Link: Nick Saban: UA Needs 'Players Who Want to Buy In'

RTR91

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"When you win a lot, people get a little complacent, which is human nature. You've got to keep challenging them to do the things they need to do to be all they can be," Saban said, according to Gentry Estes of The Courier-Journal. "The culture of why people come to Alabama changed. We had a lot of good players come to Alabama when we weren't good, and those guys all won a national championship. After you win a few, all of a sudden guys are coming because they want to win. And we really need players who want to buy in to doing all the things they need to do to be successful ... and have the kind of competitive character that's going to help you win the really tough games. I think that's the hard thing for guys to understand is what it takes to beat the best. And you're preparing for it all the time. The week of the game is too late.

"When we have a team that has that kind of mentality, it certainly is helpful to us having success. Every team has its issues, but this year's team seems to have a pretty good attitude about it."
 

GrayTide

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Thanks RTR, and that pretty much says it all. If you don't have that it really doesn't matter who is playing QB or DB or who is transferring in. CNS gets it, we will see if the players get it.
 
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dWarriors88

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Gonna be a tough season this year, as far as schedule goes. I have high hopes and a tremendous amount of faith in this team for this upcoming season, and this quote solidifies that faith and expectation.


"When we have a team that has that kind of mentality, it certainly is helpful to us having success. Every team has its issues, but this year's team seems to have a pretty good attitude about it."
 

Con

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Gonna be a tough season this year, as far as schedule goes. I have high hopes and a tremendous amount of faith in this team for this upcoming season, and this quote solidifies that faith and expectation.
I agree with your thoughts about the quote dWarriors88. I always like seeing that kind of information.
 

IMALOYAL1

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I take it Coach is disappointed in the way many top players have been "buying in"of late, if so it could be a long season.

I hope his last sentence isn't coach speak.
 

BamaInBham

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I take it Coach is disappointed in the way many top players have been "buying in"of late, if so it could be a long season.

I hope his last sentence isn't coach speak.
Coach Saban has said that multiple times over the years, as far back as 2010. He said he liked/loved last years' team's attitude.

IMO, he is usually straightforward with his opinions about the team. That was the only reason I thought Blake had a legit chance to start last year - Saban kept praising him. Some thought it was coach speak, but per usual, it was not.
 

B1GTide

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Coach Saban has said that multiple times over the years, as far back as 2010. He said he liked/loved last years' team's attitude.

IMO, he is usually straightforward with his opinions about the team. That was the only reason I thought Blake had a legit chance to start last year - Saban kept praising him. Some thought it was coach speak, but per usual, it was not.
I tend to agree - Saban does not offer praise easily. He understands that it hurts development. When Saban started praising last year's team, I knew that you would be very competitive, even with the question marks.

But I still miss old school coaches who poor mouthed their team and talked up the other teams all season long. It is a philosophy that really worked. Used to be that if your head coach was praising your team, you knew that you were in for a long season. :biggrin:
 

Tideflyer

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I tend to agree - Saban does not offer praise easily. He understands that it hurts development. When Saban started praising last year's team, I knew that you would be very competitive, even with the question marks.

But I still miss old school coaches who poor mouthed their team and talked up the other teams all season long. It is a philosophy that really worked. Used to be that if your head coach was praising your team, you knew that you were in for a long season. :biggrin:
Coach Bryant would have you believing that Alabama would be lucky to make a first down. He kept it up, but after a while nobody believed him.
 

HSV256

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The 2009 roster had 55 players (give or take) from the state of Alabama.

The 2015 spring roster has 36.

Sure it's nice to have the best talent, but that talent doesn't always "buy in."
 

B1GTide

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Apr 13, 2012
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The 2009 roster had 55 players (give or take) from the state of Alabama.

The 2015 spring roster has 36.

Sure it's nice to have the best talent, but that talent doesn't always "buy in."
Most of the team that Saban inherited from Shula was from Alabama. How many of those players did Saban have to run off because they refused to buy in?

Being from the state of Alabama has nothing to do with it, in my opinion. You are just attracting different players now - players who have had a great deal of success in their football lives just because they were the best in their region. Well, being the best in an area means very little when you get to the big leagues. That is when a player's work ethic kicks in. Because talent alone simply isn't enough when everyone is talented.
 

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