CBS Sports announcers held a conference call on Wednesday with their lead college football announce team, which consists of Verne Ludquist, Gary Danielson, and Allie LaForce, who handles sideline duties. LaForce replaces Tracy Wolfson, who transitioned to NFL coverage for the network. The crew took the time to address a few questions on the Alabama Crimson Tide.
The network will kick off its 14th year of coverage on September 13 at 3:30 p.m. ET with the Bulldogs of Georgia taking on South Carolina. This season also marks the 9th year together for Danielson and Lundquist.
#91353920 / gettyimages.com NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 2: In this handout image provided by CBS, CBS Golf Analyst Nick Faldo, Sr. Vice President of Communications at CBS Leslie Anne Wade, and College Football Analyst Gary Danielson on October 2, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by John Filo/ CBS via Getty Images)
“Too many times a question is phrased as Alabama has trouble handling the hurry up and I think that is part of the formula but it’s a combination of high level of quarterback play and a team willing to spread it out and throw it,” Danielson said.
“Alabama has faced many running quarterbacks and they’ve never really had any trouble with that,” Danielson said. “Cam Newton did a little bit but he did more with his arm. To beat Alabama, you got to throw the ball proficiently.”
“I think you have to be a strong leader, you have to have your team believing that the coach has the best interest in the team and that he will be fair to everyone.” -Gary Danielson
When asked about Alabama’s quarterback competition, Danielson recalled his NFL football days.
“When I was playing in the NFL for 13 years and I was a starter for eight of the years, I hated the two quarterback system.”
Danielson also noted that when he was backup for four of those years, he thought it was one of the greatest systems ever.
“I think you have to be a strong leader,” he said. “You have to have your team believing that the coach has the best interest in the team and that he will be fair to everyone.” Danielson also said a coach like Saban has convinced his players that all positions are open and that he will play the best one and he thinks everyone will buy into that.
“All the coaches realize 100,000 people in the stands, well, at least 99,000 of those fans just watch the quarterback and only see their mistakes and have an opinion on it,” he continued. “No matter how much you want to protect that position, you’re better off naming a starter and living with some of their mistakes”.
He added that he didn’t think it was a formula to win a national championship unless you have defined roles.
#57365658 / gettyimages.com NEW YORK – APRIL 18: (L-R) Miss USA 2005, Chelsea Cooley, Donald Trump, Miss Universe 2005, Natalie Glebova, and Miss Teen USA 2005, Allie LaForce attend ‘Universal Beauty: The Miss Universe Guide To Beauty’ Launch at Trump Tower on April 18, 2006 in New York City. (Photo by Thos Robinson/Getty Images)
“When you throw a guy in there for the first time, he is going to make some mistakes,” Laforce added, ” but you also have to look at improvement from game to game.” She added that she doesn’t think you can name a starter, abandon him in mid-season and then go back to him later on.
It will be interesting going forward to see how Coach Saban and the staff handle the quarterback situation and if it seems that each quarterback begins to work in designed times on the field. Only one set of guys knows what will happen and we all get to speculate.