Takeaways From Nick Saban On ‘Hey Coach’

Thursday was the final time we will hear from Nick Saban prior to Saturday’s game with Texas A&M in Tuscaloosa. He was making his weekly appearance on “Hey Coach” from Bob’s Victory Grille in Tuscaloosa. Here are a few takeaways from the conversation.

1) Hold it down in the peanut gallery. Not Saban’s quote but my interpretation. Saban said that he saw more togetherness and fight as a team in adversity against Arkansas than he has all season long. It’s obvious things haven’t gone as smoothly over the past few games as they could have. Both places were tough road games. Even with their worst performance, the players don’t deserve some of the things I read that was being said about them. Support them when they are winning and support when they are down, too.

2) Alabama needs to just settle down. Saban said things changed when the Tide hit the road to face some great defenses. He also stated that they were trying too hard to make a play and haven’t been playing with patience. Sometimes when you get behind or feel you are behind, you will try to force something that isn’t there. The Tide needs to take advantage of what the other team is giving them and get back to playing Alabama football.

3) Will there be a change on kickoff and punt returns? One caller asked if there was a possibility we could see Amari Cooper back there. From Saban’s response, I wouldn’t count on it. As he said, Cooper is more than capable but there’s a chance of injury if he is out there too much. Saban also added that they have confidence in the other guys. He mentioned Christion Jones getting frustrated because he wasn’t getting good punts to return and that he made a bad decision against Arkansas.

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4) Alabama needs more balance in the offense. Saban mentions that the Tide needs to get the run game going again. Defenses are doubling up on Amari Cooper so Sims will have to connect with some other receivers to soften that coverage on him a bit. Blake Sims has had a tough two weeks on the road and needs to settle down and try not to force throws. Saban credits him doing well early in the season but having a tough time for the past two weeks.

5) Bring the noise for the Aggies. Saban tells the audience to be loud and to make it tough for A&M to communicate. The Tide defense practiced with piped in noise so they would be ready to communicate on Saturday. Saban added it made a difference against Florida

6) Saban for SEC commissioner? It doesn’t sound it like it. A caller asked the question and Saban said Mrs. Terry asked him the same thing. The response: No. I’m not trying to rush him out the door by any means but I would probably pay good money to read other SEC message boards if that were to happen. Meltdown of the century.