The winningest quarterback in Alabama football history is not happy with how this season has gone.
AJ McCarron, a former three-time BCS National Champion, has been vocal about this year’s team on the McCready and Siskey Podcast throughout the year. The Crimson Tide suffered its third defeat of the season last week in an embarrassing, 3-24 loss to Oklahoma in Norman, Okla. Brent Venables’ team dominated the Tide in the trenches, forced three interceptions off Jalen Milroe, and totaled over 250 yards rushing on Alabama’s defense. The Sooners entered the matchup as a hopeless 5-5 team, but it ended as a confident 6-5 group heading to a bowl game. McCready and Siskey don’t believe the Tide deserves a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff, and McCarron agrees. He identified Alabama’s biggest offensive problem on the podcast.
“They just aren’t a very good offense when they can’t establish the run with Jalen… or they don’t establish the run at all” – @10AJMcCarron
AJ, @NealMcCready, & @tylersiskey react to Oklahoma pulling off the MASSIVE upset over Alabama on Saturday pic.twitter.com/kiIpJY4URy
— McCready and Siskey Podcast (@McCreadySiskey) November 26, 2024
“Jalen [Milroe] is struggling reading coverages,” McCarron said. “That is probably the biggest thing aside from mechanics and throwing the football. He has not progressed from last year. When teams show one thing and mix it up late … listen, they [Alabama] are just not a very good offense when they can’t establish the run with Jalen … or they don’t establish the run at all.”
McCarron highlighted that what Milroe does best is play-action, running the ball well, and getting on the outside.
“Dropping back, reading coverages, and saying ‘we are down and you have to go win it for us,’ that is not what he does,” McCarron said about Milroe. “He cannot do that on a consistent basis. He may be decent one week, but on a consistent basis he is not going to read coverages and put the ball where it needs to be for you to come back and win a game. He is just not. We have seen enough, we have two years of evidence that backs what I am saying.”
McCarron is not wrong with his observations.
Tua Tagovailoa and Bryce Young were gifted passers who read coverages well. McCarron, Greg McElroy, John Parker Wilson, Jacob Coker, and Mac Jones were not as gifted talent wise, but they read defenses well enough to put passes where they needed to be to make plays and consistently win games. We have seen for two years that if a defense takes away Milroe’s running ability, he panics and makes mistakes. Auburn looks to do what Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and Oklahoma did on Saturday in the Iron Bowl.
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Stephen M. Smith is the senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
