Trouble in Tuscaloosa

This is the worst football I have seen the Alabama Crimson Tide play ever. The defense is undisciplined, the play calling is horrible, the team lacks leadership, and is the o line even trying? This team looked like a JV team in high school today. These players should be ashamed of their embarrassing play against a team like SFU.

The big question surrounding this team was qb play. But the real issues of this team go far beyond that.

(Fox News)

Let's talk about the QB situation. Saban wanted to use this game to try out new QBs after Milroes shaky performance against Texas. What he expected was for backup Tyler Buckner to beat up against a team like SFU, but his performance was tragic. Buckner was off rhythm and missed plenty of throws. So, Saban decided to try out the third stringer Ty Simpson. Simpson looked a little better, but still definitely looked shaky and not to an Alabama standard.

There were 2 key takeaways from this game in my opinion. Many people might believe that this game created more questions regarding the QB situation. However, after this game the answer is clear. Jalen Milroe is miles ahead of both of these quarterbacks. As I mentioned before, Milroe is such a talented QB, it's just his lack of experience that is cause for worry. Both Buckner and Simpson lack experience as well, and neither of them have the talent Milroe possesses. And after the performances against SFU, Jalen Milroe is the unquestionable QB for the rest of the season. Especially after the way the O line played, you need a QB like Milroe at the helm.

The second takeaway was that the biggest fault of this team is play from the offensive line. I mean were they even trying today? Despite the subpar play from Buckner and Simpson, half the time they had no time to even throw. When the team tried to run up the middle, the o line was unable to create gaps to allow big plays to occur. As I mentioned previously about the Texas game, Milroe struggled often due to horrible snaps. As RGIII mentioned it is vital for QBs to get into rhythm, and it is very hard for them to do so when the center is inconsistent with snaps. It seemed that SFU was dominating the line, which should never happen. Even on defense, Alabama struggled to get pressure against today and especially against Texas.

Through the Saban era, Qb and skill position play has fluctuated, but what has always held constant was strong play from the offensive and defense lines . Vintage Alabama football is winning games in the trenches. Now these are the weak parts of this team.

There are glaring problems apparent on this Alabama football team. However, Bama still has the talent to contend for a national championship. Although it may seem like the season is over, you have to look at where this team is strong. The Alabama WR core has definitely taken a step up after a pretty awful year last year. Jermaine Burton and Isaiah Bond can fly, and Kobe Prentice is an elite route runner who is a go to guy. Furthermore, this Alabama secondary is underrated. Yes, those Texas boys went crazy, but that is not all on the secondary alone. In college football, if your D line can’t get to the QB quickly, you're gonna get burnt over the top. The Tides D line just never got pressure on Eweres, and you can’t expect these corners to stay 1 on 1 on guys like Xiavier worthy for that long. Although he is inexperienced, Jalen Milroe is talented enough to take this team to a chip. His arm talent is unmatched, all he needs is the protection from his O line to give him time to connect downfield with Burton or Bond, or to even give him enough confidence to stay in pocked for longer than 2 seconds.

The season may seem over, but this team is far too talented to give up. However, the current play is unacceptable and serious changes need to be made.