It was a subtle and sneaky jab, like a shot to the rib cage that stings more after the adrenaline is gone.
Not the biggest blow, but enough to hurt.
Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt, fresh off his first victory in the SEC this season, questioned on Monday the effectiveness of Alabamaās new high-wire offense to win championships. Heck of a way to kick off Alabama hate week.
Nothing lingers longer than a cheap shot from the mouth. Does anything burn hotter with time more than words?
Pruittās came during his weekly news conference before the Volunteersā biggest rivalry game of the season. Monday is a long time until 8 p.m. on Saturday under the new LED lights of Bryant-Denny Stadium.
āThere was a certain mindset of how they wanted to play the game, and win the football game, and they had success,ā Pruitt said of Alabamaās old ārun the darn ballā ethos. āYou can probably look, I donāt know, when it kind of changed there in Tuscaloosa. I donāt know, are they having any more success winning national championships now as opposed to then? I donāt know.
āBut they definitely have a lot of skill players, and it has given them a chance to recruit some of the best skill players in the country based on how they play.ā
More shine than substance, in other words. I donāt know, but is Pruitt insane?
Pruitt knows Alabama better than most, but this is probably the wrong season for him to critically analyze his former employer before playing them. Since losing to Clemson by 28, Alabamaās average margin of victory has been 34 points. This is the place in the column where we review the spread for this yearās installment of the Third Saturday in October: Alabama by 35.5 points.
To be clear, the question that prompted that response from Pruitt was about the shift to RPO-based offenses by Alabama and LSU. RPO, which stands for run-pass option, is just three letters, but itās like a four-letter word to Alabama folks still cussān about that blowout loss to Clemson in the national championship game.
Believe it or not, there are still doubts.
The big question for Alabamaās offense this season ā OK, the only question ā is if itās the right stuff for postseason football. Given time to prep for it, Clemson made Alabama look silly in Silicon Valley. Itās a touchy subject, and if anyone knows the soft spots for Alabama, then itās Pruitt.
Pruitt grew up watching Alabama and Tennessee from both sides of the border, and then played for Alabama and coached for Alabama through the years before landing his big gig in Knoxville, Tennessee. It must be slightly annoying to Tennessee faithful that the complete destruction of Rocky Top (and the rest of the SEC) by Alabama is the main reason Pruitt, an Alabama man, is coaching the Volunteers.
Pruitt has smoked plenty of cigars after this rivalry, per Alabama tradition, and Nick Saban is now 12-0 against the Volunteers, and 18-0 against his former assistants. (
Alabamaās blowout of Texas A&M was the latest installment of that most revealing streak.)
āWhether youāre on the Tennessee side or the Alabama side, all the old heads, this is the rivalry, right? This is the game, so to speak,ā Pruitt said. āSo, this week does get you going a little bit, so to speak.ā
He was born in Alabama, and thatās where Pruitt is going to be buried alive under a war-torn pile of concrete and rebar, so to speak, by Tua and his Jets, the
Merchants of Flying Death.
He knows it, too. Pruitt couldnāt resist the editorial critique of Alabama for losing to Clemson in two of the last three seasons, but he knows whatās coming in Alabamaās first night game of the season at home.
For the better part of 20 minutes on Monday, Pruitt tried his best to feed Tua and his receivers heaping mouthfuls of rat poison. He said Alabama has better offensive skill players than most NFL teams (maybe true), and that the offense has to āreally work hard not to score 100 points a gameā (also maybe true).
Pruitt said the same thing last season before Alabama scored 58 points in its first three quarters against Tennessee.
āAnd Coach Saban has been kind,ā Pruitt said. āHe was kind to us last year. He was kind to a lot of teams last year. You know, almost to the point, does it hurt their football team down the road because they donāt get an opportunity to play four quarters?ā
Nervous talking is the worst, you know, so to speak, but itās not nearly as bad as reminding Alabamaās offense that it might not be the best fit for winning in January.
Joseph Goodman is a columnist for the Alabama Media Group. Heās on Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr.
