A whole bunch of back and forth on this, but just a few thoughts. I think we can all agree that Coker shows more mobility than our last four starters (Croyle, Wilson, McElroy, McCarron), but so does Sims. At 6-5, 230, Coker is the largest among that group and was an all-State forward on his basketball team. He is a very good athlete. Sims is an excellent athlete. It is open to discussion, but I believe Coker has no worse than the second strongest arm behind Croyle - among these four (Wilson could load up on a ball for sure, but he's also three inches or more shorter than Coker). Sims may be ahead of only McElroy. The concept that Coker doesn't throw the ball away and tries to force it ignores the fact that AJ was coached over time to throw it into the cheap seats and leave no doubt. AJ was a gunslinger when he arrived on campus. Coker graduated quickly, so any idea that he can't learn or can't be coached to make similar decisions as Saban's other starters isn't well founded. He's also had three years in Fisher's offense, practicing and learning from one of the best.
I want to pull for Sims since he's been here the whole time, but this move is no different than getting a Juco D or O lineman to shore things up. No one lamented James Carpenter or Terrence Cody arriving on the scene to start ahead of players signed out of high school. The QB position brings more emotions and second guessing into the analysis, but it's still about the coaches anticipating gaps in talent/performance, getting the best players when and where you can, and ultimately putting the best players on the field.
RTR,
Tim
