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Ed Orgeron on Joe Burrow “I believe he’s good -or better- than the quarterback we are playing”

via: Derek E. Hingle USA Today Sports

In any sort of matchup between the top two teams, getting asked comparison questions are downright unavoidable for coaches and Ed Orgeron faced the big one on Monday. Orgeron was asked whether Joe Burrow’s play this year has narrowed the talent gap between Alabama and its tremendous quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

“I do believe he’s as good for sure or better than the quarterback we’re playing,” Orgeron said on Monday. “But the only way to answer that is on the field.”

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that a head coach would speak highly of his player when asked about his performance, especially when that player is producing like Burrow is. This year the Ohio State transfer has passed for 2,805 yards, 30 touchdowns and just four interceptions. Tagovailoa, on the other hand, has thrown for 2,166 yards 27 touchdowns and two interceptions all be it in six fewer quarters than Burrow.

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Some may think this comment could have been made about redshirt sophomore Mac Jones who had started the last game for Alabama when Tagovailoa was recovering from ankle surgery. But Orgeron has made it clear that the team fully believes that Tagovailoa will be playing and that they will be preparing for him.

Burrow is currently the lead man for the Heisman Trophy and word has also been circulating that he could be the top pick in the NFL Draft. Although the discussion became much more one-sided once Tagovailoa went down with an injury, Burrow is without a doubt one of the best players in the country.

But is this season enough to put him ahead of Tagovailoa?
One key factor to keep in mind is the transition the LSU offense has gone through under offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger and passing coordinator Joe Brady. The pair have updated the plays on that side of the football, moving more towards a spread look which is uncharacteristic of LSU teams in the past. This is not to say that Burrow’s success is just him catching teams off guard because there isn’t much film on the offense, but it could be a factor.
What differs about Tagovailoa and Alabama is that there are two full seasons of tape on Tagovailoa and the offense but still, only appears to get better and better. Even back in 2017 when he was a backup quarterback to Jalen Hurts, he would toss the ball all over defenses in a different system than what Steve Sarkisian runs now.
At the end of the day, it would have been foolish for Orgeron to stand there and say “I think I’ll still take Tua even though my quarterback is the Heisman front-runner.” Every single coach needs to have their players back when playing in a game of these stakes.
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77

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