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I agree, but this is Coach Saban's M.O. and I would have shocked beyond belief if Tua had came in without Jalen getting injured.