QB Competition 2018
- Thread starter ATLBAMAFAN
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I've changed my attitude toward Jalen being the absolute answer since the AU game. But how could Saban yank him any point before now ? He had one loss and that was where he led the game winning drive on his last possession. There was no way he could justify that even if he wanted to. It's possible he has one, but I don't think Saban has a blind spot at all, he is just evaluating and waiting til the right time - if it ever comes. I personally think Tua has good enough running skills, he's much quicker than Jalen, and his reputation is that he has great leadership skills. As far as what we have seen of his performance, the only drawback is that he's a bit of a gunslinger. You know that Saban has been assessing all along and is far more aware of all the parameters than we are.
I think we have reached a sort of spectrum in our discussion and the dilemma the coaching staff faces. On one end you the established starter in Jalen has been conservative and clutch in 95% of his starts. Yet it seems the playbook is well established now on how to neutralize him. Until the IB, you would say he won’t do anything to get you beat. Now that is debatable.
On the other hand you have the super impressive backup who in cameo appearances has shown the ability to carve up defenses like thanksgiving turkey with quick and accurate passing. He is extremely confident in his arm and willingness to throw to a spot. However, if doesn’t see everything in that spot he is at a higher risk right now to give the game to the other team due to his lack of experience. But he may also have growing support from teammates because his skill set gets fellow teammates more involved.
If I am Coach, and I am sure he would do this anyway, I would sit both players down and tell them WE are going to do WHATEVER is necessary to try and win this game. There will be a plan for BOTH of you in this game. Whatever plan is most effective and gives us the best chance to win THIS GAME, we will continue with that plan for the remainder of the game.
Interestingly, I think if I am the coach and win the toss, I would defer to second half and play defense first. Depending on how defense plays against the scripted first possession might dictate which QB I play first but I definitely go in with a plan to play both QBs in the first half. If our defense holds on first possession, I put Jalen in first. However, if the defense gives up an easy score then I have to think about putting Tua in first.
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On the other hand you have the super impressive backup who in cameo appearances has shown the ability to carve up defenses like thanksgiving turkey with quick and accurate passing. He is extremely confident in his arm and willingness to throw to a spot. However, if doesn’t see everything in that spot he is at a higher risk right now to give the game to the other team due to his lack of experience. But he may also have growing support from teammates because his skill set gets fellow teammates more involved.
If I am Coach, and I am sure he would do this anyway, I would sit both players down and tell them WE are going to do WHATEVER is necessary to try and win this game. There will be a plan for BOTH of you in this game. Whatever plan is most effective and gives us the best chance to win THIS GAME, we will continue with that plan for the remainder of the game.
Interestingly, I think if I am the coach and win the toss, I would defer to second half and play defense first. Depending on how defense plays against the scripted first possession might dictate which QB I play first but I definitely go in with a plan to play both QBs in the first half. If our defense holds on first possession, I put Jalen in first. However, if the defense gives up an easy score then I have to think about putting Tua in first.
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Don’t forget Tua never had to come back from a 24-3 deficit on the road against a top 25 team.
I’d rather have Tua when the game is in hand, but we have no idea if he can lead a team from behind on the road in a hostile environment, something Hurts has done more than once.
I’d rather have Tua when the game is in hand, but we have no idea if he can lead a team from behind on the road in a hostile environment, something Hurts has done more than once.
His high school coach knew what he had going for him.
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There was an article on Henry wanting to transfer
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http://www.espn.com/college-footbal...r-derrick-henry-thought-transferring-freshman
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Last year's defense and special teams had an awful lot to do with the Ole Miss comeback.
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Yes, but Jalen got rocked on a dirt hit that caused him to fumble and led to OM points. He responded beautifully.
I do think that the GMac to AJ comparison is somewhat valid. AJ was more talented, but even with broken ribs, GMac went out there. Then again, did AJ come in and save the day against Auburn (not that many quarterbacks could)? Is that a weakness on Saban's part, or just going with the known entity? He does the same things with coordinators, he'd rather have a distracted Smart or Pruitt, than someone who could focus full time on the job, but might have some growing pains.
It is all a calculated risk though, if there is a problem, a known issue, do you just say to heck with it, or do you try to endure for a short period of time and then you can consider consequences down the line? It backfired with Kiffin, but with Smart Alabama squeaked by. How will it work with Pruitt? We don't know, but what we do know is Alabama won a championship with GMac, and if Kiffin had been focused they probably would have won a championship with Hurts.
I'm not in a position to make those choices, but I completely understand why Saban goes with the known entity. Saban has very little margin for error. There's a reason his teams never get blown out, it's because he never takes a risk that would allow that to occur. He could take bigger risks, and we could see bigger rewards, but the results would by necessity be more erratic, both good and bad.
It is all a calculated risk though, if there is a problem, a known issue, do you just say to heck with it, or do you try to endure for a short period of time and then you can consider consequences down the line? It backfired with Kiffin, but with Smart Alabama squeaked by. How will it work with Pruitt? We don't know, but what we do know is Alabama won a championship with GMac, and if Kiffin had been focused they probably would have won a championship with Hurts.
I'm not in a position to make those choices, but I completely understand why Saban goes with the known entity. Saban has very little margin for error. There's a reason his teams never get blown out, it's because he never takes a risk that would allow that to occur. He could take bigger risks, and we could see bigger rewards, but the results would by necessity be more erratic, both good and bad.
I know it's been mentioned before, but one thing that stands out is JH has only 1 INT all year long.
Looks great on the surface, right? Especially from an outsider's view if you are just looking at stats.
But, for those of us who've watched every one of his attempts it's easy to see the reason. Except for a few 50-50 balls he's thrown deep, most of his passes are to wide open guys and there's little to no chance for an INT.
He almost never throws a ball into a traffic or to someone tightly covered. This explains why so many of his drop backs result in the quick look downfield (almost always in the direction of Ridley) and then he takes off. Unless it's a wide open, safe throw, he rarely lets it go.
As other posters have suggested, CNS's tendency to drill into the QB's head that we can't turn the ball over has been accepted to the extreme with JH so much that he won't even try the more difficult passes. I think part of this probably also has to do with a lack of confidence in his accuracy, which we know is an issue, and I'm sure he knows it too.
This is where Tua's abilities would change our passing game.
Yesterday I watched a portion of the Eagles and Rams game. Both Wentz and Goff had several throws that were almost intercepted or were knocked down by the defense. Yet, there was just one INT during this game.
Seems to suggests that any aggressive passing game will have to throw the ball into traffic sometimes.
Looks great on the surface, right? Especially from an outsider's view if you are just looking at stats.
But, for those of us who've watched every one of his attempts it's easy to see the reason. Except for a few 50-50 balls he's thrown deep, most of his passes are to wide open guys and there's little to no chance for an INT.
He almost never throws a ball into a traffic or to someone tightly covered. This explains why so many of his drop backs result in the quick look downfield (almost always in the direction of Ridley) and then he takes off. Unless it's a wide open, safe throw, he rarely lets it go.
As other posters have suggested, CNS's tendency to drill into the QB's head that we can't turn the ball over has been accepted to the extreme with JH so much that he won't even try the more difficult passes. I think part of this probably also has to do with a lack of confidence in his accuracy, which we know is an issue, and I'm sure he knows it too.
This is where Tua's abilities would change our passing game.
Yesterday I watched a portion of the Eagles and Rams game. Both Wentz and Goff had several throws that were almost intercepted or were knocked down by the defense. Yet, there was just one INT during this game.
Seems to suggests that any aggressive passing game will have to throw the ball into traffic sometimes.
"and if Kiffin had been focused they probably would have won a championship with Hurts"
Just as a point of reality. It's pretty difficult to be focused if you weren't allowed to be there.
Just as a point of reality. It's pretty difficult to be focused if you weren't allowed to be there.
So are you saying Kiffin should have been coaching in the NC game last season?
Disagree with the bold part. We averaged 8 YPC against AU and the AU front 7 is on par with the Clemson front 7. I think we'll have a little more success with direct, downhill runs between the tackles than the wide stuff you're talking about. The finesse plays generally don't work against a defense the caliber of Clemson. Have to attack them straight up and hit them in the mouth. If that doesn't work then it doesn't work but we won't beat Clemson by running jet sweeps..
He obviously meant that, if Kiffin had been in decent shape for the semi game and had hung around (not over) in the same shape for the NC game...
I think we showed that against Clemson last year. Bo had 16 carries for 93 yards.
This year Harris had 6 carries for 51 yards averaging 8.5 and Bo had 7.7 yards per carries.
The key to beating Clemson is to not get cute with our players, and let those guys make the plays.
This year Harris had 6 carries for 51 yards averaging 8.5 and Bo had 7.7 yards per carries.
The key to beating Clemson is to not get cute with our players, and let those guys make the plays.
I said between the tackles, but we will see. They have the best defensive line in the game. You can beat them running off tackle, attacking the places where the DEs would have been if they were not so agressive. But if you try to run up the middle on them, prepare for a lot of 3 and outs.
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