Why Is Tide QB Sims Taking Heat?

Published on 2-Sep-2014 by Stacey Mickles

Football - NCAA    NCAA Football Daily Opinion

Share this article


Why Is Tide QB Sims Taking Heat?

After watching the Alabama-West Virginia game, the main theme I saw afterwards was how hard the media was on Blake Sims.

Despite completing 73% of his passes and throwing for almost 300 yards, it appears a few observers and fans have already thrown in the towel on the Tide in general and Sims in particular, mainly because he didn't compete a long pass.

Talk about media cycle ADD!

It's fair to say Sims did his part:

So let's take a step back here and reflect.

First of all, this was the opening game of the 2014 campaign. This kid had never started before, and really, he weathered the sketchy patches well.

Secondly, Nick Saban is not expecting Sims to be Kenny Hill and carry his team. He and Lane Kiffin are asking him not to get the team beat. Mission accomplished.

And lastly, the talk is that Jacob Coker has not played well in practice. What was Saban supposed to do? Start Coker because he's allegedly better than Sims?

Tide fans would have acted like Arkansas fans had Saban replaced Sims with Coker and then saw a decline in quality of performance. Which by the way, has anyone checked on Razorbacks QB Brandon Allen, since his team lost to Auburn on Saturday?

Sims earned the right to play.

He did what he's assigned to do: get the ball to his playmakers. The Tide offense piled up over 500 total yards, he had two long drives, and he threw a deep pass for a touchdown that was dropped by a veteran receiver. In fact, if that play was on a baseball field, it would've been scored an E-7!

Sims had a better day than Heisman-holding quarterback Jameis Winston, who tossed two interceptions against Oklahoma State, and UCLA's Heisman-hopeful signal caller Brett Hundley, who only led his team to one touchdown against Virginia.

Keep in mind, the Tide won national championships with brand new starters. Think about that the next time someone criticizes Blake Sims.