Greg McElroy/Cole Cubelic on the bowl game

On WJOX this morning, Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic discussed our bowl game. As expected, they said the game was awful, and pointed out some specific issues:

- Cubelic noted the difficulty in pass protection, particularly by the tackles.
- He also called out issues with how the protection was set up, and said Jalen didn't seem to understand the scheme. He noted several times in which slide protection was called, but Jalen didn't get the ball out in a timely manner, which let the unblocked defensive player sack him or affect the play.
- Greg said the defense played well.
- He also said the QB play was very bad, and that Jalen apparently doesn't start a play with a plan other than the initial read. He talked about the last play specifically, and said once the expected blitz didn't come Jalen didn't seem to know what to do.

They didn't come out and say Jalen was the reason for the loss, but they both said multiple times it was difficult to watch the offense. Greg said he knew for a fact there was considerable frustration with Jalen among the staff.

A caller asked what Ty Simpson had done to not even be given a chance to provide a spark in the game, or at different points during the year. Both hosts reiterated many of the points we've seen on this board:

- Simpson didn't exactly light it up when he played against South Florida last year.
- Greg said some offensive players were strong Jalen supporters, and their effort during that game in particular was notably bad.
- Jalen played a big role in keeping much of the team together when Saban retired, and there was a strong sense of loyalty to him based on that.
- There likely was concern from the staff that if Ty replaced Jalen, a repeat of the USF game was possible.
- Cole said it might not have made much difference if Ty had played given the issues the offense line was having.

I don't know how connected Greg is within the program, but his comments seemed to confirm much of the suspicion expressed on this board. This offense was Jalen's, and was always going to be exactly as good or as bad as he was. I think the staff felt hamstrung and didn't believe they could make a change at the QB position without negative consequences.

I think DeBoer is a very good coach, and can be very successful here, especially once he can structure the team (especially the offense) as he wants. On the flip side, it's concerning that he apparently didn't feel he could make the changes needed to help the team be as successful as they could be.