Tide Tidbits – October 29, 2009

Tide offense looks to recapture explosiveness
Alabama has scored only two offensive touchdowns in the last three games, and head coach Nick Saban said the Crimson Tide needs to become more aggressive in the passing game. “I just think [taking shots downfield] is a point of emphasis for us,” he said. “We need to try to do it.” Saban said completing long passes is not always the purpose of taking those shots downfield, but that opening up other routes by forcing defensive backs to adjust can be just as important. “Just because you don’t have success doing it doesn’t mean it doesn’t have an effect on the game,” he said. “Sometimes, it’s about the effect that it has on how it affects everything else.

Diminished third-down efficiency tires Tide defense
It’s a missed assignment here, a mistake in tackling there. Second-ranked Alabama will make the most of its bye week, giving the players a weekend off to recharge their batteries. Practice this week, however, is a time for self-evaluation and correcting the little mistakes that have made the Tide a less effective defense in recent weeks. “It’s not one specific problem,” head coach Nick Saban said. “It’s a problem where you have one guy who doesn’t do the right thing on one play, then the next time somebody else doesn’t do the right thing. It still comes down to consistency in performance. And every guy’s got to do the right thing. We had more errors (in Saturday’s game with Tennessee) and several of them were on third down.”

Hightower’s role changes to teacher
Dont’a Hightower can’t make another tackle this season for the University of Alabama, the sophomore linebacker believes he can still make a contribution. That’s been the outlook for Hightower since Sept. 26, when he was lost for the season with a major injury to his left knee while playing against Arkansas. UA has plugged several players into various roles Hightower performed for the Crimson Tide, most of them lacking experience. And Hightower is looking to help all of them. “I don’t want to feel like I’m going to isolate myself just because I’m not able to play. That’s not the type of person I am,” said Hightower, in his first public remarks since the injury. “That’s not the type of player that’s on this team. Nico Johnson’s doing a great job right now and I know he’s pretty young. There’s a couple things he doesn’t know right now that I’ve been through. I’ve seen what he’s seeing now, so I’m able to coach him up.”

Tiffin’s been Terrific
Talk about pressure. No. 2 Alabama kicker Leigh Tiffin had to come through in a big rivalry game when the offense wasn’t producing touchdowns. And he had to show it was about the leg, not the tape. Tiffin came through in the aftermath of “Tapegate,” kicking four field goals in a 12-10 win over Tennessee when one miss likely would have cost the Crimson Tide its shot at a perfect season. “It couldn’t have come at a better time, could it?” Tiffin said, grinning. Tiffin and Alabama holder P.J. Fitzgerald were unwittingly thrust into the limelight when Steve Spurrier reported to the Southeastern Conference and made public comments about their use of white tape to spot kicks against South Carolina. “I told P.J., ‘Man, I hope we do well this week. If we miss one, they’re going to blame it on the tape,”‘ Tiffin said.

Roll Tide!

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