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Mornin’ Grits: Former Alabama football QB AJ McCarron being held back

By Brandon Nickel

TUSCALOOSA, AL - SEPTEMBER 28: An Alabama Crimson Tide fan holds up a 'Roll Tide' sign during the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Bryant-Denny Stadium on September 28, 2013 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
TUSCALOOSA, AL - SEPTEMBER 28: An Alabama Crimson Tide fan holds up a 'Roll Tide' sign during the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Bryant-Denny Stadium on September 28, 2013 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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#FreeAJ is needed on social media for former Alabama football quarterback AJ McCarron. The Cincinnati Bengals fired a coordinator instead of a QB change.

The Mornin’ Grits is a weekend morning column that gives an opinion about what is or should be eating at fans of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Then, news in Cincinnati should almost be creating an ulcer for Alabama football fans.

Mark Inabinett of AL.com highlights that pain very succinctly:

"“After becoming the first NFL team in 78 years to open the season with two home games and fail to score a touchdown in either, the Cincinnati Bengals made a change on Friday – but it wasn’t at quarterback.Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis fired offensive coordinator Ken Zampese and replaced him with Bill Lazor, who is the Bengals’ quarterbacks coach.”"

Why should this news trouble anyone in Alabama? Maybe the fact that one of the most accomplished quarterbacks in college football history is being slighted for Bengals starting QB Andy Dalton.

AJ McCarron has won three BCS national championships, two SEC championships, and even the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award while playing under Alabama football head coach Nick Saban, arguably one of the greatest football minds of all time.

Yet, somehow, Coach Lewis feels that a change at offensive coordinator is worth more than the quarterback that Coach Saban spent so much time raising to be a leader.

It has been widely publicized how many growing pains there were for McCarron in his time at Alabama; however, the proof of Saban’s faith in McCarron is in the time that he sacrificed prepping the young man for winning under the bright lights in those big championship games.

It doesn’t mean that McCarron should be handed the keys to the Bengals’ offense just because he won those college games, but their treatment of McCarron seems unfair to say the least.

Inabinett reported, “in a conference call with Cincinnati reporters on Friday afternoon, Lazor gave no hint of entertaining the idea of replacing Andy Dalton with backup AJ McCarron at quarterback.” Instead, Lazor gave the ‘Rah-rah’ speech about how Dalton would bounce back.

From what? The fact that his eyes are constantly glued to his favorite wide receiver AJ Green every time he wants to throw the ball? In two games, the Bengals have not scored a touchdown. Dalton has missed 30 of his 66 pass attempts and earned a combined 394 yards. Green has earned 141 of those yards on 10 pass completions, the longest being for 50 yards against the Houston Texans.

Therein lies the problem: Dalton has a great arm and can throw the long ball to Green easily, but once down in the opposition’s red zone the drive stalls. The opposition’s linebackers help to double or triple team Green in the end zone, making Dalton have to either force it into Green or find another option. If one watched those last two games, Dalton rarely ever looked in another direction to start a play; his eyes were telling the opposition that he wanted to get the ball to Green.

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Meanwhile, the Heisman Trophy runner-up whom the Bengals drafted in 2014 had to ride the bench and helplessly watch the debacle.

McCarron has played eight regular season games, started three of them, and even played one playoff game while Dalton was injured in 2015. McCarron threw a combined six touchdowns and two interceptions, completing over 66% of his passes for 854 yards in the regular season.

Dalton’s career completion average is only 62.6% over seven seasons of being the Bengals’ starting QB. In his last two games, Dalton has completed just 54.5% of his passes with no touchdowns and four interceptions.

How many years does it take for the Bengals to realize that having a great arm does not necessarily make a great leader? Especially one who has eyes for only one receiver for most of the game. The defense knows what to look for with Dalton; McCarron would give the defense more to think about than the deep pass to Green down the seam.

Nobody needs to say that McCarron will be the Bengals’ saviour, but Alabama football fans know first-hand what he can do for a team. Yes, McCarron will likely throw a few interceptions or get sacked a few times, as he learns what it means to play in the NFL. However, his accomplishments in Alabama and the lack of accomplishment from Dalton warrants McCarron to get a chance, at least.

Next: Bama Hammer staff Colorado State-Tide game predictions

Alabama football didn’t raise no fool! When the Bengals play their next game, Crimson Tide fans should raise their fists in the air and spread the hashtag #FreeAJ  across social media to show their love for their former QB. The Bengals need to either play him or trade him to a team who will give him a real chance. Otherwise, they are not just insulting McCarron but Saban and everyone down in Alabama who had faith in him.

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