Former Alabama QB AJ McCarron offers fair critique of Jalen Milroe

Some opinions of Alabama QB Jalen Milroe are more valuable than others. That's the case when former Crimson Tide QB AJ McCarron speaks about him because McCarron has been in Milroe's shoes. He knows what it means to start at quarterback for the University of Alabama. McCarron led the Crimson Tide to back-to-back national championships as the team's starter in 2011 and 2012 and won another as a backup in 2009.

McCarron was part of the very beginning of the Alabama dynasty under Nick Saban. He also played professional football in the NFL and USFL for around a decade. McCarron knows football; specifically, he knows the quarterback position.

So his critique of Milroe, even if I don't necessarily agree with everything he said, is well worth listening to.

There's plenty of opinions that aren't worth listening to, particularly those who have been praying for Milroe's downfall since he became the Tide's starter last season. The calls for him to be benched have been widespread since he became the starter. It didn't matter that he finished sixth in Heisman Trophy voting last season and led Alabama to the SEC Championship and berth in the College Football Playoff.

That talk only softened once Milroe played as well as he did against Georgia, leading the Tide to a win over the Bulldogs and up to the No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll. But following the loss to Vanderbilt, and then poor QB play against South Carolina in a win and at Tennessee in a loss, the talks have ramped back up.

McCarron isn't necessarily calling for Milroe to be benched, but he does wonder if Ty Simpson can run the Kalen DeBoer offense more effectively. It's a fair question as it appears like Milroe is trying too hard to be someone he's not at this stage of his career.

McCarron has become a regular on the podcast of Neal McCready and former Alabama recruiting director Tyler Siskey. On Tuesday, McCarron offered up a layered opinion of Milroe's game this season, and what he sees as the biggest issues from the last couple of weeks.

"It's hard because I like the kid a lot and I think he's a good college player, but he's just not the quarterback that he wants to be," said McCarron on the podcast.

"I love Jalen. I think he's a hell of a player," McCarron said. "He's just not a quarterback -- a pocket guy, like he tries to be. When I think back from, I think maybe it's still in his head somewhere. Maybe he's getting bad advice from somebody. I'm not in that building with him. But leading up to the game last year, when they played Texas at Alabama, they did a big thing -- Texas came out and made some statements about he's not a pocket guy, he can't throw it and beat us. Jalen turns around and does an interview, probably a day later, two days later and says something about I am a pocket guy. I can throw the ball. That game, I was there for that game. It's like he tried to prove that he is a passing quarterback. That's not his forte. That's not his positive.

"His biggest positive is also his biggest negative. He needs to be a 1-2 read guy, go."

It's an interesting and fair critique, one that I think ultimately hits the nail on the head with Milroe this year. One of the most exciting things about the new offensive staff coming in for me was what DeBoer and offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan could do with a QB with Milroe's athleticism.

Last year, many felt like Saban and Tommy Rees were trying too hard to force Milroe into being someone he's not early in the season, and things took off for the Tide when they started tailoring the offense to his strengths.

A whole season of that was what I expected this season. And maybe they have and it's hubris by Milroe holding him back from unleashing his athleticism. Following the win over Georgia, Milroe skyrocked up NFL Draft boards, ranking as high as No. 13 on ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr.'s board.

Milroe wants to play in the NFL and prove he can be a pocket QB who doesn't abandon it and run if his first read isn't open. The problem with that, however, is that Milroe doesn't trust what he's seeing when he goes through his progressions:

McCarron would go on to say that there's been no improvement in Milroe from last season, the one point in his argument that I don't agree with. I think there has been obvious improvement in Milroe's ability as a passer, though I think overall that might have been to the detriment of this Alabama offense.

Because Milroe has gotten better, and he knows it, he's not as quick to try and find running lanes and make things happen with his feet. He wants to stand in the pocket and prove he can make all the throws instead of relying on his speed.

Several times over the last few weeks I've been screaming for him to run. There's been running lanes open and he's chosen to hold the ball and ultimately take a sack or make an errant throw instead. It's like he's trying to prove all the naysayers wrong with every snap and he thinks if he takes off running he's proving their point that he's just a running back masquerading as a quarterback.

Now it's time to leave LANK in the past, though. Milroe and Alabama need to adopt a new strategy, damn the acronym. Just win. By any means necessary. If that means Milroe has to go back to one or two reads and then run as McCarron stated, then so be it. The Crimson Tide had a lot of success with that a year ago.

It's clear that Milroe trying to play the game like McCarron did, or like Tua did, or like Mac and Bryce did, isn't going to work. If he insists on doing so instead of taking advantage of what he does best, then maybe it is time for a quarterback change in Tuscaloosa.