I've tried to stay away for the most part, I'm not sure what more can be said. I think any doubt about who the starter will be was settled at A-Day. Hurts showed stunted progress (I think some of that is simply being a victim of circumstance), if Tua is healthy he's the guy. Frankly, I thought it was over after the championship game. I fully expected Hurts to do what a lot of QBs in that situation would do, just go elsewhere. Ironically, he seemed to take things so well, maturely handling his benching and behaving in the right way, that he got himself back into the conversation. I'm not sure that conversation has turned out to be helpful to anyone though.
I don't blame Hurts or even his mother really (the political nonsense aside) for their frustration. I got frustrated, and I probably said it a few times. What if he or his parents are reading some of the things people are saying about him? The stoic nature, the fact that his family remained silent until his father's infamous remarks, in some ways this seemed to fuel the negative comments. It was like punching a dummy, you could take your shot, say he can't play quarterback, someone else couldn't possibly do worse, say you'd quit watching Alabama football if he started, and he just kept taking the hits and not saying anything. Even if none of those statements ever reached Hurts or his family, clearly some of the negativity did. I admire the fact that for the most part they stayed silent (and in era in which family members and even players routinely spar on Twitter and the like).
So here we are. Hurts said more than he should have, his mother said more than she should have, but I can empathize. Part of my defense of Hurts was not at all about thinking he was better than Tua, it was just frustration with the negativity. I didn't think he deserved that, so I argued, and said things I shouldn't, and put my own foot in my mouth to defend him. I think this situation is a reminder though, and I mean this for people on both sides, even if we're not trying to be mean, or inflammatory, it's still easy to do. We speak our mind, but it can be kind of shocking to see someone else speak their mind. I didn't like Hurts speaking his mind really, I didn't really like his mother speaking her mind, but that's also what a lot of us have been doing for a long time.
I still see this issue as over. Tua is the starter, Hurts doesn't have the tools right now to catch up. I'd like him around as a backup, I think he's good, but Tua is better.
. However, I've looked at the play numerous times and we had blocking letdowns on both side. It was the rightside breakdown which killed us on that play. When Tua pivoted back to his left, the other rusher was there waiting. I'm not so sure he was out of the tackle box for throwaway purposes. I probably don't blame his greeness as much as some pundits have...
