Alabama notes: Bad weather forces offense to find itself
Sometimes it takes a storm to help things become clear.
That's the case for Alabama football as the weather in Athens, Ga., finally forced the Crimson Tide to find its offensive identity.
The Tide pounded away at Georgia with Derrick Henry in its 38-10 victory.
Henry finished the day with 26 carries for 148 yards, both career highs. The junior scored on a 30-yard run that began an onslaught of 35 straight points for the Tide.
"It was a lot of fun," Henry said of running between the tackles. "I thought the offensive line did a great job. We just had to go out there and execute the plays so it was just a lot of fun just to play physical. That's what we want to do."
On the season, Henry has 570 yards and nine touchdowns on 93 carries.
"It's important for us that we continue to use him in a way that's most beneficial to him and to us, which is sort of feeding him the ball," Saban said. "He does seem to get stronger as the game goes on. Our offensive line can do a little bit better job from a consistency standpoint of finishing blocks. I think that would even make us more effective in how Derrick plays."
Saban not a trash talker
After Saturday's win, Saban expressed his displeasure for the pregame incident between Alabama and Georgia's players. As Alabama exited the locker room and prepared to run onto the field for warmups, Georgia's players approached them on the sidelines.
Even though Alabama wasn't the aggressor, Saban scolded his team during his postgame news conference.
Asked about it again on Monday, Saban said he's for players "being focused" and not distracted.
"Doing other things, whether it's dancing on the field or talking to the opposition, we don't do that," Saban said. "Because if you're doing that, you're not really focused on doing your job."
Saban also revealed that he's not the best at the back-and-forth banter. Saban said he wanted the players to channel their energy and not have an emotional letdown.
"I can't talk trash and focus on what I'm supposed to do," Saban said. "Maybe I'm just not a trash talker. I don't know. But that's just the way I think and that's the way we've been. I'm not upset with our team or anything like that. I just thought that was a good opportunity for me to give them the message that 'Hey, we need to be focused on what we need to do in the game and then focus on the game.'"
Henry, Ridley earn SEC honors
Alabama running back Henry and freshman wide receiver Calvin Ridley both earned SEC Player of the Week recognition, the league announced Monday.
Henry was named the SEC's Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season after rushing for 148 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries against the Bulldogs. The 148 yards and 26 carries were both career highs for the junior tailback.
Ridley was named the SEC Freshman Player of the Week after a career day against the Bulldogs. The freshman wide out caught five passes for a career-high 120 yards and a touchdown, becoming the first true freshman receiver to have a 100-yard receiving game since Amari Cooper in the BCS National Championship game against Notre Dame.
Players of the week
Alabama's coaching staff recognized 10 players following its win over Georgia on Saturday.
Henry, Jake Coker, Ryan Kelly and Ridley were the honorees on offense, while Reggie Ragland, A'Shawn Robinson and Eddie Jackson represented the defense. Minkah Fitzpatrick, Adam Griffith and Cyrus Jones made the special teams list.
Henry rushed for a career-high 148 yards on a career-best 26 carries. Coker completed 11-of-16 passes for 190 yards and one touchdown, while rushing six times for 28 yards and a score.
Ridley finished the day with 120 yards receiving and a touchdown on five catches. Kelly was also honored on offense after grading out at 92 percent for the game.
On defense, Ragland had a team-high eight tackles including two solo stops and a pass breakup. It was the fourth time in five games Ragland led the team in tackles. Robinson had five tackles. Jackson picked off his second pass of the season and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown while making four tackles.
Fitzpatrick blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown, the first for an Alabama player since Sept. 21, 2013. He also had a sack and made two special teams tackles. Griffith, who was honored for the third week in a row, made his only field goal attempt from 29 yards out, while connecting on all five extra points. Jones had 53 yards on five punt returns for a 10.6 yard average, with a season-long return of 23 yards.
Kickoff set for Alabama-Texas A&M
Kickoff for Alabama's game at No. 9 Texas A&M on Saturday, Oct. 17, has been set for 2:30 p.m. CDT. CBS will televise the contest. It will be the second time this season the Tide has been on the network (Georgia).
Alabama last played in College Station, Texas, in 2013 when they won 49-42.
Contact Anniston Star staff writer Marq Burnett at mburnett@annistonstar.com. On Twitter:@Marq_Burnett.
This story was originally published October 5, 2015 at 10:21 PM with the headline "Alabama notes: Bad weather forces offense to find itself ."