Football vs. Arkansas Postgame Quotes
10/6/2018 5:22:00 PM | Football
Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban
Opening Statement
"I thought we did an outstanding job today on offense. We made a lot of explosive plays, controlled the line of scrimmage pretty well. When you score 65 points you can't complain much. At the same time, I think there's a lot of areas on the team we need to improve. We made a lot of mistakes on defense today. We didn't play well as a unit. Lots of opportunities to get off the field on third downs and just didn't do it, which allowed them to extend drives. I don't think we really beat the other team when we give up 31 points. We're going to play a lot better offensive teams. We need more focus and discipline. You've got to give Arkansas a lot of credit. Their guys kept fighting throughout the game. I think they're a much better team now on offense. Their QB (Ty Storey) does a nice job for them."
On the way Arkansas' offense played...
"I thought they did a really good job. They had 400 yards of offense today. They kept battling in the game. Their QB played with a lot of grit. He was able to scramble around and make plays, whether it was scrambling around and picking up the first down or scrambling and finding some one open."
On the Crimson Tide's offensive production...
"We want to have balance on offense. These guys play a lot of press and run defense. That probably helped us make a bunch of explosive plays. As the game wore on I think our offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage and our backs did a good job of running hard. Damien [Harris] had over a 100 yards. Najee [Harris] played well."
On comparing this year's Alabama team to previous years...
"I can't make any comparison. This is a different team and has their own identity. We just want them to stay focused and continue to improve, so we can get better. We're going to play against some really good defensive teams down the road. You're not really competing against the other team, you're competing against yourself. Are you being the best you can be on a consistent basis, down in and down out? We're doing that a lot better on offense than defense. We want the offense to be aware there's still things they can do better."
On the defensive errors...
"Some of those things are difficult adjustments that maybe we didn't practice. You have young players that receive things during a game. What you'd like for them to do is play the next play. Don't let that affect them as things go forward. I think a true competitor can do that. I think we got some timely turnovers during the game. The good news is, everything is correctable. We just have to do a better job as coaches to get them prepared to what they're going to see in a game."
On using Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa on the field at the same time...
"We had a few more things that we would do with them, but didn't because that's the way the game went. They can present a conflict for the defense."
Alabama WR Jerry Jeudy
On when Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa were in the game at the same time and what it caused for Arkansas' defense...
"They started screaming Jalen's name and didn't really know what to do. It's hard to defend that."
Alabama OL Jonah Williams
On Arkansas winning the line of scrimmage in short yardage plays...
"We have to go back and watch the film. You have to see where the breakdown was. They're [Arkansas)] playing a tight, bear front."
On the style of offense Alabama ran on Saturday...
"That's old school stuff. If we want to sit back and air it out we can do that, or if we want to run it down their throat we can do that also. I think establishing the run early is something we want to do."
