One-time University of Alabama quarterback and current Cincinnati Bengal AJ McCarron thinks he knows exactly what is ailing his former college team.
After Alabama's loss this weekend to Ole Miss, McCarron took to the air waves on his weekly segment on Tuscaloosa's Tide 99.1-FM radio show to voice what he sees as the issues facing the group.
The main culprit? None other than head coach Nick Saban and, more specifically, Saban's propensity to "handcuff" his offensive coordinators.
"I don't know if that's Lane doing that or if coach Saban is kind of putting the handcuffs on Lane like I've known Coach to do in the past on his offensive coordinator...we're going to be very bland and run this play and do this and we'll throw it on third down if we have to," McCarron said. "It's going to be interesting to see how they bounce back against Arkansas this week and what kind of offense comes out this week."
Interesting indeed.
The Cincinnati rookie, currently on the reserve/non-football injury list due to nagging shoulder tightness, thinks Alabama needs to spread the ball around more instead of forcing it to playmaking receiver Amari Cooper. Cooper has 52 of the team's 111 receptions so far this season.
When asked by a caller about the team's recent propensity for procedure penalties, McCarron offered that he thought the team was suffering from a lack of leadership and thus cohesiveness.
"I think one of the things that this team is lacking that hurts them the most is not having the true leaders like we had last year and guys that, when things go bad, 'Hey, let's calm everybody down, pick it back up and go back to work and get back on the right track.' I feel like when things go bad, this team struggles a little with bouncing back and making good plays."
McCarron did also caution fans against overreacting after a loss, recalling his own experiences with that phenomenon during his time as a starter at Alabama (ironic, considering he's joining the chorus of voices criticizing the team post-loss).
McCarron went on to say that he saw numerous leaders on defense - players like Trey Depriest and Landon Collins - but that the offense and quarterback Blake Sims were suffering from a glaring lack of direction.
"But they have to find that leader on offense, I don't know if that's Austin Shepherd or, with Ryan (Kelly) being out, somebody needs to establish that. Blake needs to step up and do it. It's going to be a tough road."
