With University of Alabama football players reporting Thursday and fall practice opening Friday, it's time to take a look at the burning questions the Crimson Tide will need to answer, or at least address, before the season kicks off Sept. 3 against Kent State.
Here is a look at those questions, and what Tidesports.com's football coverage team thinks about the answers:
1. Will the preseason settle the all-important quarterback question, or will it drag into September?
Cecil Hurt: It all depends on the definition of "settle." Nick Saban has already made it clear, or as clear as he intends to make it, that he wants to see both quarterbacks in game action, certainly against Kent State and probably beyond. So a "settlement" doesn't seem to include the possibility that A.J. McCarron or Phillip Sims will be named the starting quarterback in any sort of pre-September time frame.
That doesn't mean the preseason is irrelevant. But Saban's formula for solving this equation seems certain to include "game performance" as one of the variables.-
Chase Goodbread: As close as the competition between A.J. McCarron and Phillip Sims was during the spring, it's hard to imagine fall camp creating enough separation between them to make this decision an easy one for Saban. At least once he's mentioned the possibility of both getting playing time early in the season. Look for relatively equal playing time for the duo in a season opener against Kent State that should be well in hand at some point in the third quarter, if not sooner. The following week, fans will get a much better inkling of the pecking order when the Crimson Tide goes to Penn State for its marquee non-conference game of the season. That doesn't necessarily mean one quarterback will take every snap against the Nittany Lions, but if one takes command of the offense, plays well and escapes Happy Valley with a victory, it will certainly signal a front-runner.
Tommy Deas: It isn't over until Saban says it's over, and Alabama's decider has made it pretty clear that he hasn't made a decision. Saban wants to see the quarterbacks under fire in live action, and I think that process could carry fairly far into the season, maybe all the way into October. Most people are expecting to see two quarterbacks in action in the opener, but I say don't count out the idea of Blake Sims joining the party and also taking some snaps - if only to give defenses a different skill set for which to prepare.
In the final analysis, this one will be settled on the field, but it may continue to be debated on message boards and around water coolers long after a starter has been named.
Read it all at Tidesports.com
Here is a look at those questions, and what Tidesports.com's football coverage team thinks about the answers:
1. Will the preseason settle the all-important quarterback question, or will it drag into September?
Cecil Hurt: It all depends on the definition of "settle." Nick Saban has already made it clear, or as clear as he intends to make it, that he wants to see both quarterbacks in game action, certainly against Kent State and probably beyond. So a "settlement" doesn't seem to include the possibility that A.J. McCarron or Phillip Sims will be named the starting quarterback in any sort of pre-September time frame.
That doesn't mean the preseason is irrelevant. But Saban's formula for solving this equation seems certain to include "game performance" as one of the variables.-
Chase Goodbread: As close as the competition between A.J. McCarron and Phillip Sims was during the spring, it's hard to imagine fall camp creating enough separation between them to make this decision an easy one for Saban. At least once he's mentioned the possibility of both getting playing time early in the season. Look for relatively equal playing time for the duo in a season opener against Kent State that should be well in hand at some point in the third quarter, if not sooner. The following week, fans will get a much better inkling of the pecking order when the Crimson Tide goes to Penn State for its marquee non-conference game of the season. That doesn't necessarily mean one quarterback will take every snap against the Nittany Lions, but if one takes command of the offense, plays well and escapes Happy Valley with a victory, it will certainly signal a front-runner.
Tommy Deas: It isn't over until Saban says it's over, and Alabama's decider has made it pretty clear that he hasn't made a decision. Saban wants to see the quarterbacks under fire in live action, and I think that process could carry fairly far into the season, maybe all the way into October. Most people are expecting to see two quarterbacks in action in the opener, but I say don't count out the idea of Blake Sims joining the party and also taking some snaps - if only to give defenses a different skill set for which to prepare.
In the final analysis, this one will be settled on the field, but it may continue to be debated on message boards and around water coolers long after a starter has been named.
Read it all at Tidesports.com
