Alabama Football: Tide needs to remember how to roll

Alabama football head coach Nick Saban thinks that the loss in the Iron Bowl to Auburn made the players lose their identity. How will they ever roll again?

One may remember the old saying: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. The part that many people leave out is the fact that the man tends to forget, from time to time, what he was taught. He has to refocus and remember the different components to the lesson.

Sometimes, that requires trusting that the process will wake the muscle memory in his limbs and in his mind.

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In the case of the Alabama football players, that trust rests in head coach Nick Saban.

Joseph Zucker of Bleacher Report quoted Saban, two days ago, saying that the loss to Auburn in the Iron Bowl may be the best motivation for the team to rediscover their winning ways: “Your identity as a team starts with how you finish. This team has an opportunity to finish this season a little better than the last. I think we lost our identity a little bit in the last game, forgot who we were and what we needed to do to succeed. Feel fortunate to have the opportunity to rectify that in the playoffs.”

As Zucker points out, the Alabama football players “made a number of mental mistakes uncharacteristic of a Saban-coached team.” Was it nerves? Was the game too big for the players to handle, mentally?

Those questions are not the ‘rat poison’ of overconfidence, as Saban noted earlier in the season; they are the seeds of doubt, which can be just as detrimental.

Instead, Saban spun the destructive questions into constructive answers for the players and the Crimson Tide fans. A loss is the same as a win: it’s one game. Whether one wins or loses, there will always be another challenge, another battle, another obstacle to overcome. If the players dwell on the past, in victory or defeat, they can never move on to the next phase.

What does Saban preach to everyone?: Don’t look at the scoreboard. It’s not just a pretty slogan that he shouts from his pulpit in press conferences. One’s actions do not completely define a person until his or her last breath is taken. A person’s identity can be lost; however, by definition, it also can be found again.

Did the loss to Auburn make them lose their ability to play football at an elite level? No. Did Jalen Hurts lose his arm or legs to produce offensively? No. Did Minkah Fitzpatrick lose his skill set that will propel him to success at the NFL level next year? No.

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Why then does anyone think that the Crimson Tide can’t still roll? They know who their competition is. They know how Clemson will come at them. They know how to make adjustments, and have Coach Saban there to help them with their strategy. All that the players need to do is to embrace change.

Yes, the Alabama players cannot say that they had an undefeated season. Yes, the Auburn Tigers and their fans have bragging rights for a full year, until the next Iron Bowl. That’s fine, as long as the players embrace that change.

Some players never get a second chance of glory on the gridiron. These Crimson Tide players do. They have a second opportunity to end their season with a victory. However, the only way that the players can ensure that the past does not come back to haunt them is to keep the loss to Auburn in the past, where it remains.

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Knowing how to Roll Tide is all about knowing one’s self. The players know their strengths and now they recognize their weaknesses. There is not any more surprises that can make them fear failure. They’ve already failed, but now they have picked themselves up and are ready for the next challenge. Can Clemson say the same?

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