An obviously frustrated Nick Saban said Wednesday that Alabama still has a lot to prove after beating Miami 44-13 in their season opener last week.
Saban responded to his comments about the 2017 “rat poison” and said the Crimson Tide, which did not occupy the best place, did not come out ready to practice on Monday. He questioned whether this was because they did not respect their next opponent, Mercer, who competes in the FCS.
“Or maybe it’s what they read on social media or media or whatever it’s after halfway through a game this season,” he said. “And then it got hot yesterday, so we have all the external factors in the world that affect our ability to maintain intensity and play the way we have to play and practice the way we have to practice to improve.
“The scoreboard affects us. Who plays us affects us. The heat affects us. The media and what you write every day affects us. So for me we have to show that we can play and maintain the intensity … and do the things the way we are supposed to. “
It has become somewhat common for Saban to be able to make a throwback during the week that Alabama plays lower-level FBS and FCS opponents.
In 2015, before a game against Georgia Southern, he continued his infamous antics about how “Georgia Southern was crossing us like a tin horn” four years earlier.
Perhaps feeling too confident of his team after such a dominant win against Miami, Saban noted how Alabama did not play a full 60 minutes into the game and how the score during the second half was much closer, 17-10 in favor of at sea.
Asked how his team leaders responded to a dull practice on Monday, Saban said, “We’ll see.”
“Are people interested enough in understanding what we need to do to maintain our intensity for 60 minutes in the game, to improve as a team, to do the things we need to do to improve as a team?” he asked. “Do we have the depth we need? You know, we have some guys who do the right things and try to set a good example and try to attract other guys. But we also have other guys who have to pick it up and understand what it takes to practice. , what it takes to prepare.
“You know, some people have the idea that the effort throughout the week somehow affects your ability to play on Saturday, right? But you really have to work hard during the week to be ready to play. Saturday, and the key to that is, how do you take care of yourself? How do you recover? How do you sleep? How do you hydrate? How do you use the Center for Sports Science and all technology that we have to help the guys recover that you’re going to be good on Saturday? You know, I think we have some guys who did it back then and we’re trying to fix it. “