I mean, he was good but I think your memories are getting foggy. The best QB Bama has faced is Deshaun Watson. Only my opinion but that man played unreal in the two title games.
@@volbenton518 yes my brotha for sure cams performance that game was the best I ever scene at a collegiate level. However, the big difference is Texas a&m wasn’t even suppose to be in that game though and bama time and time again that game had the right defense and Johnny just made broken plays Happen.
@@calebharris3375 yes and what was amazing is there was no need for him to go into some long winded response. He already detests the media as is. All he cares about is can you help me. If you’re of no help, you don’t matter. That shows how much that question really peaked his interest. Combined with maybe the fact the person that asked it, is someone Belicheck likes possibly.
@@matthewj16 Also I suspect it was a ploy to filibuster so long it ate up all the time. And I think he and his friend orchestrated that in advance. Nonetheless I enjoyed the heck out of it.
It’s nice to see good questions and coaches actually truly engage in the answers, there’s too many questions after losses or wins that are absolutely obvious answers! Thank you reporter
@@chrischilders6239 you've obviously never been a journalist/reporter. You absolutely have to ask certain questions. It's literally part of your job lol. Just like answering the media is part of the coached job. Only coaches (who get paid way more than reporters) are allowed to lash out or ignore a reporters question just because they are frustrated. Coaches and players can be divas sometimes so I don't feel bad for them when they get asked a difficult question.
Well then it sounds like they need to change the job? Come up with creative questions, who in the hell wants to ask and answer the exact same questions year after year, knowing damn well what the answer is going to be?
Clemson fan here and to acknowledge Coach Saban is the real deal. Period. He transcends Alabama,,, he is total coaching .... actually kudos to whoever that mfmedia guy was who asked the question,,, these coaches live for a question worth answering
@@brendonbuffaloe8830 burrow overated as a college qb he was literally played one season on a god squad. He is one of the best ever but to say he was better is dumb. Most other qbs had to carry way more
@@jojocottrell0487 It’s really not the god squad tho. 2019 Alabama had a better roster through and through, but Burrow was the difference between winning and losing that game. He consistently threw people open and made tight-window throws. Yes, he had an insane receiving core (so did Bama), but his OLine and defense were below average at best. Derek Stingley and Grant Deloitte were the best two defenders on that team and one was hurt the whole year
@@jojocottrell0487 Also you still never debunked what I said about Watson. Lawrence won one championship against a weak Alabama team with the best team Clemson’s ever had. Watson clawed his way to a victory against a far superior Bama team.
As a Broncos/Bama fan (My dad was a P Manning fan, after he retired in Denver with a SB he just became a full time Broncos fan, and my Grandpa has always liked Bama. I dont really root for teams but those are the teams I consider to be a fan of cause those are the teams my family raised me with) it brings me great joy when he brought up Elway
Love him or hate him Cam Newton probably had one of the best all time college seasons and making that comeback at the iron bowl that year was pretty impressive in my mind.
@@ryanharvey2557 yeah to think how dynamic that offense was with next to nothing around him is really something. I do believe Nick fairley went on to play some as a higher pick but was basically a bust
I love that he seems to actually care and actually answer. So many others would just laugh and say “I don’t know, there’s a lot, I can’t think of one specific”.
It must be wild thinking back to when you gameplanned against Tom Brady before anyone knew what he would become. You were next to greatness without knowing it
If you think those two are close your crazy. Just because they shook Saban up a little doesn't have anything to do with how good they are overall. Tebow was no special talent. Probably the worst BCS era tittle winning qb.
@@johnjohnson1997 And Manziel only broke Archie Mannings 40+ year total offense record along with being the first freshman Heisman winner. Lol you're a clown and a hater dude both of them are college football legends.
@@njj9555 No actually you missed the point. Nobody here is talking about NFL and even the question asked to Saban is specifically referring to college quarterbacks.
@@nickfizer401 Yeah Steelers regretted passing on Marino too, can't remember the order, but if they could've had Kelly too, yeah either would've been better than Mark Malone.
Sticking to college QB's I'm about the same age as Gary Beban who was the wonder boy for UCLA. He was absolutely amazing, but he only lasted about 3 years in the NFL.
I think he does that because he doesn't want the headline to be "Saban definitively says that X QB was the best of all time in CFB" So instead he drops some wisdom and shares a little story. A fine answer that won't get him in trouble or lowkey demoralize his locker room. They have to feel like they're the team that can be the best Nick has ever seen as long as they play to their max potential, and so they need to let themselves be coached to be greater than they are as individuals. Doesn't matter if they're better than a guy who played 8 years ago. He needs to be concerned about winning games in 2021. Nick Saban is very big on morale . He understands it like Urban only halfway does. Dabo tries to fire his team up but sometimes just runs his mouth. This is coming from someone who dislikes Bama winning a lot of natties.
Marino was throwing 48, 44 TDs when the rest of NFL QBs were throwing 20. In today's NFL, the QBs are protected and the WRs are protected and thats why passing stats are so high. Marino would throw 70 TDs in today's NFL.
Best College QBs in my lifetime from a pure passing prospective have been Peyton, Luck, and Burrow. Burrow was on an absolutely STACKED offense, but his senior year was phenomenal.
John also had to butt heads at line of scrimmage and literally run over Lawrence Taylor a couple of times for crucial first downs. Elway was different athlete altogether. Kyler Murray could be next. Both have No FEAR! Lamar a freak also. Donovan McNab might be as well for college.
Best QB I ever saw against Alabama? Cam Newton. I was there at the Iron Bowl when they came back and won and I followed him all season. Best Offense I've ever seen. Cam wasn't the best 4th and 1 runner. He was the best 4th and 2 runner. Some will say LSU last year or Alabama this year, but the game has changed. It's my RPO vs your RPO. No defense nowadays at all.
Joe Burrow was a much better college QB than Newton. Look at the stats. The game has changed I get that, but his passing numbers are nearly double Newton. He’s definitely a lot more efficient too
He also coached some Pro QB's in 2 years with the Dolphins: Gus Ferrotte, Joey Harrington, Cleo Lemon, and Sage Rosenfels. Guess that's why he left the Dolphins.
@@briantaylor5290 you could be right my dude. I bet the three players you just mentioned were told they would never reach the levels of the greats before them. He's played less than half a season on arguably one of the worst 2 teams in the NFL. Give the young man a break and give him time. Everybody too quick to criticise.
I still can't figure out why the Jets had to win their last 2 games and lose the right to draft Trevor L. I'm from Philly but even I have to feel bad for that stupidity.
I think it was more a shot at the Michigan coaches. It was very obvious as the season was progressing that Tom was the better QB, but they kept playing Drew because they were afraid he would transfer to baseball if he didn’t get the starts. How many times did Tom have to come in during the second half to get Michigan back into the game because it wasn’t working with Drew in the first half?
@@markrobinson9394 true but more likely a shot at both of them now that you mention it.. he could have acknowledge who drew was, Drew was a double sport prospect. He made it seem like his name was that other guy. Last time I checked Drew Henson played in the NFL couple games lol
@@markrobinson9394 I remember Texas was like that with Chris Simms and Major Applewhite. Mack Brown always started Chris Sims because he was the "big name recruit," but it seemed like he would stink it up, Texas would be down three scores, and then Major Applewhite would come in off the bench and lead the comebacks. EVERY. DAMN. WEEK! Mack Brown would start Simms again. They said that Vince Young made Texas "Mack Brown proof" when they won that National Championship in 2005.
Jim McMahon at BYU, and I’m not an alum. I saw that guy win a Holiday Bowl they had no right to win after telling the head coach to basically sit down and chill.
I’ll make it easy for coach. It’s CAM! Down 24-0 in T-TOWN and orchestrated the greatest camback, I mean comeback of all time in iron bowl history and the single greatest performance in a season in college football history. Nice pick coach.
@Mr X Elway had a stronger arm, more accurate arm and had better pocket awareness. If you talk to old NFL scouts, they still say Elway was the highest graded college QB ever.
@Mr X BTW, I love people like you living In your mom's basement going around calling people idiots. It ruins your argument when you have to start by insulting other people. It tells me a lot about either your maturity level, or your intelligence, or both.
Hands down, Coach Nick Saban has produced a lot of NFL players; but once they get in the NFL, obviously, it is a totally a much harder competition and only afew make it to be great.
yep...I thought that until I watched NFL highlights on Sunday. Tua, Mac Jones, Julio Jones, D Henry, K. Drake, J. Jacobs, Letherwood, Waddle and Ruggs are all in the highlights most every week 5 star = national champs and Alabama = NFL ready.
That question is more suited for a sit down conversation with some preparation. WE would all love to hear him speak on this in a feature presentation and other positions too.
Nick Marshall always did well against Alabama. And of course Cam Newton. But I already assumed he wouldn’t mention Auburn anything. A team he always struggles with.
He came up with a darn strong list. Elway and Marino maybe the 2 best pure throwing pros. Then adds Brady best winner. Then college he names Lawrence, highest rated college guy since Luck, and then Watson but couldn’t pull up the name. That’s a solid list that you might argue with but 2/3 of football experts wouldn’t have a problem with. He’s in a no win situation but he gave his opinion and came up solid. He’s the expert not us. If he didn’t name your favorite too bad, cause no one except your beer buddy is asking your opinion on these things. Painful as it is for me as a Gator-Coach Saban has turned into a likable legend who college football fans will miss when he’s not trotting onto the field anymore. Just my opinion.
@@charleslowe2095 Many agree with you. Keith Dunnavant, backed up with stats from Kerry Byrne, makes a compelling case for Bart Starr. Keith's book is called America's Quarterback Bart Starr
John Elway Greatest QB ever. He carried Denver to 4 Super Bowls they had no business even getting to, then later won two when he had a team......he was incredible.
There’s some great quarterbacks now but the league is so protective of them and the wrs that a lot more of the physicality is gone. It’s a passing league now. I would have LOVED to see Elway, Warren Moon, and Marino in this era. Marinos stats would have been even better than they were.
Not only stats: QBs of yesterday could play way longer today. Imagine Staubach without some of his concussions, he could have played well into the 80s. Same with Elway, Montana & Young. Reverse, I imagine that Brady would have retired with 4 or 5 SB wins, if he had to play on Astroturf vs the 80s defenses and without the "Brady-Rule".
Can you imagine what Marino, Elway, Moon, and some others would do in this era. This is a completely different era that is so wide open. It is ridiculous now.
Yep. I think about that a lot. Some would say because Garrett Gilbert threw those 2 pass TDs.. that if Colt had played.. Texas would have won. I'm not so sure. I think Alabama got that 24-6 lead and didn't play as hard because they were up by so much.. so Gilbert was hit or miss. Got 2 good passing TDs but threw 4 picks. The Dareus one changed the game. Is it a different game if Colt plays? Hell yeah. But Saban would have adjusted. He would have had too. McElroy threw 11 times. If McCoy stays in.. Texas scores more and Alabama is gonna have to throw the ball. Problem is.. Alabama couldn't pass the ball. So they would have had to stop Colt every drive. So many what ifs. One thing that boggles my mind to this day: That McCoy hit didn't look bad at all. He got hit hard, but he was talking about how his arm went numb. There were rumors going around that he threw the game. I'll never know. We'll never know.
Colt got hurt on the 2nd drive right? Because they had to kick a FG after he went out.. to go up 6-0? Could have been 10-0. And Texas Pass Defense was on lock the whole game.
@@nostalgiaman6816 I personally believe Texas wins the game with McCoy. He definitely isn’t throwing 4 picks like Gilbert and his chemistry with Shipley was like no other. The Texas defense kept it close for awhile but those 4 picks really hurt in the long run. I don’t think he threw the game, bc he hurt that throwing shoulder before, and just couldn’t put any zip on the ball after the hit. It doesn’t look like much of a hit but he was hit by beast of a man. Definitely a lot of what ifs but Bama has certainly built an incredible Dynasty since that fateful game while my Horns have regressed.
@@7596insano Can't argue with you. McCoy gets hurt and Gilbert comes in. It could have been 10-0 instead of 6-0. Texas Defense was amazing. McElroy had only 58 passing yards the whole game! Texas couldn't stop the run though. Anyways.. Saban (who is good at halftime adjustments) would have had to change up something on the Passing side and run the ball to keep it away from Texas (assuming they don't make the adjustments to stop them). But I'll say this. And you can disagree. Don't like act like Alabama couldn't have come back. The Florida team we beat was way better than that Texas team. And would have beat them as well. Wasn't impressed with Texas that year anyway. They beat Oklahoma by 3. Gundy choked at home (gee what a surprise) and that last play against Nebraska was very controversial. They scored 16 and 13 points against teams that weren't better than our defense. Just goes to show you when you have over a month to prepare - with Mack Brown - how much can change. They got off to a fast start.. but again.. we'll never know. Definitely would have come down to the last possession.
@@7596insano Can't argue with you. McCoy gets hurt and Gilbert comes in. It could have been 10-0 instead of 6-0. Texas Defense was amazing. McElroy had only 58 passing yards the whole game! Texas couldn't stop the run though. Anyways.. Saban (who is good at halftime adjustments) would have had to change up something on the Passing side and run the ball to keep it away from Texas (assuming they don't make the adjustments to stop them). But I'll say this. And you can disagree. Don't like act like Alabama couldn't have come back. The Florida team we beat was way better than that Texas team. And would have beat them as well. Wasn't impressed with Texas that year anyway. They beat Oklahoma by 3. Gundy choked at home (gee what a surprise) and that last play against Nebraska was very controversial. They scored 16 and 13 points against teams that weren't better than our defense. Just goes to show you when you have over a month to prepare - with Mack Brown - how much can change. They got off to a fast start.. but again.. we'll never know. Definitely would have come down to the last possession.
Deshaun Watson is the right answer lol. Watson gave them the business two years in a row. Watson was better than Lawrence in college too. I never understood the hype around Lawrence. Sure he's really good but he's not head and shoulders better than anybody, he's just really good.
That’s a difficult question because Saban has been a coach and seen the most elite NFL and college qb’s play. Some of the NFL quarterbacks being Elway, Young, Marino, McNair, & Vick. While collegiate qb’s being just as legendary on the college level as the pro qb’s were in the NFL. Some notable College qb’s were Tom Brady, Tim Tebow, Johnny Maziel, Cam Newton, Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Deshaun Watson, Trevor Lawrence, and Saban’s current QB Mac Jones. Trying to prepare your defense for any of these guy’s is a monumental challenge. Each qb brings it’s own challenges to the table and Saban has watched several of these guy’s absolutely torch his defense on multiple occasions. It’s no wonder Nick’s hair is turning gray after trying to stop Tebow and Florida’s option type offense with Tebow’s famous goal line jump pass to Joe Burrows spread offense combining aggressive deep routes and accurate throws. It’s insane the amount of talent Saban has seen
If someone would have told me in the 70s, 80s,90s, 00's, and the teens that Alabama would have 3 QBs drafted in successive years starting in the NFL, I'd call for you to be committed. However, with the benefit of having watched them all play .... not at all surprised that Jalen Hurts, Mac Jones and even the injured Tua have QBRs higher than Trevor Lawrence. Will take years before we see who won the QB drafts of this decade but after what we had heard from many of the pundits over the the last few years, many proclaimed Hurts and Jones would never play an NFL game.
Jalen Hurts is an Oklahoma QB, without what he did at Oklahoma he wouldn't have gotten drafted as high as he did. Tua has and had injury issues that I wouldn't have touched any day of the week with a 1st round pick and Mac Jones sold his soul to go from Alabama to the Patriots empire. "Not surprised at all Hurts, Jones and Tua have higer QBRs than Lawrence." Its almost as if going later in the draft helps, what with going to teams that aren't absolute garbage run by an experimental college coach who would rather finger bang a hot blonde chick than coach one. Being said I hope they're all successful unless they're playing the Bears.
2 weird games. I thought Clemson should have won the first one and Alabama the second one. Always wondered if Kiffin would have coached in the 2nd one...
@@jasonwiercinski5250 In the 2nd game they were shutting him down for most of the game. The defense just got worn out because the offense kept going 3 and out and that's when he started having success.
To all the people wondering why joe burrow was not mentioned if you check the date this was posted you know joe burrow did not have the best season of his college career yet
Saban is hilarious. When the guy asks the question, Saban goes through 5 seconds of looks, faces etc. that he would have made if his wife asked him what color curtains he wanted, lol. The answer btw, is Vince Young
