Ask Larry
By Larry Burton
So far Sims is the first backup QB off the bench when AJ is not in the game. Any idea who is next in line behind him?
Do you remember the 2009 season, when Star Jackson was the backup all season? But when asked about the backup for that national championship game, Saban announced that if McElroy couldn’t play due to any injury, that McCarron would burn a red shirt year and play. Star Jackson saw the writing on the wall and left the program the following season.
In my opinion, Blake Sims is a good backup who has earned his mop up duty, but he’s not the second best quarterback on the Tide’s team. That would be Alec Morris and if McCarron would go down and miss a start against a big time opponent, I actually think that Morris would get the start over Sims. Sims is a good player, but Morris could do more things that Alabama would need done.
I had made a prediction before the start of the season that Simms would start the season as second string, but lose that by season’s end and I still stand by that. Especially if McCarron loses significant playing time.
I know that some people think Sims is doing a wonderful job and he is, but Morris could better imitate what McCarron does and he has the arm strength to make all the throws.
Both the offense and defense seemed to both come around last week. Are you ready to officially label them as “fixed”?
Kathy, it’s sure easy to look “fixed” against a team like Georgia State. But the offense did look quite good. McCarron was practically perfect, the only incomplete he threw should have been caught and the top four running backs ran for 7.7 yards per carry or better. The communication issues have all vanished as well, so yes, the offense earns the seal of “fixed”.
The defense threw a shutout from touchdowns, The defense also didn’t just stop but eliminated the running game, but there were still lapses with the defensive secondary.
Ga. State had four receivers average a total of 12 yards a catch or better and the Panthers were able to throw for a total of 160 yards including a long 34 yard completion to Albert Wilson. There were also lots of (four) that came from both sides of the ball.
So the defense doesn’t get to seal of “fixed” yet, partially for the caliber of team they played, but do get a nod for showing some improvement.
Overall, the team did take a giant step forward, but is not purring like a finely tuned sports car just yet.
Are you worried that Alabama has too many soft games until the LSU game and could go soft themselves?
Ok, this is the SEC, I’m sure South Carolina thought they were playing a soft team last week, but Kentucky caught fire and scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to make a game of it.
I’m sure the Texas A&M Aggies weren’t thinking that Arkansas would make such a fight out of their game and I’ll guarantee you that nobody on Georgia’s team would describe that Tennessee overtime brawl as a soft game. I’m sure the six Gators who had to be helped or carried off the field surely wouldn’t call Tennessee soft, no matter what their record is.
Like I said, this is the SEC and anything can happen and usually does. So no, I’m not worried about them getting soft. After seeing how many Gators Tennessee put on the bench due to injuries, I’m only worried about the Alabama team getting some great players hurt before they play LSU.
Larry is an award winning writer whose work has appeared in almost every college football venue. Now he primarily writes for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. https://twitter.com/LBSportswriter
