After hearing and getting excited about how much Hurts has improved all summer, I can honestly say that he has regressed. Just look at his deep ball numbers...if I remember right, he has had only one pass over 30 yards for a completion in the air (fsu) and has overthrown every single one of them. Sure Tua has played vs tired defenses at the ends of games, but with the nfl throws the guy is making, there is a huge spark when he comes in. After watching the Tennessee game, I'm sold that Jalen may not have his spot next year because Tua is just that good. You can't tell me that Tenn. defense(2nd rated pass defense btw) was tired at the beginning of the second half when Tua took over. Even on the short swing throws, Hurts was throwing behind receivers.

Sure, Hurts has only lost one game as a starter, but honestly, he has played terrible vs just about every good defense Bama has played. If it wasn't for the running backs, I can assure you that there would be more losses on the board. Look at the number of recievers catching the ball with Jalen compared to that of Hurts...shows that Hurts still isn't going through progressions, while Tua from his first snap has (I was watching every snap). All I am saying is that while it's Hurts' spot to lose, next year's qb battle will be interesting...

I agree. Hurts would make a hell of a running back though.

If he wants to have a future playing football, that's what he will have to be

Agreed. Hurts is one of the worst deep-ball QB�s in the power 5 statistically. He had one good game as a passer but has been too inconsistent. He got Ridley injured last week from bad ball placement and has done the same to others

He'll still play next year, he's to good of an athlete. But I bet Tua gets a lot more playing time.

I wouldn�t be surprised if Saban puts in a package that fits the two quarterbacks athletic abilities the best next season. I think it will be the only way to keep the both of them at Bama.

That Tua sure can hit em on the run.
He also showed he can run himself the other day and we had not seen that. I figure he will play in the NFL one day.

I bet Tua transfers to Samford so that he can be closer to his parents in Alabaster.

I do miss the long passes that AJ McCarron was so good at. Tua does have an edge there

Saban used to never bring in the backup quarterback until mid 4th quarter, but he's bringing in Tua early to get reps cause he knows against teams like Auburn,Georgia, and Clemson we will have to throw the ball to be successful. He's way better throwing than Hurts, but until we struggle, he's going to be the one Saban puts in control of the game. Likes his experience and cool calm demeanor.

I agree that next year the QB battle is going to be intense. Tua most definitely has NFL arm talent while Jalen does not. I am am a big fan of Tua BUT keep in mind that when he enters the game the outcome is already decided. He has no pressure on him and a huge lead to play with.
Hopefully Saban handles both QBs the right way and neither one of them transfers.

Tua isn't second string IMHO.

He is 1B...

I am glad a lot of yall are seeing what I have been seeing. The difference is throwing people open and waiting for the people to open before throwing. Tua already is throwing people open and going through reads as a true freshman! Just look at his improvement from the first game till now...I honestly think Hurts is at his ceiling while no one knows how high Tua's will be.

Another thing is: anyone notice how Tua comes in with the first string receivers even at the ends of games?? People like Cam Sims who are pretty dang good are finally getting the ball to them because Hurts won't look past Calvin or the running back before taking off. I'm with Blumsden...I haven't seen Saban bring a backup qb in right after halftime before...Let me ask yall this: if we were down and needed a gw drive when the other team is locking down on the run, putting a spy on the qb, and have a pretty good back end in coverage bracketing Ridley with a safety over top, would you honestly trust Jalen throwing the ball? I for one do not...I'm just saying this because LSU is going to try and do it as well as I know Georgia will...Georgia has the talent to shut Jalen's run down..

Y'all found another #JUCUAugustHeismanFrontrunner yet?

Maybe Saban will get it figured out before he cost the Bama nation a ballgame.

I suspect he already has

This reminds me of Notre Dame football in 1966- they had two strong QB's in Terry Hanratty and Coley O Brien. On occasion Ara Parsegian used both of them at the same and it really confused defenses. O'Brien was a strong runner like Hurts but a mediocre passer. Hanratty had an NFL arm (he played for the Steelers) but was a slow runner. No reason Saban can't put Hurts and Tua in at the same time and deaign some trick plays.

I kind of figured he knew what he was doing until I read all of the complaining. Then I thought maybe he's just been real lucky for the last 10 years.

You think Shula would consider coming back?

Hope Saban reads this. Maybe salvage what's left of this miserable Alabama season.

Nailed it.

Nah, his mom is getting a big job at UA as soon as the brother graduates

I think Hurts will continue to improve especially now that everyone has seen Tua and his exploits. We have to remember both of these guys are young, Hurts has game experience from start to finish and Tua has game experience from the time the game is in the bag

Lets see, take out a player that was the winning quarterback last year at 14-1 and this year at 7-0 and put in a freshman that hasn't started a game yet? Makes no sense to me.

X2

x3

X4

Read the last sentence y�all. Next year not this season.

I just saw a picture of Tau, Tony Brown and little brother Tags after the Tennessee game. Tau and Tony had on cleats and Tags had sneakers on, Tags was an inch or so taller even with the sneakers, not that an inch or two in height makes a lot of difference. Tags has said he will attend Bama.

Jalen Hurts is a outstanding QB,he's done nothing to lose his job.That being said Tua has got a chance to be the best qb to ever play at Alabama,he shows flashes of it each time he plays.He spreads the ball around and there's no way to take away his favorite receiver.IMO...and he can scramble to boot.

Give Tua the opportunity to start and I bet he won�t lose a game as a starter. If Tua would have came in last year when Hurts did you would see Hurts as the 2nd QB

everyone knows the back-up quarterback is always the best player on the team

Totally different scenario.

Absolutely am in agreement...Yes I know there is a major difference in pressure as well as preparation from being the starter to coming in later, but after the improvement that I have seen with Tua, I absolutely think the sky is the limit with this kid. His release is lightening fast as well as there is no way to game plan to stop any certain receiver due to his ability to spread the ball around. All I am saying right now is that there is no way he won't get a shot at overtaking Hurts next year. I am definitely not saying he needs to start right now either...but you have to be blind if you say that the reason we won all of those games with Jalen starting is because of him...Sure he doesn't really lose us games which is what Saban wants, but honestly, he hasn't won us any to be fair. You can't say he won us LSU last year because he was absolutely terrible the entire game and made one play at the end. Just my two cents...

Agree 100%

Amazing that Saban can't see it, right?

I bet everyone here has lost fewer college football games than Saban. He's too close to the "problem" to see it.

Second time; Reckon Shula would come back? I'm hoping it's like Beetlejuice and the third time I say it, he shows up.

Bammers....SMDH.

Saban likes a to take the top off a defense,y'all are crazy as hell if you think Saban doesn't realize what a gift Tua has,that's the reason he comes in so early in these blow out games.

Nobody called it a "problem".

If LSU was able to take the run away like last year and it was scoreless at half it could be interesting.

This^^^

And this ^^^

In a New York minute.

The first team that somehow figures out a way to stop this offense and this quarterback you can bet your ass that Tua will be going in.

He's tanned, rested and ready.

Tua is a true freshman, in high school last year, couldn't play.

Exactly what I was saying earlier...Completely agree...If I was a d coordinator/head coach of any school we play with talent (LSU, Auburn, and possibly Ga), I would play man on our receivers, bring the safety's up in the box with a spy on Hurts, and dare Hurts to beat em passing. Chavis for A&M did just about that with not nearly the depth and talent that the teams listed above have on the D-line and shut us down passing wise...Everything listed above about Tua getting in earlier and earlier in a game points to Saban getting Tua ready for such a point where we need his passing ability to win the game. He absolutely can see what is getting to be pretty obvious.

Just look at the gameplan vs. Tenn. the #2 pass defense at the time and one of the worst rushing defenses in the country. From the start, they called plays for Hurts that didn't include the read option run in order to work on/evaluate his passing ability. People argue that the coaches didn't play to his strength which I agree, but did it mainly to strengthen his weakness in passing such as ball placement, touch, reading the d, etc...He consistently threw behind receivers, only has one speed on the ball, and hesitated on just about every throw. Notice how few drops from the receivers occur when Tua is throwing? You can't tell me Cam Sims makes that toe drag catch on the sideline with Hurts

Someone remind me how many snaps Tua took against FSU and TAMU...the only games in which Bama's offense has come close to "struggling"?

Both of those games are L's without the defense playing lights out.Check Jalens stats on that FSU game.

53 of that 96 was 1 play.

Which furthers my point. If Jalen was struggling sooooooo bad, why wasn't Tua brought in?

Saban sees these guys in practice every single day. Do you think he's not playing the guy who gives him the best chance to win? If not, what makes you think you know more than he does?

Why would you bring in a true freshman when the QB you have has a TD pass, hasn't thrown an interception or trailed in the game and is doing what you want which is ball control and not have turnovers.

You bring in Tua and who knows what happens. Maybe he does like Jalen last year and puts it on the ground first snap. What happens then when FSU drives it down for a score and you're down 14-10?

You mean this one? [img:left]https://imgur.com/a/mvrMV[/img]

No,I don't know more than he does but I've seen what happens when Jalen faces a solid defense.When Aub,GA stuff that running game we'll see if a move is made and we'll bring this thread back up how about that.

If Tau played a good defense he would throw several pics. Hurts is the only starter on the team.

I don't see Saban benching Hurts, but I can tell by the recievers reactions in the game that they get frustrated with Hurts throwing balls into the dirt, over throwing, underthrowing, and generally not accurate passes.Watch the receivers this next game and see if they aren't throwing their hands all over the place in aggrevation after bad passes from Hurts.

With all of that Said Recievers are usually a Whiney bunch anyways.

Hurts can make up for his lack of passing with one or 2 long yardage scrambles-which alot of the times end in a score.

Either way, we will definitely see if Hurts can stretch the field with his arm in the coming weeks. He will be tested by some stout defenses.

Maybe so. It still aggrevates me that Hurts wants to hold onto the ball. Sometimes, especially on play action, he needs to just chunk the damn thing and trust that Ridley or whoever will outrun the defender.

I would figure TAU has to practice against a pretty good defense week end and week out.

Yep...and he probably throws several picks in practice every week.

We all see Tua's talent at spinning the ball. It jumps out at you. But, we see it in games only...after the first string guys have absolutely raped, brutalized, and demoralized the other teams' defenses. Saban sees it every day in practice. Saban is paid to win football games, and will play whoever gives Bama the best opportunity to win.

We all see the frustration the receivers display when Jalen skips one to them. But, Jalen makes GOOD DECISIONS with the ball, and Tua probably just isn't there yet. Example of this? The pick 6 he threw against UT. Saban talked about it during the SEC Film Room on SEC Network. Said that in that situation, with a guy in the back of the end zone, you want to miss high to where either your guy gets it, or it's an overthrow. If the receiver had been at the front of the end zone, Saban said you want to throw low, where only your guy can get to it as well. Tua missed low to a guy in the back of the end zone, and threw a pick that was returned for a td.

Saban knows he has a beast of a team. He also knows that mistakes will do more to lose a game than most anything else. He's playing the guy he has the most confidence in to not make those mistakes.

And how do you know this?

I call bullsh*t on this, Jalen starts out of respect for the experience and game management he has shown.He SHOULD be the starter until he can't get it done.Alabana has yet to play a defense that can go toe to toe 4 qtrs.But it's on the way because in November the chit is gonna hit the fan.There will be a time perhaps even in the LSU game where Jalen has less than a 100 yards passing in the 2nd half and is just holding the ball. What will happen then?There are a half dozen 5 star receivers on this team and Ridley is the only one used by Jalen game in game out.The proof will be in the pudding,Alabama will need some down field passing against LSU,MSU, and damn sure will need it versus AUB and GA.

Does Auburn have a ground or passing game? Does Georgia have anything but a ground game? Who has both that are effective?

They both have a top notch defense.Y'all sleep on Auburn all you want to but let'em hit a deep ball to Hastings early and get the crowd in it,it'll be a chit storm for 3 hours.Y'all have a short memory.I don't think Ga's offense would be effective against Bama.

You should send Saban a resume. You've obviously got it figured out better than he does.

What's your peewee coaching record?

I haven't said 1 thing about anything Saban has done.Just gave my opinion just like you.No need to be a smart ass.

How has that worked out for Auburn this year? Their offense is run left, run right, throw a deep ball, punt. Throw deep ball, run up the middle, run up the middle, punt.

At times it has worked pretty well,at Clemson, at LSU are not losses to be ashamed of.The LSU game was a fluke 2nd half.If they execute the plays they have playmakers.I'm not that worried about AU's offense but their defense is plenty capable of rattling Hurts and making Bama play left handed and doing something out of the norm.

Sometimes the receivers run the wrong routes, sometimes they quit or give up on the route, sometimes the Db just makes the plays, sometimes the line doesn't block right, sometimes there is a defensive hold that isn't called and sometimes the Qb messes up. There are a lot of reasons a pass play doesn't work.

.

Your right. Gus has those boys ready to play. Hope he gets an extension.

Because I watch him play during his time in games and he will throw a bunch of pics with where and when he throws at this point of his career. Not a bad thing he will learn from it but he is not ready to be a starter. He is getting some great reps and will be a good one soon

Isn't it nice that Bama has 2 good QBs this year? Could very well make a difference in the later part of the season this year...

May I add that any pick can be a pick 6...Just saying because there really isn't that much of a difference interception wise other than the points

I assume you are referring to my video above. That is as bad of a pick as you can throw. The linebacker literally never moved and he hit him in the numbers. Being on the goal line with Alabama's running game makes it even worse. Saban doesn't like turnovers and Hurts doesn't turn it over

Yeah my b, I forgot to quote it...I agree it was a terrible pick and Saban def doesn't like turnovers, but they both have the same amount of interceptions this year I am pretty sure...also, ever notice how many times Jalen fumbles the ball? sometimes he is down, sometimes he isn't and it goes out of bounds...just putting out some more talking points is all

Hurts has 1 INT on 151 attempts, and 3 fumbles on 84 carries.

Tua has 1 INT on 42 attempts, and 1 fumble on 12 carries.

So turnover per touch is Hurts at 1.7% and Tua at 3.7%.

I think we will see Tua as the starting QB. Be it at Alabama or another team. I hope it's at Alabama. And I stand by my earlier assessment in another thread that if the offense starts to struggle against a really good defense this year due to Hurts passing ineffectiveness, then it won't surprise me to see Saban put in Hurts to stimulate the team. He has done it before on other teams.

Tua certainly looks good enough to start for any top tier team in the country, better than most.

This is not a knock on Hurts, he seems to be improving from last year and I hope he continues. He's a good QB or else he wouldn't have beat out all those other guys and we wouldn't be where we are right now.

May be wrong; but I don't think Hurts has lost a fumble? Not sure about Tua.

Good facts there...I think another stat worth looking at is the fact that Ridley has 42 catches while the next highest is Jeudy with 12 receptions...That is very troubling because we all saw vs A&M when Ridley goes out with Hurts in, the offense stalls/sucks because Hurts doesn't look for anyone else. Let me mention again, I am more talking about the battle for qb next year than start Tua over Hurts this year...If Tua keeps improving and impressing, he deserves a shot to start over Hurts if he earns it despite the experience factor. It would be a miracle if he doesn't transfer because Saban tends to always go with the more experienced qb...though we won't know till the time comes Lord willing!

Bammer on Bammer violence is a beautiful thing.

What a quandary it is to have the best sophomore AND freshman QB in the country? What will we do?

Hurts, will be there for the full 4yrs. Nobody is going to draft him if he leaves early. Unless something happens, Tua will transfer is my guess. He isn't bench warming/back-up talent

Tua in time will take that job.

Not gonna happen. Hurts got to the championship game as a true freshman. Alabama will cake walk to the national championship this year. No way Saban sits him after that. Tua carne along at the wrong time unless Hurts gets injured.

A historically talented defense took them to the NC game not a freshman qb.

Ok. Well, if you're tired of watching Saban take teams to the championship game you can always root for whatever team Tua ends up transferring to.

You also might want to look up how many points Alabama's offense scored last year and how that historical defense gave up 30 to Arkansas and 49 to Ole Miss before giving up 36 to Clemson. Those points were needed to bail the defense out in those games just like the defense bailed the offense out in others. Team sport and all that stuff.

Hahaha..calm down fella..Roll Tide.

Btw...Jalen hooked up Ole miss on some of those points and that Defense scored 2 tds and a punt return to beat ole piss last year.

I'm an Auburn fan. I'm just ready for Nick to retire so I can quit hearing some Alabama fans whine about play calling, QB's , coordinators, and winning.

One pick = several picks?
An old tom kicks your ass = your a shitty turkey hunter.
I don't think so.

Well chit that explains why you don't know what you're talking about.

We shall see this weekend though what Hurts is made of...If he goes out there and balls out passing/running, I stand corrected of the lack of improvement I have said in this thread...If he doesn't, I just hope we win and continue my case that next year Tua may overtake Jalen...I honestly think this LSU game is going to be close, just look at how LSU has played since Troy, and look at how loose they are playing...

Coach Saban is great but not infallible. Tua will win the Heisman by the time he�s done. Hurt�s did a great job as a freshman last year but with the talent Alabama has, it makes him look better than he actually is.

I'm once again standing by my point that Jalen has not improved, and next year it will be a qb battle...I was at the LSU game and you miss how many open receivers Hurts missed on the tv. He literally had guys running perfect routs only for him to hesitate and not throw the ball before the break. He literally only threw the ball when our guys were standing there wide open...absolutely pathetic. A few times the line didn't block well and he had 3 drops, but most of the times the line took the blame was because he failed to throw the dang ball! Sure he made some plays with his legs but Tua has running ability too, and to be honest, he didn't do anything with his legs that Tua couldn't have done...0 wow factor with him now that teams are loading the box and putting a spy on him...pretty easy to shut our offense down despite the weapons when your qb doesn't throw the ball/can't hit a 20 yard pass if the guy isn't wide open...

Only a few times the line didn't block well???

He also threw it up several times when the receiver wasn�t even close to being open. I was at the game as well and there were open receivers on almost every play. I�m sure those WR�s are getting tired of not being throw to. This Bama team would win every game by several TD�s if Tua was the QB, our skill positions are as deep as they�ve ever been. We won�t be able to play conservative going forward because of all the defensive injuries. We�re about to get into some high-scoring games and Hurts won�t be able to catch up

No doubt a stupid statement.

Well when the play is designed to be a quick slant or out to the receiver and the qb holds on to the ball, that's not on the line...just tired of everyone pointing to the problem being just the line and not realizing the qb is at some fault as well

Exactly...One near the end should have been a pick 6 when he threw a floater across the field...I honestly would be ticked as a receiver when they are out there busting their tales running great routes and coming open only to have Hurts scramble for 3 yards or less everytime

Shut down the run and Calvin Ridley and you can beat Bama, as long as Hurts is the QB. He looks to Ridley on almost every passing play

And makes him get to his knees to catch it if that good...Hurt's not showing passing improvement in games...maybe in practice but that doesn't exactly count.

There's a lesson coming by the end of the season.Mark it down.

7 different players caught passes from Hurts
Hurts and J.K. Scott were the difference in the game

Maybe Saban will come to his senses and see that Tua needs to start now. It's a miracle he ever wins when he can't see what y'all see every week.

Jalen is one of the most under appreciated quarterbacks in the country. The kid has one loss on his resume and in that one loss, he pretty much had the game won with a minute left. He hit 7 different guys last night and was the difference in the game by far. When he was not getting protection, he turned losses into first downs. Now I�m not saying he doesn�t miss open receivers and is this prolific passer, but he has improved in my eyes. The deep ball to Ruggs was beautiful, and he made some big time plays in tough circumstances.

I haven�t heard/read where anyone has said anything about a lack of ground game last night. It was all Hurts passing or running last night. Seems like Saban is saving his backs for another game

Roll Tide Bill

And hurts had 0 designed runs against Tennessee i believe. Saban definitely has something up his sleeve...

Saban must be seeing something. He had a lot of praise for Hurts in the press conference after the game.

The question is if we are wanting the best running backs, the best receivers, linebackers...etc, why are we settling for a qb who is just plain OK...aj, coker, and even sims had a beautiful deep ball that is non existent with Hurts which really is killing our running game (LSU played with everyone near the line and shut us down...has nothing to do with holding back anything but has everything to do with the other team not afraid of any deep threat whatsoever) Yes, I think Jalen had his best passing game vs LSU...but it still honestly sucked...All I am saying is that we have a guy that can put fear in a defense with not only his running ability but more so his passing with Tua...There is absolutely no way we can have Tua ride the bench next year as much as he has this year unless Jalen really improves to that level

Just look at how many 3 and outs we had last night...our offense was absolutely sluggish for the most part which is inexcusable with how much talent we have literally everywhere...Sure, there were some missed pass interference calls and drops by our receivers, but we have seen Hurts' ceiling...just haven't seen Tua's yet

What does Saban compared to the experts on this site.