What Saban said and what (we think) it means: Monday

Reviewing some comments and an attempt at reading between the lines following Nick Saban‘s latest media availability.

Saban on defense after the half: “The defensive players have played hard. They’ve been a really solid group from an attitude standpoint. They practice well. They try to prepare well. And they’ve played well together and they’ve done a good job of minimizing mental errors.”

“We didn’t have a lot of mental errors in the last game. I mean, [Terrion Arnold] got kind of thrown into a bad spot with minimal reps when [Malachi Moore] went down. But other than that, the guys have been doing a really good job of preparing and minimizing mistakes. And hopefully we’ll be able to continue to do that.”

What we think it means: The coverage bust of note for the Alabama defense in the win over Texas A&M came on a throwback from Max Johnson to Jake Johnson on a 22-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. After attempting to alert fellow defenders of the Bros. Johnson’s intentions, Moore couldn’t cover enough ground to cover for the mistake.

Otherwise, UA was in good position on a 37-yard catch-and-run by Ainias Smith late in the fourth quarter only to see Kool-Aid McKinstry miss out on an opportunity to tackle Smith in bounds in a nine-point game.

Since getting hit with 21 fourth-quarter points by Texas in Week 2, the Crimson Tide D was very good in the second half of games against South Florida, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Texas A&M. In a combined eight quarters of action after halftime in those contests, Alabama gave up a total of 13 points, 6 of 25 third down conversions; and an average of 127.5 total yards. The Crimson Tide rolled up 10 sacks over that same span.

Saban on having same number of interceptions through six games as 13 contests a year ago: “I think we’ve done a good job of pressuring the quarterback. I think the pass rush has been good even when we only have four guys rushing. I think that has affected thee quarterback to some degree.”

“I do think our guys all have good ball skills. They all play the ball well in the air and I think we play the ball with more confidence. So that’s something that we like to see in all the defensive backs that we have. Hopefully we will be able to continue to get turnovers because that’s going to be huge for us, in terms of being successful in the future, is having a successful turnover margin.”

What we think it means: Give A&M’s Johnson credit: for a quarterback who was harassed as much as he was from start to finish last Saturday, a 141.5 rating was about as good as the Aggies could have hoped. Still, there are only so many fading, off-platform throws a quarterback can make before the turnover bug bits.

For Johnson, it happened in the third quarter of the Alabama game, as pressure from linebacker Trezmen Marshall preceded an acrobatic grab by UA safety Caleb Downs for the Crimson Tide’s lone takeaway of the game. Between four-man rushes from various packages, an afternoon of pressure started with outside linebacker Dallas Turner in Johnson’s lap and extended through a safety produced by end Justin Eboigbe late in the fourth quarter.

Even if it’s of the random variety, sacking the quarterback is never a bad thing. Saban would argue that consistently getting close is even better. It’s not always tangible pressure that breaks pipes. If its being carried out with regularity, a lot of quarterbacks feel it when it’s not really there. Mix in ghosts and the chances for takeaways go up considerably.

Saban on the play of linebacker Deontae Lawson: “He’s played really really well. We really miss him when he’s not out there, missed a game. His leadership is great. He, I think helps everybody with his playcalling and his performance has been very good. He’s a conscientious guy. A good athlete and has the ability to make plays but he’s putting himself in the right place to do it because he’s so conscientious as a player.” 

What we think it means: In addition to being a stabilizing presence before the snap, Lawson doesn’t miss many run fits and seemingly makes even fewer mistakes when in pass coverage. In helping make short yardage stuffs and take away passing windows in his latest start, Lawson put those attributes on display one more time.

He and the rest of this defense are even better against offenses that don’t go “fast ball” between snaps. Let these guys get lined up with the situational personnel they want on the field and good luck having much success. Texas A&M found that out firsthand last Saturday.

As for this week, expect to see some two-back stuff — to go along with a running threat at quarterback — from Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos, previously of Alabama and a lot of places. Might even be a chance for the base defense to get some work.

Saban on run game struggles vs. Texas A&M:  “I think it was a combination of both. I think that we miss ID’d some plays in terms of who we were blocking and where we’re going to. I think we missed some things on some of their stunts and pressures. Their front seven is really good. We had some other plays that if we finished blocks we would have much more productive plays. So we got to do a better job of finishing.”

“We also knew going into the game it was going to be tough-sledding up front. We were gonna have to be able to throw the ball effectively. I was really pleased with that part of it. We still gotta work on protections and how we protect the quarterback.” 

What we think it means: Thought we might see more variety in the run game at A&M, but UA seemed intent on working primarily between the hash marks with the running backs. While it wasn’t very effective, the Aggies’ hyper-awareness to the run, especially on early downs, helped open up some things in the play action passing game, of which Jalen Milroe and his receivers made good use.

It wasn’t an exceptionally productive outing for Alabama backs, but two things showed up in the win over A&M: improved pass protection and continued ball security. And when Jase McClellan had the chance to shut the lights out on his home state school as a receiver, he did just that.

Saban on the play of guard Jaeden Roberts against A&M: “I love to see guys like him who have worked hard for two whole years and in his third year gets an opportunity, especially in his home state, to go out and play. A guy has a good physical presence. He played hard in the game.”

“It’s really tough when you have a guy that practiced all week and he’s not able to play in the game and the next guy’s gotta go in. He didn’t have the same opportunities to prepare. I thought Jaeden did a pretty good job of managing it and handling it. Played with a lot of grit, determination and toughness and executed fairly well.” 

What we think it means: Depth on the interior of the offensive line has never been a concern for this group. Watching Roberts back in the A-Day game in April, he more than held his own while working with the second-team offense.

As is the case with Terrence Ferguson, there is more than a place or two within the SEC where Roberts could crack a starting five. With that, there shouldn’t be a rush placed on returns for either Ferguson or Darrian Dalcourt. Depending on their availability this week, though, true freshman Olaus Alinen might move closer to next man in status at guard.

Saban on Jalen Milroe responding favorably to his interception against A&M:  “Absolutely, and I think the big thing that we’ve tried to continue to get him to understand is you gotta keep playing the next play.”

“There’s not always going to be perfect plays but whatever happened on the last play is a learning experience for you to grow and get better and focus on what you have to do the next play. You cannot allow one play to affect the next play.”

“That’s something I think he’s learned and doing a lot better. But he’s staying much more positive on the sidelines, communicating really well his teammates and the coaches in terms of what he saw and what he didn’t see and what he needs to do to get it corrected. That’s something that comes a little bit with experience but I think it also comes with awareness. I think we’re making progress in both areas.”

What we think it means: Something else that helps is a defense going out and getting the ball right back for the offense. That’s what UA’s did after Milroe’s mistake in the third quarter — and he and the offense made good on it. It’s the kind of complementary football Alabama didn’t get enough of a year ago.

Saban on correcting penalties: “Well, we had nine pre-snap penalties in the game, and I think a lot of those were created by the fact that we had trouble clapping in the game because of the noise. So we went on silent, and when we went on silent, the guard taps the center. And as soon as the guard tapped the center, they’d stem and move the front— which is not illegal. It was perfectly a good thing for them to do on their part. And we had numerous times where guys flinched. Because, when you go on silent, there is no snap count.” 

“One of the advantages of playing offense is you know what the snap count is. So you know when you get off the ball. Well, when it’s so noisy and you have to go on silent, you lose that advantage. And if we’re going to do that in the future, we obviously need to practice it more so our players don’t get spooked by a moving defense because everybody’s got to sort of go on the ball.” 

“So we had 14 penalties in the game. Nine of them were pre-snap, false start penalties. So, are they correctable? Absolutely. How much was created by the atmosphere and environment and our choice to try to go on silent. That became a little bit of a problem for us in the game.” 

What we think it means: Those nine pre-snap penalties at A&M are another reason to celebrate getting SEC road wins each of the last two weeks. With Starkville and College Station in its rearview mirror, Alabama doesn’t go on the road again until Nov. 11, when it will visit Kentucky.

While Kroger Field (previously known as Commonwealth Stadium) has become a tougher place to visit in the Mark Stoops era, in terms of raucous environments, it isn’t Kyle Field, Neyland Stadium or Death Valley. With that, the next time crowd noise might be an issue will be Nov. 25.

It could be that the UA offense doesn’t wait until UK week to revisit its approach to crowd noise. Might not be a bad to-do list item when the bye week rolls around in a few weeks.

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