About John Parker Wilson..........

[Crimson Hawk]

I'm gonna expose myself to some fire here, but I don't think JPW gets enough credit for the good things he does on the field. One good example is the run for a first down, in the fourth quarter, to basically seal the win. He also threw THREE TD passes, yet most seem to find fault with anything he does.

I know he's not perfect, but some seem to have selective memories when it comes to QB's, especially. If anyone wanted to take a close look at the careers of QB's such as Joe Willie, Stabler, etc., they might find that they, too, made mistakes. EVERY QB makes mistakes! Hawkins made mistakes tonight too.

My point is, IMO too many dwell on the negative, and not enough on the positive. JPW is a winner, and now holds most of Bama's QB records. More importantly, he will probably be our QB for his Senior season, and maybe he should be!

 

[Displaced Bama Fan]

Overall good performance by JP. Nice runs, and a couple of times he took sacks and covered up the ball. He made a 2-3 bad throws, but what QB doesn't. He made several nice passes as well. I'll definitely give him credit for fairly solid game.

I thought he was robbed on the intentional grounding when Caddell was 2 ft away from the ball.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Hawkins is a true freshman and John Parker is a red shirt junior that's been in college for four years. I'm not sure how you can compare the two.

But Hawkins looked just as far along or further along as a true freshman as JPW does as a red shirt Junior. The qb position needs to be fixed. It in no way can even be considered average for the 2007 season. I'd give it a D.

 

[CapstoneTider]

JPW is asked to do much more than most of Bama's QB's historically.

 

[Aries]

He has no confidence. As soon as he had one bad throw (int), he was practically done for almost 2 qtrs. It was obvious that Saban and company had worked on his confidence, but it still showed that once you rattle/pressure him, he has problems. If this doesn't get resolved, and JPW is the starter next year, expect every team to rush/blitz and Bama will have close to the same record this year if not worse.

 

[TIDEFAN17]

Hawkins is a true freshman and John Parker is a red shirt junior that's been in college for four years. I'm not sure how you can compare the two.

But Hawkins looked just as far along or further along as a true freshman as JPW does as a red shirt Junior. The qb position needs to be fixed. It in no way can even be considered average for the 2007 season. I'd give it a D.

I agree. JPW has played well at times this year, BUT he still makes mistakes he should not be making. The INT he threw and the other dropped INT were passes that a QB heading into his senior year shouldn't be throwing. I believe we've seen the best of JPW and if that's what Saban wants for 2008 then so be it. I think JPW can lead this team to a successful season in 08' but Alabama NEEDS a running game in a bad way, be it OL improvement or RB improvement. There was too much weight on JPW this season.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

JPW is asked to do much more than most of Bama's QB's historically.

He lacks mental toughness. After ONE int. he was done tonight. The offense folded like a chair and we only could muster 3 pts in the entire second half. But qb isn't the only position that needs work. The OL is sub par as well. Almost every running play the back is having to dodge a defender that has penetrated the backfield.

 

[wardaddy]

I think JPW is a WEAKNESS on our team. Sure he has school records in all categories, but we are throwing the ball more than we ever have (and we need to throw even more if we'd find a solid passer). His mechanics are crap (though they've gotten better) and his ability to find the open man is non-existent if the primary is covered up. He needs extensive improvement in the off season or we may find ourselves in good ole' Shreveport again next year.

 

[rhYno]

I wouldn't even consider JPW's performance of tonight "decent," unless he was a true freshman, but he's nearly a freaking senior for crying out loud.

No offense to the JPW supporters, but let's compare all the bad he's done to all the good he's done in his career. It's nearly a draw and that's not acceptable plain and simple. The good has to overshadow the bad or else we'll continue to suffer miserably mediocre seasons until he's done for.

I wish the kid the best of luck and I hope he can undergo a severe improvement, but that's not likely to happen considering he hasn't done so already.

 

[IMALOYAL1]

If JPW had made just a few more good decisions in critical points this year we would have had a much better record. It may be poor QB coaching,(not) but the result is the same. When we get a QB on par with the 10 best QBs in college football you will see a marked improvement in our offensive output. We should be able to recruit a qb that can arguably become one of the top 10 in the nation, and I'm expecting no less. Just in the last few years the SEC has had some very good QB's and Alabama (the state) has produced some of those. I think we will get a QB that can make the throws, run when needed and above all have the confidence to lead without becoming rattled. Saban is a great recruiter and he will get a QB that will be an asset in every situation during the game.

I Believe.

 

[Bama63]

Hawk, I'm with you on that.

And what I was thinking in that sterling first quarter wasn't as much about how JPW was doing as "WOW, look at what that OL is doing!" Which probably had a lot to do with how JPW was doing.

RTR

 

[rgw]

Yeah, I have a difficult time calling tonight's performance good, maybe decent, but certainly it wasn't that great or good. He made some great throws, but at the same time he threw an inexplicable interception and the second FG drive he made a boneheaded decision to pass when he had a first down if he would have just tucked it and ran. The playcalling in the second half was more run focused as it seemed that CMA was saying to himself "aw, darn! the kid has lost his head again...time to settle him down."

He's got to learn to be more willing to run the ball when his receivers don't come uncovered. Nobody expects him to take on a linebacker, but he just seems to sit around in the pocket when nobody is open way too often. He's like the anti-Tyler Watts. Where as that #14 looked at his first read, if it wasn't immediately open then he tucked it. This #14 sits around waiting for one of his receivers to come open instead of just taking easy 5-7 yard gains off the LBs clearing out underneath. It only takes getting tore up by a QB running for 15-20 yards a few times for the linebackers to start staying closer to home and opening creases between the safeties and backers.

A lot of Wilson's problems are confidence, but it's also decision-making in the pocket. Taking a sack or throwing away the ball isn't necessarily the worse thing a QB can do, but his job is to move the offense forward and not taking advantage of deep drops by the linebackers is in effect not doing his job to move the offense forward. Look how Colt McCoy burned ASU all night on designed pass plays that he simply tucked and ran. He's no Vince Young, but he does what he has to do to move his offense.

 

[T-Town BamaFan]

We won the ballgame, Nobody played perfect,(other than WG).

JP didnt lose the game, he helped win it.


Congrats to all the Tide players and staff.


Off to 2008. Happy new year !


ROLL TIDE ROLL

 

[RT3413]

The positive thing for me about JPW is that he seems to have more natural talent and ability than any other QB to come through Bama maybe since Stabler. He's got a cannon of an arm and can be highly accurate.

I've been watching him all year and have gotten to the point where I can tell if it's going to be a successful pass from the position of his feet when he releases the ball. If he steps into the pass and throws off his front foot, it's got good touch, accuracy and will most likely be caught (or SHOULD be caught). When he throws off his back foot, all bets are off. He will generally throw high and behind the receiver on any kind of quick pass or will float the ball on a touch pass. Both will cause the receivers to have to make major adjustments to even have a chance to catch the ball.

Look at the highlights from tonight's game and check out Caddell's TD catch. If JPW steps into that and puts the ball ahead of Caddell it's an easy TD. Instead, he throws off his back foot and Caddell has to committ an unflagged offensive pass interference to make the catch. But that was the one lone completion tonight from his back foot. There was one drop (a crossing route in the 3rd Q to Caddell) that was a well-thrown ball but the rest of the incompletions and the one interception were where JPW didn't step into the throw.

I really feel that if Applewhite can coach this out of JPW somehow we're going to see the JPW of 2006 - the one that could easily have led the SEC in passing and could have led Alabama to a 11-2 (FSU, LSU, MSU and ULM) record and a potential BCS birth. Yeah, that's a bit of a stretch but the first three losses I mentioned were directly attributable to JPW's back foot IMO.

 

[bamacpa70]

19 for 32 (59+%) for 256 yards with 3 TD's and 1 pick plus another 32 yards on the ground (excluding the sack). So JPW accounted for 288 yds of offense, yeah, that's a subpar/"not even decent" performance??

 

[dvldog]

The biggeest thing is that we cannot consistantly run the football and we have lapseson pass protection. He makes a few bad throws/slash decisions per game but almost all QBs do. It just amazes me how we look so good as a team for 10plus minutes and then look almost inept for the rest of the game. As I said last night, other teams make adjustments but we don't seem to be able to. Look at last nite, we started great on O and D. By the time they adjusted we were up good. Should have been a blow out, but their adjustments worked and we had no answer. We couldn't move their o line to bet out backs to the second level. We couldnt get pressure on their QB and stop them from getting completions on 3rd and long. They only thing we did all night was kill their run game. If they could have run at all, they would have come back and won the game. I just don't put this on the players. The lack of successful adjustments all year is a coaching thing. We have good, experienced coaches and a great HC so its hard to figure.

 

[RT3413]

19 for 32 (59+%) for 256 yards with 3 TD's and 1 pick plus another 32 yards on the ground (excluding the sack). So JPW accounted for 288 yds of offense, yeah, that's a subpar/"not even decent" performance??

Statistically, no, of course that's a great night. But break it down just ONE level. He's 15 of his first 18 for 185 and 3 TDs - truly showing his talent.

Then he goes 4 for 14 for 71 and an INT.

And that's how he's been for most of the season - hot and cold. Something clicks mentally with him and he takes himself out of the game. And it usually starts when he starts throwing off his back foot.

I don't know if CSS is going to re-broadcast the game but if they do, watch and you'll see what I am talking about.

I will say it again - the kid has more talent in his pinky than Jay Barker did in his entire body. But there's a mental toughness issue and a tendency to throw off his back foot that need to be corrected if we're going to be able to rely on him in 2008.

 

[RT3413]

The biggeest thing is that we cannot consistantly run the football and we have lapseson pass protection.

When Colorado sniffed that JPW had turned for the worse, they started putting 8 in the box and daring us to run. Given the defense we were seeing it's not a surprise we couldn't run.

This is not the 60's or 70's or even the 80's anymore. Now you run to set up the pass, not the other way around. These kids are 30-50% bigger and faster than the kids back then and you can't run it all day long. But when the other team is basically saying "go ahead, throw it - we just want to stop the run" you've got to look at the situation and say the ball needs to go downfield. But if your QB doesn't have confidence you just may be out of options.

 

[NashvilleTider]

I'm old enough that I don't shout at the television much any more. But last night when JPW threw at a very covered DJ Hall and it was almost intercepted, I screamed! Luckily there was nothing close that I could throw.

That play could have cost the game. That's the type of mistakes a good quarterback cannot make. That's the type of mistakes an experienced qb doesn't make. But he did and was just lucky it wasn't intercepted and returned. It was always said that Jay Barker didn't make mistakes that cost the team the game. We can't say the same about JPW. i.e Miss. State.

On the very next play he scrambled for the 1st down to help seal the victory. So obviously he can make plays and has talent. Coach Saban clearly relates what he sees in practice to who gets to play on Saturday. Some guys just can't handle the pressure on game day, and sadly I think JPW is one of those.

 

[BamaFanTraeInGeorgia]

JPW is a good qb. Not a great one, but a good one. As mentioned before, on this board and by the announcers on tv, when JPW starts throwing off of his back foot, bad things begin to happen. This is how JPW plays. This isnt something he started doing this year. He has been doing this for his entire career.

As far as JPW running the ball, I think I know exactly where the problem stems from. A couple of seasons ago, JPW scrammbled out of the pocket and turned it upfield to make a positive play. Bama was playing Arkansas, and JPW didnt step out of bounds quick enough. He got rocked! If memory serves, he hurt his hip, and limped for the rest of that game and a few more after that. That hit on him was enough to make a lasting impression on anyone, and he is still scared of getting hit like that again. In defense of his running though, he did make a small enough move last night in his last run to stay in bounds and get the 1rst down.

So is JPW the next Namath or Stabler. No. BUt before you talk about all his dumb plays and bad decisions, let me remind you of a little story.

It was 4th down, and Bama trailed hated rival Tennessee with little time left on the clock. The Bama QB took the snap and looked for someone open to throw to. All his receivers were covered. With the pass rush coming at him in a hury. The qb threw the ball out of bounds. Bama lost the game because of dumb qb play. The qb? Ken Stabler in the '65 game.

Give Wilson a little more credit. He is playing behind a very thin O-line, and is playing in the toughest conference in the nation.