That’s a constant complaint from Alabama fans, and though it’s certainly a valid one, it’s not particularly legitimate.

No Wilson wasn’t particularly adept at going through his progression to the third and fourth (much less fifth) receivers, but at the collegiate level, really who is? You might find three or four quarterbacks in any given time in college football that can do that consistently, and that’s it. Hell, you find a lot of guys that can’t do that even playing in the NFL.

All of that is generally why I think McElwain got it right last year with the simplification of the passing game. Unless you know you have a QB who can do that type of thing, I think it’s futile to continue to throw multiple reads at him and try to force him into doing something you know he cannot do. Just take a realistic assessment of what your guy can consistently do, and go from there. Overloading the system with excess isn’t going to help. Just simplify the whole thing by generally just giving one read and then a check-down option. There’s no use in sitting him back there trying to make multiple reads, all the while taking a bunch of sacks and ultimately throwing a lot of bad balls (possible picks).

Don’t get me wrong, I certainly want us to get a guy in the future who can do the progressions properly, but I understand those guys are pretty rare — and I doubt either McElroy or Jackson can do that now — and that at the moment we probably don’t have something who can handle things. So, simplify the passing game, funnel what you do through your stud wide receiver, and then rely on a good running game and a strong defense to get the job done.