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Joseph Goodman | jgoodman@al.com
On Friday and Saturday, Alabama's coach asked his team a question.
Nick Saban doesn't usually talk about his process the way he did after Saturday's unfortunate news.
Another outside linebacker is hurt at Alabama, and Saban, in so many words, tried to explain that it's no easy task replacing guys.
"You just think we just, whatever happens, we just [poop emoji] another player, and everything's going to be perfect," Saban said.
Well, yeah.
Alabama lost about 256 linebackers to injury last season, and it still won a national championship. It's compelling evidence.
Beyond that fact, though, let's all acknowledge that it's tough to keep a straight face about the process while Saban is also talking about the process. That's a mental image no one needed.
It takes time, in other words...
See, now even that benign statement doesn't read the same anymore.
But, seriously, the process is ... extremely important to winning at life and football games on a daily basis. Unfamiliar with "the process"? The process, as all devout Alabama fans will tell you, is like Saban's football Bible. If Saban has tried to stress anything over the last 10 years about winning football games, it's that the process cannot be rushed.
Alabama's players aren't created overnight. It's a process. It takes at least six days, and on the seventh day everyone watches all the former Alabama players in the NFL.
As the Bible according to Saban goes, we're at like Day Two of creation and already the defense has lost a pair of backup outside linebackers to knee injuries. First, Terrell Lewis tore a knee ligament over the summer. Now Chris Allen likely is out for the season, too.
Who's left?
"I have Anfernee [Jennings] and Christian Miller, who have been starters around here, but past that we have Ben Davis and two freshmen, and that's basically what we have," Saban said. "We're very, very thin at those two positions."
Very thin is a relative phrase for Alabama. The four starters at linebacker -- Jennings, Miller, Dylan Moses and Mack Wilson -- are all future draft picks. Davis is a former five-star recruit ... who has been a reserve his entire career. Maybe this is the season he steps out of the shadows. Another former blue-chipper, linebacker Ale Kaho, just arrived on campus two weeks ago from the University of Washington.
Alabama stockpiles talent better than anyone, but don't tell that to Saban. He'll start talking [poop emoji].
"I worry about it all the time," he said after swearing. "I may be the only one, but I worry about it."
Here's the thing. Anytime Saban swears, or rants, or raves during a news conference, it's usually a signal for a message he's trying to send his team. There are exceptions, of course, but this is the middle of fall camp. Everything is a message.
Saban's histrionics about his depth chart actually detracted from something profound he mentioned during his opening remarks.
On Friday and Saturday, Alabama's coach asked his team a question: Why are the best the best?
Saban is the best that's ever been at coaching college football, so when he talks about being the best, you listen.
"Why are the best the best?" he said. "I asked that question yesterday to the team, and I asked them again today. The first thing you've got to do is tell the truth. You've got to be truthful with yourself. You can't have some false reality about who you are, what kind of player you are, what you need to do to improve."
You don't often hear football coaches talk about philosophical ideas like false realities, but the first two weeks of fall camp, for many young players, are about psychological deconstruction more than physical conditioning. It's kind of like boot camp, in a way.
The recruiting industry creates the false reality. High school kids are labeled five- and four-star prospects, and that leads many to believe they're actually stars. Coaches then spend the first two weeks of fall camp introducing them to the real world.
"You got to be truthful with yourself," Saban said, "then you've got to be willing to go prepare and do the things you need to do to be accountable so you can do your job, and do it on a consistent basis. I don't think we have enough guys on our team right now who are doing that, and that's something that we definitely need to focus on and work on."
This time of year the first stage of Saban's process is more interesting than the end.
Nick Saban swears, and his important message is lost
Nick Saban doesn't usually talk about his process the way he did after Saturday's unfortunate news.
Another outside linebacker is hurt at Alabama, and Saban, in so many words, tried to explain that it's no easy task replacing guys.
"You just think we just, whatever happens, we just [poop emoji] another player, and everything's going to be perfect," Saban said.
Well, yeah.
Alabama lost about 256 linebackers to injury last season, and it still won a national championship. It's compelling evidence.
Beyond that fact, though, let's all acknowledge that it's tough to keep a straight face about the process while Saban is also talking about the process. That's a mental image no one needed.
It takes time, in other words...
See, now even that benign statement doesn't read the same anymore.
But, seriously, the process is ... extremely important to winning at life and football games on a daily basis. Unfamiliar with "the process"? The process, as all devout Alabama fans will tell you, is like Saban's football Bible. If Saban has tried to stress anything over the last 10 years about winning football games, it's that the process cannot be rushed.
Alabama's players aren't created overnight. It's a process. It takes at least six days, and on the seventh day everyone watches all the former Alabama players in the NFL.
As the Bible according to Saban goes, we're at like Day Two of creation and already the defense has lost a pair of backup outside linebackers to knee injuries. First, Terrell Lewis tore a knee ligament over the summer. Now Chris Allen likely is out for the season, too.
Who's left?
"I have Anfernee [Jennings] and Christian Miller, who have been starters around here, but past that we have Ben Davis and two freshmen, and that's basically what we have," Saban said. "We're very, very thin at those two positions."
Very thin is a relative phrase for Alabama. The four starters at linebacker -- Jennings, Miller, Dylan Moses and Mack Wilson -- are all future draft picks. Davis is a former five-star recruit ... who has been a reserve his entire career. Maybe this is the season he steps out of the shadows. Another former blue-chipper, linebacker Ale Kaho, just arrived on campus two weeks ago from the University of Washington.
Alabama stockpiles talent better than anyone, but don't tell that to Saban. He'll start talking [poop emoji].
"I worry about it all the time," he said after swearing. "I may be the only one, but I worry about it."
Here's the thing. Anytime Saban swears, or rants, or raves during a news conference, it's usually a signal for a message he's trying to send his team. There are exceptions, of course, but this is the middle of fall camp. Everything is a message.
Saban's histrionics about his depth chart actually detracted from something profound he mentioned during his opening remarks.
On Friday and Saturday, Alabama's coach asked his team a question: Why are the best the best?
Saban is the best that's ever been at coaching college football, so when he talks about being the best, you listen.
"Why are the best the best?" he said. "I asked that question yesterday to the team, and I asked them again today. The first thing you've got to do is tell the truth. You've got to be truthful with yourself. You can't have some false reality about who you are, what kind of player you are, what you need to do to improve."
You don't often hear football coaches talk about philosophical ideas like false realities, but the first two weeks of fall camp, for many young players, are about psychological deconstruction more than physical conditioning. It's kind of like boot camp, in a way.
The recruiting industry creates the false reality. High school kids are labeled five- and four-star prospects, and that leads many to believe they're actually stars. Coaches then spend the first two weeks of fall camp introducing them to the real world.
"You got to be truthful with yourself," Saban said, "then you've got to be willing to go prepare and do the things you need to do to be accountable so you can do your job, and do it on a consistent basis. I don't think we have enough guys on our team right now who are doing that, and that's something that we definitely need to focus on and work on."
This time of year the first stage of Saban's process is more interesting than the end.
Nick Saban swears, and his important message is lost
