Is Coach Saban's new "Softer Side" part of the process?

Nah, he's just lost his fire.

He hasn't lost anything.


RTR '13!

TidePride50 said:

He hasn't lost anything.


RTR '13!

Click to expand...

It was a joke...

TideFan in AU said:

Nah, he's just lost his fire.

Click to expand...

Don't say that. Otherwise, the chicken littles will have major meltdowns. :cool2:

Maybe he was in such absolute shock at how bad the OL played that he couldn't process it...

This is a good thread. I noticed the same calmness on Nick Saban's part. As an example, I expected him to use the post-game presser as an opportunity to unload on sports writers for focusing prematurely on Alabama's quest for a three-peat and such, but he did not do that. I can only assume that he saw pretty much what he expected to see out of the offense and knows how to fix the problems.

CajunCrimson said:

I have noticed Coach being a bit more 'pleasant' since the last Championship. He was very positive in his comments regarding the OL earlier in the fall -- and when he did start to question them prior to the first game, he still wasn't freaking out. When VTech made that long run, I was expecting him to be losing his mind on the sidelines, but he wasn't.

Is Coach's new "softer side" a part of the Process?

On a secondary note -- was the Offensive Game Plan designed to push the OL? I know there were some mistakes all during the game -- but do you think we were intentionally running into 8-9 man fronts to humble them? With the idea that the D was in control of that side -- and we were comfortably up enough to allow that to happen?

We seemed to play the offense very safe -- example -- running a draw on 3rd and long on our 30ish yard line -- instead of going for the first.....do you think that was by design? Or were we genuinely worried about turning the ball over and playing it safe?

Click to expand...

I don't know if he wanted to "humble" the O-line but I do think he wanted to give them a workout since that is the least experienced unit on the team. I think he was conservative by design and playing it safe once we got a good lead plus he didn't want to embarrass Frank Beamer.

Plus why show TAM anything?

There's a reason behind everything that man does ! rtr...

dirtroadlizard said:

There's a reason behind everything that man does ! rtr...

Click to expand...

^This

dirtroadlizard said:

There's a reason behind everything that man does ! rtr...

Click to expand...

Guys, he is the best coach in college football - maybe the best of all time - but he is just a man. He makes mistakes.

B1GTide said:

Guys, he is the best coach in college football - maybe the best of all time - but he is just a man. He makes mistakes.

Click to expand...

Nonsense, any game we have ever struggled offensively in is because we are keeping it vanilla to not expose anything to our later opponents. You just can't possibly fathom all of the ways that Coach is controlling the game and the lessons he is teaching. :smile:

Super simplified:


You take a group that plays like crap and tell them they played like crap in front of the media, they will either:
1. Be lost for the season because they'll be mentally destroyed
2. Be motivated to work harder

You take a group that plays like crap and encourage them and find silver linings in front of the media, they will either:
1. Be motivated to work harder
2. Think that mediocrity is okay and not get better

You take a group that played very well and tell them they played "okay" in front of the media, they will either:
1. Be motivated to work harder
2. Be lost for the season because they'll be mentally destroyed since their accomplishments are not being recognized


You take a group that played very well and tell them they played "very well" in front of the media, they will either:
1. Be motivated to work harder to keep the praise coming
2. Get complacent and regress





Each action can have a negative or a positive effect. It COMPLETELY depends on the players Saban has. Unless we know the kids as well as the coaches do, you won't know how they'll react to criticisms/praises.


If Julio has a hundred yard game but drops a pass and you call him out on it, he'll put up 200 and 2 TDs the next week. Similar for someone like Ingram. But can you expect every kid to be built that way? Nah. So, you judge your responses based on who you have. It's what Phil Jackson preached - getting the best out of your players. Anyone can come up with Xs and Os. But motivating your guys to give it everything they've got- That's something that only a few people can do.




So, no. He's not going soft. And the "process" doesn't call for "softness". The "process" calls for doing what it takes to get the most out of your guys and having the fundamentals down.

I agree with a lot of the responses in this thread but in particular I think the offensive game plan for VT was very vanilla on purpose. I didn't see a lot of different formations or shifting like we are use to seeing with the Alabama offense. I think Saban and staff knew they could win this game with their defense because VT really had nothing on offense and why show ATM everything you have. Really looking forward to Alabama turning up things a few notches for September 14th!

I think Coach Saban just knows when to "pick 'em up" and when to "knock 'em down." I'm sure our guys in the locker room KNEW that they didn't play very well on offense, and by this point they're all probably so Sabanized that they were already beating themselves up over it. So it doesn't do Coach any good to stand at the podium and pile on.

If you notice, he really only shows his frustration and disappointment when he feels like the team thinks they're invincible and didn't do anything wrong and don't have anything to improve upon. Listening to the post-game player interviews, there were a LOT of unsolicited we-need-to-improve's coming from the players themselves.

I think it could be that Coach is "softer" and more relaxed because his players are coaching themselves and pushing each other to be the best they can be. I really think The Process is finally fully implemented, so Coach doesn't HAVE to come down on the players as much...

REBELZED said:

I think Coach Saban just knows when to "pick 'em up" and when to "knock 'em down." I'm sure our guys in the locker room KNEW that they didn't play very well on offense, and by this point they're all probably so Sabanized that they were already beating themselves up over it. So it doesn't do Coach any good to stand at the podium and pile on.

If you notice, he really only shows his frustration and disappointment when he feels like the team thinks they're invincible and didn't do anything wrong and don't have anything to improve upon. Listening to the post-game player interviews, there were a LOT of unsolicited we-need-to-improve's coming from the players themselves.

I think it could be that Coach is "softer" and more relaxed because his players are coaching themselves and pushing each other to be the best they can be. I really think The Process is finally fully implemented, so Coach doesn't HAVE to come down on the players as much...

Click to expand...

On target...CNS knows what his players need in order to perform their best. He will also know which players he can come down on and which one's he cannot. I knew a great coach who would tell players, "I am going to chew on you for the good of the team...it's not personal and don't let it get to you..." It worked!

Watch, we'll see fire in OL in two weeks.. we'll see lot of rushing attmepts

Hmm, I wonder if we are sandbagging a little bit.

CajunCrimson said:

I have noticed Coach being a bit more 'pleasant' since the last Championship. He was very positive in his comments regarding the OL earlier in the fall -- and when he did start to question them prior to the first game, he still wasn't freaking out. When VTech made that long run, I was expecting him to be losing his mind on the sidelines, but he wasn't.

Is Coach's new "softer side" a part of the Process?

On a secondary note -- was the Offensive Game Plan designed to push the OL? I know there were some mistakes all during the game -- but do you think we were intentionally running into 8-9 man fronts to humble them? With the idea that the D was in control of that side -- and we were comfortably up enough to allow that to happen?

We seemed to play the offense very safe -- example -- running a draw on 3rd and long on our 30ish yard line -- instead of going for the first.....do you think that was by design? Or were we genuinely worried about turning the ball over and playing it safe?

Click to expand...

He may not be so mild in the dressing room or away from the media