Nick Saban: 'I want the players to be more positive, more aggressive'
Alabama came up just short in a tough road contest against Tennessee this past weekend. Despite overcoming an 18-point deficit at one point and even getting up in the game, the Crimson Tide ultimately fell 52-49 to the Vols on a last-second field goal.
It’s a brutal way to lose, but Nick Saban is hoping for a bounce back. During his weekly radio show “Hey Coach” on Thursday night, the Alabama head coach spoke about players being more positive and just having fun competing. To him, that’s a point worth driving home this week in practice.
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“Trying to get the players to bounce back,” Saban said. “It was kind of a collective disappointment for all of us, the way we played last week. Even though we probably didn’t play our best, we still, at the end of the game, the last five plays of the game, if we make any of the five plays we had an opportunity to make, we still probably would’ve won the game. Got to respect the player’s perseverance in terms of how they compete in the game, but we also have to play with a little more consistency in performance.
“I think from a psychological standpoint, I really want the players to be more positive, more aggressive, think about positive things, not have a lot of anxiety about what could go wrong, what could happen, so that they can have really fun playing, fun competing. Play to win, don’t worry about trying to play to keep from getting beat. Sometimes, I think we have a little bit too much of that, and we’re trying to get it fixed.”
There’s no doubt that Alabama has one of the most talented rosters in the nation. The problem has, for the most part, been the team standing in its own way. Self-inflicted, unnecessary mistakes have plagued them this year, and if they aren’t careful, it could cost them another game at some point.
Right now, it’s about the little things. Those things can add up to make a big difference on game days.
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“There’s an old saying, don’t sweat the small stuff,” Saban said on Thursday night. “But I think attention to detail and sweating the small stuff is really what our team needs to do better.”
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With a 5-2 Mississippi State squad up next on the schedule, Alabama can’t take the week off.
The open week will start after Saturday, but there’s a good team rolling into Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. The Bulldogs have an offense capable of scoring points, and their defense has a knack for generating turnovers. That combination makes for a dangerous football team.
At the end of the day, Alabama can still accomplish everything it wanted to this season. An SEC West crown, SEC Championship, College Football Playoff appearance and national title are all still on the table. It’s one step at a time though. That first step was this week in practice. Step 2 comes on Saturday.
The Crimson Tide will welcome the Bulldogs to Tuscaloosa. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET) with the game airing on ESPN. Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe will be the crew calling the game. Stay tuned for more updates from BamaInsider.
