The media narrative “Saban doesn’t like that” in regards to Tua

5 years ago Saban was way more risk averse. His style of play would have never attracted Tua and Saban probably wouldn't have pursued him on the recruiting trail.

That changed when he hired Kiffin. He's learned the value of being able to open up the offense and outscore teams if necessary.

Of course, he would still prefer to play souless murderball.

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When you have bama's talent, those ricks are unnecessary and will get you beat in a game versus a great team.

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Only problem is that the counter right now is Jalen, who is unable to stretch the field which leads to teams loading the box. If they already have a good DL, then loading that up means even Alabama's talent level will have trouble running the ball.

Previous QBs may not have been ultra-talented, but they had nice deep touch on passes (McCarron, Coker, Sims). They could punish a team with accurate throws if they left their DBs on islands, which kept defenses honest. Hurts just hasn't been able to do the same.

Tua, OTOH, can hit deep passes through double coverage. He forces teams to not just respect the deep threat, but to fear it.

That's why both the WRs and RBs have Tua's full backing as well. RBs aren't running into 7, 8, and 9 man fronts. WRs aren't trying to catch passes that are overthrown or behind them. WRs can catch in stride, turning 4 and 5 yard gains into 10-15 yard gains. RBs can get to the second level with a single broken or missed tackle instead of needing 5.

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I think Hurts reaffirmed his belief that you play good Defense and protect the ball. If Tua start turning it over at any point, look for the old Saban to return.

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So this was why he replaced Sims especially in the Iron Bowl after throwing all those picks?

Geez, I swear some of you act like you watch a lot of Alabama football when the evidence is overwhelming that you do not.

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I think Hurts reaffirmed his belief that you play good Defense and protect the ball. If Tua start turning it over at any point, look for the old Saban to return.

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Jalen Hurts had 11 fumbles and 9 ints in 2016. Never got pulled

Point of fact, other than two plays, the majority of Tua's yards have come on perfectly thrown slants where the reciever ran for huge gains.

I should have elaborated because I agree with you but I think losing to those qbs (really just manziel and marshall) was the catalyst for hiring Kiffin.

Kiffin's style of offense allowed Bama to recruit the 5* QBs like Blake Barnett (he didn't pan out but was still the top QB out of HS) and Tua.

ETA: And Kiffin as a recruiter as well.

For the downvoters.

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 two games as Alabama's starter, Tagovailoa's used the middle of the field often and with success. Of his 35 passes so far, 16 went to the midsection -- nine alone in the win over Arkansas State.
His second touchdown came on a slant similar to the first one. This time he needed less than a second to whip it over to Henry Ruggs III for the 31-yard touchdown.

"Once I saw the ball in the air, I attacked the ball," Ruggs said. "Go get it."

It's these slants that seem to use Tagovailoa's arm strength without airing it out. In fact, he's only thrown one true deep ball so far this season -- the 49-yard completion to Jaylen Waddle against Louisville. It traveled 40 yards in the air from the line of scrimmage.

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LINK

he doesnt like it. thats why he keeps playing Jalen Hurts..in his mind he truly wants Hurts to be ready to play. he should just win or go down with Tua..

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I think Tua is good. I think what Saban, or someone similar, wouldn't like is how risky he is with the ball. When you have bama's talent, those ricks are unnecessary and will get you beat in a game versus a great team.

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I'm not sure if people are downvoting you because you are speaking for Saban -- I'm sure Saban has spoken the extent, or lack, of his concern with Tua's choices. If they're downvoting you for saying Tua does make risky throws, they're not looking clearly, because Tua makes really risky throws on occasion. Because he has a cannon and excellent field awareness, he can get away with it most of the time, but sometimes he does force it when a QB of his caliber should do better risk assessment. An SEC backfield might make him pay for such a decision. UGA did at least once. I think people forget that because the rest of Tua's performance was so commanding, but he does force it on occasion. Then, he's young. The QB spot is definitely one where experience counts almost as much as talent.