TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Nick Saban spoke to the reporters Wednesday for the final time before No. 2 Alabama (3-0) hosts Vanderbilt (3-1) on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. Here’s a transcript of what he said as well as my take on what it means.
Opening statement
"Obviously the big thing you want to do in practice each and every day is try to stack positive performance. I talked about that, so that focuses on improving every player to play better, and the way you do that, to me is you've got to own up to your actions and decisions. That's how you learn how to correct every mistake, every bad decision that you make. Then you accumulate lessons learned and those lessons learned help you perform better every day, execute, do your job better, and develop more confidence, so you're always playing better tomorrow. That's what we've tried to focus on this week. This is a little bit of a difficult preparation it's a little different kind of offense than what we've been seeing and our players really got to stay focused to be able to do it the right way. We're continuing to try to create the kind of balance we want on offense to be an explosive offensive team."
Tony’s take: Saban keeps it short and sweet with his opening statement, focusing on one of his key points of emphasis this season — establishing constant improvement among his players. This is an improved Vanderbilt team, and Saban will look to make sure his players are focused. However, this week will likely serve as one a tuneup before facing the heart of the schedule as Alabama takes on No. 10 Arkansas, No. 23 Texas A&M and No. 11 Tennessee in consecutive weeks next month.
On what he has seen from Amari Niblack
"He's a guy that we're trying to use more and more. The learning curve is always the issue with young players and being able to learn lessons, stack positive performances and be confident in more and more things that you can do. But definitely, a guy that we think can be a weapon for us on offense. He made a couple of good plays in the last game, and hopefully, we can build on that."
Tony’s take: Amari Niblack made his first contribution to the stat sheet last week as he reeled in a 15-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Young right before the half. The true freshman appears to be Alabama’s next star at the tight end position after he improves on his blocking ability. That being said, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound playmaker could be used as a matchup problem over the middle as the season progresses.
On the team’s "hateful competitors"
"We have some guys that I think do a really really good job of creating a good example for how they practice, how they play, the mindset that they have, and the mental toughness that they have. I'm not going to start mentioning names, but I do think those guys impact other people on the team and I think it's important to have that. Attitudes are contagious, so when you've got guys on the team that do that I think that can become contagious as well. When you got negative people on your team, that can be contagious. I don't see a lot of that on this team. I see guys trying to do things the right way. We just have got to do a better job of executing."
Tony’s take: Saban has spoken a lot recently about Alabama getting back to its intimidating ways on defense. While the head coach neglected to mention names of who Alabama’s “hateful competitors” might be, Will Anderson Jr., Dallas Turner, Brian Branch and DeMarcco Hellams come to mind as players who fit the mold.
On preparing for Vanderbilt's offense
"I'll talk about their offense and I'll talk about what we're going to do. Do you want me to tell you what they're going to do so they know? I mean, I can just call their coaches and dial it up for you. There are elements of option football in what they do and that's not something that we see all the time. Our players got to have really disciplined eye control and when the point of attack moves, they gotta be able to adapt correctly and everybody play responsibility football, that's what it comes down to. They're very capable of throwing the ball as well, so you got to play good pass defense and not give up explosive plays when you're trying to do that."
Tony’s take: This is a classic response from Saban, who is never in the mood to go too in-depth about his gameplan. Vanderbilt is currently averaging 42 points and 436.8 yards per game and has the ability to cause a few headaches for the Crimson Tide’s defense if it isn’t locked in for the matchup.
On how you practice wide receivers getting separation
"Well, we do a lot of one-on-one and we try to teach players a) there's two places that you're probably going to win on a route if you're getting man-to-man coverage, which I guess that's what you're talking about. You either beat 'em on release, so you teach guys several releases that can be effective for them relative to the route that they're running, and then you teach them how to drop their weight and get out of the break at the top of the route and try to keep the defender cut off. If you drift on the route, the defender can undercut you. So those are the two areas that you focus on the most when you're trying to create separation because that's really where you usually beat guys: you either beat them at the line, on the release or you beat them right out of the break, and those are the two areas that we try to focus on."
Tony’s take: Alabama’s struggles with downfield passing have been well documented this week. The Crimson Tide’s receiving corps has players talented enough to provide separation, so one would think this is a problem that could be solved moving forward — especially when JoJo Earle (foot), Tyler Harrell (foot) and Aaron Anderson (knee) return from their respective injuries.
This will be a key point of emphasis for receivers coach Holmon Wiggins this week. It’s also likely on the minds of every Alabama receiver as they are surely tired of hearing about their shortcomings.
On DJ Dale calling Henry To'oTo'o a 'genius'
"I thought you were going to ask how DJ Dale could really recognize a genius, but I get it."
(laughter from reporters)
"DJ is a good guy, I don't mean it that way but I was just kidding.
"Henry is just a really instinctive, smart football player but he does a really good job of preparing for games and I think Pete [Golding] does a really good job with the linebackers understanding how they fit relative to whatever the call is. Henry is one of those guys that gets it. He sees it almost like a coach. He's a great communicator, so I think because he makes calls up front that really makes the other part of the front seven feel more comfortable and confident in what they're doing and how we can execute together as a group."
Tony’s take: Look at Saban bringing the jokes! As he pointed out, the head coach means no disrespect to Dale. In fact, Saban’s willingness to poke fun at the senior defensive tackle shows the confidence he has in him.
As for To’oTo’o, he’s played well in his second season with the team. Among players with 50 or more snaps this season, he ranks third on the team with a 79.1 defensive grade from Pro Football Focus. To’oTo’o has been especially good against the run where he has earned an 85.7 run-defense from PFF, second on the team behind Will Anderson Jr.
While To’oTo’o has the athleticism needed to chase down defenders from sideline to sideline, his biggest attribute comes in his knowledge of the game. He’s truly the quarterback of the defense which means he has to know his assignment as well as what each of his 10 other teammates are responsible for on the field. On a Saban-coached team that might be a harder job than the one Young has on offense.
On Tyler Steen's character and adapting to Alabama right away
"Well Tyler is a bright guy, he's a hard worker, he's very steady in the way he goes about what he does, he's a good person — never had any issues or problems. I think he's really focused on trying to be a good player and I think the players here kind of embrace new guys and he's certainly the kind of guy that's easy to embrace because he's really got a positive personality and a fun guy to be around."
Tony’s take: Tyler Steen comes from a military background which has played a huge role in his ability to adapt to Alabama’s program. Our James Benedetto will have more on that with a nice feature on Friday, so keep your eyes open for it.
This is the second time this week Saban has praised Steen as he prepares to face his old team. The Vanderbilt transfer has struggled at run blocking but has been a solid pass blocker over three starts at the left guard position. He also brings experience and leadership to an offensive line in need of both qualities this season.
On Aaron Anderson's injury status
"I really was hopeful that we could get through one deal without having an injury update.
"The guy's practicing. He's making progress. I don't know when he's going to be ready to play. I mean, that's a medical decision and he's gotta feel comfortable and confident that he's ready to go as well. So it's still kind of up in the air. Day-to-day. Thank you."
Tony’s take: I took a bullet for the team here as a lot of y’all on the board were wondering about Aaron Anderson. As Nick Saban pointed out, Anderson has been practicing and was even scene going through drills before last week’s game against Louisiana-Monroe. However, given Saban’s response, it doesn’t appear that the five-star freshman is going to feature this week against Vanderbilt.
Anderson was rated as the No. 23 overall player and No. 3 receiver in this year’s recruiting class. During the spring, Saban praised the 5-foot-9, 184-pound receiver for his ability to make plays after the catch. Once healthy, Anderson could be a nice option out of the slot as well as someone who could open up defenses with his speed.
