I really doubt there is anyone left who thinks Milton is the guy to get us any kind of championship. But, other than the very untimely INT he is a stabilizing force and when he does run can do damage with his legs. I guess my question is do we stick with his game management and just give up on the passing game realizing our WRs are not exactly world class either or do we go ahead and give Nico his chance? My honest opinion, while likely to be unpopular, is not to throw Nico into his first start at Tuscaloosa. Start Milton but have Nico ready if our passing game is as impotent as it was tonight. We could try the two QB thing too.
We can speculate all day long, but the fact is Nico is simply not unless Joe gets hurt. It’s his team, and I am with you. I don’t want Nico to start at this juncture. I want our receivers to catch the friggin’ ball and I want Joe to run harder and more often to keep these defenses off balance. The forced pass on 4th and 2 was embarrassing. He never hits passes on the run, it was forced and all he needed to do was run over the guy in front of him. He seems to have found a little moxy judging by how he ran afterward, but him standing over DBs talking trash after he steamrolls them is also a bit embarrassing. He needs to get up and go play and do it again and again. He just put up 100 yards for an entire game. Taking off and steamrolling smaller guys is the least he can do and again he’s still not doing enough of it.
I said it at the beginning of the season, our defense and run game might be what turns out to be the reason for what to me at this point would be a surprising 10+ win season.
Milton is hardly the only one with problems. Way too little discipline with penalties, easy dropped passes by our veteran receiver, and in my opinion we have not kicked field goals when the points were imperative. Had we kicked a FG at one point in the FL game we would have had a completely different approach at the end of the game and better chances to pull it off.
On top of that, either Mincey or Mays has been out for many games. Mincey went out I think kind of early in the second half. With both of those guys in, Joe is more comfortable and our run game is even better. We’ve seen good QBs play with contingency to the performance of their OL. Even mobile QBs like Rattler.
For starters, no way do I want to put Nico in behind a line that let Milton get sacked 3 times and is missing a key difference maker during the gauntlet we are about to face that includes 3 road games and a home game against the #1 team in the country.
Regardless, I think a more mobile Joe will give us a better chance to win—again especially if we clean up the other areas I mentioned and can stay healthy on the OL.
