M
Michael Casagrande | mcasagrande@al.com
Jalen Hurts talks Iron Bowl, moving on to Clemson.
The Iron Bowl obviously didn't play out like anyone expected in the Alabama football complex.
With the 26-14 loss to Auburn came a fair share of criticism. A decent share of that fell on the passing game. Three Saturdays later, Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Hurts spoke about that loss and moving on to Clemson in the Sugar Bowl.
"I ain't perfect," Hurts said. "Far from that. I live and I learn. Michael Jordan said that the other day. You don't lose, you learn.
"I don't lose, I learn."
Alabama's 103 passing yards were the fewest since the 96 gained in the season opener against Florida State. Hurts completed 12 of 22 passes (54.4 percent) with a touchdown on a well-designed run fake to Jerry Jeudy for 36 yards. The sophomore quarterback also lost his first fumble of the season in a first-half run.
Hurts was 8-for-14 in the second half when Alabama had to throw the ball more after falling behind two scores for the first time this season.
"I think we've learned from a lot of things this year," Hurts said. "Even last year's (Clemson) loss. How can we show the world we've learned? How far have we (come)? I think we're trying to get better right now. We're learning from it and trying to continue to improve and show it on New Year's Day."
Hurts was asked about his takeaways from the Auburn film.
"We didn't execute," he said. "I said it after the game. I still feel strongly about that. We didn't execute. To be a successful team offensively and defensively, jumping offsides on special teams, I think we have to execute, do our job."
And the definition of execution -- a team often used?
"Execution, fundamentals of the play," Hurts said. "Like he says all the time and that's the truth of it, you have to do your job."
There were breakdowns on a number of levels from two premature shotgun snaps to a bobbled field goal hold and fourth-down misadventures.
Saban after the game said there wasn't one area that let down, rather a combination of factors.
From the passing game, balance is the focal point heading into the Clemson game.
"We want to make explosive plays with those guys," Saban said Friday, "and we have to be able to execute all phases of the passing game better -- whether it's the quarterback's presence in the pocket, in terms of reading, getting to the second read at times, executing plays as they're designed, and same thing with pass protection, same thing with pass routes."
It's not just on the 11 players between the lines, either.
"We need to make it a little easier in some ways so that we can have better execution," Saban said. "We just have too many guys who can make plays, that we have to be able to utilize their talents better, and that's something that we're going to work really hard on in this camp here."
Saban said they were treating the first few December practices like its August, hitting the fundamentals before moving into game planning for the Jan. 1 Sugar Bowl semifinal.
Continue reading...
The Iron Bowl obviously didn't play out like anyone expected in the Alabama football complex.
With the 26-14 loss to Auburn came a fair share of criticism. A decent share of that fell on the passing game. Three Saturdays later, Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Hurts spoke about that loss and moving on to Clemson in the Sugar Bowl.
"I ain't perfect," Hurts said. "Far from that. I live and I learn. Michael Jordan said that the other day. You don't lose, you learn.
"I don't lose, I learn."
Alabama's 103 passing yards were the fewest since the 96 gained in the season opener against Florida State. Hurts completed 12 of 22 passes (54.4 percent) with a touchdown on a well-designed run fake to Jerry Jeudy for 36 yards. The sophomore quarterback also lost his first fumble of the season in a first-half run.
Hurts was 8-for-14 in the second half when Alabama had to throw the ball more after falling behind two scores for the first time this season.
"I think we've learned from a lot of things this year," Hurts said. "Even last year's (Clemson) loss. How can we show the world we've learned? How far have we (come)? I think we're trying to get better right now. We're learning from it and trying to continue to improve and show it on New Year's Day."
Hurts was asked about his takeaways from the Auburn film.
"We didn't execute," he said. "I said it after the game. I still feel strongly about that. We didn't execute. To be a successful team offensively and defensively, jumping offsides on special teams, I think we have to execute, do our job."
And the definition of execution -- a team often used?
"Execution, fundamentals of the play," Hurts said. "Like he says all the time and that's the truth of it, you have to do your job."
There were breakdowns on a number of levels from two premature shotgun snaps to a bobbled field goal hold and fourth-down misadventures.
Saban after the game said there wasn't one area that let down, rather a combination of factors.
From the passing game, balance is the focal point heading into the Clemson game.
"We want to make explosive plays with those guys," Saban said Friday, "and we have to be able to execute all phases of the passing game better -- whether it's the quarterback's presence in the pocket, in terms of reading, getting to the second read at times, executing plays as they're designed, and same thing with pass protection, same thing with pass routes."
It's not just on the 11 players between the lines, either.
"We need to make it a little easier in some ways so that we can have better execution," Saban said. "We just have too many guys who can make plays, that we have to be able to utilize their talents better, and that's something that we're going to work really hard on in this camp here."
Saban said they were treating the first few December practices like its August, hitting the fundamentals before moving into game planning for the Jan. 1 Sugar Bowl semifinal.
Continue reading...
Last edited by a moderator:
