Nick Saban Challenging Team to Respond from "Edge of the Cliff"
Alabama's loss to Texas A&M last Saturday did not ruin the Crimson Tide's season, but it did significantly limit the margin for error.
On Wednesday's SEC coaches teleconference, Alabama head coach Nick Saban shared a little of the what he told the team Tuesday.
"Like I told them yesterday, you’ve got to respond from the edge of the cliff," Saban said. "You don’t have a lot of room for error. So, you still can accomplish all the goals that you have as a team, but we're going to have to play better and more consistently if we're going to be able to do that, and that means we've got to prepare better, practice better, be more engaged in the game.
"The opponent is basically faceless in terms of the way you should look at your performance. It's not about the other guy. It’s about how you want to play, and how good you want to be and that's how you should prepare and play every week."
According to Saban, the response to the loss has been good so far this week in practice, but he still needs to see that carried over into games on a week by week basis to truly learn how the team will learn from the loss.
When asked if having teams that have won championships in the past with one loss helps this team, Saban said each individual team is different and has to choose on their own how they will react to a loss.
"Every team responds differently," Saban said. "You know, we've also taken a loss and not won a championship, so it all depends on how you respond. And that's up to the individuals on the team, and leadership on the team and how everybody on the team buys into it.”
Like Saban said, this team can still accomplish all of its goals. They are currently No. 5 in the country and first in the SEC West, but to accomplish those goals, everyone has to buy in. Saturday's game against Mississippi State will be the first opportunity to see how the team responds.
