Alabama Football Update
Saban hopes fans will help provide positive energy
By Hunter Ford
Fans can help the Alabama Crimson Tide against Ole Miss at Bryant-Denny Stadium in two ways, according to Nick Saban.
He said Alabama fans could provide “positive energy” for the Alabama players, and also create some noise to help slow down a fast-paced Rebel offense hoping to keep the Tide defenders out-of-place.
“It helps the fans when the players do well,” the Alabama coach said. “But when the fans are excited and cheer well, it creates a lot of enthusiasm for everybody to feed off.” Saban said positive energy was needed by “everybody in the organization.”
The Alabama Crimson Tide coach said the 2013 team has to create its own identity and get “excited about its own challenges.” He said some players may be frustrated over a lack of playing time, or other things, but said those players can’t affect the ones who are doing things right.
Saban said several veteran Alabama players have been providing guidance to younger players, including C.J. Mosley, normally a quiet person on the roster.
“That’s what leadership is,” Saban said. “Reinforcing the principles and values of the organization. Every good team has that.” The coach elaborated that, some players seem to be motivated to do the right things all the time, and some need a little push from their peers.
“Some people need to be led,” he said. “Sheep need a dog to get them home to the barn at night.”
“Look man, it’s real simple,” Saban said, mimicking what an older player might say to a younger one. “I feel what you feel. I’ve felt like that before, and this is what I found out about it.’ You have to lead through those times.”
Saban said the Ole Miss receivers will challenge the Tide corners in the running game. The Rebels receivers are big and physical and will try to use that advantage on sweeps and perimeter runs.
The Alabama corners will have to “defeat blocks,” Saban said. Not only high ones, “but sometimes getting cut.”
The Rebels will try to use a hurry-up offense to keep the Tide off-balance on defense.
“The key thing for the defense is to have a sense of urgency,” Saban said. “It’s really, really hard to simulate in practice at the pace they go.
“They (Tide defenders) have to understand how fast they have to play and how fast they have to get lined up. It’s critical in this game.”
Alabama Injury Update
Nick Perry
Saban said Wednesday afternoon, for the first time officially, that safety Nick Perry “will probably require surgery on his shoulder and is out for the year.”
10 thoughts on “Alabama needs positive energy from fans, preps for Ole Miss”
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I wasn’t able to attend the CSU game, but was glued to my TV for it. From where I was sitting, the lack of crowd noise was obvious. I really don’t believe that over a hundred thousand fans intentionally showed up to sit on their hands. The lackadaisical and uninspired play from the team was an infectious fog that rose up into the stands turning an enthusiastic crowd into an equally uninspired group. Nobody expected this to be as exciting a game as the SEC championship game with Georgia, but they did expect to see our clearly superior atheletes dominate a weaker CSU club. Disappointment and disbelief at what was happening on the field turned this ready to roar monster of a crowd into a whimpering child who just dropped his ice cream in the dirt.
Wake up team! Enthusiasm is contagious, and your fans will scream their bloody guts out for you if you’ll just act as if the game means something to you.
I wish I could be at the game this weekend. I’ll be at Clemson instead this Saturday but I’d trade for the worst seats at BDS.
Well …I “expect” Bama to entertain and excite me while sitting in BDS. I second-mortaged my mobile home to scalp tix for this game and don’t expect to EVER have to sit through a conservative play calling game in which the coaches are keeping the playbook closed to save for more important games. I’m a typical arrogant/ignorant Alabama fan ..and it’s all about me. I like this team ’cause ma-diddy liked this team. This team is a winner ..and that makes me a winner. NO MORE CONSERVATIVE PLAYCALLING!
I know I worked all day and wanted to come home and see ‘bama kick a tin can. I was upset until I saw McElwain cut off two CSU drives into our territory int the second half.
That’s when I came to understand this was a glorified scrimmage I was watching. CSU made a cool million and Saban got his workout.
But don’t expect the fans who spent the money and made the effort to get there to show their approval for that crap.
Sorry Coach. The folks don’t pay to see flop.
And finebammer strikes again! The only asshole of a Bama fan who is more cynical than the rival Homers who visit here. Always get a kick out of some couch potato who thinks he is perfect and knows more than the coaches and athletes. Would love to see him lined up in front of Nikedimiche on Saturday. Bwaa Haww Haww! I’m not happy with the way Bama played last week either. But I’ll be damned if as a fan or even an alumnus, I’m going to act like I know more than Saban, Smart and Nuss; much less like some damned spoiled entitled brat who the players owe something to. RTR!
This cynical rival homer agrees
“But I’ll be damned if as a fan or even an alumnus, I’m going to act like I know more than Saban, Smart and Nuss……”
you shouldn’t act like you know more than anybody, chump, because you don’t.
you’re nothing more than a foul mouthed fool who drags the level of discourse on this blog down to that of a juvenile detention center.
you and those who come here to argue with you are the reason i rarely comment here anymore. i can hear the same on a children’s playground.
lowering myself to respond to you now makes me want to shower.
Good. Glad I can affect you. And for your information, moron, I discourse very normally with normal people. But there are few normal people on internet sports blogs. In the almost 6 years I’ve been on this site I can count on one hand the number of rational, intelligent rival homers who post here regularly. They all come here to flame and start some shit. And I am more than happy to oblige them in the name of the greatest football program on Earth. As for making snide remarks about MY maturity; I think you best go back and read your own pious horseshit every time a Bama team doesn’t do something you like. You are a typical internet retard who would never have the balls to repeat yourself to one of our coaches or athletes. You are probably sitting in your rocking chair on a wooden porch with a corncob pipe held between your three teeth and scratching your ass. Bye now.
Why do you get so upset though? I’m not trying to be mean about it, but this is a time to celebrate. People are always going to judge the best when they don’t look like the best.
But there’s a reason Alabama is still ranked number one. There’s a reason why Alabama’s getting the first-place votes Oregon isn’t. Enjoy it. Roll Tide.