Alabama QB competition article

Re: Alabama QB competition article (ALL QB posts here, please)

B1GTide said:

You can't kick Jalen off the team because his parent's can't control themselves. We have to wait and see how Jalen conducts himself going forward. But I wouldn't be surprised if Jalen's access to the media just ended.

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I am concerned by the comment... The coaches don't control this. I believe what Jalen did Saturday crossed the line. I don't know what CNS will do, but I have a good idea what Coach Bryant would have done.

Re: Alabama QB competition article (ALL QB posts here, please)

Was listening to a media member who observed the most recent practice. Said Tua had an average day by Tua's standard and Jalen had a great day by Jalen's standard. Tua still had the better day. That's the QB competition in a nutshell..

Re: Alabama QB competition article (ALL QB posts here, please)

CrimsonProf said:

Two quick thoughts:

1. Why do we all feel like we "know" Jalen? Almost none of us do.

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I haven't really seen anyone claim to know Jalen as we might know someone close to us, but we know what we have seen. Even faced with having lost his job to Tua in the CFGCG, he showed poise and character. When he turned over the ball on his first possession against USC as a TF, he showed poise and character. After the loss to Clemson, he showed poise and character. Remember his support of Cam Pruitt, the 13 year old with cancer?

I don't know Jalen, but almost everything that I have seen from him has been positive. This is the Jalen that I love:

Re: Alabama QB competition article (ALL QB posts here, please)

TBH I think anything Jalen says or does will only impact the timing of when Tua is named starter not the end result. So, even if I think he shouldn't have said some of what he did he could be way worse. Regardless, I'm looking forward to having the whole QB thing done with. This is probably the most excited I have been for a CNS Bama team.

Re: Alabama QB competition article (ALL QB posts here, please)

CrimsonForce said:

Was listening to a media member who observed the most recent practice. Said Tua had an average day by Tua's standard and Jalen had a great day by Jalen's standard. Tua still had the better day. That's the QB competition in a nutshell..

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Yup. Plus the key isn't if Jalen has a better individual day or passing performance in a specific drill. For him its all about consistency. Can he consistently read the D and make an accurate throw.

Re: Alabama QB competition article (ALL QB posts here, please)

CrimsonForce said:

Was listening to a media member who observed the most recent practice. Said Tua had an average day by Tua's standard and Jalen had a great day by Jalen's standard. Tua still had the better day. That's the QB competition in a nutshell..

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Regardless of what the Hurts family says, this is the obstacle Jalen faces. A below average day for Tua will probably be better than Jalen's best performance.

Re: Alabama QB competition article (ALL QB posts here, please)

RollTide_HTTR said:

Yup. Plus the key isn't if Jalen has a better individual day or passing performance in a specific drill. For him its all about consistency. Can he consistently read the D and make an accurate throw.

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my wife and i watched a little of the HOF game and Chase Daniel is a perfect example of the need for consistency.

he threw a really nice TD pass that was dropped by the receiver and followed it up by throwing the ball off his own lineman's head for an INT.

at the pro level even moreso than college it seems like most of the QBs can make all the throws that a QB needs to throw...it's just a matter of them doing so consistently.

Re: Alabama QB competition article (ALL QB posts here, please)

Wanted to weigh in about the Blake Sims vs. Coker discussion....

Blake showed up that fall and outplayed Coker, but he also showed a complete ability to run a successful downfield passing attack. He also proved he could do something Jalen hasn't proved just yet....the ability to check off primary receivers and find a secondary one. So yes, he improved immensely and arguably he had the best touch on long throws of anybody we've had recently.

If Jalen could show up showing that kind of improvement this fall (remember Blake's spring wasn't that impressive either) then he might have a chance to play some. But the issue is not that Jalen would have to improve, but that he'd have to have remarkable improvement and even at that I'm still not sure he'd reach Tua's talent level.

Re: Alabama QB competition article (ALL QB posts here, please)

UAH said:

Very well said. We would feel that for anyone who worked years to accomplish something special and failed at the pinnacle. It happens in just about every walk of life in some fashion. I have the same thought that Jalen's Dad/Coach could have and should have provided him more skills training but my experience is that type of development just doesn't happen very often at the team level. He certainly could have provided him some other position experience to broaden his opportunity for the NFL.

I respect Tua's tremendous potential but am reminded that he was unable to gain experience in the spring. I believe it is unrealistic to expect that Tua would not experience some growing pains and frustrations in a season of SEC competition. CNS understands that for sure and will try to have every QB on the roster prepared to play up to their potential. It is a real balancing act for him and we will see how it turns out.

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First paragraph: It's got to be frustrating. Jalen hit a ceiling and there's not much that can be done. As for his family piping up, it could just be the frustration of seeing what they thought might be lucrative NFL career going up in flames before it ever happened. It seems they are too stubborn to think about changing positions, but if Jalen ever gets a significant NFL contract and playing time, I don't think it'll be at QB.

Second paragraph: I'm not really sure missing the spring hurt Tua as much as you might think in terms of developement. Remember he was apparently getting lots of reps with the 1's by the middle of last year and his backup duties amounted to around 3 games last year. Even before the NC game, he had already proven that he was ready for action. Sure, he will probably have some ups and downs but I doubt anymore so than what happened in the most pressurized situation we can imagine in the NC game. He had a couple of lapses, but even then, his immense talent made up for that with several impressive drives. And remember he won't have to feel the pressure of trying to lead the team in a "come from behind win" like he did against Georgia. He'll have the advantage of leaning on our great ground attack and blending in precision throws. Ought to be even easier this year for him.

Re: Alabama QB competition article (ALL QB posts here, please)

Those who still believe Jalen should take the majority of 2018 snaps over a healthy Tua, please re-watch the Mississippi State, Auburn and Georgia games from last year. You will see 10 straight quarters where the opposing defense had a solid game plan against our quarterback, and the final 2 quarters where we dictated the game plan. We will win the majority of our games with either, but Tua gives us the best chance to repeat as champions.

Re: Alabama QB competition article (ALL QB posts here, please)

Bamabuzzard said:

Agreed. Not saying literally every single person in this generation is like this. But it is very common to run into this with people from this generation. "Feelings" are a big deal to them.

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And when you don't keep score and get a trophy for participating you don't know how to handle losing or disappointment.

Re: Alabama QB competition article (ALL QB posts here, please)

I thought this article from Sporting News demonstrated the positives for both guys and was presented in a very fair manner.
http://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-football/news/alabama-quarterback-battle-tua-tagovailoa-jalen-hurts-transfer-nick-saban/1m3o6du9csitu1sutrf5pze06b

Re: Alabama QB competition article (ALL QB posts here, please)

TiderJack said:

And when you don't keep score and get a trophy for participating you don't know how to handle losing or disappointment.

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It could be that and/or (probably "and") that he had his dad as his coach.

Most of us have trouble being objective about ourselves and our family members. That being the case and when you combine that with Jalen's amazing athletic skills that allowed him to compensate for a lack of technical skills, I really wonder if he ever had anybody tell him what he really needed to hear. Is Jalen's daddy so close to the matter that even as a football coach he can't see that Jalen is really not a complete qb in the passing department and, as it currently stands, doesn't have a realistic chance at the NFL?

And it probably didn't help that he arrived in T-town and his competition was such that he immediately was named the starter and, once again, with great physical skills, skated to First-team All-SEC (2016); SEC champion (2016); SEC Offensive Player of the Year (2016); SEC Freshman of the Year (2016). He did all that without really having to face any competition or obstacles related to his weakness as a QB.

Now, reality strikes. His competition is much better. He knows it. Maybe his family now knows it. And the reality a little clearer than ever before.

Re: Alabama QB competition article (ALL QB posts here, please)

My gosh, never seen such hoopla over words uttered by a 19 year old kid. Much to do about nutin :rolleye2:

Re: Alabama QB competition article (ALL QB posts here, please)

RedWave said:

Stephen A Smith had a pretty strong take on this on ESPN's First Take. I am going to paraphrase it the best I can, because I was too busy laughing while listening to get it all down (Smith being the obnoxious, but funny in this case, personality that he is).

"Saban should communicate with the man. He should sit him down, have their knees touching, look him in the eyes, and say "I am benching you. Not because of anything you said but because I have SERIOUS questions about your ability to throw the football! I am going to let this other brother go do his thing.'" Smith called Jalen's performance in the NCS awful, deplorable, and a few other negative words I can't recall totally. He talked about Jalen being 3 for 8 for 20-something yards in that game and not looking so great.

Now, I think Smith may be a little meaner to one of our boys than most of us would be, but he is right. The issue the others were wanting to talk about was Jalen's comment about communicating. Smith wasn't having any of it. He was like "yep. Communicate with him. Tell him he can't play and the other guy can." He did throw in some Roll Tides in the conversation.

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I saw that segment, and it was pretty rough.......but he made some valid points.

gamersfuel said:

i wish we'd just name the starter..been my feelings for the past couple of months

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This has been my feelings ever since Devonte Smith caught the winning TD pass in January. This is Tua's team now. Not trying to be mean to Jalen, just calling it like I see it. Jalen has my thanks and appreciation for everything he has done, and may still do, for this team.

Re: Alabama QB competition article (ALL QB posts here, please)

Something doesn't make sense here. Let's think about these comments from Jalen:

"No one came up to me the whole spring, coaches included, no one asked me how I felt," he said. "No one asked me what was on my mind. No one asked me how I felt about the things that were going on. Nobody asked me what my future held."

Now let's think about what happened in the spring. Jalen's father made the comments that he did but then Saban decided to meet with his father after practice one day about those comments. What does Jalen think that conversation was about? Can't we assume it was about all the things Jalen now claims nobody asked him about? I'm sure Saban asked his father during the conversation about how Jalen feels and about his future. If Saban knew how Jalen felt based on the conversation with his father wouldn't asking Jalen how he feels be a bit redundant? Maybe Saban thought why bother if his dad made it clear how he felt.

Re: Alabama QB competition article (ALL QB posts here, please)

BamaMoon said:

It could be that and/or (probably "and") that he had his dad as his coach.

Most of us have trouble being objective about ourselves and our family members. That being the case and when you combine that with Jalen's amazing athletic skills that allowed him to compensate for a lack of technical skills, I really wonder if he ever had anybody tell him what he really needed to hear. Is Jalen's daddy so close to the matter that even as a football coach he can't see that Jalen is really not a complete qb in the passing department and, as it currently stands, doesn't have a realistic chance at the NFL?

And it probably didn't help that he arrived in T-town and his competition was such that he immediately was named the starter and, once again, with great physical skills, skated to First-team All-SEC (2016); SEC champion (2016); SEC Offensive Player of the Year (2016); SEC Freshman of the Year (2016). He did all that without really having to face any competition or obstacles related to his weakness as a QB.

Now, reality strikes. His competition is much better. He knows it. Maybe his family now knows it. And the reality a little clearer than ever before.

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Sorry, but Alabama played the most difficult schedule in the history of the sport in 2016. You lost to Clemson on the last play of the game. Let's not pretend that Jalen didn't really do anything. What he did was remarkable. What that entire team did was remarkable. Doesn't make Jalen a better QB than he is, but come on.