The expectations have changed for Ty Simpson from Week 1 to Week 8. If you had told an Alabama fan before that season that Simpson would go 19-for-29 for 253 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers in a win over Tennessee, that would’ve sounded incredible, but considering how well he’s played, it was expected, if not slightly underwhelming.
Simpson made big throws and did more than enough to win the game, but his offensive effort was aided greatly by Zabien Brown’s 99-yard pick-six before halftime that gave Alabama a commanding lead into the second half. The first-year starter was solid in Week 8, but with four-straight wins over ranked SEC opponents, he’s been spectacular this season.
The primary area of focus for me with Simpson has been sack avoidance and time to throw. After Week 1, he began throwing with more anticipation, and that spurred his surge up the Heisman Trophy odds boards. However, in the past two weeks, he began holding onto the ball again.
Then, it was because the speed of the game was just a little too fast for him. Now, when Simpson holds onto the ball, it’s because he’s big-game hunting, and that bit of hubris led to two consecutive four-sack games. Ryan Grubb helped him to rein it in, and Simpson took one sack against the team that came into the week leading the country in sacks per game.
His poise showed through almost immediately, dropping back into his own end zone on a third-and-13 on Alabama’s opening drive. He was patient, buying time with subtle movements, never got sped up, and completed a pass to tight end Josh Cuevas for a first down. That’s the stuff that makes Simpson special, and though he wasn’t his most accurate self in Week 8, it was on display.
Simpson’s improved awareness was encouraging, but oddly, he didn’t make Tennessee pay for blitzing. The Vols blitzed on 47 percent of his dropbacks, but he completed just six of his 15 throws for 63 yards. He had two throws batted down, and though there were no charted drops, a couple of his tight-window attempts weren’t hauled in despite being accurate throws.
Simpson didn’t necessarily play poorly against the blitz. He had a few quick-game misses, and when Grubb dialed up a few deep shots, he didn’t connect. That’s going to happen from time to time. What shouldn’t have happened is Simpson’s inexplicable throw back over the middle to Cuevas on third-and-2 in the fourth quarter that nearly resulted in an interception.
Maybe the most interesting aspect of Simpson’s performance going forward is the new wrinkle that Grubb continues to slowly unveil with the use of under-center play-action. Simpson is tailor-made to run and under center play-action-based offense with his ability to attack between the numbers. Alabama posted a new season-high for play-action usage at 41 percent of Simpson’s dropbacks, and Simpson had his highest average depth of target on play-action throws since Week 1.
He went 8-for-11 with play-action for 134 yards, a touchdown, and a 143.8 passer rating (NFL scale out of 158.3). Alabama should lean into that type of attack going forward, regardless of how well it's running the ball, because you don’t need a strong run game for play-action to be effective.