We should find a way to keep both Tua and Jalen engaged and involved

skrayper77 · Jan 10, 2018

I'd love to see Jalen move to H back. He'd create the kind of match up nightmares that OJ Howard did, and dude is STRONG - with proper blocking technique, he could easily block LBs and Safeties. He's 6'2", so not super tall, but still tall enough to make it work.

Greg McElroy is stating that Hurts may transfer to Texas. If we don't sign a QB, that would leave us really thin at the spot.

JTBama · Jan 10, 2018

Bamabuzzard said:
There's no need for a two quarterback system. A two quarterback system is normally done because one quarterback can do something the other quarterback cannot. There's nothing Jalen can do that Tua can't do. If the answer is "running", I think that got debunk Monday night. Tua is actually quicker and more elusive than Jalen. He may not have the power Jalen does but he runs with enough power to get what we would need from him in that department. Jalen has better top end speed. But I'd rather have quickness and elusiveness over top end speed. Top end speed only matters in when you're already in the open. Quickness and elusiveness gets you open.

I think attempting a two quarterback system would be tragic.

I agree, I think a two quarterback system would be more detrimental than productive. I am of the opinion that there will be a competition in name only but I'm not sure there will be much of an actual competition.

Padreruf · Jan 10, 2018

B1GTide said:
I would hate to have to defend against Jalen -- when he is throwing and running effectively -- so I hope that he stays at Alabama.

Amended your quote...and now agree. He wasn't SEC POY last year for nothing. He needs to regain his mojo and trust his reads...pressing.

Bamabuzzard · Jan 10, 2018

JustNeedMe81 said:
And what happens if Tua struggles next year? Second year is always tough for any QBs...

The same thing we did this year when Jalen struggled in the passing game. We find ways to win. In one of Saban's interviews yesterday he said they started really struggling to pass the ball around mid season. It's no secret that starting at the LSU game and moving forward, our offense was anemic because of our inability to effectively pass the ball. ALL IT TOOK was being able to pass the ball to open up a dang near unstoppable offense. Tue will have struggles, but if we can still win and only lose one game with Jalen's struggles. I am very confident we can do the same with any struggles Tua has.

bigjue24 · Jan 10, 2018

JustNeedMe81 said:
And what happens if Tua struggles next year? Second year is always tough for any QBs...

That's not always the case. AJ and GMac were both much better in their second years under center, and one of the reasons that does happen some times is that coaches have a seasons worth of film on a guy, and all coaches have on Tua is one glorious, legendary, historic, and life changing half of football. My last sentence isn't in blue because, to quote Kurt Angle, it's true it's dang true.

BamaMoon · Jan 10, 2018

Bamabuzzard said:
There's no need for a two quarterback system. A two quarterback system is normally done because one quarterback can do something the other quarterback cannot. There's nothing Jalen can do that Tua can't do. If the answer is "running", I think that got debunk Monday night. Tua is actually quicker and more elusive than Jalen. He may not have the power Jalen does but he runs with enough power to get what we would need from him in that department. Jalen has better top end speed. But I'd rather have quickness and elusiveness over top end speed. Top end speed only matters in when you're already in the open. Quickness and elusiveness gets you open.

I think attempting a two quarterback system would be tragic.

Completely agree about a 2 QB system. As Holtz used to say, "If you have 2 qbs you don't have one."

I guess another scenario is simply the offensive brain trust (CNS and Daboll) know Tua is the future but they communicate an "open competition." I think it would take Tua having some kind of serious regression (which I can't even imagine) for him to lose his current advantage.

TideEngineer08 · Jan 10, 2018

I don't see how a 2 QB system can work in this situation.

My preference is and always has been that a legit competition take place in the spring/summer/fall. Let it work itself out and let the best player play. I do have opinions on how it will play out based upon what we all saw, but have the competition nonetheless.

I also hope it can work out that both players finish their careers at UA.

Go Bama · Jan 10, 2018

skrayper77 said:
I'd love to see Jalen move to H back. He'd create the kind of match up nightmares that OJ Howard did, and dude is STRONG - with proper blocking technique, he could easily block LBs and Safeties. He's 6'2", so not super tall, but still tall enough to make it work.

Greg McElroy is stating that Hurts may transfer to Texas. If we don't sign a QB, that would leave us really thin at the spot.

What?!?!?! Where did GMac get his info that Jalen is transferring? That would mean Jalen thinks he cannot win the starting position. I’d be really surprised if that is the case.

BamaMoon · Jan 10, 2018

JustNeedMe81 said:
My personal thought on this: I don't think Jalen should give up just yet. I want Tua and Jalen battle it out this spring, summer and fall and whatever happens, it happens. I want the guys to truly say they tried and gave their best. If Jalen lose, He can go Juco Route and play somewhere next year. Tua is very good.. but he also has lot of things he needs to work on:
Tua keeps taking sacks... keep throwing ill advised passes, doesn't always make the best decisions. ( Jalen are the same way.)

Here's the difference:

Teaching Tua to not make ill advised passes or take sacks is so much more correctable than teaching Jalen how to read a defense, have vision, throw on time and do it with accuracy.

I think it's the difference in simple math and calculus.

JTBama · Jan 10, 2018

BamaMoon said:
Completely agree about a 2 QB system. As Holtz used to say, "If you have 2 qbs you don't have one."

I guess another scenario is simply the offensive brain trust (CNS and Daboll) know Tua is the future but they communicate an "open competition." I think it would take Tua having some kind of serious regression (which I can't even imagine) for him to lose his current advantage.

Yeah, I don't see it happening either. With those type of throws in probably the most pressure cooker situation you could find yourself in and from what he has been doing to our defense in practices ......I think we were bound to see his debut sooner than later and from all indications they were ready to do it earlier if needed. They just couldn't keep him on the bench any longer.

JustNeedMe81 · Jan 10, 2018

BamaMoon said:
Here's the difference:

Teaching Tua to not make ill advised passes or take sacks is so much more correctable than teaching Jalen how to read a defense, have vision, throw on time and do it with accuracy.

I think it's the difference in simple math and calculus.

I've always thought he can read defense... He've made pre snap adjustments... But on the vision, time and accuracy.. I agree. But I really wonder if the OC confidence affected him. He was good in MSU game.. but struggled against Auburn and Georgia.

Bamabuzzard · Jan 10, 2018

BamaMoon said:
Completely agree about a 2 QB system. As Holtz used to say, "If you have 2 qbs you don't have one."

I guess another scenario is simply the offensive brain trust (CNS and Daboll) know Tua is the future but they communicate an "open competition." I think it would take Tua having some kind of serious regression (which I can't even imagine) for him to lose his current advantage.

There's another side to this dynamic as well that I'm sure CNS is completely sensitive to, and that's the team chemistry. I won't go into much detail, if Earle wants to I'll defer to him, but there was a growing frustration among more than a handful of players because they felt like Tua gave them the best chance to win. Yet the staff kept Jalen in there regardless of how ineffective the offense was. This frustration didn't begin Monday night either. It had been simmering for much of the season.

We may think coach having an "open competition" is the best thing to do. But how would an "open competition" be received by the team after their beliefs about Tua compared to Jalen were confirmed and rubber stamped Monday night? There's a very delicate dynamic that could go real wrong real quick if not handled properly.

mlh · Jan 10, 2018

I have to agree with Bammabuzzard and BamaMoon on this. The best way to keep both QBs engaged is to make it clear that the best QB plays. A pro-style offense best suits our talent at every position. It's also what our OC knows and is most comfortable using. So it's up to Jalen to work in the off-season to improve his passing skills so that he can compete with Tua for playing time. He can still be a leader and contribute to the team even as the backup. But moving to another position isn't practical. He's not as good a runner as our current RBs. He's not as elusive or as dangerous as Jacobs or one of our WRs in the slot. H-back or TE? Maybe. But he'd be able to contribute more at QB than at that position. Defense? Really? Who would he beat out on that side of the ball?

I think Jalen can contribute on offense, at QB, even if Tua is the starter. He'll get plenty of playing time and can be very useful in certain situations. And, as we all know, the backup is just one play away from being the starter. If Tua gets injured, we'll need a solid backup to step in and lead the team. Is there anyone else on the team who can do that?

BamaMoon · Jan 10, 2018

JustNeedMe81 said:
I've always thought he can read defense... He've made pre snap adjustments... But on the vision, time and accuracy.. I agree. But I really wonder if the OC confidence affected him. He was good in MSU game.. but struggled against Auburn and Georgia.

I was thinking more about "reading the defense" to know he needs to look a safety off (like Tua did) in order to be able to throw to a certain defender.

Another thing too is Tua has a special ability that all great qb's have to a perform "geometry" in split second increments that allows him to see angles and windows that others can't see because they are more linear in their vision. I think Jalen has the latter and Tua the former.

BamaFanFromTN · Jan 10, 2018

skrayper77 said:
I'd love to see Jalen move to H back. He'd create the kind of match up nightmares that OJ Howard did, and dude is STRONG - with proper blocking technique, he could easily block LBs and Safeties. He's 6'2", so not super tall, but still tall enough to make it work.

Greg McElroy is stating that Hurts may transfer to Texas. If we don't sign a QB, that would leave us really thin at the spot.

I think it is more like how the Gators used Percy Harvin. That guy was unstoppable and made Tebow look better.

USCBAMA · Jan 10, 2018

Relayer said:
I hope there is a real QB competition this spring and may the best QB win. That's the way life usually (and generally must) work. However, from what little bit I've heard about practices, and certainly from what we saw Monday night, I think the genie is out of the bottle

Agree. Jalen's downfield passing game must improve tremendously for him to compete for starting role. Of course we all hope that happens, but based on what we saw the second half of the season there would appear to be more upside to Tua's passing game. Spring will definitely be interesting in Tuscaloosa, it's a good problem to have.

RollTide_HTTR · Jan 10, 2018

This is Tua's team. There may be a competition but it shouldn't be much of one. Frankly, Tua is too good to bother with a 2 QB system.

Edit: Although I wouldn't mind using Jalen similarly to how OU used Blake Bell a few years ago. He can come in on certain downs as a running option who throws every once in a while. I would mostly do this to limit the hit Tua takes because he doesn't have the same build as Jalen.

IBUY · Jan 10, 2018

skrayper77 said:
I'd love to see Jalen move to H back. He'd create the kind of match up nightmares that OJ Howard did, and dude is STRONG - with proper blocking technique, he could easily block LBs and Safeties. He's 6'2", so not super tall, but still tall enough to make it work.

I would like to see something like this. Jalen is a dynamic play maker and finding ways to get the ball in his hands could pay dividends.

Bamabuzzard · Jan 10, 2018

JustNeedMe81 said:
I've always thought he can read defense... He've made pre snap adjustments... But on the vision, time and accuracy.. I agree. But I really wonder if the OC confidence affected him. He was good in MSU game.. but struggled against Auburn and Georgia.

Todd Blackledge, Herbstreight, Greg McElroy , Jordan Rodgers and several other former players who've watched his tape wouldn't completely disagree with you. But rather say he doesn't read them quick enough and get the ball out in time. Which the net effect is just like not being able to read defenses.

BamaMoon · Jan 10, 2018

mlh said:
I think Jalen can contribute on offense, at QB, even if Tua is the starter. He'll get plenty of playing time and can be very useful in certain situations. And, as we all know, the backup is just one play away from being the starter. If Tua gets injured, we'll need a solid backup to step in and lead the team. Is there anyone else on the team who can do that?

If you think about it, Jalen as a back-up with his running abilities actually fits the role better than Tua as backup with greater throwing abilities.

Typially, unless it's the situation like we were in Monday night and needing to make up alot of points fast, when our backups play is when we are trying to salt the game away with a large lead. Jalen's skill set would be much better for that.

We should find a way to keep both Tua and Jalen engaged and involved

All-American

All-American

Hall of Fame

FB Moderator

Suspended

Hall of Fame

TideFans Legend

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

All-American

Hall of Fame

FB Moderator

All-American

Hall of Fame

BamaNation Citizen

All-SEC

Hall of Fame

1st Team

FB Moderator

Hall of Fame

TideFans.shop - NEW Stuff!