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Instead of traditional SEC Championship Game stencil, the endzones Saturday will be exact replicas of those at Byrant-Denny and The Swamp
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Practice Report 11/28/16
Suttles, Tidesports.com
The team worked inside in its first practice to get ready for the SEC Championship Game. This is what I noticed during the media viewing period.
Junior linebacker Rashaan Evans created a mini-firestorm when he tweeted "It's been fun Bama" earlier in the day, a tweet that has since been deleted. But Evans was at practice. Evans has played in 11 games, recording 32 tackles, including 2.5 sacks.
Marlon Humphrey was at practice after pulling up lame during the second half of the Auburn game. Saban said they would take it easy on Humphrey today and that they hoped he could practice as the week progresses.
Bo Scarbrough didn't appear limited after the most significant action he's seen since the LSU game.
Suttles, Tidesports.com
The team worked inside in its first practice to get ready for the SEC Championship Game. This is what I noticed during the media viewing period.
Junior linebacker Rashaan Evans created a mini-firestorm when he tweeted "It's been fun Bama" earlier in the day, a tweet that has since been deleted. But Evans was at practice. Evans has played in 11 games, recording 32 tackles, including 2.5 sacks.
Marlon Humphrey was at practice after pulling up lame during the second half of the Auburn game. Saban said they would take it easy on Humphrey today and that they hoped he could practice as the week progresses.
Bo Scarbrough didn't appear limited after the most significant action he's seen since the LSU game.
Alabama17Tide
Member
Press Conference Transcript & Notes:
Highlights:
TRANSCRIPT
"Not to belabor the point, but I think that as I said yesterday on the conference call, was really pleased with the way our team played with the second half in the game. A lot of things that our team didn't really execute well in the first half, those things were all correctable things that we're going to address today with the players and try to clean up so that we don't have those issues in the future.
"We're really excited about Cam Robinson winning the SEC offensive lineman of the week. You have our players of the week from last week. But this game is really what our focus is. This is the SEC championship game which is one of the most competitive environments that I've had the opportunity to play in against a very good Florida team who has great tradition and history. Both teams in this game have tradition and history in this game, and this is the 25th championship game. As I said yesterday, to have Coach Spurrier and Coach Stallings there, who played in the first championship game, is really sort of something special.
"I think Florida, Coach McElwain has done a really good job in his time there. They've gotten better and better each year and certainly won games they needed to win this year to have this opportunity. They have a great defensive team, probably one of the best defensive teams in the country. Very good man-to-man team in the back end, very dominant front seven in terms of their down guys up front and their ability to rush and play on the line of scrimmage. Offensively, they tried to create great balance with their team this year with the ability to run the ball. They have a couple backs that have both contributed to that. I think Antonio Calloway and Landon Powell, the two receivers that they have are certainly guys that they want to get the ball to that have the ability to make explosive plays. When they've been able to do that they've been very effective on offense. Always very good on special teams. They have very good specialists, whether it's returners, punter, kicker, they're all very effective and very good. So it's a very challenging game for us."
Damien Harris said after the game that anyone who said 'Alabama can afford to lose this game' hasn't played sports before. Do you expect the competitive fire to prevent that kind of mindset?
"That's certainly not the mindset that we want on our team. This is a big game for us, it's an opportunity to win the SEC championship, which to me is a very, very significant accomplishment. We hold that in very high esteem, having the ability to do that, having the opportunity to do it, having the ability to play for it.
"You all want to put everything on the playoffs, man. That's all you care about. You don't care about bowl games, you don't care about any teams in the country that aren't in the playoffs. I don't know. If we don't win this game, maybe we throw a stink bomb out there, maybe we don't get in the playoffs. I don't know. You guys have all the answers to that, but I don't. All I know is that if we play and we play well, we control our own destiny in terms of what we do. So I'd really rather not have any more questions about 'Is it OK to lose this game?' It's never OK to lose a game."
Also, I wanted to ask about Jalen.
"You should have asked about that first."
How dedicated is he to improving every week and learning from negative plays?
"I don't think anybody on the team wants to play better at his position than Jalen Hurts. He wants to do well. You're still talking about a guy that's a freshman. You can't really coach experience. There are some things that guys just have to learn by doing and sometimes the best way to learn it is when you make mistakes. He would probably be the first to tell you he made a couple mistakes in the first half, and he'll learn from those and he'll get better. But he's very dedicated, he tries to prepare well for the games but sometimes when things don't happen on the field exactly like he expects them to, that's experience. That's 'How do you react and respond when things like that happen?' We're pleased with the progress that he's made. We have a lot of faith, trust and confidence in him and we're going to keep working with him to try to improve to minimize those things so he can continue to play better."
Jonah Williams shut out Carl Lawson on Saturday. Your thoughts on Jonah?
"Jonah’s played very well for us all year long. I thought that both tackles really played well in the last game. I thought our offensive line – even though we had trouble blocking Montravius (Adams) at times inside, who is a really, really good player – did a really good job in this game, especially in the second half. We started to finish things a little bit better, be able to run the ball a little bit better. When that happens it takes a little bit off the quarterback, which is really a good thing for us."
You had to adjust the secondary on the fly with the injuries Saturday. How did they respond?
"When Tony went out we just moved Minkah back in (to star). Hootie’s the next guy up, who’s played a lot all year in dime and some in nickel. Minkah just has a hard time being able to practice safety and star, too, which he hasn’t been able to do a lot of. But his experience allowed him to do it. He did a very good job. Those guys did a good job. When we ended up playing six defensive backs that’s where we get a little bit, you know, somebody that we put into the game does not have a lot of experience. But Deionte Thompson did a good job for what had to do in the game – and did a good job of executing what he was supposed to do and communicated well. We didn’t have any real mistakes that were costly in that circumstance. When Marlon went out Levi Wallace went in the game and he did a good job as well. Had a couple coverage opportunities where he did a nice job of covering the guy. I was pleased with the way those guys stepped up."
What’s behind the success of stopping the big plays?
"Well, you could say we eliminated the big play runs in the last game, but they hit a couple big play passes on us. I think we always want to eliminate those because big plays are something that, if you don’t give up big plays and you’re hard to score against in the red area, then it makes it more difficult for the other team. They have to sustain. A couple times Auburn was able to move the ball on us last week we did give up big plays. That’s something that we always harp on. Some tough play-action passes because we’re playing to stop the run. We have to do a better job of responding to those. We’re going to see some of the same types of things this week, so our players are going to have to do a good job in that regard, recognize and read run-pass, especially off the hard play-action pass."
You’ve got 3 players on defense up for national awards this year. Why has Alabama never won a national defensive player of the year award?
"I really can’t answer that. I haven’t given it a lot of thought. I really can’t answer it. We’ve had some really good defensive players here that – I think we had somebody win the Butkus – but I think we have some very deserving guys on our team that have been very productive and they’ve been really good team players this year, where it’s Jonathan Allen, Reuben Foster, Ryan Anderson. All those guys have played extremely well for us and they’ve had great production. Hard for me to compare their performance to other players because I don’t see them play all the time. But I know those guys have done as much for our team as just about anyone could expect. I think whether it’s recognizing awards or whatever it is that’s pretty much all you can expect from a guy."
So the defensive players are kind of like your kids, you can't choose just one?
"Well, it was kind of hard-pressed for me just to say those three guys, based on what some of the other guys have contributed as well. I think we take a lot of pride here in playing team defense. I think that our guys do not take chances and do things to try to make plays and give up plays. I think that all of them have quite a bit of respect for each other, and I certainly feel the same way about that. As a coach, you just want to try to get the best opportunity to put them in the best position so they can make plays and have production. Hopefully that'll be the case moving forward."
Did you expect Shaun Dion to have this kind of season?
"We have a lot of confidence in Shaun Dion Hamilton. He's a good player. He's very instinctive. He's one of those guys you can certainly depend on to make the right choice, the right decision, be in the right place relative to what his responsibility is. It's not surprising to me that he's had the production that he's had. You guys always ask me these expectation questions. I don't really have expectations. I don't go into the year thinking, well, if this guy makes that many tackles. Those are results. My goal for players is can we get them to play as well as they can play, put them in the right positions, to get them to be disciplined, to do their job. And Shaun Dion's probably done that as well as anybody on our defense."
What do you see from Florida's two cornerbacks?
"They're very good. Their entire defense is very good but the two corners, they play a lot of man to man. Those guys have done a good job, shut the people down and limit the options that you have. They have good players at safety and they do a good job of rushing. This is a really, really good defensive team and we're going to have to do a great job against them."
Has your ball control offense or your four-minute offense been a strength of yours this year?
"It certainly was (one of Alabama's strengths) in a couple of games this year and it certainly was Saturday, to take 9 minutes off the clock and 61 yards. I think that's what you want to be able to do so that you minimize the opportunities that the other team gets to be able to come back on you in the game. I think that was an outstanding job by our offense and a very good plan offensively as well to be able to get that done."
What does ArDarius Stewart mean to the offense from a leadership, of-field standpoint?
"ArDarius is a very competitive guy, and we certainly want to get him the ball and get him touches in the game because he will make plays. This last game especially, he was very, very productive. We also want to do the same with Calvin Ridley. ArDarius, I think, sets a great example with his competitive spirit, how he goes about what he does as a football player. We certainly have a lot of respect, faith, trust and confidence in him. What you don't see is what a great job he does blocking and the toughness that he plays with and the competitive spirit that he has. I have a tremendous amount of respect for that guy."
Marlon Humphrey's status?
"We're going to take it easy with him for a day at least for a little while and see how it goes. We're hopeful that he'll be able to practice some later in the week and be OK for the game.
Ben Jones
TideSports.com Editor
Highlights:
- Marlon Humphrey is expected to be limited in practice today but should be fine for the game on Saturday.
- Went on a little bit of a rant on the first question. Someone asked Damien Harris after Saturday's game about the possibility that Alabama could lose a game and still make the playoff. Harris said anyone who thinks like that hasn't played sports. Saban was asked for his thoughts on Harris' mentality, and kind of used it to launch into a bit of a fit about how the playoffs are all anyone cares about anymore.
- Talked a lot about how good Florida's defense is, especially the two cornerbacks: Quincy Wilson and Jalen Tabor. Spoke very highly of what they can do in man-to-man coverage. Will be interesting to see them against Stewart and Ridley on Saturday.
- Was asked about how Alabama has never had a national defensive player of the year. His answer was wishy washy, but the question was pretty good.
- Also talked about how valuable the ball-control offense has been to salt away some games late this year, like LSU and Auburn, which each had 4th quarter drives of 9:00+.
TRANSCRIPT
"Not to belabor the point, but I think that as I said yesterday on the conference call, was really pleased with the way our team played with the second half in the game. A lot of things that our team didn't really execute well in the first half, those things were all correctable things that we're going to address today with the players and try to clean up so that we don't have those issues in the future.
"We're really excited about Cam Robinson winning the SEC offensive lineman of the week. You have our players of the week from last week. But this game is really what our focus is. This is the SEC championship game which is one of the most competitive environments that I've had the opportunity to play in against a very good Florida team who has great tradition and history. Both teams in this game have tradition and history in this game, and this is the 25th championship game. As I said yesterday, to have Coach Spurrier and Coach Stallings there, who played in the first championship game, is really sort of something special.
"I think Florida, Coach McElwain has done a really good job in his time there. They've gotten better and better each year and certainly won games they needed to win this year to have this opportunity. They have a great defensive team, probably one of the best defensive teams in the country. Very good man-to-man team in the back end, very dominant front seven in terms of their down guys up front and their ability to rush and play on the line of scrimmage. Offensively, they tried to create great balance with their team this year with the ability to run the ball. They have a couple backs that have both contributed to that. I think Antonio Calloway and Landon Powell, the two receivers that they have are certainly guys that they want to get the ball to that have the ability to make explosive plays. When they've been able to do that they've been very effective on offense. Always very good on special teams. They have very good specialists, whether it's returners, punter, kicker, they're all very effective and very good. So it's a very challenging game for us."
Damien Harris said after the game that anyone who said 'Alabama can afford to lose this game' hasn't played sports before. Do you expect the competitive fire to prevent that kind of mindset?
"That's certainly not the mindset that we want on our team. This is a big game for us, it's an opportunity to win the SEC championship, which to me is a very, very significant accomplishment. We hold that in very high esteem, having the ability to do that, having the opportunity to do it, having the ability to play for it.
"You all want to put everything on the playoffs, man. That's all you care about. You don't care about bowl games, you don't care about any teams in the country that aren't in the playoffs. I don't know. If we don't win this game, maybe we throw a stink bomb out there, maybe we don't get in the playoffs. I don't know. You guys have all the answers to that, but I don't. All I know is that if we play and we play well, we control our own destiny in terms of what we do. So I'd really rather not have any more questions about 'Is it OK to lose this game?' It's never OK to lose a game."
Also, I wanted to ask about Jalen.
"You should have asked about that first."
How dedicated is he to improving every week and learning from negative plays?
"I don't think anybody on the team wants to play better at his position than Jalen Hurts. He wants to do well. You're still talking about a guy that's a freshman. You can't really coach experience. There are some things that guys just have to learn by doing and sometimes the best way to learn it is when you make mistakes. He would probably be the first to tell you he made a couple mistakes in the first half, and he'll learn from those and he'll get better. But he's very dedicated, he tries to prepare well for the games but sometimes when things don't happen on the field exactly like he expects them to, that's experience. That's 'How do you react and respond when things like that happen?' We're pleased with the progress that he's made. We have a lot of faith, trust and confidence in him and we're going to keep working with him to try to improve to minimize those things so he can continue to play better."
Jonah Williams shut out Carl Lawson on Saturday. Your thoughts on Jonah?
"Jonah’s played very well for us all year long. I thought that both tackles really played well in the last game. I thought our offensive line – even though we had trouble blocking Montravius (Adams) at times inside, who is a really, really good player – did a really good job in this game, especially in the second half. We started to finish things a little bit better, be able to run the ball a little bit better. When that happens it takes a little bit off the quarterback, which is really a good thing for us."
You had to adjust the secondary on the fly with the injuries Saturday. How did they respond?
"When Tony went out we just moved Minkah back in (to star). Hootie’s the next guy up, who’s played a lot all year in dime and some in nickel. Minkah just has a hard time being able to practice safety and star, too, which he hasn’t been able to do a lot of. But his experience allowed him to do it. He did a very good job. Those guys did a good job. When we ended up playing six defensive backs that’s where we get a little bit, you know, somebody that we put into the game does not have a lot of experience. But Deionte Thompson did a good job for what had to do in the game – and did a good job of executing what he was supposed to do and communicated well. We didn’t have any real mistakes that were costly in that circumstance. When Marlon went out Levi Wallace went in the game and he did a good job as well. Had a couple coverage opportunities where he did a nice job of covering the guy. I was pleased with the way those guys stepped up."
What’s behind the success of stopping the big plays?
"Well, you could say we eliminated the big play runs in the last game, but they hit a couple big play passes on us. I think we always want to eliminate those because big plays are something that, if you don’t give up big plays and you’re hard to score against in the red area, then it makes it more difficult for the other team. They have to sustain. A couple times Auburn was able to move the ball on us last week we did give up big plays. That’s something that we always harp on. Some tough play-action passes because we’re playing to stop the run. We have to do a better job of responding to those. We’re going to see some of the same types of things this week, so our players are going to have to do a good job in that regard, recognize and read run-pass, especially off the hard play-action pass."
You’ve got 3 players on defense up for national awards this year. Why has Alabama never won a national defensive player of the year award?
"I really can’t answer that. I haven’t given it a lot of thought. I really can’t answer it. We’ve had some really good defensive players here that – I think we had somebody win the Butkus – but I think we have some very deserving guys on our team that have been very productive and they’ve been really good team players this year, where it’s Jonathan Allen, Reuben Foster, Ryan Anderson. All those guys have played extremely well for us and they’ve had great production. Hard for me to compare their performance to other players because I don’t see them play all the time. But I know those guys have done as much for our team as just about anyone could expect. I think whether it’s recognizing awards or whatever it is that’s pretty much all you can expect from a guy."
So the defensive players are kind of like your kids, you can't choose just one?
"Well, it was kind of hard-pressed for me just to say those three guys, based on what some of the other guys have contributed as well. I think we take a lot of pride here in playing team defense. I think that our guys do not take chances and do things to try to make plays and give up plays. I think that all of them have quite a bit of respect for each other, and I certainly feel the same way about that. As a coach, you just want to try to get the best opportunity to put them in the best position so they can make plays and have production. Hopefully that'll be the case moving forward."
Did you expect Shaun Dion to have this kind of season?
"We have a lot of confidence in Shaun Dion Hamilton. He's a good player. He's very instinctive. He's one of those guys you can certainly depend on to make the right choice, the right decision, be in the right place relative to what his responsibility is. It's not surprising to me that he's had the production that he's had. You guys always ask me these expectation questions. I don't really have expectations. I don't go into the year thinking, well, if this guy makes that many tackles. Those are results. My goal for players is can we get them to play as well as they can play, put them in the right positions, to get them to be disciplined, to do their job. And Shaun Dion's probably done that as well as anybody on our defense."
What do you see from Florida's two cornerbacks?
"They're very good. Their entire defense is very good but the two corners, they play a lot of man to man. Those guys have done a good job, shut the people down and limit the options that you have. They have good players at safety and they do a good job of rushing. This is a really, really good defensive team and we're going to have to do a great job against them."
Has your ball control offense or your four-minute offense been a strength of yours this year?
"It certainly was (one of Alabama's strengths) in a couple of games this year and it certainly was Saturday, to take 9 minutes off the clock and 61 yards. I think that's what you want to be able to do so that you minimize the opportunities that the other team gets to be able to come back on you in the game. I think that was an outstanding job by our offense and a very good plan offensively as well to be able to get that done."
What does ArDarius Stewart mean to the offense from a leadership, of-field standpoint?
"ArDarius is a very competitive guy, and we certainly want to get him the ball and get him touches in the game because he will make plays. This last game especially, he was very, very productive. We also want to do the same with Calvin Ridley. ArDarius, I think, sets a great example with his competitive spirit, how he goes about what he does as a football player. We certainly have a lot of respect, faith, trust and confidence in him. What you don't see is what a great job he does blocking and the toughness that he plays with and the competitive spirit that he has. I have a tremendous amount of respect for that guy."
Marlon Humphrey's status?
"We're going to take it easy with him for a day at least for a little while and see how it goes. We're hopeful that he'll be able to practice some later in the week and be OK for the game.
Ben Jones
TideSports.com Editor
bama alum
Member
Against whom? The east and LSU offenses. What's that really tell us?
Coach Saban on Stewart's contributions this season:
"What you don't see is what a great job he does blocking and the toughness that he plays with and the competitive spirit that he has"
Hey coach, yes we do! Stewart has become one of the best all around, competitive, game receivers that I can remember. For overall effect, you have to pull out the Julio measuring tape to fully appreciate everything he does at the position for the Tide. No greater compliment than that.
"What you don't see is what a great job he does blocking and the toughness that he plays with and the competitive spirit that he has"
Hey coach, yes we do! Stewart has become one of the best all around, competitive, game receivers that I can remember. For overall effect, you have to pull out the Julio measuring tape to fully appreciate everything he does at the position for the Tide. No greater compliment than that.
bama alum
Member
You do because you're not focused on turning out click bait like half the people in that room are.
A Michigan man on Mike and Mike:
- Mike & Mike @MikeAndMike 5h5 hours ago
With a laugh, Michigan analyst Dan Dierdorf on who will make the playoff: "Let's all get in line to get the crap beat out of us by Alabama"
I never like Old Dan when he was on Monday Night Football. He was to much in his self. But, I guess I can say I do like his thinking here.A Michigan man on Mike and Mike:
With a laugh, Michigan analyst Dan Dierdorf on who will make the playoff: "Let's all get in line to get the crap beat out of us by Alabama"
Alabama17Tide
Member
CNS Wednesday Press Conference:
Short press conference so there aren't a lot of highlights. But here are a couple:
OPENING STATEMENT
"I think this time of year is really sort of a test of your mental fortitude. I think everybody is probably pretty tired of practicing after playing this many games. You probably don't always feel great when you've played in this many games and practiced this many days. I think what's important for players to stay focused on is what they want, making the choices they need to make so that they can respond the right way when the time comes, to compete the way they want. Because really, the whole season is all about how you finish. The players have been good this week.
"We certainly have a lot of respect for the team that we're playing. They have great players, some great skill players on offense that can make explosive plays. Their defense has been one of the top defenses in the country all season long. We're looking forward to the opportunity to play in the SEC championship game, which I mentioned before is a great competitive venue. We're going to have some coaches, Coach Stallings, Coach Spurrier, some of our guys that have been MVPs in this game before. Antonio Langham was at practice today. Derrick Henry. Greg McElroy. Blake. I hope I'm not leaving anybody out. Always nice to see those guys get recognized as well.
"From an injury standpoint, Marlon was able to practice today so he did pretty well. I think we're moving forward with just about everybody getting ready to play the game."
How much do you form contingency plans for injury situations:
"We think every week we do that very thoroughly at every position. If something happens to the right tackle, who are we going to put in. If something happens to the right guard and the right guard has to move to right tackle, who’s going to go in at right guard. We do that at every position. We do it for every position on defense, every position on offense, special teams positions. Because we do it early in the week so that we try to practice that way. Sometimes it’s difficult when you don’t know what a guy’s status is going to be. You can make the assumption that we practice as if everybody’s going to be there, then if you’re not we’re not prepared. If you practice as if everybody’s not going to be there and they are, then you’re not prepared. Sometimes it’s tough management but our guys have been pretty good about getting the reps that they need and being able to respond when the time comes in the game."
On Florida quarterback Austin Appleby:
"I think he’s a really smart player. He’s capable of making all the throws. He’s big, he’s strong, a physical guy. Hard to sack because of his size and strength. I really think he can make all the throws. I think when they’ve probably had a little trouble this year has been when they’ve gotten people who they had trouble giving him the time to operate, which probably happened a little bit in the Florida State game. But if that’s not the case, he’s made a lot of really good plays for them."
On Florida’s pass defense:
"Well they have really good players, they’re really well coached. They play a lot of man to man. Their matchups are better than most people that they play against. They’ve been very effective. So, I don’t know what else to say. They’ve got a good scheme. They do a good job of executing it. They play together as a group. They have great team speed on defense. But I think their ability to play man to man and cover and deny you the ball is probably what makes them special."
Adolph Rupp said once that he wanted to have a team that scored every time it had the ball and shut the other team out. Do you ever think about your time like that?
"Um, I missed that one somewhere along the line … Look, I want our players to play well. I want to execute, I want to do things well in the game. I want to do the things that help you play winning football, whether it’s take care of the ball, don’t turn it over, or get turnovers, make explosive plays, don’t give up explosive plays, stop the run, get off the field on third down, be good on third down on offense. There’s a myriad of things that are really, really important to being able to score on offense, or keep the other team from scoring on defense. I guess I focus and worry more about those things, how we do those things, how prepared the players are to do them, more than I really think about ‘We really want this result.’ And try and play every play in the game so you don’t really look at the scoreboard during the game, or think it about it that much even before the game, but you do think about the things that you need to do to be able to play the game effectively, and finish the game and play 60 minutes in the game effectively."
On drafting Antonio Langham with the Cleveland Browns and the 1992 Crimson Tide:
"Well, I do remember coming here to work all those players out, from that team when I was with Cleveland. You know, Antonio didn’t run a great time at the combine and everyone was worried about his speed. I think this is a great lesson for a lot of players, there’s a lot of speed in our league. I think there were five or six first-round draft-pick wide receivers that played at Tennessee, Florida, all over this league. What convinced us that he could run fast enough was he covered all of those guys – and those were the same guys that he was going to have to cover in the NFL because they were all first-round picks. Really, he played just one year while I was there, but he played really, really well and did a great job for us. He’s been a good friend, and I certainly appreciate all that he did as a player to help us be successful, especially the ’94 defensive team that was really pretty good."
Nick Saban press conference notes, transcript, video | TideSports.com
Short press conference so there aren't a lot of highlights. But here are a couple:
- Marlon Humphrey should be good to go for the weekend. Not a lot on the injury front to talk of.
- Talked about drafting Antonio Langham when he was with the Browns. Antonio ran a slow 40 at the combine and teams were worried about his speed, but the Browns saw how well he did playing against some really good SEC receivers. "What convinced us that he could run fast enough was he covered all of those guys – and those were the same guys that he was going to have to cover in the NFL because they were all first-round picks."
OPENING STATEMENT
"I think this time of year is really sort of a test of your mental fortitude. I think everybody is probably pretty tired of practicing after playing this many games. You probably don't always feel great when you've played in this many games and practiced this many days. I think what's important for players to stay focused on is what they want, making the choices they need to make so that they can respond the right way when the time comes, to compete the way they want. Because really, the whole season is all about how you finish. The players have been good this week.
"We certainly have a lot of respect for the team that we're playing. They have great players, some great skill players on offense that can make explosive plays. Their defense has been one of the top defenses in the country all season long. We're looking forward to the opportunity to play in the SEC championship game, which I mentioned before is a great competitive venue. We're going to have some coaches, Coach Stallings, Coach Spurrier, some of our guys that have been MVPs in this game before. Antonio Langham was at practice today. Derrick Henry. Greg McElroy. Blake. I hope I'm not leaving anybody out. Always nice to see those guys get recognized as well.
"From an injury standpoint, Marlon was able to practice today so he did pretty well. I think we're moving forward with just about everybody getting ready to play the game."
How much do you form contingency plans for injury situations:
"We think every week we do that very thoroughly at every position. If something happens to the right tackle, who are we going to put in. If something happens to the right guard and the right guard has to move to right tackle, who’s going to go in at right guard. We do that at every position. We do it for every position on defense, every position on offense, special teams positions. Because we do it early in the week so that we try to practice that way. Sometimes it’s difficult when you don’t know what a guy’s status is going to be. You can make the assumption that we practice as if everybody’s going to be there, then if you’re not we’re not prepared. If you practice as if everybody’s not going to be there and they are, then you’re not prepared. Sometimes it’s tough management but our guys have been pretty good about getting the reps that they need and being able to respond when the time comes in the game."
On Florida quarterback Austin Appleby:
"I think he’s a really smart player. He’s capable of making all the throws. He’s big, he’s strong, a physical guy. Hard to sack because of his size and strength. I really think he can make all the throws. I think when they’ve probably had a little trouble this year has been when they’ve gotten people who they had trouble giving him the time to operate, which probably happened a little bit in the Florida State game. But if that’s not the case, he’s made a lot of really good plays for them."
On Florida’s pass defense:
"Well they have really good players, they’re really well coached. They play a lot of man to man. Their matchups are better than most people that they play against. They’ve been very effective. So, I don’t know what else to say. They’ve got a good scheme. They do a good job of executing it. They play together as a group. They have great team speed on defense. But I think their ability to play man to man and cover and deny you the ball is probably what makes them special."
Adolph Rupp said once that he wanted to have a team that scored every time it had the ball and shut the other team out. Do you ever think about your time like that?
"Um, I missed that one somewhere along the line … Look, I want our players to play well. I want to execute, I want to do things well in the game. I want to do the things that help you play winning football, whether it’s take care of the ball, don’t turn it over, or get turnovers, make explosive plays, don’t give up explosive plays, stop the run, get off the field on third down, be good on third down on offense. There’s a myriad of things that are really, really important to being able to score on offense, or keep the other team from scoring on defense. I guess I focus and worry more about those things, how we do those things, how prepared the players are to do them, more than I really think about ‘We really want this result.’ And try and play every play in the game so you don’t really look at the scoreboard during the game, or think it about it that much even before the game, but you do think about the things that you need to do to be able to play the game effectively, and finish the game and play 60 minutes in the game effectively."
On drafting Antonio Langham with the Cleveland Browns and the 1992 Crimson Tide:
"Well, I do remember coming here to work all those players out, from that team when I was with Cleveland. You know, Antonio didn’t run a great time at the combine and everyone was worried about his speed. I think this is a great lesson for a lot of players, there’s a lot of speed in our league. I think there were five or six first-round draft-pick wide receivers that played at Tennessee, Florida, all over this league. What convinced us that he could run fast enough was he covered all of those guys – and those were the same guys that he was going to have to cover in the NFL because they were all first-round picks. Really, he played just one year while I was there, but he played really, really well and did a great job for us. He’s been a good friend, and I certainly appreciate all that he did as a player to help us be successful, especially the ’94 defensive team that was really pretty good."
Nick Saban press conference notes, transcript, video | TideSports.com
Who's ready for this game. I am so ready to beat the crap out of the gators. Right now, this is the only game that matters. Screw gameday for going to the only championship game that doesn't even matter. Really, the b1g championship does not matter. I feel like we will beat them 900 to nuthin'. I am so ready!!!
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