Football 🏈 Tony's takes: Breaking down Saban's comments after Alabama's win over MTSU

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Alabama opened its season with a commanding 56-7 victory over Middle Tennessee State on Saturday night. Following the blowout, Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban spoke to reporters about the game. Here’s a transcript of what he said as well as my take on what it means.

Opening statement

“I think the players kind of delivered, they had good energy and enthusiasm to start the game. So I was really happy with the way that we came out and played this game. So they kind of answered the bell the way we wanted them to. There's always, you know, some little bit of shoddy areas that obviously need to clean up, which we certainly have a few of those, and we'll work on it. But I thought the atmosphere was great. The fans were great. And I really thought the players did a good job. They did a good job on third down. They do a lot of stuff on offense, I think the defensive players did a good job of adjusting and adapting and not giving up a lot of big plays.

“Offensively, we ran, had good balance and did a pretty good job of passing the ball. Made some explosive plays, did a good job on third down. So you know, pretty good. We obviously got things that we need to work on, which we'll pay attention to but like the attitude of the team.”

Tony’s take: There’s always going to be things to clean up, especially in a season opener. However, it’s hard to find much Alabama did wrong Saturday night.

Middle Tennessee isn’t exactly top-level competition, but here’s a few of the things the Crimson Tide can hang its hat on.

— It was flagged just twice for 19 yards
— It didn’t commit a turnover
— The offense was balanced
— Jalen Milroe had an excellent start behind center
— The were explosive plays in the passing game
— The defense got two turnovers

That’s not too bad for Week 1.

On injuries to Jaylen Key and Malachi Moore

“We got a couple guys banged up. I don't know the extent of their injuries, Jaylen Key and Malachi Moore both. But we’ll see how that goes. They’ll get evaluated tomorrow and probably know more soon.”

Tony’s take: Key appeared to pick up an injury during kickoff coverage in the second quarter, while Moore picked up a knock during a punt return in the third quarter. We’ll find out more about both players in the days to come, but losing two starting defensive backs would not be ideal with No. 11 Texas coming to town next week.

On receivers getting open for big plays

“Well, they did a good job of getting open. Listen, no disrespect to these guys, they played hard, they’ve got a good team and they do a good job of coaching and they present a lot of problems for you, but we’re going to have to separate against a little different caliber guy in the future. So it’s gonna be important that we keep working on that and understand that, but I think we’ll be fine. I do think the receiver group has improved, I think there’s better depth, I think there’s more guys that can make plays, I think there’s more confidence. So I’m sort of pleased with the way that group has developed.”

Tony’s take: All three of Jalen Milroe’s touchdown passes came on long throws. While the quarterback’s improved downfield passing was encouraging, it’s also promising to see his targets get themselves in position to make big plays. All that said, next week should offer a more noteworthy look at where the Tide’s passing attack stands.

On Ja’Corey Brooks’ not playing in the first half

"He was sitting out the first half for. Look, I know you guys have a job to do and you know how much I love you and want to help you do your job, and all that — give you depth charts. But I'm not gonna reveal to you what a guy did or didn't do to put himself in a position where he sat out the first half. But he sat out the first half.”

Tony’s take: According to a source, Brooks got put in the dog house during preseason camp for breaking team rules. His first-half suspension likely stems from that. While the offence wasn’t very serious, this is more about Saban sending a message to his team.

On the offensive line

“They did a good job. They do a lot of stuff upfront, a lot of plug backers, a lot of movements, so it makes it difficult sometimes. I said before that they’re a little big little, they gave us some bad plays, but I thought that overall we did a good job. Did a really good job in protection. When we got sacked, it was the running back who didn’t block his guy. I thought they did a good job. I think we’re going to have to have that kind of balance. That's kind of balance we want to have in the future. So going to keep on working on it because I'm sure we're going to play some really good front sevens down the road as well.”

Tony’s take: I gave Alabama’s offensive line a B+ in my instant report card. From the sound of it, Saban might have given the unit an even higher mark. Overall, Alabama’s front did a nice job of limiting mistakes while clearing the way for big plays both on the ground and through the air.

On playing with more physicality

“I was pleased with that. Certainly, that’s what we’ve asked them to do and I think they competed well in the game. I think they played hard in the game. I think they were trying to be physical, they played with really good toughness. Their team plays hard and their team plays with toughness, and I think we certainly matched that. That was something that was a real positive for us.”

Tony’s take: Interestingly enough, the player who might have set the tone for Alabama’s physical performance was 5-foot-11, 182-pound receiver Isaiah Bond. Typically known for his speed, Bond sent a message following a reception on Alabama’s first drive as he lowered his shoulder to truck a defender on the sideline. From there, Alabama put on a spirited performance that should set the tone to what it is trying to build as an identity moving forward.

On Jalen Milroe getting the start and how he played

“I think Jalen did a good job. He’s had a good fall camp. I thought he played well in both scrimmages. I think he's more confident. He’s done a good job in the passing game. His athleticism helps him. He scored a touchdown on a fumbled snap, the center the ball slipped out of his hand and rolled back and he picks it up and runs it in for a touchdown. He’s a threat to pull the ball on his own plays which he scored a touchdown on that. And I thought he threw the ball effectively. So I thought he played well. There was one play early in the game where they run Sonic build Blitz and we're supposed to check out the play, we didn't get a check. So there's always things like that you can do a little bit better. But I think that experience is basically an accumulation of things that you learn from the mistakes that you make. That's what experience is. And I think as he continues to develop and gain experience, he's going to play better and better. But I thought he played well tonight.”

Tony’s take: Milroe’s night went about as good as it could have. The redshirt sophomore completed 13 of 18 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns without and interception while also adding a team-high 48 yards and a pair of scores on the ground. Sure there are a couple plays he’d like, but those are few and far between.

On improved tackling

“We tackled decent. I think we had a couple of missed tackles. I thought that, especially you saw all the perimeter plays they ran whether they were jet sweeps, bubble passes, smoke passes, advantage throws, whatever. The whole game plan, which we kind of told the players it’d be this way, they would get the ball out quick, we wouldn't have a lot of chances to get a whole bunch of sacks. Ball was going to come out quick, we're gonna have to break on the ball and we're gonna have to tackle well in space. And I think that we did a pretty good job of that and I think that's why they didn't have very many explosive plays.”

Tony’s take: Middle Tennessee’s offensive plan was to get the ball out quick and have its receivers make plays in open space. While the Blue Raiders were able to capitalize on that a few times, Alabama did a decent job of wrapping up on tackles and limiting big plays.

On cutting down penalties

“That’s one of the goals, to play penalty-free whether it’s special teams or offense, defense don’t give the other team advantage by giving away yards and field position and put yourself in the hole with penalties. Giving the other team first downs with undisciplined type penalties. You’re always going to have some penalties in the game, but the pre snap line of scrimmage, undisciplined type penalties, i think are the things you really want to focus on eliminating. One of the things i said to the players was if you really have confidence and believe in yourself do you really have to jump offsides to win? Do you really have to line up on the backfield on offense to pass block? Do you have to hold a guy in coverage to be able to cover? I don't think anybody should think that they need to do any of those things. So do it the right way. And I think they did a good job of that tonight.”

Tony’s take: Alabama only had two penalties on the night. The first was a roughing-the-passer call on defensive lineman Jaheim Oatis and the second was a holding call on Brooks during a punt return. Alabama stressed the importance of eliminating penalties all offseason. If Saturday night is any indication, it paid off.

On Milroe’s performance and if it could help him moving forward

“So you’re asking me to speculate and answer a hypothetical question on how some guy’s going to perform in the future? I don’t really know. I mean, I love him. I think he’s doing well. He’s working hard trying to improve. He’s a good competitor. He’s doing everything he can to play his best. But this is a Coke bottle, it’s not a Crystal Ball. It’s hard to know. It’s what we all strive for. We will prepare him the best way we can, but that’s why you play the game.”

Tony’s take: It’s hard to imagine Milroe not starting next weekend’s game against Texas. However, Saban was never going to announce that Saturday night. It was good to see the Coke bottle get some more love. It’s been a while.

On how the tight ends

“I think we have better tight ends on our team than we've had the past. CJ gives us something we haven't had which is a good strong solid block at Y right why? Amari is a really good pass receiver who made a really nice catch down the middle of the day. He's improved his blocking. Danny is a good blocker and a good Y. Robbie Ouzts kind of a H-back old fashioned fullback type of guy that can do certain things really well. So that group is, I think much better than we've had in the last couple of years. We've had to play an offensive tackle at tight end to be able to do some of the things that we're doing now. So I'm pleased with the progress that group has made, and hopefully that’ll help us in the future. It’s hard to run the ball on the perimeter if you don’t have guys that can block at tight end. We’ve got power at tackle so hopefully we can continue to improve on how effectively we can run the ball, as well.”

Tony’s take: This is perhaps the deepest tight end room Alabama has had under Saban. Saturday, we saw Amari Niblack show off his receiving ability, hauling in two catches for 49 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown grab. First-year offensive coordinator Tommy Rees was known for utilizing his tight ends at Notre Dame, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the position take on more importance in Alabama’s offense this year.

 

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