BREAKING First scrimmage

4Q Basket Case

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I watched one of the early practice videos. Milroe has really improved as a passer. Simpson looked pretty good as well. Arch Manning or no Arch Manning, we will be fine at QB the next 3 years
Physical talent has never been at issue. I'll be looking for improved decision-making.

As are many young QBs, Milroe was bad to throw into coverage, throw to the long guy, not the open guy, etc. If you're a stud recruit / 4* HS star, you can often get away with that. In the SEC, not so much.

I'm hoping he's been developed and matured out of those habits. We'll have some indication in two weeks.
 
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bamaga

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Physical talent has never been at issue. I'll be looking for improved decision-making.

As are many young QBs, Milroe was bad to throw into coverage, throw to the long guy, not the open guy, etc. If you're a stud recruit / 4* HS star, you can often get away with that. In the SEC, not so much.

I'm hoping he's been developed and matured out of those habits. We'll have some indication in two weeks.
I agree with what you say, but some of his problems were accuracy and touch. That’s the progress I’m addressing. Being a passer instead of a thrower. Of course, we won’t really know until he gets into a game situation. The reads and decision making will come with experience and Dedication to get better.
 

JohnD

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As others have alluded in this thread, what Saban doesn’t say is often more important than what he does say.

I think young Mr. Hall is on his last chance. He was told in no uncertain terms in Saban’s rant at the coaches’ clinic. I have no doubt he was told before that in face-to-face meetings. The message was reinforced yesterday in that new names, including a true freshman, are mentioned with praise, but his is conspicuously absent….no mention whatsoever.

With the benefit of hindsight, it may turn out that last year’s A-Day performance was the worst thing that ever happened to him.

Saban has repeatedly said that the team as a whole has a good attitude, and is responding the right way to what everyone views as last year’s negativity and deficiencies in leadership. Sometimes, you have to be dope-slapped by life before such lessons sink in.

Hall will get with the program, or the program will move on without him. His choice. I sincerely hope he changes, because right this second, he’s taking up a scholarship, contributing almost nothing, and is perpetually in the dog house.

On another note, Saban’s comments on the OL struck me as telling, especially in comparison with the overall positivity of his review of the first scrimmage. We have a long way to go on the offensive front.

Also, it was great to see Sanders’ stats, especially given the damning faint praise of the OL.

From what I’ve been able to cobble together from various sources, his injury from the car wreck was similar to Tua’s. Assuming that’s an accurate assessment, I always expected a two-year recovery period, and was honestly surprised at his ability to contribute as much as he did in 2021. Sanders showed huge heart and mental toughness last year, though you could tell his body just wasn’t fully cooperating yet — significantly slower than pre-injury, and nowhere in the galaxy of his previous explosiveness.

With another two weeks of spring ball, a summer of rehab, and fall camp before the 2022 season, I’m hopeful he’ll be truly back — if anybody deserves a run of good luck, it’s Trey Sanders.
Keep in mind this is spring practice, so take everything with a grain of salt. And it was only the first scrimmage. Also:
*Hall was apparently not in the scrimmage.
*And stats in these spring scrimmages don't mean a whole lot.
*Coaches complement players for doing a great job all the time, but it does not mean they will be the front line players.
 
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JustNeedMe81

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JohnD has a point. Someone on twitter (TDAlabama) said Milroe won the 2nd spot. he even tagged Milroe in that post.I responded by doing what?

Touchdown Alabama on Twitter: "Jalen Milroe appears to be locking up QB2 role. https://t.co/PicdBSgU8e" / Twitter

This is the kind of stuff players don't need to hear at this point. It's spring camp. Nothing is won in spring camp. The real battle begins in Fall camp. If you read the comment, someone thought Milroe was #2 last year. LOL! Milroe and Simpson got long way to go, and they just need to focus on their development, not what social media is saying. I wouldn't be shocked to see Milroe and Simpson get in some actions this fall.

On Hall: 4Q nailed it. Hall was just allowed to be on the field and he was running with 3's the last few days. Before that, he was sitting on sideline watching practice. He has long way to go... His issue is within himself. He needs to be humble and be appreciative that he is getting a chance to play for a well-respected program. If he transfer after the spring, it is likely that we won't hear much of him on national level. Not many players who transfers out usually have success with other team. At this point, I would say I expect Hall to transfer out of Alabama before August, if he can't get his issue together. It's not too late, but it's a long climb for him to get back to where he wants to be and it's going to be hard. We'll know more about him between now and send scrimmage... if he's not playing in scrimmage #2, then it's a wrap.

On OL: I want to point out something about OL. The OL is further along at this point than they were last year. They are making progress and improving much better. Communication and understanding protection is something they have worked hard on this spring. now, if we get a certain transfer for that OL spot, It'll make the OL much better. FYI, I don't think we've heard much about OL this spring, who's practing at what spot.

WRs: So many options. Many played well, but main issue remains: dropped passes. This WR group is young, but I expect someone to step up between now and then. I wouldn't be shocked to see us using 4 or 5 WRs package... Mixing in 4th or 5th WR and TE... Lot of speed on the team.

DL/LB: We're going to be good at that spot. Lot of healthy options. I'm excited to see who steps up. I would love to see rotation system at DL, to keep them fresh. LB: It was smart for coaches to keep Will out. They know what he can do. They will try and protect him as much as they can for spring, summer and fall. Doubt he'll play in scrimmage game.

CB: I'm little concerned about them, they got exposed several times.. but they will learn from it and get better as time goes along.

For Scrimmage 2: I want to hear more consistency from WRs on catching the ball, Better protections and see if Young is making better adjustments.
 

PA Tide Fan

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JohnD has a point. Someone on twitter (TDAlabama) said Milroe won the 2nd spot. he even tagged Milroe in that post.I responded by doing what?

Touchdown Alabama on Twitter: "Jalen Milroe appears to be locking up QB2 role. https://t.co/PicdBSgU8e" / Twitter

This is the kind of stuff players don't need to hear at this point. It's spring camp. Nothing is won in spring camp. The real battle begins in Fall camp. If you read the comment, someone thought Milroe was #2 last year. LOL! Milroe and Simpson got long way to go, and they just need to focus on their development, not what social media is saying. I wouldn't be shocked to see Milroe and Simpson get in some actions this fall.
You're right that nothing is locked up, but based on Saban's comments I can understand how someone might think that. He had praise for Milroe but saying "things seem a little fast" for Simpson sounds like he's saying in a kinder gentler way that Simpson has a lot to learn. I think the gap between them is substantial right now.

I haven't seen the game(s) Milroe played in mop up duty but the only knock I read about him was in scouting reports when he was in HS that showed his ball security was below average, especially when on the run. We can't have that from our QB without it costing us sometime but maybe they've worked with him on that and hopefully he has improved.
 
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BamaBuc

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First scrimmage in the books. Just saw some comments from Saban. When he spoke about wide outs he mentioned Burton had a good day and Anderson had a couple nice runs after catch.. I think Burton is going to be a great addition this fall for us. He also mentioned several drops. Sanders and Gibbs both had 10/12 carries Sanders had like 75 yards and Gibbs around 55. Young has a nice day but drops were mentioned again. Milroe looked decent with the first team. Simpson still learning. Sounds like he was pretty pleased for the most part. I know usually little tidbits get leaked out so hoping they will get posted here.
The only thing you didn't mention may have been the most important, he said the O-LINE had to get better!
 
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JustNeedMe81

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You're right that nothing is locked up, but based on Saban's comments I can understand how someone might think that. He had praise for Milroe but saying "things seem a little fast" for Simpson sounds like he's saying in a kinder gentler way that Simpson has a lot to learn. I think the gap between them is substantial right now.

I haven't seen the game(s) Milroe played in mop up duty but the only knock I read about him was in scouting reports when he was in HS that showed his ball security was below average, especially when on the run. We can't have that from our QB without it costing us sometime but maybe they've worked with him on that and hopefully he has improved.
It's spring. Simpson just joined the team in December. Of course Milroe is ahead. We all can see that. Come back in Fall camp, and see where Simpson is.
 

Blindside17

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The only thing you didn't mention may have been the most important, he said the O-LINE had to get better!
Very true I think we all know that's a given! In their defense though they are missing several players. So no time to gel as a unit which is crucial as we all know. I personally think that the Oline will come together nicely before we take the field in the fall.
 

Ole Man Dan

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JohnD has a point. Someone on twitter (TDAlabama) said Milroe won the 2nd spot. he even tagged Milroe in that post.I responded by doing what?

Touchdown Alabama on Twitter: "Jalen Milroe appears to be locking up QB2 role. https://t.co/PicdBSgU8e" / Twitter

This is the kind of stuff players don't need to hear at this point. It's spring camp. Nothing is won in spring camp. The real battle begins in Fall camp. If you read the comment, someone thought Milroe was #2 last year. LOL! Milroe and Simpson got long way to go, and they just need to focus on their development, not what social media is saying. I wouldn't be shocked to see Milroe and Simpson get in some actions this fall.

On Hall: 4Q nailed it. Hall was just allowed to be on the field and he was running with 3's the last few days. Before that, he was sitting on sideline watching practice. He has long way to go... His issue is within himself. He needs to be humble and be appreciative that he is getting a chance to play for a well-respected program. If he transfer after the spring, it is likely that we won't hear much of him on national level. Not many players who transfers out usually have success with other team. At this point, I would say I expect Hall to transfer out of Alabama before August, if he can't get his issue together. It's not too late, but it's a long climb for him to get back to where he wants to be and it's going to be hard. We'll know more about him between now and send scrimmage... if he's not playing in scrimmage #2, then it's a wrap.

On OL: I want to point out something about OL. The OL is further along at this point than they were last year. They are making progress and improving much better. Communication and understanding protection is something they have worked hard on this spring. now, if we get a certain transfer for that OL spot, It'll make the OL much better. FYI, I don't think we've heard much about OL this spring, who's practing at what spot.

WRs: So many options. Many played well, but main issue remains: dropped passes. This WR group is young, but I expect someone to step up between now and then. I wouldn't be shocked to see us using 4 or 5 WRs package... Mixing in 4th or 5th WR and TE... Lot of speed on the team.

DL/LB: We're going to be good at that spot. Lot of healthy options. I'm excited to see who steps up. I would love to see rotation system at DL, to keep them fresh. LB: It was smart for coaches to keep Will out. They know what he can do. They will try and protect him as much as they can for spring, summer and fall. Doubt he'll play in scrimmage game.

CB: I'm little concerned about them, they got exposed several times.. but they will learn from it and get better as time goes along.

For Scrimmage 2: I want to hear more consistency from WRs on catching the ball, Better protections and see if Young is making better adjustments.
We would have had a different ending to last season if the WRs didn't have slippery fingers.
We would have had a few more completions out of BY if the OL had given him time to go thru progressions.
 

JohnD

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JohnD has a point. Someone on twitter (TDAlabama) said Milroe won the 2nd spot. he even tagged Milroe in that post.I responded by doing what?

Touchdown Alabama on Twitter: "Jalen Milroe appears to be locking up QB2 role. https://t.co/PicdBSgU8e" / Twitter

This is the kind of stuff players don't need to hear at this point. It's spring camp. Nothing is won in spring camp. The real battle begins in Fall camp. If you read the comment, someone thought Milroe was #2 last year. LOL! Milroe and Simpson got long way to go, and they just need to focus on their development, not what social media is saying. I wouldn't be shocked to see Milroe and Simpson get in some actions this fall.
Totally agree. Same source said Ben Davis would start going into fall camp 2020.
It's best to let it play out.
 

JustNeedMe81

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Some very shifty moves by the WR.
Watching the video, He reminds me of Waddle and Maze a little. Kid is good. Very natural. Let's see how he does down the road. If he continues this all the way to Fall camp, He is locked to see playing time.
The way It looks as of right now.... If game were played and no injuries...
WR-x- Burton/Anderson
WR-z- Brooks/Holden
WR-H- Earle/Leary <- This is the spot that's wide open. Not sure if Earle is locked to start this fall.

Wild Card who could see significant playing time: Kendrick Law and Shazz Preston. Especially if they use 4th WR on the field...



I think they will bring him in slowly and get him some playing experience and use him like Waddle and Earle... their first year. Same for Anderson. I think we'll see a better rotation system at WR, which is good for us.

If Hall and Jones-Bell transfer, I anticipate they will try and bring in a experienced Graduate WR transfer.
 

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