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Alabama QB competition article

KrAzY3 said:
Well, remember at one point in time Saban did use the wildcat. I can't imagine a better wildcat formation than using Hurts, and there are some specific scenarios in which Hurts might make more sense anyway. I remember in the championship game they brought in Hurts just to set up positioning for the field goal. There were also plays where someone other than the QB threw the ball, like Maze.

Other than that though I'm having trouble imagining a lot of use for Hurts. If it isn't you know, QB sneaks/wildcat, or trick plays, I think clearly Tua should be the guy. May be they could use Hurts as an occasional halfback or something and in doing so kind of set up his use for other plays or trick plays. All the sudden he has the ball and he's about to throw, or he's under center. It would take a lot to do that, but if Alabama can have Stewart, Maze, etc... throwing, why not have some plays for Hurts?
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No offense, but in effect we've been running the "wildcat" almost EVERY SINGLE SNAP for most of the past two years.... :(

IMO, a 2 QB system CAN work, IF you've got two guys playing different styles. We got some mileage out of Watts (a runner) and Zow (a pocket passer). UF won a NC with Leak (a pocket passer who could also run some) and a Freshman Tim Tebow (a running QB who could pass some). Basically, we've got two guys who "More-or-less" play similar styles - but one does it better than the other.....

I've said before, and still believe, that Hurts' best option, IF he wants ANY shot at an NFL career, is to find another position and spend the next two years learning to play it, and conditioning his body to perform in that role.
 
as a bucs fan, i have to say that Jalen's work in the pocket looks like when the bucs had shaun king as QB in '99 after Dilfer got hurt.

the bucs basically made most of the passing routes either to the right or left side of the field.

it helped him in his decision making but also cut the field in half for the opposing defense.

that was by design...Jalen does it to himself a lot of the time.

the bucs defense was so dominant back then that they were able to win a lot of games with such a conservative and limited gameplan, but when they played top defenses they shut the offense down.

same thing happens with Jalen.
 
JustNeedMe81 said:
They will install package for Tua and Hurts...
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JustNeedMe81 said:
He's not changing the position. We might as well give up on that idea.
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If he's not willing to try another position (if that's what CNS thinks would work best) then I don't think we see much of Mr. Hurts this year then except in the event of injury and then it's debatable who might be best for that role.

I just see no value in taking Tua out of the game to put Jalen in. Tua is miles ahead of Jalen throwing/reading defenses etc. and he's not much behind Jalen in running and it could be argued Tua's more decisive when he runs and he's definitely more catlike in the pocket.
 
davefrat said:
as a bucs fan, i have to say that Jalen's work in the pocket looks like when the bucs had shaun king as QB in '99 after Dilfer got hurt.

the bucs basically made most of the passing routes either to the right or left side of the field.

it helped him in his decision making but also cut the field in half for the opposing defense.

that was by design...Jalen does it to himself a lot of the time.

.
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Actually, the coaches cut the routes to half the field for Jalen last year. Saban himself says it in an article I have posted here before, but I don't have time to find it right now. That isn't to say that on those routes you might not have seen receivers running a route on the other side, but the intended receivers were on one side. Not all the time, but most of the time by about midway in the season. No surprise, though, because he's always been pretty much a one read and go qb anyway.
 
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BamaMoon said:
If he's not willing to try another position (if that's what CNS thinks would work best) then I don't think we see much of Mr. Hurts this year then except in the event of injury and then it's debatable who might be best for that role.

I just see no value in taking Tua out of the game to put Jalen in. Tua is miles ahead of Jalen throwing/reading defenses etc. and he's not much behind Jalen in running and it could be argued Tua's more decisive when he runs and he's definitely more catlike in the pocket.
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That's where assumptions comes in for most of fans. I don't think He should change positions and he shouldn't be doing that just to benefit the program. He is talented QB, just not in the right offense at Alabama. He would do well at Oregon, SMU, Texas Tech, etc. Jalen may decide to play in all game with Tua.. or work with the coach to develop a plan for him to play in 4 games assuming if he lose his spot.

The system worked fine when Hurts started and Tua came in 2nd half to play. Both received just about equal playing time in most of the games.. why can't it work this year? IF the game is 30-0 at halftime, then it makes sense to pull one out for others. There are many logic in play, so it's best to leave it up to coach and watch it unfolds...
 
JustNeedMe81 said:
That's where assumptions comes in for most of fans. I don't think He should change positions and he shouldn't be doing that just to benefit the program. He is talented QB, just not in the right offense at Alabama. He would do well at Oregon, SMU, Texas Tech, etc. Jalen may decide to play in all game with Tua.. or work with the coach to develop a plan for him to play in 4 games assuming if he lose his spot.

The system worked fine when Hurts started and Tua came in 2nd half to play. Both received just about equal playing time in most of the games.. why can't it work this year? IF the game is 30-0 at halftime, then it makes sense to pull one out for others. There are many logic in play, so it's best to leave it up to coach and watch it unfolds...
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Pretty simple, because it didn't work last year. It would mean the entire first half we'd have ticked off wr's and rb's. The best player needs to play, period.
 
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JustNeedMe81 said:
I don't think He should change positions and he shouldn't be doing that just to benefit the program.

The system worked fine when Hurts started and Tua came in 2nd half to play. Both received just about equal playing time in most of the games.. why can't it work this year? IF the game is 30-0 at halftime, then it makes sense to pull one out for others. There are many logic in play, so it's best to leave it up to coach and watch it unfolds...
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First, I'm of the opinion it would be better for him to try to play another position if he wants to play in the NFL. If not, you're right and he could play QB somewhere else and be "relatively" successful in the right system.

Not sure what you mean when you say "The system worked fine when Hurts started and Tua came in 2nd half to play." If this is your argument for a 2 qb system, I'm not sure what you're thinking.
 
Crimson White said:
Actually, the coaches cut the routes to half the field for Jalen last year. Saban himself says it in an article I have posted here before, but I don't have time to find it right now. That isn't to say that on those routes you might not have seen receivers running a route on the other side, but the intended receivers were on one side. Not all the time, but most of the time by about midway in the season. No surprise, though, because he's always been pretty much a one read and go qb anyway.
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interesting...thanks.
 
BamaMoon said:
First, I'm of the opinion it would be better for him to try to play another position if he wants to play in the NFL. If not, you're right and he could play QB somewhere else and be "relatively" successful in the right system.

Not sure what you mean when you say "The system worked fine when Hurts started and Tua came in 2nd half to play." If this is your argument for a 2 qb system, I'm not sure what you're thinking.
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I agree with him on this part. Let Tua start, then when the game is in good shape for us, have Mac Jones come and put the bow on it.
 
JustNeedMe81 said:
That's where assumptions comes in for most of fans. I don't think He should change positions and he shouldn't be doing that just to benefit the program. He is talented QB, just not in the right offense at Alabama. He would do well at Oregon, SMU, Texas Tech, etc. Jalen may decide to play in all game with Tua.. or work with the coach to develop a plan for him to play in 4 games assuming if he lose his spot.

The system worked fine when Hurts started and Tua came in 2nd half to play. Both received just about equal playing time in most of the games.. why can't it work this year? IF the game is 30-0 at halftime, then it makes sense to pull one out for others. There are many logic in play, so it's best to leave it up to coach and watch it unfolds...
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Because the plan will most likely be to let Jalen use his redshirt and only play in 4 games or less. I doubt Jalen wants to burn a year of eligibility by coming in during mop up time..
 
CrimsonForce said:
Because the plan will most likely be to let Jalen use his redshirt and only play in 4 games or less. I doubt Jalen wants to burn a year of eligibility by coming in during mop up time..
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I agree with you, but I do think it is funny how, after learning of the rule about redshirting if you play in 4 or less games, all of us were so quick to jump on the idea that this must be what Jalen is going to do, all without Saban having ever said anything of the sort.
 
RedWave said:
I agree with you, but I do think it is funny how, after learning of the rule about redshirting if you play in 4 or less games, all of us were so quick to jump on the idea that this must be what Jalen is going to do, all without Saban having ever said anything of the sort.
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Well, to be fair, I mentioned this back in the early summer before the 4 game redshirt rule was in place. My thought at the time was that Jalen would stay and only play if needed that way Jalen could use the redshirt year and transfer without losing any eligibility. Most people thought that was a crazy idea but then they introduced the redshirt rule which makes it a little more viable but the same concept. I just don't know why Jalen would be amenable to losing a year of eligibility by running a wildcat package when his stated goal is to still make it to the NFL as a QB..
 
CrimsonForce said:
Well, to be fair, I mentioned this back in the early summer before the 4 game redshirt rule was in place. My thought at the time was that Jalen would stay and only play if needed that way Jalen could use the redshirt year and transfer without losing any eligibility. Most people thought that was a crazy idea but then they introduced the redshirt rule which makes it a little more viable but the same concept. I just don't know why Jalen would be amenable to losing a year of eligibility by running a wildcat package when his stated goal is to still make it to the NFL as a QB..
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Well, it is my goal to marry Alyssa Milano. But it is safe enough to say we can both give that up.
 
All this boils down to two questions for Jalen.

Does he think he can one day be an NFL QB?

If he thinks he can be a QB, he will let Saban know he wants to redshirt this year and tranfer after the season to play 2 more years and develop into a better passer. He has everything but the passing attack. I am not sure what is the root cause but its one of two things. He lacks field vision or he is scared to make a mistake. He has the arm talent. IMO Saban's conservative risk avoidance on Offense has really hurt Jalen. This young man prioritizes ball protection and its because it has been drilled in his head since day one at Bama. His soft spoken, well mannered and eagerness to please personality has allowed this to become his weakness. He doesnt want to mess up and take chances. Tua is a gun slinger and thats not changing. Honestly, that is the type QB Saban needs to keep the team from being too conservative and much more dangerous. Can Jalen break out of being too careful? Maybe in another system. But not at Bama under Saban.

If its is because he lacks the field vision he can not overcome that and become an NFL QB.

Now, if he believes his best chance for the NFL is another position?

He will stay at Bama and play DB, WR or a hybrid RB. I personally think he could make it to the NFL as a RB/WR and possibly a DB with Saban's tutoring.
 
If Saban isn't just talking when he says that one of the keys to winning the job is distributing the ball and having WRs confident that they will get the ball when running their routes then Tua is the starter and its already basically decided. I just don't see anyway Saban makes those comments and means them but then rolls with Jalen.

There also doesn't seem to be a way where you use both QBs and Tua isn't the starter. The only way you use 2 QBs is if Jalen is more of a gadget guy like others have said.

So, if we take Saban to mean what he says I think its obvious that Tua is the guy.
 
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If Tua is the guy and Jalen is likely to transfer when he graduates then shouldn't all mop up and backup play go to Mac Jones? If Jalen understands this then why not go ahead and transfer before the season starts? Or just sit out this fall, graduate in December transfer and still have two years to play.
 
I"m sure now that Tua is the starter. If Saban didn't know for a while what Jalen's plans were and Jalen finally had to tell him that really says it all. If Jalen was still going to be the starter then Saban would have known Jalen's plans because if you're the starter at a school like Alabama with all the media coverage we get you don't think about leaving as long as you're still the starter. When asked, Saban would have more likely responded with "I don't know why he wouldn't be with the team" if he was staying with Jalen rather than answer "I don't know".
 
The thing I keep seeing in interview after interview is Saban saying the QB who correctly "distributes" the ball to our playmakers and not a QB making plays is what he is looking for. I think we all know who does that better than the other.
 
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