Jalen Hurts has not impressed a lot of the media as far as actually passing goes as he has only thrown for 224 yards in two games. Granted, one of those games was against a stingy Florida State secondary, but he should have been able to put up a fairly large number against a lower-tier school like Fresno State this past weekend. However, that wasn't the case and now he's hearing it from the media as well as former teammates.
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That triggered Nick Saban's "defense mode" as he went to bat for Hurts and defended him not throwing for as many yards as people thought he might this early in the season.
Saban on Hurts' passing numbers getting overblown: "I think a lot of what you guys do is overblown. But ... it's your job to create news."
— Alex Byington (@_AlexByington) September 11, 2017
Saban on Jalen Hurts: "If you want to be critical of a guy for rushing for 154 yards saying he should pass more, that's up to you."
— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) September 11, 2017
Saban on Jalen Hurts' development as passer: We've called some passes down the field, but we didn't have protection. Is that the QB's fault?
— Aaron Suttles (@AaronSuttles) September 11, 2017
He does make some good points, but he's also not going to completely throw Hurts under the bus. He will definitely call him out publicly if needed as he is not afraid to take that approach with his players, but the Crimson Tide are winning games and doing so easily. So there's no reason for Saban to allow the media to put down his QB like that.
Hurts has also rushed for over 200 yards and two touchdowns so far this season so it's not like he isn't getting anything done in the games.
[h/t Saturday Down South]
