Questions About McElroy

[superbamashane]

I was just wondering how accurate his arm was...I haven't seen enough of him to decide. JPW was an awesome leader and a pretty good qb, but we lost probably 70-80 points last year because he had a tendancy to overthrow the (wide open)deep ball. Just wondering if GM was an improvement, or will we have more of the same?

 

[CHATTBRIT]

I don't know the answer to your question but from the little I've seen McElroy, I am confident he will be an effective QB for the Tide. While he doesn't have the game management skills exhibited by JPW as yet, I think he is the better QB.

What a way to start his Alabama career -- QB against VT in the first game of the season.

 

[bayoutider]

I don't know if the question is answerable at this time. We can go back over his HS performance in Texas and how he looked at Alabama in a few mop up snaps or how he looked in scrimmage and none of it would have any real meaningful weight on an answer.

 

[GrayTide]

I don't know the answer to your question but from the little I've seen McElroy, I am confident he will be an effective QB for the Tide. While he doesn't have the game management skills exhibited by JPW as yet, I think he is the better QB.

What a way to start his Alabama career -- QB against VT in the first game of the season.

Exactly, kind of difficult to tell since he lacks any significant game experience, but as I have said before IMO he will be a more efficient QB than JPW. He will be only as good as the OL, that will be the true measuring stick.

 

[bayoutider]

Exactly, kind of difficult to tell since he lacks any significant game experience, but as I have said before IMO he will be a more efficient QB than JPW. He will be only as good as the OL, that will be the true measuring stick.

I might go farther than the OL to say GM will be as good as those around him. Trent Richardson ran up a lot of yards behind a pitiful OL plus he has Julio. This could be an interesting season.

 

[Alasippi]

Second team All-SEC.

 

[buzzincuzzin]

I haven't seen or read much about him I don't like. As a human and a football player.

 

[bayoutider]

Perhaps I won't get skinned alive for sharing some of this info I got today about the pass skel.

Earl Alexander is doing great and was told no DB wants to cover him, he is that physical. His hands are better and he has been working out more.

Hanks is the best route runner right now and Maze is a game breaker. McElroy doesn't have the arm strength that JPW had, but he places the ball in better locations for the receivers and he checks down great. So far in skel, he doesn't lock down on one receiver, but he does like throwing to McCoy, no matter how many times McCoy drops it. Do it till you do it right. Star and Darrah still having trouble checking down.

Good news is the DBs are very impressed with McCarron who is by far the best pure passer on the team and he studies the playbook at least 2 hours daily. Take that for what it's worth.

Defense is going to be hell to play against. The Dline is big, fast and depth is not an issue this season. Heard the mean streak has come out in them that no one will want to go against.

That's about all of interest for now.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Nothing there I'd disagree with...

 

[RT3413]

McElroy doesn't have the arm strength that JPW had, but he places the ball in better locations for the receivers and he checks down great.

If GM can check down, not throw off his back foot under pressure and know when to throw it away he'll have a great season. The last item is the hardest for QB's without much game experience to pick up and it's going to be key this year unless our OL matures quickly. He doesn't have the foot speed that JPW had but has a much more accurate deep ball and should know the offense even better....

I have high hopes. As long as we can effectively block to give him 3-4 seconds to release he should be amongst the best passers in the SEC. Our receivers are far better than anyone outside the program gives them credit... with JJ being a double-covered first-look I can see lots of opportunity for Alexander, Hanks and Maze to get some balls thrown their way.

It's a long 81 days to go...

 

[TIDE-HSV]

In pass skels, the receivers like where he's placing the ball. We've all seen his touch on the long ball. He can have a very good year without having quite the arm strength JPW had...

 

[BigEasyTider]

I'm afraid you are asking the inherently unknown. McElroy does seemingly have pretty good accuracy, and nice touch on the deep balls (despite lacking a great deal of raw arm strength). In terms of touch and accuracy, I think most would probably say McElroy is slightly better than Wilson.

On the other hand, though, who really knows at this point? McElroy has given us some positive glimpses in practice, but who knows what will happen come game time. Furthermore, even if McElroy is better in this area, that does not necessarily mean he will be better in others.

We'll just have to see how it plays out. Trying to come up with a definitive answer now is more of an educated guess than anything else.

 

[CrimsonSEC]

I have fewer questions about his arm, than I do about his pocket presence and his legs. All will be answered in due course though.

 

[TommyMac]

I think he's gonna be just fine. He was faced with a similar situation his senior year in HS at South Lake Carroll where he inherited the starting position from Chase Daniel. He responded with a record breaking season and led SLC to the Texas big school championship.

Yeah, I know there's a big difference between HS and the SEC, especially in the speed of the game, but it's not like he's being thrown out there directly from HS. He's had 3 years to adjust and he's been working against probably the best D he'll see all year. Besides, Coach Mac has a rep for being quite a QB guru and he seems to think highly of GMac.

I'm not even all that concerned about the O-line either. They're also being honed against the best defense they're likely to see all season. I just don't think our offense is going to be as big of a ? as many think. VaTech will be a stern test right out of the blocks, so we'll have a good idea right away. :BigA::BigA::BigA:

 

[AllAboutBAMA]

One thing to remember about McElroy is that he is really intelligent. I was super impressed with his interviews during Spring practices leading up to A-day. He has a 3.9 GPA. I think his intelligence will allow him to make smart decisions on the field plus he already has earned respect from the players as they seem to have faith in his ability to lead the team. I just think he might be a great suprise and relief to many fans that see the QB position as one of concern. I just hope he stays healthy. The backup situation concerns me more. Glad to hear that A.J. is progressing though.

 

[CapstoneTider]

One thing to remember about McElroy is that he is really intelligent. I was super impressed with his interviews during Spring practices leading up to A-day. He has a 3.9 GPA.

I remember reading that some of the players, the Shula Bunch , didn't know what to make of GMac his frosh and soph years, because all he supposedly talked about was advance math or something to the effect. So he was pegged the nerd of the class, and laughed at I believe. He probably started out with a small, but close group of friends and stayed true to himself and the mentality of the team changed around him, better suiting his personality. Also the maturity from a Freshman to a senior should be tremendous mentally and physically.

He seems to not be the type to let small setbacks unnerve him. If so, he might have transferred when many external aspects pointed that way. Things looked bleak for Greg a couple of seasons ago, and I really thought he was heading back to Texas. He was getting it from a lot of directions. Word was that Nick Fanuzzi was the stud of the bunch and Greg would never see the field, he was to weak and a geak . And then the transfer rumors started that continued over the summer. I'm not even sure how serious those were but I do know that Good things happen to those that wait!

His starting this year is probably #1 on my anticipation chart for the season.

With the machine that Coach Saban is building, any SEC caliber QB with a few years in the system should be capable of a championship run IMO. We have burned so many QB's the past 15 years with bad coaching that it's probably good for a few of those in-state QB prospects that those coaches didn't have an eye for talent either.

Tidebit : How many years did GMac carry the clipboard? And was he always the #2 QB at those times?

 

[Power Eye]

One aspect of McElroy's game that I will be interested to see is how he does when flushed out of the pocket. Wilson didn't make alot of mistakes when he had to move, but you can probably count on one hand the number of completions he made on the run.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Well, I hope there won't be as much "flushing" with Mac. So far, it looks like he's going to be better at checking down than JPW. The receivers say that he throws a very "catchable" ball - sort of the opposite of, say, Freddie Kitchens...

 

[mlh]

I think all concerns about GMac's abilities will be gone after the 3rd game. Then the only concerns will be what happens if he should get injured.

 

[BamaMoon]

Perhaps I won't get skinned alive for sharing some of this info I got today about the pass skel.

Earl Alexander is doing great and was told no DB wants to cover him, he is that physical. His hands are better and he has been working out more.

Hanks is the best route runner right now and Maze is a game breaker. McElroy doesn't have the arm strength that JPW had, but he places the ball in better locations for the receivers and he checks down great. So far in skel, he doesn't lock down on one receiver, but he does like throwing to McCoy, no matter how many times McCoy drops it. Do it till you do it right. Star and Darrah still having trouble checking down.

Good news is the DBs are very impressed with McCarron who is by far the best pure passer on the team and he studies the playbook at least 2 hours daily. Take that for what it's worth.

Defense is going to be hell to play against. The Dline is big, fast and depth is not an issue this season. Heard the mean streak has come out in them that no one will want to go against.

That's about all of interest for now.

That is the most refreshing post I've read on TF in months (just because it is actually about some real action). Man, that get's me in the mood for practice to start in just about 6 weeks or so! But there was no mention of JJ??? Can't believe he wouldn't be any qbs dream since he catches everything within fingernail reach! Glad to hear that about EA. He's been one I've been waiting to come into his own and reach his enormous potential. Also it is great to hear about AJM. I can't wait to see how he develops and Star too! And I hope Maze has increased his ability to catch the ball that hits him in the numbers cause we know he can make the circus catch. Wow! This season is going to be fun!!! Thanks for this post!!!