Alabama QBs in 2024

[Ledsteplin]

This is what I was thinking during the Rose Bowl. Milroe was not getting protection. That was obvious to me.

"We got to the point in the game where we didn't have a lot of confidence in throwing the ball because of our inability to protect." - Nick Saban

 

[CrimsonBloodn62]

This is what I was thinking during the Rose Bowl. Milroe was not getting protection. That was obvious to me.

"We got to the point in the game where we didn't have a lot of confidence in throwing the ball because of our inability to protect." - Nick Saban

I wonder why Saban and Reese didn't consider trying to roll Jalen out of the pocket and allow Jalen a few more seconds to pass or run.

 

[DzynKingRTR]

it is going to be a long off-season

 

[TheRealPokeChop]

I wonder why Saban and Reese didn't consider trying to roll Jalen out of the pocket and allow Jalen a few more seconds to pass or run.

Playcall was fine, execution was off.

 

[92tide]

I wonder why Saban and Reese didn't consider trying to roll Jalen out of the pocket and allow Jalen a few more seconds to pass or run.

we did that in the second half

 

[landonew]

Those comments are not in context of a pro-level QB. They're for what should be expected of a guy in college. Notice some are in past tense - i.e. prior performance,

Let me clarify. The strengths and weaknesses assessment of the NFL Buzz draft scouting report are from the context of a college QB declaring for the NFL Draft. The intention is to evaluate how “NFL ready” the player is -- how will his skillset transfer to the next level. When they say JM is often slow in his progressions, etc. they are saying that skillset is not currently on par with what's needed to be successful in the NFL. Those deficiencies also impact JM at the college level. But the impact is not as profound. My larger point was that if you're going to emphasize weaknesses in an NFL draft report, you need to also mention that the overall report is quite favorable in the sense he's projected as the #16 overall pick. This is important because it suggests that the scout believes he can improve on these areas and be effective NFL QB (you do not draft backup QBs as #16 overall pick).

I've never once suggested this is not a developable ability so back off the rhetoric. You're the one who has been caught saying you never said something to only be confronted with the quote you did. I will say that JM hasn't yet demonstrated much, if any, progress in this area though.

Fair point. Let's just agree I've been a jerk and will strive to do better moving forward.

We can agree he doesn't have to read D to the level of an NFL starter, BUT he does have to be able perform reads to the level of a starter at Alabama and within what is expected with that role in our offensive system.

He needs to improve. I'll touch on this more in my next post.

Did it work?

We averaged 34 PPG this year on 393 Yards/Game.

in 22 that was 41 and 477. BY, year 2
in 21: 39.8 and 488 BY, year 1
in 20: 48.8 and 541 Mac, year 1
in 19: 47.2 and 510 Tua year 2
in 18: 45.6 and 522 Tua year 1
in 17; 37.0 and 444 Hurts, year 2 with a dose of Tua
in 16: 38.8 and 455 Hurts, year 1

JM is responsible for some of the lack of production. Other factors also had a significant include. Notice that the drop in production from Mac to BY (9 pts) is larger than the drop in production than from BY to JM (7 pts). The reason I point that out is it highlights the shortcomings of relying on these stats alone to formulate a judgment.

You made some good points. Hope my responses made sense.

 

[landonew]

The below-linked article from Saturday Down South provided a fair evaluation of JM. I've quoted some points I agree with:

Negatives
​

“In a Playoff game, a starting quarterback who throws for 5 yards per pass attempt with 6 sacks taken is going to end up on the losing side 9 times out of 10.”​

​

“Milroe never really found his go-to receiver. That has to change. … The Tide didn’t have an advantage to turn to in the passing game … because Milroe is still developing as a precision passer.”​

​

“Maybe it’s not in the cards for Milroe to develop into a guy who can pick apart a defense .… but that area has to be more consistent in 2024. It would make that Alabama passing game tougher to defend.”​

​

“Against Michigan, Milroe was 1-for-3 on passes that traveled between 11-20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, and on the season, he only completed 38 passes on 69 attempts in that range. That’s essentially an average of 3-for-5 in that spot, and with 38 of those passes being deemed off-target."​

Positives
​

“The offensive line has to get better in pass protection and it would help if Milroe had a clue where those snaps were going … mproved center play will allow Milroe to get into his reads quicker.”​

​

“Alabama doesn’t need to turn into the Air Raid; it needs to be able to adjust when it faces a team like Michigan that has dominant interior defensive linemen with disciplined linebackers. The Tide didn’t have an advantage to turn to in the passing game, in part because it didn’t have receivers who could consistently separate, but also because Milroe is still developing as a precision passer.”​

​

“What we did see in 2023 was a borderline starter transform into a guy who finished No. 6 in the Heisman Trophy voting. Don’t let Milroe’s struggles against an elite Michigan defense — one that Alabama OL Tyler Booker declared was the best in the nation — overshadow what he became.”​

https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/a...zYqbXpfPZWDdrTbkACfflzWQ9sD7rqfC6qYCh61s-7yb8

 

[Bamabuzzard]

The below-linked article from Saturday Down South provided a fair evaluation of JM. I've quoted some points I agree with:

Negatives
​

“In a Playoff game, a starting quarterback who throws for 5 yards per pass attempt with 6 sacks taken is going to end up on the losing side 9 times out of 10.”​

​

“Milroe never really found his go-to receiver. That has to change. … The Tide didn’t have an advantage to turn to in the passing game … because Milroe is still developing as a precision passer.”​

​

“Maybe it’s not in the cards for Milroe to develop into a guy who can pick apart a defense .… but that area has to be more consistent in 2024. It would make that Alabama passing game tougher to defend.”​

​

“Against Michigan, Milroe was 1-for-3 on passes that traveled between 11-20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, and on the season, he only completed 38 passes on 69 attempts in that range. That’s essentially an average of 3-for-5 in that spot, and with 38 of those passes being deemed off-target."​

Positives
​

“The offensive line has to get better in pass protection and it would help if Milroe had a clue where those snaps were going … mproved center play will allow Milroe to get into his reads quicker.”​

​

“Alabama doesn’t need to turn into the Air Raid; it needs to be able to adjust when it faces a team like Michigan that has dominant interior defensive linemen with disciplined linebackers. The Tide didn’t have an advantage to turn to in the passing game, in part because it didn’t have receivers who could consistently separate, but also because Milroe is still developing as a precision passer.”​

​

“What we did see in 2023 was a borderline starter transform into a guy who finished No. 6 in the Heisman Trophy voting. Don’t let Milroe’s struggles against an elite Michigan defense — one that Alabama OL Tyler Booker declared was the best in the nation — overshadow what he became.”​

https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/a...zYqbXpfPZWDdrTbkACfflzWQ9sD7rqfC6qYCh61s-7yb8

The offensive line has to get better not only on an individual player basis but as a unit, by playing more as one than five individual parts.

Jalen Milroe is going to have to get a lot better at the things already beaten to death on this message board. I have a feeling if he does not, he will be backing up Ty Simpson.

 

[Tidetwin]

The offensive line has to get better not only on an individual player basis but as a unit, by playing more as one than five individual parts.

Jalen Milroe is going to have to get a lot better at the things already beaten to death on this message board. I have a feeling if he does not, he will be backing up Ty Simpson.

The End!

 

[landonew]

This is what I was thinking during the Rose Bowl. Milroe was not getting protection. That was obvious to me.

"We got to the point in the game where we didn't have a lot of confidence in throwing the ball because of our inability to protect." - Nick Saban

The below-linked film study provides some extensive analysis of why Alabama's protection broke down. The gist of it is this:

"Michigan’s blitz rate entering the Rose Bowl was just 24.4 percent, but the Wolverines blitzed 42.9 percent of the time against Alabama — their third-highest blitz rate of the season. Perhaps the most frustrating part from the Alabama perspective is that Michigan didn’t send an overwhelming amount of rushers — it was mainly one extra blitzer that created one-on-one matchups across the board. And Michigan won them consistently."​

https://theathletic.com/5179953/202...KcTPex8sd3OOpdKgXzFFVos1Qxr4aFvsEaBC5-YpLTK3A

 

[gtgilbert]

Let me clarify. The strengths and weaknesses assessment of the NFL Buzz draft scouting report are from the context of a college QB declaring for the NFL Draft. The intention is to evaluate how “NFL ready” the player is -- how will his skillset transfer to the next level. When they say JM is often slow in his progressions, etc. they are saying that skillset is not currently on par with what's needed to be successful in the NFL. Those deficiencies also impact JM at the college level. But the impact is not as profound. My larger point was that if you're going to emphasize weaknesses in an NFL draft report, you need to also mention that the overall report is quite favorable in the sense he's projected as the #16 overall pick. This is important because it suggests that the scout believes he can improve on these areas and be effective NFL QB (you do not draft backup QBs as #16 overall pick).



Fair point. Let's just agree I've been a ***** and will strive to do better moving forward.



He needs to improve. I'll touch on this more in my next post.



JM is responsible for some of the lack of production. Other factors also had a significant include. Notice that the drop in production from Mac to BY (9 pts) is larger than the drop in production than from BY to JM (7 pts). The reason I point that out is it highlights the shortcomings of relying on these stats alone to formulate a judgment.

You made some good points. Hope my responses made sense.

I'll not continue the back and forth after this. Net - as a QB that report says almost nothing positive - just that he can run. read reports of other QBs, there is way, way more in their about their passing upside, poise, ability to get through progressions, ability to move the pocket, keep plays alive, find receivers, etc where there is almost NONE for JM. In fact, read Becks, right before JMs, and it actually talks about small nuances in how he does reads he needs to work on. It talks about Beck as a passer. JMs says he can't do "SIMPLE" reads. The only real reason Milroe was in the conversation for awards, and as a draft prospect is it makes great story for the media - fought it out to earn the start, despite a prior coach doubting him, got benched for a really bad performance, stayed positive and earned his way back; then the gravedigger happened and that really elevated the story. It is an AWESOME story, and I will absolutely give JM credit for keeping his head up, not being a negative force and doing what he could to push forward.

That said, the lack of ability in certain areas is a MASSIVE impact at the college level not just from an NFL standpoint. At his current capability level, he significantly restricts our ability to execute to the degree we had to make significant changes our normal offense. Read that again, we had to change our entire offense, based solely on JMs lack of ability to execute what we usually do, nothing else. I'm not sure there could be a bigger impact than that.

I pray we go back to our normal, pro-style offense, so we can take advantage of all weapons we have, which we don't now due to the changes that had to be made. If we do shift back, I don't know if JM can learn all he needs to learn by spring ball or not. It seems like a huge learning curve given he's had so much time to learn and is still so far behind where he should be. It's very rare to see the size jump he needs to make happen, but maybe he proves to be the exception. I'll celebrate like crazy if he does, but I also wouldn't bet on it.

 

[landonew]

I'll not continue the back and forth after this. Net - as a QB that report says almost nothing positive - just that he can run. read reports of other QBs, there is way, way more in their about their passing upside, poise, ability to get through progressions, ability to move the pocket, keep plays alive, find receivers, etc where there is almost NONE for JM. In fact, read Becks, right before JMs, and it actually talks about small nuances in how he does reads he needs to work on. It talks about Beck as a passer. JMs says he can't do "SIMPLE" reads. The only real reason Milroe was in the conversation for awards, and as a draft prospect is it makes great story for the media.

Don't get worked up man. I apologized for offending you. I'm doing my very best to politely respond to your points. Maybe you're right. Let's look at some other scouting reports. Here, Ian Cummings of Pro Football Focus (Bio below) has JM going late first round (#23 pick) -- this is what he has to say:

"Milroe could use another offseason of mechanical development, and missed reads are still a concern at times. But he’s improved leaps and bounds from the start of 2023, and his athleticism and creation capacity are truly elite at 6’2″, 220 pounds. With more mechanical growth, Milroe can continue to channel more of his natural arm talent, and his leadership ability — combined with his resilience in the face of adversity — should only win over NFL evaluators."​

https://www.profootballnetwork.com/2025-nfl-mock-draft-cfb-week-13/

 

[Tidewater]

Let me clarify. The strengths and weaknesses assessment of the NFL Buzz draft scouting report are from the context of a college QB declaring for the NFL Draft. The intention is to evaluate how “NFL ready” the player is -- how will his skillset transfer to the next level. When they say JM is often slow in his progressions, etc. they are saying that skillset is not currently on par with what's needed to be successful in the NFL. Those deficiencies also impact JM at the college level. But the impact is not as profound. My larger point was that if you're going to emphasize weaknesses in an NFL draft report, you need to also mention that the overall report is quite favorable in the sense he's projected as the #16 overall pick. This is important because it suggests that the scout believes he can improve on these areas and be effective NFL QB (you do not draft backup QBs as #16 overall pick).



Fair point. Let's just agree I've been a jerk and will strive to do better moving forward.



He needs to improve. I'll touch on this more in my next post.



JM is responsible for some of the lack of production. Other factors also had a significant include. Notice that the drop in production from Mac to BY (9 pts) is larger than the drop in production than from BY to JM (7 pts). The reason I point that out is it highlights the shortcomings of relying on these stats alone to formulate a judgment.

You made some good points. Hope my responses made sense.

At 16 overall, I'd recommend he go. At 16 he won't end up on a horrible team and be thrown to the wolves the way Bryce has been. Hopefully, he will be able to develop as the back up until the coach points to him and sends into a game.

 

[Tidelines]

So, Landonew, you're telling us Milroe will be a starter in the NFL?

 

[dtgreg]

So, Landonew, you're telling us Milroe will be a starter in the NFL?

See: Cam Newton

 

[landonew]

So, Landonew, you're telling us Milroe will be a starter in the NFL?

I don't know if that matters. The reason I find NFL scouting reports interesting is because it suggests JM can improve in the areas he needs to in order to be successful at Alabama. Is that a fair takeaway? What's your opinion?

 

[landonew]

See: Cam Newton

Cam Newton's Heisman passing statistics:

 

[dtgreg]

Cam Newton's Heisman passing statistics:
View attachment 39822

The line performance he had at Auburn I would have killed for this year.

 

[editder]

The below-linked film study provides some extensive analysis of why Alabama's protection broke down. The gist of it is this:

"Michigan’s blitz rate entering the Rose Bowl was just 24.4 percent, but the Wolverines blitzed 42.9 percent of the time against Alabama — their third-highest blitz rate of the season. Perhaps the most frustrating part from the Alabama perspective is that Michigan didn’t send an overwhelming amount of rushers — it was mainly one extra blitzer that created one-on-one matchups across the board. And Michigan won them consistently."​

https://theathletic.com/5179953/202...KcTPex8sd3OOpdKgXzFFVos1Qxr4aFvsEaBC5-YpLTK3A

Being outsmarted by that guy has to sting.

 

[Tidelines]

I don't know if that matters. The reason I find NFL scouting reports interesting is because it suggests JM can improve in the areas he needs to in order to be successful at Alabama. Is that a fair takeaway? What's your opinion?

I wasn't the one that said they don't draft QB with the 16th pick to be a back-up. That means he has to be a starter. No, I don’t think Milroe will start in the NFL. I do admire your conviction though.