Takeaway From Nick Saban On ‘Hey Coach’

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Nick Saban made his weekly appearance Thursday on “Hey Coach” live from Bob’s Victory Grille in Tuscaloosa, AL. The Tide will depart tomorrow to head to Atlanta to take on the Missouri Tigers for the SEC Conference Championship. CBS will televise the game at 3 p.m. CT.

1. Missouri won’t be a walk in the park. Saban said that he could sense that people are not giving them enough credit and it seems that some are expecting an easy game. Saban gave the Tigers of having the better coached team that they will have seen so far this season. He also added that they don’t beat themselves and they do what they do very well with well.

2. What did Saban give Missouri credit for during the show? Saban had high praise for the Tigers’ quarterback Maty Mauk, saying he believed he may be just a bit faster than Auburn’s Nick Marshall. Missouri also has a fast and athletic front four that leaves them with the ability to drop seven into coverage. If their fronts over pursue, hopefully Blake Sims ability to run away from pressure will keep them on their toes.

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3. Any team notes from Saban? Yep, we got a few. All of the injured guys practiced this week. Linebacker Dezel Devall is still questionable but he did do some work. Running back T.J. Yeldon is close to 100-percent and I would guess no one will be able to keep him off the field in the Georgia Dome. Saban may have hinted a bit that we could see cornerback Bradley Sylve in the game too. That’s not official but me reading the tea leaves. Saban said that he struggled in the West Virginia game. He also said that there were certain positions that you couldn’t play unless you had confidence and that Sylve played well against Auburn. I believe we will see him on Saturday.

4. Does Saban still feel the same way about this team as he did a few weeks ago? The answer is a resounding yes. The Crimson Tide has had dominant teams in the past but this team is resilient. There’s no quit with these guys. Admittedly, I didn’t think we would come back after being down 12 to Auburn but they proved me wrong and I will gladly eat coal. Last year, may have been a different story. Saban knows this team better than anyone and you can pick up hints about the mindset of the team just from hearing him speak. Saban says he has seen better focus in practice this week.

5. Instructions for the fans and saying goodbye to Tom Roberts. Retiring Director Of Broadcasting of the Crimson Tide Sports Network tells everyone to go to the game. Saban reminds everyone that this is a tough team and that the fans need to make the Georgia Dome just like Bryant-Denny. Coach Saban also presented Mr. Roberts with a helmet with the number 36 on it for the number of years he had in broadcasting. All of us at Bama Hammer want to wish you a happy retirement and to thank you for all of your years of service covering the athletics of a University that we all love so much. So glad that the team could make your last home game a memorable one with a 55-44 win over Auburn.