It is a situation which is unique to his regime here, that's for sure. Never before has he let himself and the team become so QB-dependent. This is a man who's won NCs with a McElroy and a Coker. I don't think he wanted to happen. It was one of those things that happened. Last year, he didn't have a choice. You can make an argument he didn't have a choice earlier this season. Now, he has a choice....
I have the numbers in front of me. The more QB-dependent the team became the worse the results got... I just do believe that they should be able to dial that back, but then again I'm not sure it matters since the committee might screw over Alabama.
This is it in a nutshell. I do think Hurts thought he had to, and Kiffin has to be partly to blame for that. Hurts has less faith in the play calling than he should have, and he's been let down before. But he has to regain faith in those around him.
Easy - the head coach tells him to trust his coaches and the other players and run the plays called. Do not allow him to change out of a play, and stop with the RPOs. No more reads on run plays. He hands the ball off and gets out of the way like a QB is supposed to do. If he won't do it, bench him.
First, I think you have to hope the problem is him taking "rat poison" because after last game he should have learned his lesson. I fear, and I had this fear throughout the season that it's more ingrained in either the play calling or his habits. I said before something about insubordination, well a few times actually, but I hoped for a while that he would be told in no uncertain terms that he's to get the ball out of his hands. Might it be too late? That's a valid question, but I don't think so. Alabama has bounced back from bad games before.
There's no question in my mind. He's been asked to do too much, and in some circumstances at least make something out of nothing. Now he has something but he still seems to feel like he has to make something by himself. It's a thin line though because the Miss. State game is as good an example of any, where he was asked to go out and make big plays and he did. But the best possible scenario would be not to ask him to do that.
Well if it's a bowl game, I guess he can do what ever the heck he wants. If it's a championship game I think he has to put Hurts out there, but perhaps with more of a leash. It certainly wouldn't be the first time they restricted a quarterback (they won a championship with a guy who had broken ribs). I think Saban will have plenty of time in the offseason to really ponder the direction of the team. Good thing he has tons of talent, so that won't be an issue for quite some time.
No one suggested that Saban was unaware - not sure where that came from. The question is - what will he change to address it.
Good example - Greg only threw 11 passes in that game. He was averaging 26 passes per game leading up to that game. You had to adapt your offense, and you prevailed.
I'm sure some playmakers are unhappy because of the lack of touches. I really don't see how this could be a problem with the entire locker room, or how Hurts could lose the confidence of the locker room (unless there is just a ton of behind the scenes stuff we're all unaware of). I mean unless Hurts is just the biggest jerk there is, it is hard to imagine him finding a way to get the team to turn on him. A couple RBs and WRs? Sure, but what would anyone else have against him? The whole story thus far has been his leadership and calm, unless that narrative has been false, or there's some locker room cancer, he shouldn't have lost the locker room. Remember, he has the second best winning percentage of any Saban quarterback, so it isn't as though the team is going to turn on him because he hasn't won enough games.
