re: Can Anyone Explain How Tua and Najee Rode Pine All Season

It's also wrong for some to have the "I knew it all along attitude". I don't crap on our players and also believe that u never know when u need a guy to come thru, so be careful about writing off or dismissing players .

I will say though that last night reminded me of that scene in Remember the Titans when Bass(sunshine) had to come in for Rev.

There is so much we, as fans, don't see. And I'm strictly guessing here. But, to answer the OP's question ...

I think barring injury, there could be several reasons both Tua and Najee didn't play more earlier in the season:

1) Not knowing the offense, or their assignments on certain plays. For example, on Tua's interception last night, everyone else on offense thought that was a running play. Tua got his wires crossed.

2) A propensity in practice to turn the ball over.

3) Not doing enough in practice to pass the player(s) ahead of them on the depth chart.

4) Not doing things the coaches required them to do (film study, conditioning, etc.)

It's easy to look at a player in a game and think "He's light-years better than the other guy; why isn't he starting?" But there's a lot more than just talent that goes into the equation, especially when you're a coach like Saban who is a stickler for doing things the right way every time.

Many people think Shaun Alexander was the best running back to play at Alabama. He didn't see the field very much in the beginning of his career, because he wasn't a good blocker. You can argue that it shouldn't matter, but to many coaches, it does.

And it's one of the reasons Saban (and Bryant, and Stallings, and others) are / were so successful -- they placed a premium on doing your job correctly. That trumps natural ability 99 times out of 100.

One thing is for sure about Jalen. He is a man. He handled everything like a man. And really, in the long run, that’s more important than whether or not he can read a defense.