Are Alabama players overreacting to their struggles on the field?
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The “come-to-Jesus” meeting might have never happened. Although, depending on whom you ask, Alabama might not have needed it.
Following Saturday’s 41-23 victory over Colorado State, the most points the Crimson Tide has given up all season, Alabama linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton called the defense’s performance “pathetic” and stated the team would need the aforementioned meeting to get things straighten out.
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“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Hamilton said after the game. “We’ve got to get back to the drawing board because that was just pathetic. We were just on the field entirely too long. We’ve got to get back and work hard because we’re fixing to get into SEC play. We’re going to have a come-to-Jesus meeting on Monday.”
Tuesday, Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick stated that no such meeting had taken place, saying that “actions are going to do a whole lot more” for Alabama right now. While that’s true, Alabama head coach Nick Saban said his team could also benefit from a little bit of perspective as well.
During his weekly radio show, Saban admitted he was not happy with how his team finished against Colorado State. However, when asked whether or not his players overreacted to some of their mistakes in the game the head coach passed along some recent advice he received from psychiatrist Dr. Lionel Rosen.
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“He said, ‘I think you have altitude sickness,’” Saban recalled of the recent conversation. “I was like, ‘what the hell is that?’ But then as he explained it to me it made so much sense. I think we all have to be very cautious of this, and it really changed my disposition and how I approached the team this week.
“Altitude sickness causes mental distortion which means you’re not thinking right. Well, sometimes when you think you are better than you are or you have this high expectation for what you should achieve you actually get really frustrated when you don’t dominate in a way that you are used to doing... Maybe the guys aren’t ready to do that. They don’t have the same experience. They don’t have the same knowledge, they haven’t played that long. They are younger players. They need encouraged, they to be taught. You need to be positive with them.”
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With that in mind, Saban said he entered this week with a slightly different message. He still wants his team to respect its opponent, especially this week as No. 1 Alabama opens up conference play on the road against undefeated Vanderbilt. However, Saban also said it’s crucial that his players know they are pretty good themselves.
“My approach to the team was ‘Look guys, we’re 3-0,’” Saban said. “I know you get tired of me standing up here and saying we won, but. That’s what happens, we won but. I’m always ‘We won, but you didn’t do this, you should have done this better, you should have done that better.’ But yet we’re 3-0 and no one’s satisfied. I’m not satisfied either. I don’t think they should be satisfied, but they should be happy. They should be very realistic about where we are as a team and what we need to do to improve as a team.”
Of course, there are times when Saban loses his temper. The head coach revealed he threw his hat to the ground during a team walkthrough on Thursday. Although, he stressed that even in his momentary bouts of rage, he never stops believing in or grows frustrated with any of his players.
“I never want to show frustration in a player,” Saban said. “I think players pick up on that. I think that’s not a good thing. You can get mad at them, you can yell at them, you can be upset that they didn’t give effort or make a mental error. But you should never show that you’re frustrated with them.”
Alabama will travel to Vanderbilt on Saturday at 2:30 p.m CT. The game will be televised nationally on CBS.
“I’m hopeful that our team makes a step in the right direction,” Saban said. “We had a good week in practice this week. We kind of like where we are right now mentally. This is a really good team. This will be a really good challenge for us. Playing on the road in the SEC is always difficult. It will be interesting to see how our team comes out.”