Alabama Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban talked about the bye week, its possible benefits, managing players during the off week and getting ready to face the titanic game pitting #1 LSU against #2 Alabama at his Tuesday press conference.

Saban addressed the bye week’s potential benefit by saying that “you never know until you go out there and play.” Saban said there are many different opinions on bye weeks and how to manage players. Saban said the team was in a good routine prior to the bye week, but Alabama had gotten a little “beat up physically” in the last few weeks and needed” rest and time to recover.”

“I am hopeful the guys take a business-like approach to this early on so the emotional and psychological aspects of this game doesn’t get to them too quickly and create an anxiety, ” Saban said.

Alabama players had Sunday and Monday off during this bye week and returned to practice Tuesday.

“Today’s practice was quite a bit of kicking game and some special situations, but more like a Monday practice for us. Tomorrow we will work hard on fundamentals.”

Most of the early work is on what Saban termed quality control issues.

“The goal of what we were trying to do today and do tomorrow is improving our deficiencies as a team,” said Alabama head coach Nick Saban. “We make a quality control list of everything that we want to try to work on at every position and collectively as a unit.”

Saban said LSU preparation work begins later in the week.

According to Saban, the biggest coaching challenge he faces is “to keep our players from thinking about everything that is surrounding the game and not worry about all the stuff that is going on outside the game.”

Saban said the “key to being able to play a really good game” is to put aside the “circumstances surrounding the game.”

5 thoughts on “Alabama vs LSU Update: Saban talks about managing players before the big game, Alabama holds first practice of bye week”

  1. With Cyrus out we cannot afford any more injuries to the O line. That is what did us in at this time last year. I see where drug use at Corndog U. is only good for a 1 game suspension. Let’s see, AJ Green lost an entire year and the next time got booted and he was just as important a DB to us as Matheiu is to the Corndogs. Jerell Harris got 4 games for something as innocuous as a laptop gift from an Auburn booster. Appears the all things aren’t equal in the SEC. Sell your Mother on a street corner to beat Bama. RTR!

    1. You want some cheese with that whine Crimsonite?

      If that’s what the best coach in America thinks you should do, and he’s gotten you the best results of anybody in the country over the last four years then shut up and enjoy your results you friggin crybaby!

      If you don’t like it start a movement to fire Saban!

  2. Yeah, drug use at LSU will get you a one game suspension every time. Then again, y’all don’t drug test at Alabama, do you? (Hmmmmmmm. . .)

    I don’t recall Alabama EVER voluntarily suspending a player. Seems like it always took SEC or NCAA intervention to police any questionable goings-on at the University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa.

    (Around the bowl and down the hole, RTR!)

    Just poking and jabbing ya, Crimsonite. Looking forward to the game here. It’s been a pretty good rivalry of late, and this game will undoubtedly give us a preview of the winner of this season’s Crystal Football. So here’s a toast to brotherhood in the SEC. We fight, brother against brother, but will tolerate no others. I shan’t wish you luck, but neither shall I wish you any ill will or misfortune. The National Championship is being played on your home field this year.

  3. That is not true. Actually Bama has suspended every player who has had a problem and then self reported it to the NCAA since Nick Saban came here. And the other truth is that even though we intend to rag your azzes about the slap on the hand of not just these three guys and also Jefferson and his buddies, we are actually glad they are all going to play. Cause we don’t want you phuckers to have any excuses on Sunday morning. What’s more, if Boise loses to TCU, Stanford to Oregon, Clemson to Ga Tech and Okie St to Oklahoma then there will be a rematch in the BCSNCG. RTR!

  4. Now you’re talking my language. An all SEC BCS Championship Game. After all, isn’t this obviuosly what was intended when the BCS was created to have the two best teams in the nation play for the National Championship?

    As for Jefferson’s actions before the season kicked off, I am not privy to what exactly went down. The felony charges look to have been unfounded according to the grand jury, but misdemeanor charges are still pending. It has also been intimated that Jefferson didn’t initiate the scuffle, but settled a fight that his antagonist started. Either way, Jefferson shouldn’t have been out at the time. He broke team rules and rightfully should have been suspended.

    BTW, we’re actually glad that y’all have Saban. It’s been said that Miles could only win with Saban’s players, but the truth of the mater is that, since Bear retired, ‘Bama can only win with LSU coaches. (Nudge, nudge. . .)

    Yeah, a rematch of this game (barring a blow-out one way or the other) would be a GREAT BCSNCG match-up. The other BCS conferences might actually explode with envy!

    Geaux Tigers!

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