Nick Saban wants a focused mindset and judging off what he said in Wednesday’s coaches teleconference for the Southeastern Conference, he was not happy with the production of Tuesday’s practice. Alabama had Monday off to start the bye week, following its 59-31 win over Mississippi as Tua Tagovailoa and DeVonta Smith had record-setting games.
The Crimson Tide returned to action on yesterday, sporting the mindset of getting back to basic fundamentals and fine-tuning some small things. Alabama recently jumped over Clemson as the top-ranked team in the polls and with its tough journey to a sixth consecutive College Football Playoff appearance starting next week, Saban wants a sense of urgency from his players.
“I wasn’t happy with the practice we had yesterday,” he said in the teleconference.
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During the one media viewing period, the 67-year-old seemed really upset with a couple of individuals in the secondary after a drill. Whether his comment was directed toward that group or the entire team remains to be seen, but it looks as though the Tide was not locked in on business.
Saban does not care about polls, betting lines or anything that does not involve his team and playing winning football.
He knows Aggies’ head coach, Jimbo Fisher and the program at Kyle Field will give the Tide all it can handle. With Texas A&M at home, this was the matchup national media had circled as one of a couple potential pitfalls for Alabama this season.
The lack of focus in practice could be geared toward players hearing how good the team is and how Texas A&M is not as potent as what was originally thought.
Saban completely shut that thought down on Wednesday.
“I don’t think that rankings mean anything, at this point,” he said. “The only time rankings mean anything is at the end of the season. … I think everybody should be ignoring that right now.”
The difference between this defense and units of recent years is that the national championship teams had multiple players that policed the squad. Veteran guys that fully understood the importance of Tide football and what it meant around the community were not afraid to speak their mind and get things on the page, in the event of circumstances getting out of hand.
Players such as Jonathan Allen, A’Shawn Robinson, Jarran Reed, Reggie Ragland, Marcell Dareus, Rolando McClain, Courtney Upshaw and Reuben Foster among others had a way of pushing maximum effort from their peers. In situations like what occurred on Tuesday, Alabama needed one of those ‘OG’s’ to stand up, get everyone’s mind right and demand better focus.
Some voices on this team need to develop, especially if the Tide wants to win a championship.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
