Happy Tuesday, everyone. The offensive line may have allowed some sacks this weekend, but JC Latham was recognized for his play by the SEC.
Saban spoke to reporters per usual on Monday, and the offensive line was understandably the topic du jour.
“Well, he’s really a good right tackle,” Saban said. “ … He’s big, strong, physical. He’s the prototype right tackle that everybody would look for in terms of having a power guy who is effective in being able to pass block well enough.
I guess you always hope that if we move the right tackle to left tackle, that would make everything better. But I guess the question you also have to ask yourself is would that make us any better at right tackle?
Or do you just try to attack the solution of trying to get the left tackle to play to the standard that you need him to play, without making multiple changes to the offensive line?
“When we’re sliding out, to block three on three, and the guy doesn’t slide out to block the third guy and he runs in to sack the quarterback, that’s a mental error,” Saban said.
“That’s not a physical problem. It’s a combination of all those things that need to get cleaned up with better communication, better execution and maybe the more knowledge and experience we’ll get, the more we’ll be able to be more effective and consistent in those areas.”
“I don’t see Joe being a whole lot different than what we’ve played against in the past, when Hooker was there,” Saban said.
“Guy can throw the ball, he’s accurate, he’s got a strong arm, they can make plays down the field, and they take a lot of vertical shots, so he’s certainly capable of making those plays. But he’s also athletic enough to extend plays in the pocket and run if necessary.”
Haynes finished with just two carries for 11 yards, but Alabama seemed to have a more concerted effort to get its top four running backs playing time against the Razorbacks.
In his limited playing time, Haynes has shown why he received so much hype in the offseason, and Saban was pleased with his performance Saturday.“
He played great,” Saban said Monday. “He’s been playing really well all year… Justice played really good when he was in there.
We’re pleased with all those guys, and maybe there will be some opportunity for him to make a bigger contribution in the future.”
In general, Saban was fairly positive about the team’s chances to improve in some of those critical areas. Guess we’ll see.
You can check out all of his comments below. Saban also spoke to ESPN and had some glowing remards about Tennessee DL coach Rodney Garner, who is something of a legend on the recruiting trail.
