TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The third Saturday of October is fast approaching, and things are about to start getting a little more serious for No. 11 Alabama as it looks to hold its spot atop the SEC West standings.
This weekend’s game against No. 17 Tennessee will mark the first of three straight matchups against tricky opponents as the Crimson Tide will host No. 19 LSU on Nov. 4 before traveling to Kentucky on Nov. 11.
During his Monday press conference, Nick Saban spoke about the upcoming challenge against the Volunteers as well as areas where his team needs to improve. Here’s a transcript of what the head coach said as well as my takes on his comments.
Opening statement
“After watching the Arkansas game, I think we did a lot of really good things in the game. I think it was also clearly apparent that when we had mental intensity, good mental energy, good focus, we actually executed pretty well. And there were times in the game, especially in the second half, where we sort of lost our mental edge, our intensity. Affected our focus. And we didn't play as well and actually let the other team get back into the game.
“I think the lesson to be learned in all that is you've got to maintain intensity for 60 minutes in the game regardless of the score. I mean, there's games out there every week where people have leads and lose their focus and the outcome is not what you would want it to be.”
Tony’s take: Alabama’s 24-21 win over Arkansas ended up looking ugly, but for a while, it appeared as though it would be a statement game.
The Crimson Tide led the Razorbacks 24-6 midway through the third quarter had had the running game rolling. Then things hit a wall, and everything started to unravel. A lot of that comes down to a lack of focus. This past weekend is a good reminder that while Alabama has the talent to compete for a title, it won’t have the luxury of taking its foot off the gas in any games.
On Tennessee
“This game we're playing against Tennessee, big rivalry game. Means a lot to a lot of people in the state of Alabama and I'm sure there, too. It's one of the best rivalries in college football. They have a really good team. They're ranked 15th or whatever, so they have a really, really good team. Very explosive. Josh Heupel has done an outstanding job there. They play with great tempo on offense, which is challenging for the defense. But their ability to run the ball and create balance has been pretty phenomenal this year.
“I mean, they run it for like 230, pass it for like 210, whatever. And that kind of balance is always something that is difficult.
“Their defense is playing really, really good. They're in the top three or four in the SEC, ranked nationally in negative plays, sacks, tackles for loss and those types of things.
“I think Joe Milton is a really good quarterback. They've got three really good runners who have all been very productive. They've got good skill guys outside. So this is all around a really, really good team. So it's important for us to have a great week of preparation and be able to maintain focus in practice, in meetings, in whatever we're doing to be able to carry that forward in teh game and be able to sustain in the game for 60 minutes, which is what it's going to take in a game like this.”
Tony’s take: This is a pretty even matchup. Alabama and Tennessee both have elite pass-rushing units and offenses that have struggled to maintain consistency throughout the season. This isn’t the Volunteers team that carved apart the Crimson Tide in Knoxville, Tennessee last season, but its more than capable of pulling off the upset in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
On Tennessee’s wide-spread attack
“They certainly make you defend 53 yards wide of the field. There's two challenges. It affects run support in the box because the guys that are covering the receivers are so far away from the box. And they run a lot of vertical routes from out there so the people covering them get pretty isolated because they're far away from, whether it's split safety or middle of the field safety. So it is very challenging. The thing that I think is going to be really important is not to give up big, explosive plays, which was a real issue for us a year ago.”
Tony’s take: As Alabama saw last year, Tennessee lines up with its wide receivers nearly on the sideline. While the Volunteers torched the Tide through the air last season, the spread-out attack also makes life tough on inside linebackers who have less help against the run. The Volunteers lead the SEC and rank No. 6 nationally, averaging 230.33 yards per game on the ground.
Starting WILL linebacker Deontae Lawson might end up being the most important player on the field for Alabama’s defense as it will rely on both his tackling ability as well as his athleticism to play sideline-to-sideline.
On having patience with freshmen
“I think that everyone's a little different when it comes to that. Some guys, even though they're young, they handle their failures fairly well and learn from them. They're focused on not necessarily the outcome but what do I have to do to get the outcome. And those guys seem to do pretty well.
“Some guys that are young, good players maybe lack a little bit of that maturity and sometimes allow the success and the failure that they're having affect how they approach the next play. And that's something that I try to harp on the players, that baseball is a game of failures. So if you made two out of three outs in baseball, you struck out two out of three times, got a hit the third time, you'd be in the Hall of Fame. So for young guys they have to understand that if I can learn and grow from the mistakes that I make, not waste the failings, that that will be significant in me making improvement and developing. And that takes the right mind-set.
“I think the relative degree that young guys have in that area sort of determines how fast they improve.”
Tony’s take: It’s been a mixed bag for Alabama’s true freshman contributors this season. While safety Caleb Downs has established himself into a solid presence in the backend of the secondary, Kadyn Proctor has had less success keeping his opposition in front of him at the left tackle position.
That said, Downs committed a costly pass interference penalty on third down which ultimately led to a touchdown over the weekend. Mistakes are going to be made by both players moving forward. Alabama is going to need them to grow up quickly and develop short memories.
On cleaning up the pass protection
“It’s very important. It’s been important all year. It’s something that we have to do a really good job planning wise, and we have to fundamentally play better. It’s a combination of both. Both of those things are coaching and teaching things that we need to do better. Guys need to get set better, hand placement has to be better, footwork has to be better, and we have to make sure whatever scheme it is that we’re trying to use that players are capable of doing it without putting themselves in bad position.”
Tony’s take: We’ll get to this a bit more later, but Alabama ranks last in the SEC and No. 129 out of 133 FBS teams allowing 4.43 sacks per game. That’s not going to get the job done moving forward. The Crimson Tide has the talent to improve on its shortcomings, but it will need to clean up its fundamentals in order to play up to that potential.
On Quandarrius Robinson
“Q played good. He played very well. He’s been a core special teams guy for us — one of our better special teams players probably ever here. When he had opportunities to play in the game, he did a good job.”
Tony’s take: Quandarrius Robinson earned special teams player of the week honors from Alabama after he recorded a career-high six tackles against Arkansas. Two of those stops came on punt coverage and another came on kickoff coverage. He also had three tackles on defense, including one for a loss.
It’s important that Saban praised Robinson’s special teams performance heading into this week. He was the player who inexplicably tried to field a rolling punt which led to a turnover during last year’s game at Tennessee. Saban’s praise should give Robinson the confidence he needs and deserves.
On what he tells players about going up against a big quarterback like Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton
“I don’t see Joe being a whole lot different than what we’ve played against in the past, when [Hendon] Hooker was there. Guy can throw the ball, he’s accurate, he’s got a strong arm, they can make plays down the field, and they take a lot of vertical shots, so he’s certainly capable of making those plays. But he’s also athletic enough to extend plays in the pocket and run if necessary.
“You don’t tell them anything different than any other time they play a quarterback [like that]. You can’t get pushed by the quarterback. You have to keep the guy in front of you. We’ve got to have disciplined pass-rush lanes. Need to try to make the guy throw on time from the pocket, and hopefully we can cover them well enough to make it work on the back end.”
Tony’s take: Alabama had some trouble bringing down massive Arkansas quarterback K.J. Jefferson over the weekend. Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton also brings some size to the table, standing in at 6-foot-5, 235 pounds.
Through six games, Milton has 167 yards and three touchdowns on 31 rushing attempts. He’s also completed 61.5% of his passes for 1,264 yards and 10 touchdowns with four interceptions.
On how freshmen Keon Keeley and Yhonzae Pierre looked in practice
“Both of those guys came in the fall. We only had four guys that came in the fall. Because those guys didn’t come in the spring, they had to catch up over the summer, so their learning curve has been a lot greater. We’re pleased with the progress that they’re making, but it’s hard to get them enough reps at this time in the year to try and get them where they need to be so they can make a contribution. Russaw was here earlier, so he’s a little bit ahead of the game.”
Tony’s take: Despite coming to Alabama as five-star recruits, Keon Keeley and Yhonzae Pierre have yet to see the field this season. As Saban pointed out, that’s largely due to them missing out on spring camp. The same can be said about four-star true freshman running back Richard Young, who has had limited reps since joining the team in the fall.
In today’s age of early enrollees and transfer additions, it’s going to be harder for true freshmen to make it onto the field if they don’t join the team in time for the spring.
On keeping J.C. Latham at RT
“Well, he's really a good right tackle. He's played really well, obviously, being SEC offensive lineman of the week. He had a really good game in the last game. He's big, strong, physical. He's the prototype right tackle that everybody would look for in terms of having a power guy who is effective in being able to pass block well enough.”
“I guess you always hope that if we move the right tackle to left tackle, that would make everything better. But I guess the question you also have to ask yourself is would that make us any better at right tackle? Or do you just try to attack the solution of trying to get the left tackle to play to the standard that you need him to play, without making multiple changes to the offensive line. We can have a debate about that. Nobody really knows the answer to that. But we have made a commitment to try to keep some stability with the guys where they're playing, and get the guys to play left tackle better.”
Tony’s take: I never really understood the decision to put J.C. Latham at right tackle myself. In fact, I still don’t. However, at this point, it might cause more problems to make the switch than it would solve.
Once Terrence Ferguson returns from his ankle injury, it might make sense to insert him at left guard and bump Tyler Booker out to one of the tackle positions. Maybe that’s something Alabama can explore during its open week.
On Justice Haynes
“He played great. He's been playing really well all year. So got four guys at the position, and all those guys deserve reps and playing time. It's really, really hard to get four guys at the running back position to be in rhythm and to play a significant number of snaps. Jam played well when he was in there. Roydell, Jase both played really well when they were in there. And Justice played really good when he was in there. We're pleased with all those guys, and maybe there will be some opportunity for him to make a bigger contribution in the future.”
Tony’s take: Justice Haynes received a bit more playing time and broke a nice 10-yard run as part of two carries for 11 yards against Arkansas. Alabama also flexed its backfield depth more against the Razorbacks. Perhaps thats a sign of things to come as it looks to get all of its talented backs involved in the offense.
On replicating consistency in the running game
“We did run the ball better in the second half, but to me, the way I sort of evaluate it is, what is the efficiency in the running game? In other words, how many four-plus runs did you have versus less than four? That's the efficiency that we continue to look for. It was a lot better in the second half. I think we got a hat on a hat. Kind of knew exactly what they were doing formationally. I think the offensive line did a really good job. They were creating some holes and the backs did a good job of running downhill. That's the way we want it to be all the time. We just got to keep working at it so we continue to develop consistency in that part of our team.”
Tony’s take: Alabama recorded eight runs of 10 yards or more against Arkansas, but Saban is more concerned about his team’s ability to consistently average 4 and 5 yards per attempt. That's something the Tide will need to continue to work on. However, there was a lot to like about the Crimson Tide’s running game over the weekend as Jase McClellan, Roydell Williams and Haynes combined for 202 yards on 29 attempts.
On if Alabama’s 31 sacks are alarming and if there’s anything the team can do about them
“To the first part of your question, I would say hell yeah. To the second part, I do think we have guys that are capable. I think it goes back to that same attention to detail. There's little things like in certain protections, I know I have inside help. So why would I get beat outside? Does that make sense?
“These are not all capability issues. Some of them are things that we could fix. When we're sliding out, to block three on three, and the guy doesn't slide out to block the third guy and he runs in to sack the quarterback, that's a mental error. That's not a physical problem. It's a combination of all those things that need to get cleaned up with better communication, better execution and maybe the more knowledge and experience we'll get, the more we'll be able to be more effective and consistent in those areas.”
Tony’s take: As I said before, Alabama has the talent to succeed on the offensive line, it just comes down to execution. Of course, the Tide can improve on its pass protection. The real question is whether we should expect that at this point in the season.
Maybe the lightbulb will go off for either Kadyn Proctor or Elijah Pritchett. However, in my opinion, if the duo hasn’t caught on yet, the Tide might need to mix things up and move in a different direction.
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