Cover 3: Your Weekly Insight Delivered Every Tuesday

Cover 3 is a digital newsletter that covers 3 different stories around football every week. From the locker room to the front office, we’ve got you covered.

Each Tuesday, an email will land in your inbox from me, Jordan Palmer.

Our goal is not only to give you the stories you won’t get anywhere else - but another perspective that can help you build your relationship to the game, your family, and all the people you enjoy spending time with.

The "Next Man Up", Prime Time, and Bama's QB Carousel

In today’s email:

The football world was shellshocked by the 4th play in the Jets-Bills game last week. Now it’s Zach Wilson’s turn. Let’s look at the mindset it takes to be “The Next Man Up.”

Prime Time? You’ve heard it. You know it. But what’s really the main event in Colorado?

Alabama’s QBs have always put up numbers - from AJ McCarron’s 66.9% completion percentage to Tua’s 199.4 career passer efficiency - the highest in NCAA history. Who’s gonna be the one leading the huddle in Tuscaloosa moving forward?

Let’s dive in.

1 Play Away: The Essential 'Next Man Up' Mindset

The unpredictable world of the NFL can swing any which way, and the 2022 season is a textbook case. An eye-opening statistic caught my attention: throughout the regular season, 69 quarterbacks stood at the helm for their teams. That's a 64% increase from 2007's high and a notable 11% jump from 2021. And I'm seeing it not just in the pros, but echoing through college ranks and high school fields too.

To put that into perspective, a decade ago, only 42 quarterbacks got the starting nod throughout the season. The trend indicates a growing volatility and the indispensable need for teams to develop depth in the quarterback position.

Zach Wilson Returning The Call

Week 1's shockwave was the injury to Aaron Rodgers. The new face of the Jet’s was dealt an achilles injury that will end his season, propelling Zack Wilson into the limelight once again. Zack, with his history as the #2 overall pick, was thrust into an unenviable situation, and the football community was buzzing with predictions and commentary.

It’s essential to remember what's at stake for backups like Zack. They rarely get the luxury of practice reps with the starting unit. Interaction with top-tier wide receivers during the week? Limited. Chemistry with the frontline? It's a work in progress. Getting play signals from the sideline in the heat of a game? That's a whole new ballgame.

The Difference

Navigating this, I often reiterate the mantra: "Figure it out, and miss." Real-time challenges come thick and fast, and the nature of these challenges isn’t always covered in practice. In fact, during the 2022 season, backup quarterbacks, on average, had a completion rate of 58%, about 6% lower than their starting counterparts. This isn't just a testament to their skill but to the ever-adapting scenarios they face. Their aptitude to pivot, rethink, and act swiftly overshadows the rigorous physical and mental training that saturates the off-season.

For backups, there's gold in the observation. As the 2022 season bore out, standing by, watching the starters, seizing every opportunity post-practice, and aligning with receivers can make all the difference. It’s evident in the improved QB ratings we’ve observed in backups who've taken over mid-season in the past few years.

Keep Your Foot On The Gas

With the turbulent ebb and flow of the game and quarterbacks oscillating between injury rehab and game day preparations, the "1 play away" ideology rings hits home more than ever.

To those QBs in waiting, here’s my two cents: The NFL won't slow down; neither can you. Always be ready, always be alert. The field awaits your story - are you ready to script it?

Prime Time but Not the Main Event

There's been a seismic shift in the football cosmos, and its epicenter is Colorado. The buzz around Deion Sanders, his prodigiously talented sons, and a string of superstars that flocked to the Buffs is deafening. Look beneath the surface though, and you'll find that a staggering 70% of the team was plucked from the transfer portal just this past off-season.

“Hop In That Portal”

In a move that had Deion's signature audacity, he declared to his former team, "A lot of you guys were 1-11 last year, and you're not what we're looking for. If you want to transfer, you better hop in that portal.” His unwavering conviction was clear: he was out to forge a new legacy.

To the football world, Shedeur and Travis Hunter’s transition from Jackson St. to the highly competitive Pac-12 wasn’t a surprise. They were expected to shine. But the revelations? The O-line, allowing a mere five sacks in their first three games, was a dramatic improvement from the 20 they allowed the previous season. The special teams is playing as a sound unit. And the team's third-down conversion rate improving from a meager 34% last season to an impressive 47%.

Everybody’s Watching

Beyond the gridiron, there's been an avalanche of A-list endorsements. NFL legends like Michael Irvin and Terrell Owens are backing them. Pop culture titans like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Lil Wayne have thrown in their support. If you were at the stadium on Saturday, you couldn't have missed Lil Wayne’s electrifying intro track, setting the tone for what was to follow.

With the team's ascent, viewer metrics have skyrocketed. Their clash with Colorado St. drew an audience of 7.8 million, overshadowing the 6.5 million that tuned in for the high-profile Alabama/Texas game the week prior. This isn't just football; this is must-watch, PRIME TIME spectacle. But remarkably, it’s not yet the main event.

Peek at Colorado's schedule: a daunting face-off with Oregon, a team they’ve historically won against only 37% of the time. Then there’s a home game against the top-five ranked USC Trojans on Sept. 30th, whom they have never beaten in program history. An anticipated clash with UCLA on Oct. 28th is after, followed by showdowns with Oregon St. and Wash St. – the latter potentially being the decider for the Pac-12 championship.

The Real Deal

The buzz? It's real, it’s palpable, and it’s loud. If the Buffs clinch the Pac-12, a feat they've achieved only once in the past two decades, and position themselves as contenders for the College Football Playoff, the roar from Colorado will be deafening.

At that juncture, all eyes will inevitably turn to Deion, and the million-dollar question will be: What's Prime Time's next grand play?

QB Carousel at the Top

In the arena of college football, Alabama stands as a titan, a juggernaut that seems to continually defy the odds. Yet, if we look under the hood this season, we're seeing an unfamiliar wobble when it comes to the signal-caller spot.

Let’s Talk Numbers

Let's talk numbers. Bryce Young – a mind-blowing 4,500+ passing yards, 47 touchdowns, and a Heisman Trophy in 2021. Those aren’t just impressive stats; they're legendary. Now, how on Earth do you fill those cleats?

Rewind a decade or so. Alabama's playbook leaned heavy on punishing ground games and impenetrable defenses. We saw QBs like AJ McCarron, with a career 66.9% completion rate, leading with efficiency. Jalen Hurts, before evolving into the NFL star we know today, had a 62.8% completion rate and a more modest 7.5 yards per attempt in his freshman year at 'Bama.

But enter Tua Tagovailoa, and the Crimson Tide's narrative began to shift. Tagovailoa rocked college football with 87 TDs in just three seasons, and a career passer efficiency rating of 199.4, the highest in NCAA history. This was a game-changer for Alabama. Suddenly, Tuscaloosa was on every elite QB’s radar, largely thanks to the influx of offensive masterminds like Sarkisian, O'Brien, and Kiffin.

Bryce Young’s trajectory underscores this evolution. The kid from California flipped from USC, settled behind Mac Jones (who himself boasted a stellar 77.4% completion rate in 2020), then erupted on the scene in true Heisman fashion.

Who’s Next?

But 2023 has thrown a curveball. Jalen Milroe, despite his undeniable potential, faltered with a concerning 1:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio in his first couple of starts. Tyler Buchner, for all his hype, posted a sub-60% completion rate in his Crimson debut. And while Ty Simpson, that Elite 11 standout, displayed some promise in the Spring, he failed to impress on Saturday and didn’t capitalize on his “next man up” opportunity.

The kicker? Alabama's move to get Buchner from Notre Dame’s roster. For a team that boasts five national titles in the last 13 years and is a breeding ground for NFL talent, this seems out of character.

So, I find myself pondering: How does this happen? How can a program of Alabama's magnitude, where every piece of the puzzle from coaching to facilities screams "excellence," not have their next superstar QB lined up and ready?

It’s a testament to the capricious nature of college football. Even the mighty can face challenges. As Alabama hunts for its next QB prodigy, one thing's for sure – the football world is locked in, eager for the next chapter.