TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama held on for a narrow win against Texas A&M over the weekend. Now the Crimson Tide will travel to Tennessee for a battle of unbeatens in the Third Saturday in October rivalry.
Monday, Nick Saban spoke with reporters about what his team needs to improve on heading into the highly-anticipated matchup. Here’s a transcript of what he said as well as my take on what it means.
Opening statement
“So I think it’s fairly obvious that there’s a lot of things we need to work on. Evaluate personnel, evaluate consistency in performance, evaluate priority of getting your job done the right way so that we can have a little more consistency in our performance. We didn’t take advantage of opportunities when we had them in the last game, and that’s certainly something that’s going to catch up with you.
“Players have to understand, you got to do things to keep from losing before you can think about winning — which is turning the ball over, making mental errors, not reading thing things correctly so that we can execute plays the way they’re designed. That’s something we — as a whole, as an organization — need to do a better job of working together with the players and the coaches so we can do a better job of getting that right.
“We’re going to play a really good Tennessee team. This game means a lot to a lot of people in Alabama. It’s kind of a rivalry game. It’s always been an important game for us. Tennessee’s got an outstanding team, they’re undefeated. Josh has done a really, really good job there. Probably one of the most explosive offenses if not the most explosive offense in the country. They got really good wide receivers, four guys have lots of production. They’ve got two really good running backs, lots of production. The quarterback, Hooker, has really done a nice job of executing their offense. He’s one of the leading pass-efficiency guys in the country as well as has the ability to extend plays and make plays with his feet. He’s a very good athlete all the way around and has had an outstanding year.
“Their defense is one of the top defenses, especially in terms of creating negative plays, making people difficult for them to score. “Seventeen points a game is really good, one of the tops in the SEC. They’re always really solid with their specialists and on special teams. So, this is a really, really good team, a real challenge for us, and our priority has to be — we’ve got to get right ourselves so that we can do a better job of putting ourselves in a position of having a chance to be successful. And when we do that, we’ve got to take advantage of it.”
Tony’s take: Basically, Alabama needs to stop shooting itself in the foot. If the Crimson Tide turns the ball over four times on the road against Tennessee, it probably isn’t leaving Neyland Stadium with a win. That’s the same for a few tough games coming up on the schedule. Saban has been preaching consistency all season, and this team has yet to fully click. Things are getting better on defense, and the return of Bryce Young should jumpstart the offense back to its full potential. However, we’ve yet to see Alabama consistently perform at its high standard.
On starting right tackle J.C. Latham
“You know, I think J.C. has done a good job all year. He’s a passionate guy, tries to play physical, and he’s made nice improvement throughout the year. I don’t think as an offensive line as a whole this was one of our best games. I think A&M has a really good front, and we need to do a better job overall up front to be more consistent. We made yards rushing, but how many yards rushing versus negative plays? And a negative play to me means you don’t gain 3 yards or more. So that consistency, we need to continue to work on.”
Tony’s take: Latham had a relatively good game against Texas A&M, earning an 86.7 pass-blocking grade and a 64.6 run-blocking mark from Pro Football Focus. The sophomore has started all six games at right tackle and has been one of the more consistent performers up front for Alabama this season.
As Saban said, the unit as a whole still has some room for improvement. That being said, things seem to be rending in the right direction.
On Bryce Young’s status
“Bryce is getting reevaluated today. I don't really know much. I haven't talked to Doc since he did that. Hopefully, we're going to try to get him ready to play this week, but this is something that, you know, nobody can predict how quickly this is going to give him an opportunity to go out and be able to do what he needs to do. And we'll see as the week progresses, but I don't have an update much more than that.”
Tony’s take: Early indications seem to point toward Bryce Young being available against Tennessee, but it’s not likely something we will know more about until later in the week. Saban previously said that Young’s injury is not viewed as serious and that the quarterback even wanted to play late against Texas A&M. If he feels comfortable in practice this week, the Heisman Trophy winner should be under center against the Volunteers.
On Alabama’s pass-rushing package featuring Will Anderson, Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell
“I thought we did a good job of getting pressure on the quarterback. I know we had three sacks but we had probably 10 or 12 other pressures on the quarterback. So it worked well for us. It was effective.”
Tony’s take: According to Henry To’oTo’o, Alabama calls this its “cheetah package” which makes sense because it’s getting the fastest pass rushers on the field. It worked well against Texas A&M as the Crimson Tide was able to register 14 quarterback hurries. One thing that this package does is stop teams from doubling up on Will Anderson. It’s no coincidence that the Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner recorded eight quarterback hurries over the weekend.
On Tennessee’s run defense
“They're physical up front. They play hard. They're aggressive in terms of their style of bringing people, creating negative plays. They tackle well. They play hard. They play well together. They have a good understanding of what they're trying to get done on each call. They're a good front seven.”
Tony’s take: While Tennessee has one of the worst pass defenses in the nation, the Volunteers rank No. 11 at stopping the run, holding opponents to 89.2 yards per game on the ground. That could be important, especially if Young is out and the offense has to rely on its ground game as it did against Texas A&M.
The good news for Alabama is that Tennessee ranks No. 128 of 131 Division I teams, allowing 307.4 yards per game through the air.
On what receivers can do to help Alabama’s quarterbacks
“No one's standing here blaming the receivers for anything. I think we all need to self-assess. The only way you learn is when you make a mistake, you listen, you learn, you improve and you don't make the same mistake again.
“We need to play better at all positions on offense, relative to what we did in the last game. And I think most of the players would probably tell you the same. So I can't really say that the receivers didn't do what they were supposed to do. Could they do it better? Absolutely. Could we get better play at every position, whether it's quarterback, wide receiver, or whatever, absolutely. So that's what we're trying to focus on so that we can have more consistency running the ball and passing the ball.”
Tony’s take: The receivers played their role in Alabama’s poor performance through the air against Texas A&M. The unit still struggles to get consistent separation which makes like a lot harder for their quarterbacks, especially a debut starter like Jalen Milroe.
That being said, the receivers didn’t really have much of an opportunity to shine over the weekend. We’ll see how Alabama adjusts against a porous Tennessee secondary this week. The addition of Young should help things dramatically. However, Alabama should still see improvement if it has to turn to Milroe again.
On how not winning the turnover margin makes it harder to win games
“Well, we've been emphasizing it like crazy. This is the first time in a long time we've had a negative turnover ratio at this point in a season. We don't get enough turnovers on defense, and we've given the ball up more than we have historically. And both of those things need to improve, because it is very, very challenging.
“I've said many times before, one of the most compelling stats relative to winning and losing is turnover margin. And every week we show the players, OK if you're Plus-1, you're Plus-2, you're Plus-3, all over the country what was the record? If you're minus-1, minus-2, minus-3 all over the country, what was the record. And it's pretty compelling.
“And the players understand it, and they understand the value of turning the ball over relative to the other team. What the average turnover in a season allows you to score. And when you get a turnover, what that benfeits you in scoring. These are very important factors that have been emphasized and we just need to do a better job.”
Tony’s take: Alabama turned the ball over four times against Texas A&M and only created one turnover on defense. That isn’t a good recipe for success moving forward. Through six games, Alabama ranks No. 118 nationally with a -6 turnover margin. If the Crimson Tide doesn’t turn that around, it is going to prove costly at some point.
On how he feels about the team at this point in the season
“Look, I believe in our team, but I believe in our team when our team does the things that they need to do to have a priority of doing their job. Everybody looks at people’s flaws, and those things get exposed if you don’t do things correctly. And I think the big thing that we need to do is make sure we’re doing things correctly collectively as a group on a more consistent basis. When we do that, I think we have a really good team. When we haven’t done that, we’re pretty average. It’s kind of everybody’s choice to try to get it right, and it’s our responsibility as coaches to help them get it right.”
Tony’s take: Saban says it pretty clearly here. Alabama can be special if it plays up to its potential. When that isn’t the case, it is an extremely beatable team. The Crimson Tide fell apart in the third quarter against Arkansas and flirted with disaster against Texas and Texas A&M. If things don’t get fixed soon, the ball is eventually going to start bouncing the other way.
On Tennessee receiver Jalin Hyatt
“He’s an outstanding player. He’s got really good speed. Their offense spreads people out, and they take great advantage of spreading the ball around to all their skill players. He in particular has made a lot of big plays, which they take a lot of shots, and they’ve converted a lot of shots. One of the keys to the game is not giving up big plays, and that’ll be really important for us if we’re gonna be successful against them on defense. And we’re gonna not only have to guard him but about three or four other guys that are pretty good receivers, as well.”
Tony’s take: As Saban pointed out earlier, Hyatt is one of four Tennessee receivers who have put up nice stats so far this season. While Hyatt leads the way with 27 receptions for 338 yards and five touchdowns, the Volunteers also feature Bru McCoy (20 receptions, 351 yards, two touchdowns), Cedric Tillman (17 receptions, 246 yards, one touchdown) and Ramel Keyton (10 receptions, 202 yards one touchdown). All four members of that quartet 14 or more yards per catch.
On Deontae Lawson
“We’ve been playing him all year long. I thought he played fairly well in the game this past week, and we’ve got a lot of confidence in him. He’s a good competitor. He’s serious about what he does. He’s smart. He understands what he’s supposed to do. He can run. He’s a good athlete. So I’m pleased with his progress and thought he played a fairly good game, especially being his first start when he had to go out there and played the whole game. He did a really good job.”
Tony’s take: Following the game against Texas A&M, Saban explained that starting Will linebacker Jaylen Moody was held out with a bruised kidney. With the fifth-year senior on the sideline, redshirt freshman Deontae Lawson filled in admirably, recording five tackles in his first collegiate start. Lawson pushed Moody for the starting spot this preseason and is more than capable of stepping in during his absence.
On his evaluation of Jalen Milroe after watching the game on film.
“I just think Jalen played with a lot of anxiety. I don’t think he allowed himself to let his training sort of guide him and trust and believe in it so that he could have success in executing plays. You can’t turn the ball over and not execute plays like they’re designed relative to the read of what you should and shouldn’t do. So those things are all things that we all need to definitely improve on so that we can utilize all 11 players on our offensive team. We’ve got skill guys that can make plays. We’ve gotta distribute the ball at the quarterback position so they can and whether it’s a run or a pass or an RPO or an advantage throw, you’ve gotta make the right choices and decisions on those things. I think we definitely need to improve in all those areas.”
Tony’s take: Milroe played the way you’d expect a redshirt freshman making his first start against an SEC team to play. The lights were a little bright for him Saturday night, and he struggled to move the ball much through the air. Some of that could be chalked up to big-game jitters, and some of it could reflect where he is currently as a passer. Either way, it will need to be cleaned up if he is needed this week against Tennessee.
