The rat traps inside facilities for Alabama football mean more than preventing complacency.
Alabama wants to dominate opposition and finishing games are important. The players for the Crimson Tide were not pleased with their performance in the second half versus Georgia.
Alabama got the victory, Kalen DeBoer took down Kirby Smart, and the Tide are now ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll, yet the team was outscored 27-11 in the second half last week.
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Alabama did not remain aggressive and it failed to make in-game adjustments.
Germie Bernard, a wide receiver, spoke to reporters Tuesday and said the mission is to ‘finish better.’
“I will never forget a game like that, but I feel like we could have finished better,” Bernard said.
“Moving into next week, that is what we will do.”
Several players, including Bernard, had media availability to talk to reporters. Keon Sabb, a safety, said the Crimson Tide has to ‘keep its foot on the gas and not left up.’ Sabb, a Michigan transfer, missed on a tackle versus the Bulldogs that would have prevented a touchdown.
He finished the game with five total stops in helping the Tide to a 41-34 victory in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
“We could have played a lot cleaner,” Sabb said. “The second half was not up to our standard.”
Malachi Moore, a fifth-year senior, said his message to the team is no one is satisfied.
The veteran safety said the Crimson Tide has not accomplished anything yet, but the main goal is winning a national championship. Finishing games the right way will propel the Tide to a national title. It cannot take Vanderbilt lightly this week because this is not the same Vandy from the early 2000s. Clark Lea, the head coach of the Commodores, has this team playing with a lot of confidence and enthusiasm.
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Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt’s starting quarterback, operates the offense at a high level. Vandy has Alabama’s full attention as the Tide is not falling for the trap. The main focus for the coaches and players is to finish matchups on a consistent basis.
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Stephen M. Smith is the senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
