Morning Kickoff: Crimson Tide News 9/6
By Chris Hale
Get your day started with the Morning Kickoff. All of your Crimson Tide news in one place.
Alabama Football: What to Watch for from Blake Sims and Jake Coker in Week 2
"If you’ve been waiting for Jake Coker to play a meaningful snap of football, Saturday is your day.By all accounts, the Florida State transfer will get to throw his first passes in a Crimson Tide uniform when Alabama faces Florida Atlantic on Saturday in Bryant-Denny Stadium. This, after watching much of the West Virginia game from the sidelines and coming in for only two handoffs to run out the clock."
Some of the fans finally get to see what they were wanting to see during week one: Jake Coker. Will it settle things down or fan the flames? That remains to be seen. During his radio show, Coach Saban said that Coker still wasn’t comfortable with the offense. This game should give him some game time experience against an opponent that is not as tough as one from the SEC would be. Whatever happens, support what Saban decides since he is the one getting paid to make these decisions.
Crimson Tide aims to improve against FAU
"This week has been spent trying to improve Alabama’s football team.“I think it’s really important how much you improve from first game to second game,” Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said this week. “I think the key to being successful in this season for a lot of teams that I saw (last week) is going to be who can improve, who can make that improvement. That’s what we’re really focused on.”But today, the Crimson Tide will be focused on taking care of business against Florida Atlantic (11 a.m., SEC Network). The Owls (0-1) lost at Nebraska 55-7 last week.“Florida Atlantic had a pretty good year last year and really got off to a pretty good start against Nebraska, believe it or not,” Saban said. “The quarterback got hurt about the 26th play of the game, and then they weren’t nearly as good after that because he is probably the center of what they do and is a very, very effective player. Last year he was the leading passer, leading rusher, leading in a lot of categories.”"
Pretty simple. Coach Saban and the staff want to use this week as well as next week to continue to get the team in shape for the SEC opener against the Florida Gators. The Tide gets back Trey DePriest this week but there is also a change at the cornerback position with Eddie Jackson coming off of injury for Bradley Sylve. The next two weeks will be great for him to ease back in to game shape and to get prepared for the Florida match-up. There is always room for improvement and if Saban is known for one thing, it’s improving as well as playing a perfect game for 60 minutes.
Nick Saban says football has changed ‘as much as it ever has’ since spread of no-huddle
"The hurry-up, no-huddle offense, and how the Alabama defense was continuing to adjust to it, was a theme from start to finish Thursday during Nick Saban’s weekly radio show.Midway through the hour-long appearance, media guest Chris Low asked a question that forced the Alabama coach to look at the big picture. Just how much has college football changed since Saban won his first national championship at Alabama in 2009?“As much as it ever has,” said Saban, who has been coaching in some capacity since 1972. “To me … this is as much as I’ve ever seen the game change over the last three or four years because it’s a huge advantage. It’s a huge advantage to play offense that way.”"
Call me old fashioned or you can call me hater. I don’t like the way college football is heading. I’ve been an Alabama fan as long as I can remember and I have always been a fan of the smash mouth football style. Give me an Alabama vs LSU 9-6 type of game over a shoot out seven days a week and twice on Sundays. Will this be a trend that will go away soon? I hope so just for the fact of the type of game I love to watch.
Evaluating Kiffin-Saban after Week 1
"Forget for a second that you ever watched Kiffin Cam. For that matter, forget that you followed the saga of Lane Kiffin’s hiring at Alabama all offseason. Forget all the talk about his pearly white visor, his new ideas and his colorful history. Forget that he and Nick Saban do indeed represent college football’s odd couple.Take a second to wipe that from your memory, and then think back to the game we saw last Saturday in Atlanta. Think about the way Alabama’s offense looked: how the line played, how the running backs carried the football, how the quarterback managed the pocket. Remember the actual plays and let the melodrama fall by the wayside.Do that and you’ll be left with something oddly familiar: Alabama football. Saban’s brand of ball-control, pro-style offense didn’t change much with Kiffin calling the plays. It was still a matter of running to set up the pass. In fact, it was still a matter of running between the tackles. As Saban said after the game, “We’re one of the few teams in the world that still plays regular people.”"
I could lie here and say I had no worries after Lane Kiffin was hired as offensive coordinator, but I won’t. I had no idea how things would go or how the offense would do but after last Saturday against West Virginia, I am good to go. It is still Saban’s offense but maybe with just some influence from Kiffin. I am anxious to see it today with Coker under center as well.