I started this thread because several complaints have been lodged against Coach Saban over time for not playing Tua in the 2017 AU game. I'm not contending that they are necessarily wrong but wanted to make the case that CNS made a, IMO the only, reasonable choice in starting and finishing with Jalen. In hindsight, seeing that Bama lost and what Tua did vs UGA (though it was after much more practice), it is easy to say that Tua would have lead Bama to a victory. IMO, that is a reasonable. But consider the following leading up to the game:
Though it was clear that Jalen's passing game was still very limited, he seemed to have made a little progress but more importantly he had still personally always responded when when Bama was challenged - and he was 23-1. (IMO, CNS was probably not even seriously considering Tua at this time. Though most, certainly including CNS, could see he was a special talent, it was reasonable to think that he needed more seasoning to unseat a very successful starter. I.e., the real QB competition would start in Spring 2018.)
In the AU game itself, though Jalen and the offense had performed poorly, Bama was still ahead by 1 with ~3 min left in the 3rd qtr (the way you hear it now it's as if AU blew Bama out). After AU took the lead, Bama moved to the AU 12 (greatly aided by KO return), 30, 30, 3 (last play of game). The point being that Bama's offense while failing overall, it did not disappear but moved into scoring position every possession after falling behind.
In summary: considering all of those factors, how can anyone fault CNS for starting and finishing with Jalen at QB in that game? Not that an argument, IMO a very tough one, cannot be made for Tua, but how do you not start and finish with Jalen in that game? Though he had his limitations and was supported by a great team, he had always successfully responded when Bama was challenged (at least 8 previous times). This was his biggest selling point. And even in the AU game Bama responded offensively, though ultimately unsuccessfully and even embarrassingly a couple of times. After the AU loss, where Jalen lost his aura of invincibility and Tua had great post season practice, CNS knew that Tua might be needed and had him ready for Clemson.
- Jalen was 23-1 at the time with the one loss concluding with Jalen leading a potential NC winning TD drive on his last possession.
- One of Jalen's best qualities was that despite his limitations he had always responded when Bama had been challenged: 2016 OM, UT, A&M, MSU, Clemson, even FSU earlier in 2018 when they scored and Jalen immediately hit Ridley to put Bama back on top. So, he had done this numerous times.
- Though in 2017 from A&M forward the offense had lost its dominance attributable in large part to Jalen's passing game limitations but he had still always successfully responded when needed and had seemed to take some small steps forward in the passing game. The following were the 2 P5 games prior to AU:
- LSU: though the overall stats looked bad, Jalen threw the ball well overall and made several big passing plays, including one shocker where he converted a 3rd down through 2 or 3 defenders in a very tight window to Cam Sims. Part of the reason for the bad stats (something like 11-24 184) was several drops and multiple legitimate throwaways.
- MSU: Jalen made several big passing plays leading the team to 2 4th qtr TDs to win the game.
Though it was clear that Jalen's passing game was still very limited, he seemed to have made a little progress but more importantly he had still personally always responded when when Bama was challenged - and he was 23-1. (IMO, CNS was probably not even seriously considering Tua at this time. Though most, certainly including CNS, could see he was a special talent, it was reasonable to think that he needed more seasoning to unseat a very successful starter. I.e., the real QB competition would start in Spring 2018.)
In the AU game itself, though Jalen and the offense had performed poorly, Bama was still ahead by 1 with ~3 min left in the 3rd qtr (the way you hear it now it's as if AU blew Bama out). After AU took the lead, Bama moved to the AU 12 (greatly aided by KO return), 30, 30, 3 (last play of game). The point being that Bama's offense while failing overall, it did not disappear but moved into scoring position every possession after falling behind.
In summary: considering all of those factors, how can anyone fault CNS for starting and finishing with Jalen at QB in that game? Not that an argument, IMO a very tough one, cannot be made for Tua, but how do you not start and finish with Jalen in that game? Though he had his limitations and was supported by a great team, he had always successfully responded when Bama was challenged (at least 8 previous times). This was his biggest selling point. And even in the AU game Bama responded offensively, though ultimately unsuccessfully and even embarrassingly a couple of times. After the AU loss, where Jalen lost his aura of invincibility and Tua had great post season practice, CNS knew that Tua might be needed and had him ready for Clemson.