First of all, I'm an unapologetic Jalen fan. I've liked him since he signed with us. And I have no problem with the way he's run the offense, in general. Despite the criticisms laid on his doorstep, he passes WELL ENOUGH for a zone read RPO offense and under normal circumstances, is going to win far, far more than he loses.
That said, I will admit that the situation is not normal. Alabama has not really had a guy back there that is first round draft potential from an arm talent standpoint in the Saban era... until now. Yes, I was one of the ones that cautioned about putting too much stock in Tua right away, because he made a lot of errors in practice and those errors made CNS cautious about throwing him to the wolves too soon. But Tua, even with the rookie errors, showed remarkable poise on the field, incredible vision and accuracy under duress and the ability to shake off adversity and play like a champ. He reads defenses as well as anyone . Better, he finds his matchups quickly and gets the ball out in a hurry. And with rare accuracy and touch, even on deep balls. He could end up the best passer we've ever had.
Ever. And no, that's not hyperbole.
So, what do I think this all means? In the end, as much as I like Jalen, you have to play your best at every position. As much as I like Jalen, Tua can do all the same things, and is a much, much better passer. I said after the title game that if Tua learned to protect the ball better, there was no reason to expect he could not beat out Jalen. And I expect he will, despite the fact Jalen's not going to lay down and quit. But even if Jalen improves as a passer, I think he's hit his ceiling on what he can do as a QB. Tua's just getting started. If we didn't have Tua, Jalen would be a shoo-in to start again. But he's facing the best talent he's ever matched up against, and I think it will too much in the end.
So, I suspect that after the fourth game, when both QBs have had a chance to play, it will be obvious the offense is so much more explosive and unpredictable when Tua's at the helm, and that Tua gives us more options. And at that point, because of the new rules, I wonder if Coach Saban gives Jalen the option to redshirt and transfer out if he graduates by December without losing a year of eligibility. I have felt for a while that Jalen would be prefect in TCU's system, and if he got there in spring, he could fight for the starting job.
So bottom line, yeah I like Jalen a lot. But while I'm not favoring one over the other, I do think Tua has the upper hand in this QB competition and will be shocked if he doesn't win the job. He's made the situation at QB extraordinary. And while Jalen can handle the normal, I don't think he can beat extraordinary.
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I don't know the person who wrote this. So credit goes to someone, somewhere, for some rational thoughts.
That said, I will admit that the situation is not normal. Alabama has not really had a guy back there that is first round draft potential from an arm talent standpoint in the Saban era... until now. Yes, I was one of the ones that cautioned about putting too much stock in Tua right away, because he made a lot of errors in practice and those errors made CNS cautious about throwing him to the wolves too soon. But Tua, even with the rookie errors, showed remarkable poise on the field, incredible vision and accuracy under duress and the ability to shake off adversity and play like a champ. He reads defenses as well as anyone . Better, he finds his matchups quickly and gets the ball out in a hurry. And with rare accuracy and touch, even on deep balls. He could end up the best passer we've ever had.
Ever. And no, that's not hyperbole.
So, what do I think this all means? In the end, as much as I like Jalen, you have to play your best at every position. As much as I like Jalen, Tua can do all the same things, and is a much, much better passer. I said after the title game that if Tua learned to protect the ball better, there was no reason to expect he could not beat out Jalen. And I expect he will, despite the fact Jalen's not going to lay down and quit. But even if Jalen improves as a passer, I think he's hit his ceiling on what he can do as a QB. Tua's just getting started. If we didn't have Tua, Jalen would be a shoo-in to start again. But he's facing the best talent he's ever matched up against, and I think it will too much in the end.
So, I suspect that after the fourth game, when both QBs have had a chance to play, it will be obvious the offense is so much more explosive and unpredictable when Tua's at the helm, and that Tua gives us more options. And at that point, because of the new rules, I wonder if Coach Saban gives Jalen the option to redshirt and transfer out if he graduates by December without losing a year of eligibility. I have felt for a while that Jalen would be prefect in TCU's system, and if he got there in spring, he could fight for the starting job.
So bottom line, yeah I like Jalen a lot. But while I'm not favoring one over the other, I do think Tua has the upper hand in this QB competition and will be shocked if he doesn't win the job. He's made the situation at QB extraordinary. And while Jalen can handle the normal, I don't think he can beat extraordinary.
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I don't know the person who wrote this. So credit goes to someone, somewhere, for some rational thoughts.
