re: Can we all agree that this is a pivotal moment for Jalen?

I think the final day of reckoning will come in spring ball as I don't see next years starting qb being decided before then and I believe regardless of what happens in the coming games, Tua will get his fair shot at the job next year. That is basically how I have felt all year long.

But there is a reason why Tua isn't starting. Maybe Hurts is the best option right now. We all know Saban will play the QB that gives us the best chance to win. It's hard to evaluate Tua when there's such a small sample size. We've only seen him in mop up duty, we don't know how he looks in practice...I hear he turns the ball over way too much but I'm not sure how true that is. What I do know is our offensive scheme has been terrible and if we trot into the Superdome with the same game plan from the regular season it won't matter who the starting QB is. We also need to get our D off the field on 3rd downs. Y'all are worried about the starting QB but we have other vital issues that needs to be addressed.

Just one thing about turnovers.

Last year against Clemson, here is their scoring by quarter

0 7 7 21

That was fatigue gentlemen, the effect of 100 plays.

So the causal chain was as follows.... inability to possess the ball > too many Clemson plays > fatigue > points given up late > loss.

Now my hypothetical is, if our qb had thrown two interceptions, but let’s say, thrown for 300 yards and 3 TDs, would we have been worse off?

My answer is probably not. While is all just conjecture and we don’t have enough data to really answer the question, it is logical to say that no way does Clemson dominate the time of possession and run 100 plays. And that means no 4th quarter collapse.

This commitment to no turnovers when we are getting killed on TOP is really self defeating. We have to have offensive production. We have to convert third downs. And it’s worth a couple of turnovers if that’s the only way we can get it.

Auburn is another case in point. We could play Auburn 100 Times this year, have no turnovers, and sore 14 points each game, and we would lose every one.

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quote:there is a reason why Tua isn't starting Because he is a freshman and Jalen has been "OK" for the most part.

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No it's because Tua is a liability in practice. Similar to BB8. That is exactly why. I've watched it. I would however like him to have a chance, nothing to lose at this point if we won't scheme correctly.

With Jalen at QB and our RBs, I think the pistol give us an edge. The double pistol (2 RBs) is cool too, because there's no strong side for the defense to line up on. We get a 1-2 extra blockers advantage out of it running to the weak side of defense. We ran it vs Tennessee.

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quote:Tua is a liability in practice. I've watched it. Jalen Hurts is a liability in live games vs good defenses. I've watched it.

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Cool story but, Saban isn't going to start him for that reason above. That was my only point with my comment, to provide the reason why.

It doesn't really "prove" anything. In any event, I remember that Shaun Alexander supposedly didn't block well in practice, so he didn't play much his freshman year. He's only been first team all NFL, played in pro bowls, nfl most valuable player, most valuable offensive player, td leader, most yardage in a season, etc.

The moral of the story, even if the...unproven...stories are so, is that some players are gamers. When the lights come on, they play better.

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Auburn is another case in point. We could play Auburn 100 Times this year, have no turnovers, and sore 14 points each game, and we would lose every one.

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And?.......who will be sitting on their asses while we are in the playoffs? Those clowns lost three games and got run out of the stadium by Ed Ogeron. We also win a lot of games. I don't really read that much into this year's Iron Bowl. Football season is full of peaks and valleys and the season was obviously taking its toll by that point. It's like saying the Ravens beat the Patriots in December...doesn't matter because the Patriots are still going to the playoffs. It's NFL-ization of college football. I wasn't the least bit surprised we lost that game.

We all watched the games and everyone gets it. Hurts has a very limited skill set but we are going to win it all or come up short with Jalen this year. This offense has no identity and that's on Nick and Daboll. So now it's a two game season and everyone is rested and healthy. It's on the coaches to put together a game plan that can take max advantage of our weapons and minimize the weaknesses. Tua isn't coming to the rescue and Clemson's front seven will eat him alive.

This is where Nick earns his money. If we stall out in the championships because of bad QB play and shitty play calling, then the whole thing needs to be stripped down to it's basics and reevaluated. Jalen should have to compete for his job and Saban needs to take a good hard look and fix it.

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14&Counting

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One of the most sensible posts I've seen, and I agree completely.

If you honestly believe that a freshman QB is going to come into the stadium vs Clemson and do anything you may need help, Clemson will eat his lunch, Tua will be so rattled that any "advangage" he has will be negated, I don't wanna see another pick 6 especially not against Clemson.