re: McCarron/Lacy vs Murray/Gurley

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If McCarron weren't a very good QB and Lacy weren't a very good RB, then your question would make sense.

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But you chose them simply because they were part of a championship team.

Either and Gurley!

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But you chose them simply because they were part of a championship team.

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That wasn't the only reason I chose them. I just assumed no-one would bother claiming they were the equivalent of Trent Dilfer, so I didn't bother stating what I considered to be obvious, i.e. that both sets of players were topnotch. If they weren't, this wouldn't be a question at all. Nobody is comparing Murray/Gurley to Vanderbilt's own McCrary/Webb here. They were comparing two Heisman-quality players to two Heisman-quality players. (The fact that one player on each side didn't actually make a serious run for the prize doesn't diminish their quality of play.) I came down on the side of the two that pushed through and won the title. That's not an insult in any way to Murray/Gurley, the two of whom I respect enormously and liked watching them play.

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Murray is a pretty smart player

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Then he should have gone to Bama. ;)

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It would make more sense to me if there weren't 20+ other players that made a difference as well.

Honestly, I can see McCarron and Murray being a push. But Gurley is a step better than Lacy imo.

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That's apparently an assumption the OP wanted us to make, which means it's going to be a very flawed analysis.

If I were to break down my opinions, I think Murray was the better pure QB -- in fact, Murray was definitely the better pure QB -- but McCarron was slightly smarter under pressure and was heavily underrated as an efficient decision-maker, and that's what I want in a QB. His execution deserved a lot more praise than the general "game manager" label people gave him. Experience is a wash -- 4 year starter vs 2 time national title winner. But it's the little things that I like.

I don't disagree with regards to Gurley being better than Lacy. He was. He had better vision and speed, though Lacy had slightly more power and a deceptive amount of shiftiness for his size. But if the question were "Gurley or Lacy," I'd take Gurley most every time. But I think McCarron would have a better chance of keeping his team on track, and that's what you want from a QB you were asking to lead to the title.


Edit to fix: I would take Gurley, not Lacy.

McCarron was the Heisman runner up with 30 tds and 3 interceptions. He was a game manager in 2011, but he was the trigger man of the Bama offense in 2012 and 2013. He has also started and won games in the NFL.

Murray does not compare to AJ as far as accomplishments in college and has yet to take a meaningful snap at the pro level and probably never will.

Lacy and Gurley are both rookie of the year, pro-bowl level backs.

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Murray does not compare to AJ as far as accomplishments in college

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Individual statistics aren't accomplishments? Or are team-earned rings the only thing we're looking at?

The amount of people trying to pretend like AJ didn't play behind the best OL in college football and one of the GOAT defenses is mind-boggling. Murray had neither.

You put Murray/Gurley on Bama's team, all things being the same, I don't think you can say they don't win in 2011 and 2012.

Gurley>Lacy is pretty clear.
Murray=McCarron is a push at the absolute worst.