Alabama Football: After Mercer, five thoughts about the Crimson Tide

No. 4 Responding to Nick Saban

Nick Saban spent much of the past week trying to focus the attention of many Crimson Tide players. He was honest, he was direct, he was stern. But by his own admission, he sensed he was not getting through to some of them. On his Hey Coach radio show Thursday night, he said he had called on his player leaders for help. Whatever progress was made, the Mercer game indicated it was not enough.

The Alabama Football team made too many penalties, some of which were unforced. There were too many missed assignments, too many dropped passes and more mistakes overall than an elite team should ever make.

A fair conclusion is this team might believe its talent advantage is enough to win games. Such mistaken judgment could mean collectively this team is yet to develop a championship mentality. As Saban has said, last season’s team “got it” and was a joy to coach. Will this team respond to Saban in a similar manner as the season progresses?

No. 5 Game One might have been misleading

The ‘work-in-progress’ Alabama Crimson Tide might not yet be as good it looked against Miami. On Saturday, the Hurricanes struggled, beating Appalachian State 25-23. The Mountaineers are a good team. They might be the Sun Belt’s best team. But, the Canes scrambling to beat them is concerning.

Alabama Football fans can be concerned and at the same time, confident. The season is young. The roster is immensely talented and Nick Saban is the GOAT.