2011 Alabama Crimson Tide Football: A Quarterback Away From Greatness

The Alabama Crimson Tide may well win the 2011 NCAA Football Championship, but only if the quarterback position does not get in the way.

Alabama’s Saturday spring game confirmed what many Tide fans already suspected—no matter who ultimately wins Alabama’s quarterback battle, Alabama’s only weakness will be at the game’s most important position. 

The Tide’s strength will undoubtedly be its defense.  Nine starters return from a unit that was statistically above-average last year on that side of the ball.  The vulnerability of the defense last yea and its inexperienced secondary, should instead be a strength this season, as all six players in the rotation return. 

The defensive line and linebacking corps return mostly in tact, with the exception of Marcel Dareus, whose 2010 production never quite matched the reputation he earned from a stellar 2009 National Championship Game performance anyway.  The continued development of the remainder of the line, combined with a talented set of junior college transfers, should more than make up for Darues’ absence and translate to a dominant defense.

On the offensive side, the combination of preseason Heisman candidate Trent Richardson, who averaged over six yards a carry last season, and four returning offensive lineman, should give the Tide one of the nation’s most potent rushing attacks. 

The Tide will boast a mix of steady veterans and talented youngsters that should equate to solid production at tight end.  Returning receivers Marquis Maze and Darius Hanks are both solid players, but unlike the departed Julio Jones, neither is quite good enough to raise the level of the team’s quarterback play simply by stepping on the field.

Which is exactly the Tide’s problem.

No matter how dominant Alabama may be at every other position, at some point this year, Alabama will need its quarterback to lead a two-minute drive or convert a critical third and long.  Judging from Saturday’s results, neither guy can do it. 

It was a good thing Alabama held its spring game Saturday afternoon, because neither rising sophomore A.J. McCarron nor redshirt freshman Phillip Sims looked ready for primetime. 

The two leading candidates for Alabama's quarterback job looked strikingly similar in their mediocrity, with each completing slightly more than half of their passes when paired with the first team offense, and slightly less than half when working with the second unit. 

Statistically, the numbers of McCarron (21-38-222 yards) and Sims (19-38-228 yards) were almost identical, and each accumulated those stats in almost identical fashion.  Both were efficient at moving the chains with short passes, but woefully inadequate at any effort to pass downfield. 

In several opportunities in two-minute drills, neither were able to put points on the board. 

Both quarterbacks also made poor decisions that resulted in interceptions, and McCarron, the presumptive favorite due to his extra year of experience, repeatedly forced downfield throws into coverage and fumbled just short of the opposing goal line, resulting in a Mark Barron 99-yard return the other way for a touchdown. 

Tide fans may not worry too much about a play like that in April, but if it happens again in October, it will be an entirely different story

Of course, both quarterbacks have the summer and multiple fall practices to improve.  The one positive displayed in the scrimmage is that both quarterbacks appear to have stronger arms than the departing Greg McElroy.

Eventually, both may have a higher upside when they fully learn the offense and stop making inexperienced mistakes. 

But it is a disturbing sign that, unlike this time two years ago, when McElroy emerged from a supposed spring quarterback competition as a steady hand and clear team leader, neither McCarron nor Sims have distinguished themselves thus far. 

Alabama fans will spend this summer anxiously hoping that one of the two emerges this fall. Their championship hopes depend on it.