Bama Offense Struggles in Spring Game

Published on 21-Apr-2014 by Stacey Mickles

Football - NCAA    NCAA Football Daily Review

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Bama Offense Struggles in Spring Game

If you expected an offensive explosion Saturday in Tuscaloosa, you were in the wrong stadium.

Everyone, including me, expected to see  some offense during the Crimson Tide's spring game, but what we got were two struggling back-ups.

We've heard reports out of Alabama's spring practice about how well the quarterbacks were doing, particularly senior Blake Sims, who was the heir apparent to AJ McCarron.

Sims was lighting up the defense this spring until Saturday. He didn't look like a senior, instead playing like a freshman. He threw for less than 200 yards and got nicked for two interceptions.

The only big play Sims had was a late-game 55-yard touch pass. But, for the most part, he looked like a back-up.

The second-string signal caller, Cooper Bateman, did slightly better. He tossed for one touchdown and suffered zero interceptions At times, Bateman looked more comfortable in the pocket than Sims.

But not to fear, Tide fans, help is on the way.

Everyone knew coming into spring that both Bateman and Sims were just battling to be back-up to former Florida State quarterback Jacob Coker, who was in attendance Saturday. 

As one Bama beat writer put it, "The happiest person in the stadium Saturday was probably Jacob Coker."

The thought was, going into the fall, that Sims and Coker would battle for the starting position. But after Saturday, it's now clear Coker will be in the lead.

Meanwhile, reinforcements at other positions also look more than promising:

It wasn't all bad news for the Alabama offense. Running back TJ Yeldon carried for almost 100 yards on the ground and won offensive MVP for the third year in a row.

The Crimson Tide also hauled in five commitments over the weekend for the 2015 class. That made the day just a little bit brighter for Nick Saban, who didn't seem a bit concerned about the offensive struggles on Saturday.

You wouldn't be, either, if you knew what you had coming back and who's coming in. Must be good to be the king.