Alabama Football: Practice Notebook, Oct. 2

September 8, 2012; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker Nico Johnson (35) celebrates a turnover against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers during the first half at Bryant Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-US PRESSWIRE

It is now October and the Crimson Tide is 5-0, but don’t tell head coach Nick Saban that.

“Tackling on defense was not as good as it has been in the last game” he said. “Inconsistencies in the passing game and the running game, too many negative plays.

“There’s certainly a lot of things that we need to work on”

Saban also mentioned red zone inefficiency as an issue. The Tide settled for five field goals in its last two games after doing so only once in its first three games. Alabama has yet to leave the red zone without a score of some sort.

Back to the “rat trap”

Saban is prone to use a few terms, such as Star and Money, that are essentially in a different language to the average American. He did so again, referencing a certain abyss he wants his younger players to avoid.

“With all the young players, it’s can you trust and believe in what you’re being coached to do,” Saban said. “We’re coaching one thing and they’re doing something else. Downstairs on the board, it says you have to have faith, trust and confidence in the principals of the guys in the organization, what you’re being taught to do and how you do it. Well, they obviously don’t have it because we teach it every day, we work on it every day.

“You get in the game and they go rat trap.”

Linebacker Nico Johnson was nice enough to shed some light on that particular term.

“They do the right things in practice, and when you get in the game, you think about all the wrong things,” Johnson said. “You forget your assignment. If I’m supposed to do this on this assignment but I don’t, that’s what he means by rat trap. Just not doing your assignment and forgetting what you’re supposed to do.”

Rest and relaxation

While Saban did not take the extra day off to rest, the players certainly did, and are looking forward to taking the weekend off.

“Just get out, enjoy the family, come back on Sunday and get back at it,” Johnson said.

This is also a rare time for the players to be spectators of their sport, as they are not occupied with their own game for most of the day.

” It’ll be the first time when we really get to sit back and watch somebody else besides ourself,” he said. “We’re so busy on Friday with meetings, and we play on Saturday.

Actually, this makes two weeks in a row that the players have seen other games.

“I think last week was the first time we got to sit in a hotel and watch another game,” Johnson said in refernce to the late kickoff time against Ole Miss. “I think we will sit back and relax and try to watch some of our opponents, like South Carolina and LSU or whoever they play and just try to enjoy our time off.”