BAMANEWSBOT
Staff
Less than an hour after his final game at Alabama ended with a thud, AJ McCarron used two simple words to explain what the Crimson Tide didn't do in 2013 and what it needed to do in the following months. Weeks removed and positioned in a completely different setting, Kevin Norwood echoed his former quarterback and co-captain.
"Buy in."
"Coach (Nick) Saban's a real good coach," Norwood said Monday after a Senior Bowl dinner. "He only wants the best for his players, in all honesty. If the players can stop being selfish and just basically hand themselves over to the team and be committed to the team and be committed to doing what coach Saban wants ... because all coach Saban wants to do is win. Everybody wants to win, nobody wants to lose.
"I think if they buy in, I think they'll be successful."
Specific details to explain why a sect of Alabama players didn't "buy in" during the Crimson Tide's disappointing 11-2 season are hard to come by. Even the players who are no longer with the team are reluctant to name names.
Norwood cited "a bunch of distractions," but didn't provide any specific instances. The arrest and subsequent dismissal of four players in February served as the first of numerous off-field instances that, at least from an outsider's perspective, took the focus away from Alabama's quest to win a third consecutive national championship.
Disciplinary moves such as the numerous suspensions coach Saban levied throughout the season simply weren't as frequent during Alabama's back-to-back national title campaigns in 2011 and 2012.
"Just the little things," Norwood said. "Not doing the little things right. Not finishing across the line. All of it's going to catch up eventually, and it did."
On multiple occasions, Saban said the Crimson Tide couldn't recapture the focus and intensity it carried throughout the week leading into its 38-17 victory over LSU in early November. The emotional victory, which included a leaping embrace between Saban and McCarron, was followed by a sloppy win at Mississippi State and a cruise-control rout of Chattanooga.
And though it clearly wasn't playing its best game against Auburn, Alabama had multiple opportunities to put away the Tigers in the fourth quarter. It just didn't happen.
"I wish we would have prepared more for the Auburn game," said former defensive end Ed Stinson, who left the Senior Bowl on Tuesday because of a groin injury. "I wish my teammates would have been a little more disciplined on defense and on offense. We killed ourselves with penalties. Some players weren't doing their assignments.
"I just feel like we could have done better. It's simple as that."
Former linebacker Adrian Hubbard said there were "just too many guys who were used to winning and they forgot what losing felt like." The wake-up call against Auburn just didn't resonate strongly enough to affect how the Crimson Tide performed in a 45-31 Sugar Bowl loss to Oklahoma.
Hubbard provided some of the strongest words toward the unnamed group of players that wasn't on the same page.
"I think the people who didn't buy in are eliminated from our team," Hubbard said. "At Alabama, we do things a little bit different than everybody else. Our standards are a lot higher than everyone else and next year will be a great year for Alabama."
Alabama's disdain for losing starts at the top with Saban, Hubbard said.
"When you lose, it reignites the fire," Hubbard said. "Everyone hates losing around there, so when it happens, no one's happy. When you win, everyone's happy."
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"Buy in."
"Coach (Nick) Saban's a real good coach," Norwood said Monday after a Senior Bowl dinner. "He only wants the best for his players, in all honesty. If the players can stop being selfish and just basically hand themselves over to the team and be committed to the team and be committed to doing what coach Saban wants ... because all coach Saban wants to do is win. Everybody wants to win, nobody wants to lose.
"I think if they buy in, I think they'll be successful."
Specific details to explain why a sect of Alabama players didn't "buy in" during the Crimson Tide's disappointing 11-2 season are hard to come by. Even the players who are no longer with the team are reluctant to name names.
Norwood cited "a bunch of distractions," but didn't provide any specific instances. The arrest and subsequent dismissal of four players in February served as the first of numerous off-field instances that, at least from an outsider's perspective, took the focus away from Alabama's quest to win a third consecutive national championship.
Disciplinary moves such as the numerous suspensions coach Saban levied throughout the season simply weren't as frequent during Alabama's back-to-back national title campaigns in 2011 and 2012.
"Just the little things," Norwood said. "Not doing the little things right. Not finishing across the line. All of it's going to catch up eventually, and it did."
On multiple occasions, Saban said the Crimson Tide couldn't recapture the focus and intensity it carried throughout the week leading into its 38-17 victory over LSU in early November. The emotional victory, which included a leaping embrace between Saban and McCarron, was followed by a sloppy win at Mississippi State and a cruise-control rout of Chattanooga.
And though it clearly wasn't playing its best game against Auburn, Alabama had multiple opportunities to put away the Tigers in the fourth quarter. It just didn't happen.
"I wish we would have prepared more for the Auburn game," said former defensive end Ed Stinson, who left the Senior Bowl on Tuesday because of a groin injury. "I wish my teammates would have been a little more disciplined on defense and on offense. We killed ourselves with penalties. Some players weren't doing their assignments.
"I just feel like we could have done better. It's simple as that."
Former linebacker Adrian Hubbard said there were "just too many guys who were used to winning and they forgot what losing felt like." The wake-up call against Auburn just didn't resonate strongly enough to affect how the Crimson Tide performed in a 45-31 Sugar Bowl loss to Oklahoma.
Hubbard provided some of the strongest words toward the unnamed group of players that wasn't on the same page.
"I think the people who didn't buy in are eliminated from our team," Hubbard said. "At Alabama, we do things a little bit different than everybody else. Our standards are a lot higher than everyone else and next year will be a great year for Alabama."
Alabama's disdain for losing starts at the top with Saban, Hubbard said.
"When you lose, it reignites the fire," Hubbard said. "Everyone hates losing around there, so when it happens, no one's happy. When you win, everyone's happy."
Read More Here...
