http://www.al.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/sports/1095585330147800.xml
Bad decision comes back to bite Shula, Croyle
Sunday, September 19, 2004
TUSCALOOSA -- Plain and simple, Brodie Croyle should not have been in the game.
Should he have thrown the ball away? You betcha. Should he have at least run out of bounds when his path was blocked or slid to avoid being hit? Yes, he should have.
Those would have been better decisions, and with his history of taking hits in similar situations, Croyle should have selected one of those options instead of making a move to try and get another yard or two.
But the simple fact of the matter is, with a 31-0 halftime lead against a team that was not going to make any kind of comeback, Brodie Croyle should have been on the sidelines, watching.
Plain and simple.
Instead, he was in the game, a game long before decided. Now he's out for the rest of the season, having suffered a torn ACL in his right knee. The loss of Croyle comes just as Alabama is set to make its first road trip of the year -- to Arkansas, a tough place to play even with your No. 1 quarterback available.
Hindsight, it is said, is 20-20. Yes, it is easier to take such a stance after the fact. There's something to be said for foresight, too. It was obvious West ern Carolina was no threat to Alabama on this night, just as it was obvious the opportunity to give back-up quarterbacks Marc Guillon and Spencer Pennington some playing time was at hand.
Mike Shula said the decision was made at halftime to keep Croyle and other offensive first-teamers in the game in search of one more score, one more series of experience. It proved a very costly decision. Alabama's next score came with Croyle out of the game. Such will be the case the rest of the season.
It is hard to imagine one more offensive series winning out in an argument of risk over reward in that situation. One more series was not going to make Croyle a marginally better player heading into the Arkansas game, especially not one more series against Western Carolina's defense.
"We wanted to try and give (Croyle) one more score (with the offense) and then get everybody else in the ballgame," said Shula, who added his heart goes out to Croyle, someone he has come to respect as a player and person because of "what he's about and how much the game means to him."
Adding curiosity to the decision to send Croyle back in the game to start the second half, right after saying he wanted to get others in the ballgame, Shula said, "We have so many guys who need experience."
They'll get it now, at least at quarterback. Guillon and Pennington had been on the field for a combined three plays (all by Guillon against Utah State, none a passing play) prior to Saturday. Now, they have thrown a combined six passes for 71 yards and one touchdown. And the Arkansas de fense is a bit more confident and excited today.
With Alabama's toughest games still ahead, the quarterback position has suddenly become inexperienced. The leader of the offense is now a cheerleader.
Injuries are part of the game, to be sure. So is decision-making. Losing Croyle to an injury for the remainder of a season that has started successfully is a tough way to have that lesson driven home.
And regardless of the abilities of Guillon and Pennington and the confidence Alabama's offensive coaches say they have in both players to get the job done, it's not the same as playing with your best quarterback, you're top quarterback. Plain and simple.
(Tommy Hicks' column appears in the Mobile Register. Contact him at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or 251-219-5685.)
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