After Florida Atlantic, Who Cares Who the Alabama Starting Quarterback is?

The Alabama Crimson Tide cruised to an easy win against Florida Atlantic in a lightning shortened game Saturday, 41-0. But the most frustrating thing for the Tide is no quarterback separated themselves in the game. That’s because they both played great.

Blake Sims started and was nearly perfect, scoring the team’s first three touchdowns, 2 of which were passing. He finished the game with a very efficient 11 of 13 for 214 yards and 2 touchdowns along with 0 interceptions.

Then came in Jacob Coker, who struggled at first but settled down and looked great, going 15 of 24 for 202 yards and a touchdown and no interceptions. So while Sims looked better and will likely remain the starter, the question everybody wants to know is this: why does it matter who the Alabama starting quarterback is?

This is a Nick Saban-led Alabama team. When has it ever mattered who the quarterback was? True, they struggled last week, but Alabama was playing against a quirky spread offense it hadn’t seen before. That makes the struggle plausible.

But now, with the SEC schedule coming up, Sabam will be able to plug either of these guys in and it won’t make a different. All quarterbacks at Alabama are pawns in a system built around loaded talent up front, at running back, at receiver, heck, everywhere but kicker. The quarterback just has to manage the offense.

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As of right now, both are doing fine at that. The running game showed up with the team having a combined 204 yards, and the passing game can still be great between Sims and Coker. But truth be told, it doesn’t matter who is starting.

Whomever Saban eventually goes with full-time, we’ll be talking about how much of a winner that quarterback was, as we do with every quarterback at Alabama. Sims may be the best option right now because he’s more athletic and still makes smarter decisions than Coker.

Saban doesn’t necessarily need the strong arm Coker has. Not that it wouldn’t help, but he needs the guy who is better at managing the offense. Right now Sims appears to be that guy.

But there’s a reason Saban seems to be in no rush to name a starting quarterback with SEC play beginning just two weeks from now. He simply doesn’t care.

Lane Kiffin is a great offensive mind who can turn either guy into an efficient quarterback, and there is so much talent elsewhere that the Tide will be fine.