If McCarron goes down, can Sims step up?

TUSCALOOSA – Without a doubt AJ McCarron established himself as clearly the No. 1 quarterback last week in Alabama’s win at Penn State.

There’s no debating that.

But what if McCarron gets hurt, or proves ineffective in the coming weeks?

Can No. 2 Phillip Sims successfully fill the void?

Sims' performance in limited playing time during Alabama’s 41-0 win over North Texas on Saturday night provided some positive signs, and some signs for concern.

Actually, the first two series after Sims was inserted into the lineup with the Tide already up 17-0 presented a pretty good picture of the good, and the bad, of Sims’ night.

He completed his first five passes for 40 yards after entering with 12:25 to go in the second quarter, which led to a 37-yard field goal by Jeremy Shelley.

After completing a couple of short passes to begin the drive, he then zipped in a pass to Brandon Gibson for a 19-yard gain. He showed poise standing in the pocket, and a strong arm firing down field. Wonderfully done.

Sims next showcased his cat quickness by escaping one defender rushing hard into the backfield, though he was sacked from behind on the same play.

Two short completions later in the drive failed to result in a first down, yet gave Shelley the opportunity to boot through his second field goal of the game.

A pretty good opening series for Sims to say the least.

Things weren’t as smooth the next time Alabama got its hands on the football.

Sims threw an ill-advised pass into traffic that was batted down for his first incompletion of the game, and a play later he threw out of bounds while scrambling away from pressure in the pocket.

It meant a punt for Alabama and a return to the sidelines for Sims as McCarron returned for the Tide’s final drive of the first half.

Sims returned with 13:13 left in the game with Alabama comfortably ahead 27-0 and handed the ball off to Trent Richardson on first down, and the Tide speedster rambled up the middle 71 yards for his third TD of the night.

On the Tide’s next possession, Sims handed off to Eddie Lacy on first down, and he turned it into a 67-yard touchdown run.

So in reality, Sims had limited chances to impress in the second half due lightning quick scores by Richardson and Lacy.

On his third drive of the second half, Sims completed a short pass on first down, then fumbled the snap on second down and North Texas recovered.

Sims finished 6-of-8 passing for 49 yards and ran for 13 yards on three carries with a fumbled snap.

So what does an up-and-down performance against an inferior opponent really mean for Sims?

That’s hard to pinpoint, especially since he was leading an offense made up of mostly second-teamers in a game Alabama had in control once he entered.

I do believe it’s pretty obvious McCarron has distanced himself more from Sims in running the offensive show than most figured would be the case three weeks into the season.

That’s not a knock on Sims, but instead a compliment to McCarron for taking charge when given the opportunity.

In Sims, Alabama appears to have a tremendously gifted quarterback that has the ability to jumpstart the Tide offense if it drags. As for now, he looks like most players getting their first taste of college football.

In limited playing time, he’s shown some good, and shown some struggles.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have a chance to show more on Saturday.

Because of it, the jury is still certainly out on whether he can take full control should McCarron falter at any point during the grueling SEC schedule ahead.