I felt like Saban this Saturday

To my blog readers: I apologize I have been away for so long. But I am back...and I am fired up.

It was finally Ole Miss week and my schedule finally allowed me to sit my butt down on the couch and be consumed in every down of the game. And let's just say...it was the most stressful few hours I've had in a long time. I loved it, don't get me wrong. But woah.

Courtesy of: AL.com

From the first kick off, I was uneasy. What Bama fan wouldn't be? There was so much hype coming into this game regarding Ole Miss and their past two years of success against us. "Can they go for 3?" "No team has ever beaten Saban 3 consecutive years in a row." If that doesn't get your heart racing, I don't know what will.

Stupid mistakes. It was an entire first half of stupid, frustrating, down-right mistakes. That is why I felt like Saban this Saturday. The post-game conference Saban that we saw last Saturday. You know, the one when he said, "I don't know if I have ever been this disappointed after winning a game, maybe ever."

Yes, of course I am happy we won. But I am NOT happy about how we got there.

So let's recap, shall we?

1st Half:

Hurts overthrew to a WIDE OPEN Hentges in the end zone. I get it, it happens. But he was wide open, no stress there. Set yourself up, make the throw. And Hentges, you can be ready for a little overthrow...come on.

Courtesy of: AL.com

There were three, yes 3 false starts in too short a period of time. TWO of them being from Cam Robinson (74). I know, I am excited too, but KEEP YOURSELF STILL, MAN.

Ha this is a good one...its 3rd & 21 and they decide to run a RUNNING PLAY. Kiffin, OPEN YOUR EYES. Have you not been watching this 1st half? How many of your running plays have been successful thus far in this game? Exactly. Throw the damn ball when it's 3rd & 21...you know better.

Courtesy of: AL.com

And speaking of plays not going the way they should...I swear I thought for a while there we were going to continue to run more NEGATIVE yard plays than positive ones. Talk about becoming frustrated. It seriously felt like one mistake after another. Painful.

Ah, Hurts...the freshman... with seven minutes to go in the half, no one around you, you're going to let the ball just slip RIGHT OUT OF YOUR HANDS. I was speechless...You drew your arm back to set up for a beautiful Alabama throw, I was ready, but then, the ball just comes tumbling down...And by this point, there were so many mistakes in the game I was starting to really question whether or not you are ready. But then I reminded myself, Nick Saban is your coach. And well, I trust that man more than anything. So fine. I'll let it go...this time.

Maybe it was the hurry-up offense that Ole Miss was running all day long. Did that make you boys shake in your boots? I mean I don't blame you...but why don't we start matching that. (This is the ONLY time I will give props to Ole Miss: That hurry-up offense was quite beautiful, I cannot tell a lie).

So now we have the largest deficient since the 2009 Sugar Bowl against Utah, clock reads 1:05 until the half and then finally, the Rebels' punt was returned 85 yards for an Alabama touchdown. Thank you, Eddie Jackson for giving some bit of hope before returning to the locker room.

14 points scored in 65 seconds...well, it sure did take them long enough.

24-17 Ole Miss up at the half, and Saban says what we are all thinking: we are not playing with poise and we need to execute better in the second half.

2nd Half

So now the second half comes around, and I will admit, I don't have all too much to say. The big story here was the 1st half. But, our boys returned from that locker room and I think they pulled on a new identity...the one that reminded them that they play for the Crimson Tide of Alabama and they better start acting like it. That is when the touchdowns, fumble recoveries, and interceptions started to show up. Did my blood pressure settle? Ha, you wish. But was I happier? Did I have more hope in us making up for the nasty 1st half mistakes? Yes. And at the end of the day, we were able to put Chad Kelly and the rest of the Rebels back where they belong: on the bottom of the scoreboard. 

Courtesy of: AL.com

Now let's have a week of good practices, reflections on those mistakes, and let's keep our attitudes in check when we take the field against Kent State next weekend. Got it? Good. 

Roll Tide.

Saban shuts the door during SEC Media Day

We all know Coach Saban is the last person you want to stand in front of when getting punished. He's like the strict dad who you don't want to face after you put a baseball through your neighbor's window. However, at the end of the day, Coach Saban has rolled the tide to 4 national championships since taking the title of head coach in 2007. So he must be doing something right, right? Why dare start questioning his ways?

Paul Finebaum made this mistake during SEC Media Day on Wednesday when trying to discuss the punishment following the Cam Robinson (OL) and Hootie Jones (DB) case. Saban proceeded to shut the door right in his face.

"Well, I don't really care to answer the critics," said Saban.
"Good for you, Coach, because the critics are not the ones running your team," said Alexa Paige.

I think Saban has developed a favorite word to use when commenting on players punishments: internal. And in my opinion, its the best word for a coach to use. Is the media on the field coaching alongside of you during games? No. Are they blowing the whistle at practice telling your men to run faster? No. So their opinions are their opinions. We all have them. Let them talk. Their words are not going anywhere except for providing their talk shows with content.

And while the media is gossiping over the "right and wrong" of the actions of Saban and other coaches in college football, the coaches are handling it, internally. It's not like he is turning the other way and letting them all run havoc. I don't think we will ever know all "team rules" Alabama has in place, but once a single one gets broken, the hammer comes down. Four words: Tony Brown, Cotton Bowl.

The media has tried to control our society for years now. We have seen it in the news every time they decide what we should and should not see. When they decide how much emphasis to put on one story versus another. Trust me, I want to be a broadcaster, I've studied these tactics.

That's right. I want to have a career in media and meanwhile, I will be the first to say that we think we have all this control over everything that happens. As broadcasters, our job is to report the latest happenings in sport. So yeah, sometimes we get carried away, get heated, and go a little too far. But at the end of the day, these coaches were hired to do a job and to do it how they choose.

It was announced on June 20 that the charges against Robinson and Jones were dropped. Saban is not suspending them because legally they did nothing wrong. But are you forgetting he is handling it internally?! That's right, Saban punishment. Trust me, he's got it under control, even if we aren't seeing it first-hand.