@lakesidegater: Your silly words revel you as a poor loser. There are so many Gator fans in the Bama threads! You had your mini- dynisties why piss on someone elses parade?

I’m with you on that. It is all about perspectives–and how you feel about players from different eras. It’s like arguing Bear v. Saban. I’m just happy we had them both

Namath will always be “it” for among Bama QBs–and one of my faves among all QBs–even though I never saw him play a down for the Tide. But A.J. is definitely one of our greats, and I’m hoping he has more in store for us!

I find it a fun debate, as I could discuss Alabama and their players without end. But, the truth is, neither of us are wrong, because its a debate of perspectives. Maybe eras as well. Roll Tide

First, where in the blog-commenting rulebook does it say we’re required to apply objective standards when posting?

Second–and this is for all the stat-worshippers–players should be judged by the impact they have on the game during the era in which they played, not by the stats they amassed in the 30s, 40s, 50s, or 60s compared to the stats a QB would amass in the pass-obsessed 2000s-2010s.

Third, you bet I’m considering what Namath and Stabler did in the NFL as part of their quarterback careers. Yeah … sure … I’m all super-duper impressed by the college careers of Danny Wuerffel, Gino Torretta, and Charlie Ward (sorry if the dripping sarcasm splashes on your shoes), but if you ask me the greatest quarterbacks of all time, none of those guys will be on my list. And if the sum total of what McCarron accomplishes in his football career is two championships at Bama, he’s not going to make the list of anyone but diehard Bama fans (who don’t watch the NFL) either.

On the other hand …

While Stabler never fully gets his due, Namath is an iconic figure in football history. He’s an NFL Hall of Famer, played a significant role in the development of the modern-day NFL, and Bleacher Report puts him at #10 on its list of the greatest college QBs of all time. To suggest that A.J. has eclipsed him–or could–is nuts. Maybe that would happen if his future produces a Bradylike career … but I wouldn’t count on that.

Namath and Stabler were outstanding QBs while in Tuscaloosa, but by what objective standard was either better than McCarron? A.J. already has most of the single-season records; barring a season-ending injury, he will leave Alabama with almost or even all of the significant career marks; and he has one more national title as a starter than any QB in Tide history and may wind up adding another. Namath and Stabler became legends based at least as much on what they did on Sundays (and some of the outrageous things they did the other six days of the week) as they did in college; whether McCarron will be able to match that is still to be seen. But just based on their college performances alone, McCarron has already exceeded anything Broadway or Snake did, and still has time to add to it.

I appreciate everything A.J. has accomplished for the Tide and look forward to seeing what’s next. But in a field that includes Joe Namath and Kenny Stabler, it’s impossible for me to believe he’ll go down as the best Bama QB. But … time will tell.

I have had an injury like this. The time it takes to recover and get to 100% is painful and long. This post explains a lot. Roll Tide!

I agree with you on the Heisman. It has now become more about marketability than about ability. Mark Ingram’s story about his father’s troubles, RGIII’s endorsement potential, and T’eo’s “story” all led to major pushes by the media (ESPN especially) to crown them as Heisman winners. Ingram won out in a weak field, and one could easily argue that Andrew Luck should have gotten the Heisman over Griffin.

As for T’eo, you could just hear the corporate heads crafting a “30 at 30″ or even a feature-length, “Rudy”-esqe film with him overcoming the loss of his grandmother and girlfriend and ending with him holding up the Heisman in December and an improbable crystal football in January. When neither happened and the girlfriend turned out to be a fraud (and whether or not T’eo knew that she was phony or even was trying to cover up his sexuality, he still lied about having met her) then ESPN was more than happy to salvage as much attention out of it as they could by talking about it constantly for two weeks. The WWL was probably the biggest loser of all in the T’eo story…and that is the most hilarious thing to come out of it.

The problem with this award, is there is no clear definition. Does it go to the player that had the most impact in one game? Is it a culimnation of the last two years? Three years? I know what it should be. $cam Newton was the last deserving winner. He was, by far, the best player in college football.

McCarron has won the same number of BCS title games as he has lost GAMES as a starter….you get it?

He;s won 2 BCS title games, and he’s lost two GAMES (2011 LSU regular season, 2012 A&M regular season) as a starter. So, it’s quite a bit different from Boyd, Driskell, Shaw, etc., who have no BCS title wins but more losses as a starter…..

According to James Franklin, he does.

If Satan himself wore Crimson, Bama fans would worship him.

On The Dan Patrick Show, they were interviewing McCarron and put up a graphic under his picture that said he has three championships already. I’m assuming McCarron was a redshirt freshman on that 2010 title team, right?

The mystique and gravitas of McCarron will increase in the upcoming season. I do question the calls by the OC when it was know he was suffering with his ribs, but that is then. His ribs should be fine for his last season at Bama.

changeup39: We didn’t need that on his thread.

Tajh Boyd: 0-0
EJ Manuel: 0-0
Jeff Driskell: 0-0
Matt Barkley: 0-0
Connor Shaw: 0-0
etc…

Oh boy. Where will this take the legend of McCarron now .. especially in the eyes of Alabama fans?

Last season I never bought into the hype by many fans, and some in the media (Gary Danielson, I’m talking to you), that McCarron was a reasonable Heisman candidate. That wasn’t necessarily his fault, I blamed play-calling as much as anything else.

However, knowing how the media works he will certainly be a part of the preseason Heisman hype for 2013. Especially if they believe, as I do, that McCarron will break Alabama’s single season passing (yards) record.

This little story will only add fuel to that fire.

You know what my first thought was when I read this story? This makes me question Nick Saban’s thinking even more during their attempted comeback against Texas A&M.

Last two offensive plays for Alabama in that game, losing by 5:

3rd and Goal from the 5: 3-yard run by McCarron
4th and Goal from the 2: Interception by McCarron in the end zone

So … Mr. Saban, you know your quarterback has “injured ribs” and you don’t run Eddie Lacy at least on 3rd down and likely on 4th too?

I don’t get it.

Anyway, you know these “injured ribs” will now forever be part of McCarron lore and will certainly be a selling point for the Heisman hype next season.

McCarron’s name will among the preseason favorites alongside Johnny Football, Teddy Bridgewater, Lache Seastrunk, JaDaveon Clowney, Braxton Miller, and probably Aaron Murray.