Goodman: Why does Alabama have a quarterback problem again?
This is an opinion column.
Alabama has a quarterback problem again.
Last season, starter Jalen Milroe regressed in November. Now it’s quarterback Ty Simpson, who struggled against Oklahoma. Are Alabama’s coaches to blame? Some insightful readers are more than a little concerned about the troubling trend.
To the mailbag …
Jim in LaQuina, Calif., writes …
Unofficially, Ty Simpson now holds the distinction of having fumbled the fifth most times in FBS among all players this year (six). No one else in the unofficial list of Top 25 fumblers plays for a ranked team other than Joey Aguilar (Tennessee). Tuscaloosa, we have a problem ... not just because of Simpson’s fumbles, all of which have been critical, but because of his inability to address the fundamental need to get rid of the ball at times when he’s under pressure rather than trying to create a play that isn’t there with an unsecured ball in his hand.
I would be shocked if his coaches (including Kalen DeBoer) haven’t been saying this to him literally all year. You pointed out three crucial errors Simpson made on Saturday that contributed greatly to Alabama’s loss to a significantly inferior team (the interception, the fumble, and the late sack). It reminded me of Milroe 2.0. Milroe, by the way, finished 2024 No.1 in fumbles lost.
Richard writes …
Our offense can’t run the ball because the offensive coordinator and the head coach want to throw the ball all the time. Defense coordinators all around know what we are going to do every single play… Alabama needs to clean house. First the athletics director needs to be FIRED immediately! He hired DeBoer, who no one ever heard off, until he had one good season at Washington and then gave him this stupid, ridiculous contract. The President and the Board should be replaced for allowing that to happen. DeBoer and the offensive coordinator both should be gone.
Mike in Wetumpka writes …
You can stick a fork in The Tide because based on their performances this year against inferior teams. I’m predicting they will leave Jordan-Hare totally humbled and embarrassed … Also, Saturday did a lot to reveal why offensive coordinator Grubb lasted only one year at his previous location.
Kathy writes …
The fault is with the coach. DeBoer should be throwing himself and his coaching staff under the bus, not his quarterback. Did Simpson make mistakes? Of course. And DeBoer can and should dig into his players during practice.
Publicly, though, the buck stops with him. Always. Every time. That’s why he gets paid the (really really) big bucks. His quarterback is a student. Barely out of high school. And is not to be excoriated publicly after a loss he already feels very deeply about.
Shame on DeBoer for forgetting that the responsibility is his and his coaching staff’s and for putting responsibility for a loss on his players shoulders and not on his own. I don’t think you should be giving them cover for it.
Johnny in OKC writes …
You didn’t give Oklahoma enough credit. Those errors were caused by the best D-line in the country. I actually like DeBoer. He’s going to win big there. Even after we beat Tennessee and Alabama on the road, I still don’t think Brent Venables is a great head coach. Great defensive coordinator, but not head coach.
I also don’t hate Bama, but they do have an OU problem (1-5 vs. OU).
ANSWER: It’s very Alabama-like that Oklahoma fans still aren’t happy with Venables even after winning on the road this season at Tennessee and Alabama. Defense travels.
Does anyone remember how bad OU’s defenses were under previous coaching staffs? I’ll call it SEC amnesia.
Oklahoma only gained 212 total yards of offense against Alabama, but the Sooners presumably would have had more numbers in the box score if they weren’t given excellent field position on three different drives.
If Alabama turns it over three times against Auburn, then the Tide will lose the Iron Bowl and miss the College Football Playoff. An Iron Bowl at night in Jordan-Hare is going to be like nothing DeBoer and many of his players have ever experienced.
But it’s not time to give up on Alabama just yet. This team is better than it was last year, and Alabama can still advance to the SEC championship game and make the College Football Playoff. Alabama has the best win this season of any time in the playoff hunt (at Georgia). The victories against Vanderbilt, Missouri and Tennessee were all impressive.
It’s fair to wonder if DeBoer’s team is fading again, though.
I found it curious that DeBoer was so animated before the game against OU. Did he drink too many Red Bulls at kickoff, or was he trying to lift the energy level of a team that he sensed was too flat? It all seemed too forced.
It’s like DeBoer knew another letdown was coming and was trying his best to inject some passion into his players. Nick Saban kept his teams focused by injecting the fear of God into everyone on the sideline.
That’s not DeBoer’s style, and that’s fine, but if Alabama loses to Auburn and misses the playoff again, then DeBoer will have to reevaluate his approach to the offseason.
I still believe in DeBoer, but this much is undeniable. His team couldn’t match OU’s fight last season and it was the same story on Saturday.
Not only that, Alabama’s offense was a mess at the end of the 2024 season and we’re beginning to see some of those same patterns.
Was it mostly a Milroe problem in 2024? Was it Nick Sheridan, the previous offensive coordinator? I was unsure. It seemed like a combination of things. DeBoer then hired his old offensive coordinator, Ryan Grubb.
Problem solved, right?
It all comes down to the Iron Bowl.
Grubb’s razzle-dazzle style is fun to watch, but it might help to have some more substance in the running game behind all the flash. Is Alabama’s offense too predictable at this point of another season?
Cootes line shines as Canucks beat Kraken 4-2
First Period
This game got started with some fireworks after Filip Hronek made a great read to step up and give the Canucks numbers in the Kraken zone, only to give the puck away right after.
On the next shift, the Kraken scored off a deflection play.
1-0 Kraken.
With about five minutes to go in the first, the Kane-Cootes-Lekkerimäki turned in a solid shift, highlighted by Lekkerimäki hunting the puck down with a strong effort along the wall and helping to extend their time in the offensive zone.
It was a tough period for Vitali Kravtsov, who took a penalty to give the Kraken the game’s first power play. Lankinen made his best save of the period when he flashed the right pad to stop a one-timer chance as the Canucks killed off the Kravtsov penalty.
All in all, it was not a good first period from a veteran-looking Canucks group up against a much worse Kraken team that simply outworked them on multiple occasions. The Pettersson line had some decent looks though:
Some takeaways from the first period:
-Why does Jani Nyman look like Connor McDavid?
-Liked some things from the Pettersson line. I’ve had my doubts about what that trio will be able to do, but tonight was a solid start.
-Think I’ve seen enough of Vitali Kravtsov for now.
Second Period
At the conclusion of an Aatu Räty holding penalty, Braeden Cootes helped jumpstart a Canucks rush that ended with Filip Hronek ripping a shot off the crossbar.
The Canucks started stacking shifts on the Kraken after this, and Evander Kane made a nice pass from below the goal line to Elias Pettersson, who couldn’t quite beat Matt Murray.
Of course, that amounted to nothing because once again, Vitali Kravtsov was late to his defensive assignment, and it cost the Canucks a goal.
Not to pin it all on Kravtsov — Willander was also bad on this shift — but this seems like the kind of thing that will hold him back from succeeding at the NHL level.
The Canucks got on the board after another strong shift from the Cootes line. Jonathan Lekkerimäki looked poised on yet another shift, and this time it ended in a goal… the first of the preseason for Cootes!
Nice play from Kirill Kudryavtsev on this goal as well!
In the final seconds of the period, Lekkerimäki picked off a pass at the Seattle blue line and moved in on a breakaway that Murray turned aside.
Some takeaways from the second:
-Nice to see Braeden Cootes get an opportunity to kill penalties tonight.
-This is the best Jonathan Lekkerimäki has looked since camp started.
-I’m really starting to think Braeden Cootes might make this roster.
Third Period
The third period started with a bang as Elias Pettersson provided a screen for a Filip Hronek slap shot that found its way past Matt Murray to tie this game up.
2-2.
The Cootes line kept cooking, and if this were The Stanchies, we’d have six different GIFs showing you how well all three members of that line played. Cootes and Lekkerimäki played with speed and poise, and Kane was certainly a welcome presence on that line.
The Canucks got a good opportunity to get some work in for what will likely be their opening night first power play unit… and it went… relatively well! They didn’t struggle to gain the zone, snapped the puck around with speed and poise, and basically all five guys found themselves with a solid scoring opportunity. Unfortunately, none of them could convert, and the game remained tied.
The Canucks got another power play opportunity after a skirmish after the whistle, giving PP1 another chance to get some reps in before the regular season. And this time, they didn’t just look good in their process… they scored! Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson played catch before Jake DeBrusk took out the trash for his first goal of the preseason.
3-2 Canucks.
Evander Kane added an empty netter to make it 4-2.
Some takeaways from the third:
-Absolutely love the snarl that Elias Pettersson (the defenceman) brings. That snow shower on Tolopilo was so dumb, and it’s nice to have defencemen eager to let the opposition know doing dumb stuff is a bad idea.
-This one was way too close, but once Kravtsov’s minutes got cut, the Canucks were more in control, as they should’ve been from the start.
What’s your instant reaction to this one?
