Football Welcomes Florida for SEC Opener on Saturday
9/15/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nick Saban Opening Statement
"After looking at the game, just a brief comment. We definitely played better as the game went on. We didn't start out great in the game, but I thought as the game went on, we really played with more confidence, executed better, played more physical. We started out a little tentative for some reason, but I think overall we really improved. I think it's important to continue to improve and play with confidence. Make plays when you have opportunities to make plays, especially when you get into league play, which we are right now. You have to do a little bit better job of preparing and executing. Teams that we play, obviously if you look at our schedule starting this week, are all really good teams. It's important for our team to be able to continue to improve, play with confidence, and play together as a unit, work to execute better. That comes from how you practice, how you prepare and the kind of habits that you develop.
"We had players of the week: Amari Cooper, Austin Shepherd really played well. Blake Sims played very well in the game. Landon Collins and Xzavier Dickson, Trey Depriest were the most productive on defense. Rashaan Evans and Kenyan Drake were two of the guys that did a really good job on special teams, even though the specialists did a good job in the opportunities they have.
"We have a couple of guys that are a little bit nicked up. They may not be 100 percent today, but I feel like we'll have just about everybody tomorrow. DeAndrew White will practice all week, and we'll see how it goes with him and make a decision later in the week, and see if we think he's able to go out there and play. He did practice some last week, so we are encouraged by the progress he made. Jarrick Williams will start running and doing drills this week, but probably a much greater long shot for him to be able to play in this coming game.
"I think that, in games like this, players really get excited. If they don't, they don't understand Alabama football and they don't understand playing in the Southeastern Conference. I think we have enough guys on our team that really understand that, so I don't think that should be an issue. I also think that fans get excited and it's important that they create an atmosphere that's going to help our team have the best chance to be successful in this game. Noise, energy and enthusiasm - all those things carry over in how we play.
"I think Florida has a really good team, maybe a lot better team than what they're ranked now. Ratings right now don't mean a lot. The new offensive coordinator has definitely done a really good job for them in terms of what they're doing offensively. They have some significant impact players back that were injured a year ago. The quarterback has played very well. Two running backs have played very, very well. No. 11 Demarcus Robinson the receiver, is one of the top guys in the country. This is a much, much improved, very good offensive football team. Their offensive line is big and playing much better, because they've gotten some continuity back there as well. Defensively, these guys always play really good. They are always one of the top teams in our conference when it comes to defense. Will [Muschamp] does a good job in that part of it. They have really good players and they play well together. They have some really good specialists and returners that are explosive on special teams. This is a very good team that's going to be a real challenge for us and something that we are definitely looking forward to."
