Nick Saban said his team would use the bye week to work on fundamentals and getting healthy. During the first eight games, the Crimson Tide starting lineup has been fortunate not to have suffered any season-ending injuries, but there are still bumps and bruises throughout the team.
Coach Saban says they won’t prepare for LSU until next week, but don’t buy into that. I can promise you, if he sees any sign of a lack of focus or intensity, he’ll be the first one to remind the team who’s waiting around the corner. This team certainly hasn’t forgotten what happened last year in Baton Rouge, and they know first hand what can happen if they don’t start fast and finish strong.
Granted, LSU may not be the main focus in terms of game plan, it will certainly be mentioned when a little extra motivation is needed. Alabama is preparing to face the best team on the schedule, and everyone knows they have to play disciplined to win this one. A lack of focus leads directly to a breakdown in fundamentals, and we have seen some of that from Alabama, mainly in the first half of games. Losing focus against LSU early in the game could prove fatal for the Tide if they’re not careful. After reviewing the notes from the first half of the season, I’ve created a fundamental checklist to help us understand what the Tide has been focusing on this week.
- Focus On Every Down. The Tide has given up big pass plays due to not being focused from the first snap. It boils down to being caught off guard, not just getting beat. The sheer magnitude of this game and the championship implications should go a long way in helping them to be focused from start to finish. The coaches have been reminding them all week about any mishaps due to lack of focus. A team usually plays the way it practices, so I’m sure they will be looking for the necessary focus, especially at the start of practice.
- Tackling. There’s nothing finesse about LSU’s offense, especially the run game; they run right at you and dare you to stop them. Tennessee did this as well, and had more success than the Tide coaches had hoped. The Vols have a really good running back, but LSU has several guys they like to rotate in. There were some poor tackle attempts against the Vols that we simply can’t afford against LSU. It’s going to be back-to-basics this week, with the Tide working on gap control, squaring up on the runner, delivering the blow, wrap-up and drive through him.
- Route Running: This was a bit of an issue early in the season for the Bama receivers. They have come along very well in the last two games, and have to continue to improve. LSU has the fastest defensive secondary Bama will see this year, and the routes will need to be crisp and precise. There is no defense for the perfect route along with the perfect throw, no matter how good you are. The Bama receivers need to continue to help out AJ as much as possible; creating separation, making precise cuts, breaking off the route if the pocket collapses and always being prepared to become the defensive back in case of a bad throw.
- Special Teams Discipline: The special teams for LSU are exceptional, and have been huge for them in the return game this year. The LSU kick units have been a nightmare for opposing players as well. They will hit you and cause turnovers that could be catastrophic, so maintaining your assignment is crucial. The hope is that we don’t have to return many kickoffs, but they can’t prepare that way. Coach Saban is likely to have a couple of new faces on kick coverage to ensure solid play from that unit. Bama has shown the ability to be as physical as anyone in the country on special teams, and they will be working to fine-tune that group.
Every player on the team has been working on being more technically sound. These were the more obvious issues with fundamentals coming in to this game with LSU. No matter how good a team is, they will never be fundamentally perfect. Many different things cause a breakdown in fundamentals. Getting winded, fatigue, nagging injuries, forgetting the play, getting emotional or caught up in the hype and losing focus are all things that negatively affect how fundamentally sound a player is. The more a team practices fundamentals, the more it becomes second nature to them making it far less likely to have mistake.