re: Saban Needs To Call It

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Garbage my arse. He performed miracles with a run first because I can't throw for shite quarterback.

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bullshite. He got 800 yards and 13 less TD's out of Hurts than Kiffin did, and Daboll had a much deeper receiving corps with the addition of Jeudy, Ruggs, and Smith. Daboll was useless when compared to a real OC.

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He wanted Tua all along.

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That might have helped him look better, but he also wanted Scarbrough over Harris. The guy was a garbage OC.

It's like some of you guys have never even watched football.

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Bull shite. He got 800 yards and 13 less TD's out of Hurts than Kiffin did, and Daboll had a much deeper receiving corps with the addition of Jeudy, Ruggs, and Smith. Daboll was useless when compared to a real OC.

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I think Saban wanted to move away from how Kiffin had tailored the offense to fit what Jalen could do well and avoid what he couldnt do. He wanted the offense to take better advantage of the playmakers we had and to develop Jalen's abilities accordingly. But it didn't turn out well for Jalen. Despite all the teaching, Jalen didn't gain the vision to quickly read what's developing post snap, find and hit the right target, etc.

There's been some recent indications that Enos has helped Jalen improve some in that regard. However, those abilties are what Tua excels at. Tua also has a much quicker release and much better accuracy and touch. Jalen is not even close to Tua in any of those areas.

It's history. The need people have to constantly rehash it ad nauseum and wring their hands over Saban not already announcing Tua as the starter is amazing to me. Tua will be the starter. Jalen will graduate in Dec. That's how Saban has been managing it to play out ever since Jan 8.

ETA: As the backup and in closing out games, maybe Jalen will continue to progress. If so, maybe he'll get a good opportunity to grad transfer somewhere that has a good QB coach, enroll in January and get another chance to become an effective starting QB. We'll see.

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I think Saban wanted to transition away from how Kiffin had designed the offense (to fit what Jalen could and couldnt do) and to develop Jalen's abilities accordingly.

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I think Saban wanted him to become a better passer, yes. I don't think Daboll had any clue how to do that. And you saw him go from SEC OPOY to a guy who some of our fans have simply eviscerated.

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I think Saban wanted him to become a better passer, yes. I don't think Daboll had any clue how to do that. And you saw him go from SEC OPOY to a guy who some of our fans have simply eviscerated. ...he made the offense much worse with deeper talent...

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Iirc, under Kiffin's scheme, Jalen's targets were primarily near or behind the LOS and a lot of his favorable passing stats resulted from that. I have read that Brian Daboll is actually pretty good at teaching QBs how to read the field pre and post snap. Maybe it was so hard for Jalen to learn that because he had never really done it before. One primary target and if he's covered, take off and run -- that had always been Jalen's MO.

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... and gave an inferior running back half of the carries.

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I agree the way carries were distributed among the RBs was a head scratcher. It seemed to me Damien and Najee should've been used more to get ahead and Bo should've been the closer.

Anyway, I'm not interested in rehashing it in detail or in blaming Saban, Daboll or Jalen. I don't think the plan to go to that offensive scheme was a bad one. But like I said, that plan eventually hit a wall -- because Jalen hadn't gained the abilities he needed to execute that offensive scheme well against the good defenses we faced later on our schedule. They schemed very well -- entrapping Jalen into having to do what he couldn't do well.

There were several things other than Jalen's struggles that contributed to the loss at AU, including injuries we'd had on defense, costly mistakes by various players and failure to adjust to stop that delayed crossing route play AU kept getting key 3rd down conversions with. smh.

All of that said, Saban was doing exactly what he should -- choosing the right strategic direction for our offense and the development of both Jalen and Tua. Nonetheless, Saban realized that he had to prepare Tua to take over in the playoffs if the need arose. And that's what he did.

Unlike Jalen, Tua (Taulia also) has had years of extensive coaching, practice and experience, not only in passing mechanics, but also the ability to quickly read the field as routes and coverages unfold, look off safeties, throw to the spot where the receiver will be getting open before he does, etc. That stuff is 2nd nature for Tua. Jalen had to try to catch up to him -- and in a short period of time, beginning after Kiffin left. Realistically, that wasn't likely to happen completely. And it hasn't.

Saban has had two big challenges: (1) to restaff extensively and (2) manage to keep Jalen from transfering like his dad threatened. God forbid, but Tua could suffer an injury that knocks him out of playing, even season ending. From what I've seen, Saban has done a damn good job of meeting both of those challenges.

Saban has got this. But the ridiculous media noise and fan behavior on social media and message boards doesn't make it easier for him. The players do see and hear that shite. Instead of criticizing Saban for not naming a starter before he wants to, fans should realize that he knows wtf he's doing and be glad that he does.

Again, Saban has got this. Imo, some of our fans need to calm the f down and enjoy the ride more.

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As an Alabama fan I would think you would trust in your HC

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This is what I can't understand.

People are actually trusting the word of Brian Daboll (who left the team after just one season) over Saban as it relates to Jalen and Tua. The last OC to come and go after only one season in Tuscaloosa was Major Applewhite - and it was clear the two of them weren't on the same page when it came to running the offense.

People believe what they want to believe. That's fine. But we're talking about Nick Saban, who is arguably the greatest coach in the history of the college game. My trust in him is marrow deep. If he decides to start Jalen over Tua for any reason, I will trust that it is what's best for the team. Just like I will trust his decision if he decides to start Tua over Jalen.

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Saban Needs To Call It

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Why? Because you feel this way?

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It pains me knowing that our offense could really be dialing it in right now, getting comfortable with timing, and gelling overall. Our offense could be developing into an absolute death machine, and prepping our defense as well.

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The O will be fine. The OL is going to be beastly, we return almost all of the rushing production, and our WR corp will be better. And we all believe the QB play will be better. They'll be fine.

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Jalen Hurts is still getting half of the reps

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Bet money he's not.

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Saban needs to call it. It's past ridiculous at this point.

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So message board guy knows better than 6X national champion coach? This might be a top 5 all time message board post.

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Saban plans for all contingencies. Delaying announcement of the QB "starter" is part of it.

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That's what I think. In the real world of big time college football it's like a business. I'm not even going to judge if it's ethical to b.s. Jalen Hurts like that, but those guys that are crying about treating Jalen right may want to meditate on that a while.

You have to factor in that the defenses began to figure out how to play Hurts. TAMU provided the blueprint on how to defense us during Jalen's freshman year. Those defenses took away all our plays near and behind the line of scrimmage, and thats when we began to bog down. That was especially true against teams with a good def line. They just decided to crowd the line and dare us to throw deep. That is one thing that Jake Coker was good at--making the defense pay when they went man to man with out wide outs. He could hit them with the medium to long pass.
BTW, Jalen has definitely earned the right to fight this out and Saban is right to give him as much time as possible to overcome the bad scrimmage.

Opie seems like an Aubie alter/troll.