Who cares what A J McCarron says? I know I do.
Did AJ McCarron say that Nick Saban has lost it? That would blow up
AL.com.
Did McCarron say that Jake Coker should take over for Blake Sims? That would take down Twitter.
Did McCarron say that the problem with Alabama is that McCarron is no longer there to save the day? That would detonate both social and anti-social media.
Actually,
McCarron didn't say any of those things Tuesday in a radio interview on Tide 99.1-FM in Tuscaloosa. He didn't say anything remotely as incendiary as any of those things. What he did say was reported, as it should've been, and then social and anti-social media went up in flames.
The most comical example of the outrageous overreaction to McCarron's comments came from
Fran Tarkenton on WJOX in Birmingham. He ripped McCarron as a player and suggested "he should keep his mouth shut and praise Saban for the rest of his life."
That's right. A former SEC quarterback who goes on the radio to voice an opinion lost his mind because a former SEC quarterback went on the radio to voice an opinion.
That absurdity was matched only by Tarkenton, who played at Georgia, marching in lockstep with the mindset of Saban as pope, infallible and not to be questioned in matters of football.
Some Alabama fans stopped just short of going full
Phyllis from Mulga on Colin Cowherd on McCarron, as if former national championship quarterbacks should be seen and not heard, at least if they're going to utter something that might be taken as a discouraging word.
If you listen to the entire original interview,
Part I and
Part II, what McCarron said about this Alabama football team after its loss at Ole Miss wasn't inflammatory enough to strike a match. He should probably stop discussing the subject of leadership, but otherwise, he provided some interesting observations on the relationship between Saban and his offensive coordinators and on Saban's issues with fastball offenses.
Like this: "That's the reason why Coach Saban is struggling with these fast-paced offensive teams. Him and Coach (Kirby) Smart, they're such great coaches and they come up with so many great schemes. When you go fast-paced against them, they can't call all those great defenses because it's too many checks."
The horror. Take back his championship rings and pave over his captain's handprints at Denny Chimes.
In truth, much of what McCarron said Tuesday was the kind of insight we should want from former players, as opposed to mindless cheerleading, and none of his comments was especially critical or personal in the least.
It's not easy being a former Alabama quarterback, as much as you can dine out on that distinction for the rest of your life. Everyone wants to hear from you, as long as you say what they want to hear.
McCarron's still in that awkward phase, trying to make his way in the NFL as a rookie with the Cincinnati Bengals while adjusting to life beyond the crimson helmet.
I hope he continues to offer his honest opinions on Alabama football. I hope his skin thickens and he doesn't feel compelled to explain himself, as he did
in a follow-up interview Wednesday, every time someone objects to something he says.
He won't always be right. I hope he never gets dull.
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