In the wake of the Alabama Crimson Tide‘s first loss of the season and second straight to the Ole Miss Rebels, there are still lingering questions Alabama fans are starving for answers to. In a move that confused the majority of the fan base, head coach Nick Saban decided to start redshirt sophomore Cooper Bateman against arguably one of the toughest defenses in the country, and do so on a night where playoff implications would undoubtedly loom at some point during the season.
Last year at this time, Alabama fans were still split as to the direction of the quarterback position and questioned Saban and the coaching staff constantly on just why fifth-year senior Blake Sims was named the starter over who many believed would be the savior in Jake Coker.
Sims’ start to the season was not overly impressive, but for the football aficionados, it was clear he provided one glaring attribute that is sorely overlooked by the masses: stability.
Since the start of spring practice, Saban and company have been spinning their wheels trying to figure out exactly who their signal-caller would be when the season opened up in 2015. By this time last year, it was clear that Sims was the unquestioned leader for the Tide, and even though he had his deficiencies, he had the team behind him and could be counted on to lead during the toughest of times.
What’s interesting about this dynamic is Sims too lost the game against Ole Miss last year as the starter, but much of that was due to breakdowns in the secondary in which they allowed Bo Wallace to look like Tom Brady in the second half. Even if you ask Saban, he will mention the five turnovers the team allowed last night as the sole cause of the defeat, but it is hard not to believe the most important position on the team being a question mark during the biggest game of the season didn’t help anything either.
It seemed week after week after week, Sims was constantly trying to prove his worth to the fans and while he eventually won over the majority of them, it was still met with its detractors. The way this season is going for the Tide now, nothing would make the fans more happier than to see No. 6 run out of the tunnel as the main signal-caller. As many have seen in these past three games, the instability, unsureness, and inconsistent play has caused much doubt among the fans as to whether a playoff appearance is even possible considering how Ole Miss looked compared to Alabama.
Unfortunately for Alabama fans, No. 6 has exhausted his eligibility and has moved on. The Tide is still left without a trusted signal-caller and that doesn’t bode well for a Nick Saban-led team. With a tune-up game this week against Louisiana-Monroe, things had best pick up quickly for the Tide in that regard before they head to Athens to take on the Georgia Bulldogs. If not, things could get ugly very fast.
Brandon Williams is an Editor and Columnist for Touchdown Alabama. You can follow him on Twitter, @BWilliamsTDAL, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.
