🏈 Alabama QB Blake Sims working hard under the radar

[jdpas29]

ummm... i didn't say that Bateman is the second coming of Peyton Manning... i watched A-Day and if only from the number of reps given to each QB as the only stat you look at you have to figure the coaching staff thinks highly of Bateman. Morris was kicking punts if i recall correctly and the other QBs only got a few meaningful reps.

I've watched every A-day for the last 10+ years or so and i can tell you that no matter how many times you hear "you can't tell anything from the spring game" that yes you actually can. the way a QB is or is not comfortable attempting throws is EASY to see. Pocket presensce is easy to see. Blake was run first. That was plain as day. i'm not saying that's all bad but it is what it is. Bateman looked cool as a cucumber somewhat like AJ. He made several great throws and seemed to be unphased by the pressure of a crowd.

All I was really getting at is that, at this time, the QB race is between 3 guys.... Coker, Sims and Bateman. IMO no one else is in the picture. Coker is pretty much a mystery to us. Blake is run first. Bateman looked above average in a spring game. That ain't a whole lot of data to go on. So we're all speculating at this point as to who is a starter. The only thing that i don't think is speculation now is that Blake is run first (and really darn good at it) and has a hard time with accuracy on short-mid routes. He's using a QB coach and I hope that he comes out much improved, but it is what i have seen. I love his work ethic and i particularly like his skill as a runner, but we have to be able to pass the ball. I hope he gets the nod given that he has been at Alabama and fought hard and stayed with the team, but he will have gone through quite a metamorphosis in the last 4 months if that happens.

 

[JoshB]

ummm... i didn't say that Bateman is the second coming of Peyton Manning... i watched A-Day and if only from the number of reps given to each QB as the only stat you look at you have to figure the coaching staff thinks highly of Bateman. Morris was kicking punts if i recall correctly and the other QBs only got a few meaningful reps.

I've watched every A-day for the last 10+ years or so and i can tell you that no matter how many times you hear "you can't tell anything from the spring game" that yes you actually can. the way a QB is or is not comfortable attempting throws is EASY to see. Pocket presensce is easy to see. Blake was run first. That was plain as day. i'm not saying that's all bad but it is what it is. Bateman looked cool as a cucumber somewhat like AJ. He made several great throws and seemed to be unphased by the pressure of a crowd.

All I was really getting at is that, at this time, the QB race is between 3 guys.... Coker, Sims and Bateman. IMO no one else is in the picture. Coker is pretty much a mystery to us. Blake is run first. Bateman looked above average in a spring game. That ain't a whole lot of data to go on. So we're all speculating at this point as to who is a starter. The only thing that i don't think is speculation now is that Blake is run first (and really darn good at it) and has a hard time with accuracy on short-mid routes. He's using a QB coach and I hope that he comes out much improved, but it is what i have seen. I love his work ethic and i particularly like his skill as a runner, but we have to be able to pass the ball. I hope he gets the nod given that he has been at Alabama and fought hard and stayed with the team, but he will have gone through quite a metamorphosis in the last 4 months if that happens.

See what I dont get is that you say Blake is "run first" and thats what you saw at A-Day. How so? Because I saw the opposite, not saying that he is a pocket passer but he never took off on a scramble in the game. So where do you get he is "run first" based on that? Hell, at one point you could hear Saban yelling at Sims that "its okay to run if nothing is there" as if Blake was trying to force himself to stay in the pocket. That or he had been told by another coach not to run or was trying to prove a point that he CAN be a pocket passer. Thats not him tho, he needs roll outs, read option, etc. to be effective. I dont think he is a "run first" QB meaning he looks to run before anything. I think he is more of a look at the first and second option then take off kind of QB which is trying to get better at but just be something he simply cant get.

 

[UAgrad93]

Making the transition from HS QB to college is quite the challenge. Even though one may possess all of the physical tools to be a 4 or 5*, a lot rides on what type of HS coaching he gets. I played the position and didn't have a good position coach in HS. I depended on my eyes and my arm! I didn't really know coverages, blitz pickups, etc. I got to BAMA as a walk on and Coach Homer Smith really opened my eyes. We learned coverages, blitz pickups, when and where to insert a back into the blocking scheme, when to release the back into a route. I was one lost puppy!! I'm not saying I was a 4 or 5*, but I was a decent athlete that was pretty smart, but I was treading water with no land or life raft in site!! It is more of a "crap shoot" at the QB position than any other, because everything starts with the QB.
From the Spring, I observed that Blake did have more of a tendency to look at the rush instead of route progressions. This causes you to try and scoot out of the pocket and run when you really don't need too or shouldn't because an unblocked man is about to decapitate you. Bateman did seem calmer and more relaxed. I think this falls back to what I said previously about their HS position coach and their style of offense. Coker backed up AJ at St Paul's and was getting pretty good position coaching before his OC/position coach left. Their offensive scheme changed and he went from being the man to get in the gun and throw it 20-25 times a game like AJ had, into running the Wing T and throwing the ball MAYBE 6-8 times a game. Footwork goes to pot because you spend so much time on the footwork of the running game of the Wing T.
My experience went like this, I played in a pro style offense in HS, walked on to a pro style offense at BAMA, went into coaching at a school that ran the Wing T. I coached QBs and immediately thought I could work on our kids footwork and throwing. WRONG!!! We worked T drills ALL OF THE TIME! My coaching the passing game came on Friday nights when our backs and receivers went out for pregame! My next coaching stop was more WING T and a coach who thought that the forward pass was STILL ILLEGAL!! BIG HEADACHE!! We went through a coaching change and the HC went pro style but then left after a year. The next HC came in and runs SPREAD OPTION similar to the Barners! The passing game has and still is an after thought. They win 7-8 games a year and then get thumped in the playoffs. No passing game and no secondary that has seen a legit passing game is the reason.
Now my son is entering the 7th grade and wants to be a QB like his "OLD MAN". I let him go through Coach Saban's camp this summer and he did get better. Too bad, he has the same skill sets as me, good smarts and a strong arm, but slow as molasses on a cold day. He has now accepted the position change to TE.
I say all of this to go back to my last sentence in the first paragraph. It is a "crap shoot" on what you get and can you develop them ENOUGH to work out in college.

 

[XXL TideFan]

If I may add, there are people posting news on Internet forums that know where that judgment/evaluation is currently sitting. We've got one staff member that never has been able to keep things to himself.

Bless his heart!

 

[TerryP]

@XXL TideFan FWIW, I'm not talking about Kiffin.

 

[rick4bama]

Do you think we will see rotation again?

 

[UAgrad93]

It wouldn't surprise me to see Sims and Coker rotate the first couple of weeks much like 2011.

 

[JoshB]

If we started the season off with Florida Atlantic then I would agree but we start with West Virginia so I think Saban will want a clear cut starter by the opener.

 

[TerryP]

If we started the season off with Florida Atlantic then I would agree but we start with West Virginia so I think Saban will want a clear cut starter by the opener.

I tend to agree with @uagrad93 on his suspicion.

Not a lot of difference in opening in ATL then FAU versus opening with Kent and traveling to Penn State. AJ got the start in College Station, played until that game was pretty well sealed, but we entered the next week without any indications of a clear cut starter. As I recall it was week four with Arkansas until it was "settled." Week four this year—Florida—is when I think we'll all want it settled.

While they'll never admit it, I have a hard time believing they're (UA staff) is looking at the WV defense and thinking "we need to have all our questions answered."

Here's something weird.

Total defense in 2013 rankings (125 teams

[HASHTAG]#102[/HASHTAG] - West Virginia
[HASHTAG]#11[/HASHTAG] - Florida Atlantic

 

[It Takes Eleven]

I tend to agree with @uagrad93 on his suspicion.

Not a lot of difference in opening in ATL then FAU versus opening with Kent and traveling to Penn State. AJ got the start in STATE COLLEGE College Station, played until that game was pretty well sealed, but we entered the next week without any indications of a clear cut starter. As I recall it was week four with Arkansas until it was "settled." Week four this year—Florida—is when I think we'll all want it settled.

While they'll never admit it, I have a hard time believing they're (UA staff) is looking at the WV defense and thinking "we need to have all our questions answered."

Here's something weird.

Total defense in 2013 rankings (125 teams

[HASHTAG]#102[/HASHTAG] - West Virginia
[HASHTAG]#11[/HASHTAG] - Florida Atlantic

Fixed that for you...

 

[TerryP]

Fixed that for you...

:blahblah:

 

[JoshB]

I tend to agree with @uagrad93 on his suspicion.

Not a lot of difference in opening in ATL then FAU versus opening with Kent and traveling to Penn State. AJ got the start in College Station, played until that game was pretty well sealed, but we entered the next week without any indications of a clear cut starter. As I recall it was week four with Arkansas until it was "settled." Week four this year—Florida—is when I think we'll all want it settled.

While they'll never admit it, I have a hard time believing they're (UA staff) is looking at the WV defense and thinking "we need to have all our questions answered."

Here's something weird.

Total defense in 2013 rankings (125 teams

[HASHTAG]#102[/HASHTAG] - West Virginia
[HASHTAG]#11[/HASHTAG] - Florida Atlantic

Biiiiiiiiig difference in opening with WVU than Kent State. Coach Saban may have not blatantly said AJ was the guy after Penn State, but there isn't a soul that believed it was up for grabs after that game. You dont have a guy start on the road against a top 10 defense and play the entire time if its a question mark. Its not really fair to say it wasnt settled until Arkansas, not fair at all. AJ plays the entire Penn State game and then they both play the next week... but it was North Texas. Pretty sure whoever the backup QB was was gonna play in that game.

I dont think anyone on the staff nor players are worried about WVU's defense, they are Texas A&M level horrible but its yet another hurry up, no huddle offense. So if this turns into a shootout which I dont think any expects but you still have to worry about with that type of offense and the struggles we've had against it in the past then yes wanting a solidified starter there is probably a goal.

 

[TerryP]

Biiiiiiiiig difference in opening with WVU than Kent State. Coach Saban may have not blatantly said AJ was the guy after Penn State, but there isn't a soul that believed it was up for grabs after that game. You dont have a guy start on the road against a top 10 defense and play the entire time if its a question mark. Its not really fair to say it wasnt settled until Arkansas, not fair at all. AJ plays the entire Penn State game and then they both play the next week... but it was North Texas. Pretty sure whoever the backup QB was was gonna play in that game.

Ah, that's not what I said, though. A combination of the two in 2011 and the combination of the two in 2013—IF there's a difference it leans towards 2011 being more difficult. A.J., as I recall, took two snaps in the 2nd quarter before Sims took the rest of the half when we came home win week three. (It was pretty clear our defense wasn't going to give up a damn thing.)

FWIW, A.J didn't play the entire Penn State game. Sims took the last two series.

That said, finding a coach who doesn't want a clear cut starter by game one is a crap shoot. I don't think it's as important in our situation as I took your comment to infer.

I dont think anyone on the staff nor players are worried about WVU's defense, they are Texas A&M level horrible but its yet another hurry up, no huddle offense. So if this turns into a shootout which I dont think any expects but you still have to worry about with that type of offense and the struggles we've had against it in the past then yes wanting a solidified starter there is probably a goal.

Thread hi-jack commencing...

Simply categorizing WV's offense as hurry up, no huddle and transitioning into "if it turns out to be a shootout" is puzzling. My impression based on your comments is you're almost suggesting the HUNH is a scheme, or a playbook.

WV is an air raid offense that's employed a no-huddle philosophy before the HUNH claimed its acronym. It's also an offense that has an unproven quarterback—a position named before Trickett had practiced in that scheme. It's also an offense that lacks WR's. An air raid offense with truly no in game experience with its most important personnel. (BTW, did you notice where they finished in INT's in TO's in 2013? So far, based on the last two years, it's been an inept offense.)

Back to the subject at hand...

It's a viewpoint—ours happens to differ. If we were to have a list of where aspects of the team rank in terms of importance a clear cut starter certainly doesn't top the list I see. Stopping their running game is a clear number one in my eyes. A clear cut starter? Maybe fourth on that list; maybe.