Transfer Portal 2023-2024...

[Cruloc]

I’m guessing the team wasn’t 100% behind Milroe at the end of the season.

Seems the realization of the limitations was coming home to roost.

 

[BamaMoon]

If the offensive brain trust, which starts with CNS as the executive, can't see how our offense was limited (passing and running) because of the limitations with QB AND they are not willing to address it, the system is broken in T-town. It's just that simple!

 

[colbysullivan]

My feeelings on the Milroe-Simpson debate were…public…to say the least. I would love nothing more than for Ty to be QB1 next year. I am dreading the thought of him going somewhere like LSU…

 

[CrimsonEyeshade]

The case of Seth M.'s snapping issues is just baffling.

For a player with his experience, it's just bizarre.

I mean, the snapping motion from center to QB is a pretty simple, repeatable process. In a given year, most centers probably don't have more than a handful of errant snaps. But SM's were just wildly erratic from the velocity to the aim it was just awful.

Somebody compared it to the yips. Had to be something like that because as bad as the OL play has been, there's no way this wasn't worked on in practices.

Steve Sax. Steve Blass. Rick Ankiel. Professional golfers galore. It happens more than we like to think.

 

[CrimsonEyeshade]

My feeelings on the Milroe-Simpson debate were…public…to say the least. I would love nothing more than for Ty to be QB1 next year. I am dreading the thought of him going somewhere like LSU…

An interesting question to consider: Will TS still be the top-ranked contender after spring practice?

 

[DrollTide]

You wonder what’s going on behind the scenes. I believe Saban is meeting with all the players today. Typical end of season stuff. Some guys may be finding out their place in the pecking order of things and not liking where they are.
McLaughlin does puzzle me, started 2 years for Bama. Part of me feels like he’s probably had some really nasty things said to him in the last 24 hours from idiot fans.

Fans can say nasty things but I doubt that has anything to do with this. You know your own record, and you can be told by the coaches that you are a great guy and they want you (all of which is probably true) but that you'll be competing for your starting position like everyone else. Informally, you can receive the message that the coaches gave this bad snap issue the whole season to resolve, but meanwhile other players develop, and the downside (which all players have) has become too significant to accept compared to alternatives.

 

[DrollTide]

Biggest transfer portal news of the day is the non entry…Ty Simpson will be QB1 next year.

You could easily be right and I'm there with you. But the bigger news is how quickly we are ready to move on from Milroe, who voted 6th in the Heisman and now has a lot of starts. All QBs will improve over the offseason, Milroe is not going to stand still. Saban prizes experience - my expectation is that Milroe will start next year.

 

[Tidelines]

You could easily be right and I'm there with you. But the bigger news is how quickly we are ready to move on from Milroe, who voted 6th in the Heisman and now has a lot of starts. All QBs will improve over the offseason, Milroe is not going to stand still. Saban prizes experience - my expectation is that Milroe will start next year.

If Milroe does improve it will be a big win for Alabama. We are all for that. But the door has to be open for competition.

 

[jabcmb]

I see Liberty’s QB is hitting the portal. Probably Auburn bound?

 

[CB4]

You could easily be right and I'm there with you. But the bigger news is how quickly we are ready to move on from Milroe, who voted 6th in the Heisman and now has a lot of starts. All QBs will improve over the offseason, Milroe is not going to stand still. Saban prizes experience - my expectation is that Milroe will start next year.

If you look at CNS’s history, someone will need to be “head and shoulders” above JM before he makes a change whether we are talking Simpson, Lonergan or Sayin.

Funny thing is that CNS doesn’t have issues with replacing starters or playing “the younger guy” ahead of the upperclassman, except when it comes to the QB position.

 

[dayhiker]

Unnecessary comment.

Agreed. I was back and forth on whether to delete it.

 

[BamaMoon]

You could easily be right and I'm there with you. But the bigger news is how quickly we are ready to move on from Milroe, who voted 6th in the Heisman and now has a lot of starts. All QBs will improve over the offseason, Milroe is not going to stand still. Saban prizes experience - my expectation is that Milroe will start next year.

I don't think there's a Bama fan out there (well maybe a handful) that wouldn't like to see an experienced but IMPROVED JM at QB again next year. But the emphasis has to be on "improved."

The reason some are ready to move on is that the areas of improvement are so multiple and complex that some believe it's just more than he could ever fix in one offseason. And, speaking of experience, he's going to be redshirt Jr. I believe and this will be 4 years into the program and yet he's struggling to do basic, fundamental QB skills that frankly all the other QBs already understand more than he does.

There's one reason why JM won the position last year: his legs and his long ball. Teams figured that out eventually.

So Jalen has to be challenged to be a pro and really make up a lot of ground and be a QB who is equally dual threat at passing and running.

 

[landonew]

Fans can say nasty things but I doubt that has anything to do with this. You know your own record, and you can be told by the coaches that you are a great guy and they want you (all of which is probably true) but that you'll be competing for your starting position like everyone else. Informally, you can receive the message that the coaches gave this bad snap issue the whole season to resolve, but meanwhile other players develop, and the downside (which all players have) has become too significant to accept compared to alternatives.

I don't think SM transferred because of anything a fan might have said. SM was advised to transfer for his own benefit. He needs to move to guard and he's not big enough to play guard for Alabama.

 

[Tideflyer]

Jalen`s a terrific athlete. But he has weaknesses as a QB. I think most, if not all of us, can agree on that. His ability ( or lack thereof ) to scan the field and go through progressions to find an open receiver other than the primary is well documented. I don`t know enough about coaching and related techniques to know how you practice those specific critical skills. Of course, going through progressions requires something more than roller coaster O line play as well.
To be fair, it must be a distraction to know that you have to first secure the snap, not knowing where it will be on any one play. That`s got to put you behind the 8-ball concentration wise from the git-go.

 

[crimsonaudio]

Agreed. I was back and forth on whether to delete it.

Well, you saw it before I did - there was no debate in my mind. I've suspended him.

ATTENTION: as per TF rules, one can be critical of a player without making it personal. That is NOT allowed here and it will NOT be tolerated. Calling a player garbage or similar is a sure-fire way to earn a vacation - this is how it's always been here and that will not change.

Don't like that policy? We don't care.

 

[BamaMoon]

One other thing @DrollTide: To illustrate the complexity of the issue with JM at QB, it's documented now that CTR took the "run read" away on the RPO this year.

Jalen couldn't even make the most basic read on whether he should keep if the end crashed down on the RB or if he should give if he didn't. This one think limited the offense in so many instances because CTR was "guessing" what the offense might do instead of Jalen reading it. There were so many times when if Jalen would have read and kept he'd scored many more TDs. Ironically, the thing that won him the job even became a liability as the season wore on.

Don't know how many heard AJM on a podcast yesterday, but he challenged JM to understand he's not a passer and to accept he's a runner. He didn't mean Jalen can't pass, but that Jalen should embrace he's a threat to run and be willing to do it. This can only happen if he learns the basic RPO read.

This is just the first thing on a long list of things he's got to improve at. The concern is that he may just not have the innate ability to "see" things the way some players naturally do. Trent Richardson didn't make it in the NFL because he couldn't see holes that you could drive a truck through. It doesn't mean Jalen or Trent are not "smart," it's just something they can't do.

 

[BamaMoon]

Jalen`s a terrific athlete. But he has weaknesses as a QB. I think most, if not all of us, can agree on that. His ability ( or lack thereof ) to scan the field and go through progressions to find an open receiver other than the primary is well documented. I don`t know enough about coaching and related techniques to know how you practice those specific critical skills. Of course, going through progressions requires something more than roller coaster O line play as well.
To be fair, it must be a distraction to know that you have to first secure the snap, not knowing where it will be on any one play. That`s got to put you behind the 8-ball concentration wise from the git-go.

Jalen was the slowest QB in FBS at getting his pass off. Slowest of all of them!!!

There were times the OL just whiffed and he got sacked. It happens to all QBs, even those who get the ball out fast!

But there were so many other times he just wanted to stand back and wait until there was a sure, wide open receiver before he'd throw it. That pretty much explains his high completion rate for the year. He's not willing to throw until it's a sure thing. If it's not, he gets sacked or he runs.

 

[gtgilbert]

I don't think there's a Bama fan out there (well maybe a handful) that wouldn't like to see an experienced but IMPROVED JM at QB again next year. But the emphasis has to be on "improved."

The reason some are ready to move on is that the areas of improvement are so multiple and complex that some believe it's just more than he could ever fix in one offseason. And, speaking of experience, he's going to be redshirt Jr. I believe and this will be 4 years into the program and yet he's struggling to do basic, fundamental QB skills that frankly all the other QBs already understand more than he does.

There's one reason why JM won the position last year: his legs and his long ball. Teams figured that out eventually.

So Jalen has to be challenged to be a pro and really make up a lot of ground and be a QB who is equally dual threat at passing and running.

This, exactly. He's been on a college campus 30 months now. JM had 2 full years before starting to watch film, learn d formations, etc. That is all off field stuff that in no way requires playing time to learn. He had 2 years of time to work on his ability to throw timing routes with the right anticipation. Again, doesn't require PT to work on this. He's apparently had a QB coach for several years, yet bad footwork and mechanics are still impacting his accuracy. he doesn't appear to be able to quickly process information for on field reads, hence no RPO or true zone read options to take advantage of his potential as a runner.

I'd love nothing more than to be proven wrong, but thinking that someone who hasn't really shown much, if any, improvement across all those areas in 30 months with the program, will fix all that in the 7 months before we start next season just doesn't seem likely.

 

[NoNC4Tubs]

One other thing @DrollTide: To illustrate the complexity of the issue with JM at QB, it's documented now that CTR took the "run read" away on the RPO this year.

Jalen couldn't even make the most basic read on whether he should keep if the end crashed down on the RB or if he should give if he didn't. This one think limited the offense in so many instances because CTR was "guessing" what the offense might do instead of Jalen reading it. There were so many times when if Jalen would have read and kept he'd scored many more TDs. Ironically, the thing that won him the job even became a liability as the season wore on.

Don't know how many heard AJM on a podcast yesterday, but he challenged JM to understand he's not a passer and to accept he's a runner. He didn't mean Jalen can't pass, but that Jalen should embrace he's a threat to run and be willing to do it. This can only happen if he learns the basic RPO read.

This is just the first thing on a long list of things he's got to improve at. The concern is that he may just not have the innate ability to "see" things the way some players naturally do. Trent Richardson didn't make it in the NFL because he couldn't see holes that you could drive a truck through. It doesn't mean Jalen or Trent are not "smart," it's just something they can't do.

I think you nailed it right there.

It's called "Field Vision" and JM does NOT have it. (Obviously Trent didn't either.) It is not something that can be learned. You either have it...or you don't.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

You could easily be right and I'm there with you. But the bigger news is how quickly we are ready to move on from Milroe, who voted 6th in the Heisman and now has a lot of starts. All QBs will improve over the offseason, Milroe is not going to stand still. Saban prizes experience - my expectation is that Milroe will start next year.

I think less than a handful of posters are "ready to move on" from JM compared to the rest just having an open discussion of reflection on the 2023 season as we look into the 2024 season. If JM can really improve aka "fix" the blindspots he has that are causing issues then I'm certain no one wants him sitting the bench if he truly is the best option. But if by the end of spring and summer he isn't the best option, then so be it. It's sports, not a support group for one's self esteem. The best guy needs to play.