Maybe, maybe not. It’s kind of like saying we can’t compare Cam’s passing stats last year with Brady’s passing stats from 2003 because it was a different era with a different penalty enforcement regime. Sometimes, things are self-evident — Cam sucked as a passer in 2020 and Mac was the most prolific passer to play for Saban at Alabama.The problem with comparing him to McCarron or McElroy is that those QBs date from a completely different approach to team-building and offense for Saban. Back then he wanted to rely on defense and the running game, and he wanted good game manager QBs. Eventually he adapted to the new wide-open offensive schemes and he needed true weapons at QB. Mac is a creature of a totally different era when it comes to Alabama QBs.
Also, it’s also possible that Saban wanted his QB’s earlier in his tenure to be game managers because they were less talented and that he gave Mac the keys to a wide-open offensive scheme because he was more talented than many of his predecessors.
I’d argue that the table I posted is pretty informative because it showed how each QB performed at Alabama under Saban when they were put in a position to throw the ball. Completion percentage, for example, seems like an excellent basis for comparison. Frankly, wouldn’t one expect for the game manager QB’s to complete a higher percentage of their pass attempts than a QB like Mac in a wide open offensive scheme? But they didn’t.
Furthermore, Mac’s stats are also markedly better than Bama QB’s from the same “era” as you assert. His numbers are better than those of Tua and Hurts.
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