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re: JJ10 is very good, but he’s not Waddle

Posted on 9/11/21 at 9:05 pm to
Posted by A-TOWNUAFAN
Alabama
Member since May 2013
4375 posts
Posted on 9/11/21 at 9:05 pm to
quote:

Metchie?


Not saying he is slow but when I watch him it looks like it’s in slow motion
Posted by HighTide_ATL
Member since Aug 2020
1904 posts
Posted on 9/13/21 at 12:15 pm to
quote:

Bolden is clearly better at this point


“Clearly better”

Is that why Earle has more than 2x the receptions, more than 2x the yards, and averages 12.2ypc to Bolden’s 11?
Posted by Funky Tide 8
Tittleman's Crest
Member since Feb 2009
52685 posts
Posted on 9/13/21 at 12:29 pm to
quote:

Not saying he is slow but when I watch him it looks like it’s in slow motion



He's had several touchdowns where he has outrun multiple defenders all the way down the field. He doesn't look slow to me. He is also kind of stocky, and not very "long" which makes him look not as fast as someone like lanky Jameson Williams.
Posted by My2Bits
2500 mi from Tuscaloosa due west
Member since Jun 2012
4801 posts
Posted on 9/13/21 at 3:30 pm to
Jo Jo ain’t Slow. End of the story. Not Waddle but will leave his own mark before he’s through.
Just surprised Leary has not made an impression yet. Thought he would be elite.
Posted by Crimsonite94
Member since Jul 2021
3564 posts
Posted on 9/13/21 at 3:44 pm to
Waddle is a top 10 draft pick. I mean those don’t grow on trees. We may never have another as good as Waddle.
Posted by tider04
North Carolina
Member since Oct 2007
5606 posts
Posted on 9/13/21 at 4:08 pm to
I'm excited about Jojo, but Waddle just jumped off the screen from the first snap he played. Dude was electric. Jojo will likely be a fantastic WR for us--but I haven't seen a single play yet that reminds me of #17.
Posted by TidalSurge1
Ft Walton Beach
Member since Sep 2016
36467 posts
Posted on 9/14/21 at 2:54 pm to
Posted by sunseeker
Baton Rouge
Member since Jun 2016
2651 posts
Posted on 9/15/21 at 9:59 am to
quote:

He shouldn’t have set the bar that high.


Wrong. This is Alabama my guy. The bar was already set.
Posted by ArmyTide
Member since Aug 2021
77 posts
Posted on 9/15/21 at 10:18 am to
Has anyone else noticed how when a player is good, there's no debate, but when a player isn't that good, it's controversial?

"The backup QB is always better at Alabama"
Yeah, where are those folks this year? Or last year? Or the year before?
Funny how when the backup QB isn't better, nobody is saying they are.

There was never a debate that Jaylen Waddle was a great receiver, except some people saying he wasn't good enough to deserve a starting spot ahead of Ruggs. I disagreed, but whatever. We got 2 years of Ruggs - one half year of Waddle. It is what it is.
Posted by Crimsonite94
Member since Jul 2021
3564 posts
Posted on 9/15/21 at 10:24 am to
Ruggs is just fast. Waddle is fast and shifty
Posted by ArmyTide
Member since Aug 2021
77 posts
Posted on 9/15/21 at 10:36 am to
quote:

Ruggs is just fast. Waddle is fast and shifty

I think most people recognize at this point that Waddle was better than Ruggs

Which brings me to this point: Saban knows who the best players are - he intentionally doesn't play them because he wants to send as many players to the NFL as possible. He's not going to bench a Junior with an NFL future just because some Freshman comes in who is better.
He's well aware that he can trot out less than his best and still win. This is why when we're actually at risk of losing, he starts throwing younger, less experienced players out on the field haha. The most obvious example of this was the title game vs. Georgia. The season, and championship is on the line - what does Saban do? Put a bunch of true freshmen on the field. How would this make any sense other than Saban knowing the freshmen were better all along?
This post was edited on 9/15/21 at 10:39 am
Posted by Sauron
Birmingham
Member since Dec 2015
994 posts
Posted on 9/15/21 at 11:00 am to
quote:

How would this make any sense other than Saban knowing the freshmen were better all along?


Or maybe they weren't better all along, but gradually got better throughout the year and were ready when they were called upon.

I'm trying to remember, but it seems like Leatherwood was on the field because of an injury. The freshman wide receivers were already established and part of the rotation. The only real freshman-substitution decisions of note were Tua (obviously) and Najee ... and I think Najee may have been part of the standard RB rotation at that point.
Posted by ArmyTide
Member since Aug 2021
77 posts
Posted on 9/15/21 at 11:16 am to
quote:

Or maybe they weren't better all along, but gradually got better throughout the year and were ready when they were called upon.

Good point. They weren't better until the exact second that Saban decided to put them in the game, because in the first half, they were off-camera, developing on the sideline, and by halftime they reached the level of development where they were the better option.
Posted by Sauron
Birmingham
Member since Dec 2015
994 posts
Posted on 9/15/21 at 11:38 am to
quote:

Good point. They weren't better until the exact second that Saban decided to put them in the game, because in the first half, they were off-camera, developing on the sideline, and by halftime they reached the level of development where they were the better option


Be specific here ... who are you talking about? As outlined above, the only two who may be part of this "magically developing" group you're promoting are Tua and Najee. Tua led a magical comeback, no doubt, but remember the concern with him earlier that year was a tendency to turn the ball over in practice (reportedly). And, in fact, he threw an interception early in the third quarter -- which was negated by our own interception on the following play.

(Edited to add: I was right about Leatherwood; he was in the game because starting tackle Jonah Williams got hurt. Williams, I feel obliged to add, is now in the NFL.)

Najee, as a freshman in that game, was fourth on the depth chart ... behind Damien Harris (now an NFL running back), Josh Jacobs (now an NFL running back), and Bo Scarborough (now an NFL running back). Not sure how you'd justify starting freshman Najee over any of those guys at that point in their careers.
This post was edited on 9/15/21 at 11:43 am
Posted by ArmyTide
Member since Aug 2021
77 posts
Posted on 9/15/21 at 1:52 pm to
quote:

Najee, as a freshman in that game, was fourth on the depth chart ... behind Damien Harris (now an NFL running back), Josh Jacobs (now an NFL running back), and Bo Scarborough (now an NFL running back). Not sure how you'd justify starting freshman Najee over any of those guys at that point in their careers.


Then with a championship on the line, why was Najee, the least experienced back, the one put on the field?
Posted by Sauron
Birmingham
Member since Dec 2015
994 posts
Posted on 9/15/21 at 2:10 pm to
quote:

Then with a championship on the line, why was Najee, the least experienced back, the one put on the field?


I'm not a coach, much less a coach for Alabama, so I can't give you a definitive answer to that question. However, I've heard coaches talk about inserting a new running back to provide a spark, or going with the hot hand in a given situation. Not because the "new" guy is necessarily the best, but at that time and in that moment, he was on fire and outperforming the others.

If you're actually an Alabama fan, you've had first-hand experience with this ... a running topic for discussion among fans is how an opposing QB, who might not otherwise be a star, seems to have the game of his life against Alabama (Stephen Garcia, Nick Marshall, Bo Wallace, etc.).
Posted by GeekedUp
Virginia
Member since Jun 2009
1965 posts
Posted on 9/15/21 at 8:06 pm to
quote:

I've only ever seen a handful of players as good an overall receiver and return specialist as Waddle, so I didn't really expect anybody on the team to replace that.


Made me think of David Palmer.
Posted by Bear88
Member since Oct 2014
13233 posts
Posted on 9/15/21 at 8:14 pm to
Earle will be outstanding IMO. As good as Waddle? Probably not but will be plenty explosive in the return game
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