Comments on: Bama’s Saban Says Up-Tempo Offenses Can Lead To Injuries On Defense

By: MrVester

MrVester — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 20:16:02 +0000

So an SEC coach is worried about injuries. That’s commendable. Sure, it SOUNDS like hypocrisy, but. . . No but. It just sounds like hypocrisy. Certanly, injuries should be addressed, but when a coach schedules Western Carolina to close the season in mid November. . . well, that coach should change the subject when unbalanced, unprepared, on the field issues pop up. Stick to what you know coach, recruiting big fast players to practice on smaller, slower players coached by out classed programs looking to line their pockets.
But wait! I’m sorry, I missed the point. Injuries. Of course, what better way to avoid injuries than scheduling over matched opponents. Oh sorry, lost my mind for a second. Of course there’s a better way to avoid injuries. Just put rival jerseys on tackling dummies, and run up the score to make sure you win the popularity contest at the end of the season. Why play the games, after all they’re so dangerous.

By: mjmend4

mjmend4 — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 01:57:54 +0000

This is the dumbest thing I’ve heard in a while. Maybe they should do a study to see if teams who recruit at a higher lever and have bigger, faster and more athletic people have an unfair advantage. Do these more talented rosters cause more injuries to the less talented ones? Who freaking cares. The game changes and people need to be prepared to change with it. Suggesting what Saban suggested is like saying fast breaks shouldn’t be allowed cause it makes the defense tired cause they’re trying to get back on defense. Instead of having a clock where you’ve got 8 or 10 seconds to get past half court, maybe they should say you can’t pass half court unless 5 seconds has passed. That way the defense has a chance to get back..Dumbest sh*t I’ve ever heard.

By: JustAnotherBamaFan

JustAnotherBamaFan — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 21:10:48 +0000

From a certain perspective Coach Saban’s statement makes sense, and because of that the NCAA should probably conduct a study to determine if the idea is sound.

If they do find that an up-tempo style play results in a greater number of injuries (cramps withstanding) then they should do something to protect the players. My suggestion would be to guarantee the defense an opportunity to substitute players (should they choose) every 10th offensive play (excluding plays/downs resulting in penalties) of a drive. That way teams can still exploit any defensive player that is out of position when the ball is snapped while limiting the number of consecutive plays a defender is on the field.

By: gibgibson

gibgibson — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 15:38:07 +0000

@kevinathompson Briles at Arky and Holgerson at TN would be spectacular. I would love to see those match ups without a month prep.

By: kevinathompson

kevinathompson — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 15:31:41 +0000

@gibgibson we will take any of them right now at Arkansas.

By: wattdore

wattdore — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 15:04:27 +0000

The helmets did not fly off until they put the airbags in them.

By: Big Orange Mark

Big Orange Mark — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 12:54:24 +0000

Wow, that Saban guy will say anything to keep himself front and center in the “news”. For a guy who has such contempt for the media, he sure talks a lot. This just in………Saban put on pants this mornin! Maybe the NCAA will outlaw those……I know a pair of Orange ones they can have from a soon-to-be unemployed coach…….

By: bpa_kc

bpa_kc — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 12:51:55 +0000

The only “injuries” I see related to fast paced offenses is lots and lots of “cramps”. Funny how those injuries tend to completely disappear after 1 play has passed. Personally, I think that if play is stopped due to an injury timeout, then that player should be required to sit out for the rest of that offensive/defensive series. That should help avoid all of these “cramps”… and for the guys who really do get banged up, it gives them more time to rest and make sure they are alright before going back into the game.

By: buddha22

buddha22 — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 00:26:12 +0000

Wow, this has the smell of a little whining? Perhaps he needs to lean up and condition a few of those big’uns so they don’t get so winded and confused. Maybe there should be a weight limit on players if you are really concerned about injuries…

By: Dennyzzz

Dennyzzz — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 23:36:15 +0000

@kentatm Right, because those teams have suffered sooo many injuries against SEC teams. Dumbass.

By: titanreb

titanreb — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 23:11:51 +0000

Sounds like Saban is feeling a little butt hurt over the way OM played a very physical game, no matter what the scoreboard said. I think he underestimated?

By: BonzaiB

BonzaiB — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 22:42:05 +0000

The single most dangerous piece of euipment in football is the helmet. Causes major league injuries and encourages a tackling style epitimized by increased speed of impact, head and neck alignment that turns the helmet into a battering ram. All this favors the defense in their assault on offensive players. Bama’s forte has been a hard hitting defense, so most likely in college football, Saban coached Alabama defenses have chaulked up more “kills” against opposing offenses than any teams out there.

Not calling Saban a hypocrite, but if Saban was really serious about player injuries, he would call for a study on how to fix defense on offense injuries as well as harping on “up tempo offenses.”

Bottom line, the more plays you run in football, the more chance you have of being injured. You want to reduce the chance of injury, take the clock out of the game and limit the number of plays an offense can run a game to 60, or 50, or 40, or …… When you get to zero, you have solved the problem.

By: viciousdawg

viciousdawg — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 22:38:20 +0000

A Defense Coach wants to slow down Offenses…….. Big Surprise

By: alamoaggie08

alamoaggie08 — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 21:31:42 +0000

the only “injuries” i’ve seen coming from no-huddle offenses is cramping defenses, and that’s caused either by poor conditioning or hydration. i can see the point saban is trying to make about defenses not being ready, but the fact is it’s not against the rules, and for that matter what rules can be made to stop it?

do we need another clock that states offenses can’t snap until a certain amount of time has passed? if that’s the case, does the game clock stop betweem every play during this “recovery” period for defenses? another thought is the offense can’t snap until the defense is set. well all that does is give the defense advantage to mess up tempo by taking their time.

i can keep going, but the reality is hard-hitting defenses are more dangerous and cause more injuries than fast-moving offenses. american football is one of the most dangerous sports in the world, and nothing short of making it a no contact sport will change that.

By: kentatm

kentatm — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 21:04:26 +0000

if Saban was truly concerned about safety he wouldnt be scheduling hopelessly over-matched FCS teams for his 300 pound monster o-line/defenses to beat up on.

By: noinipym

noinipym — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 20:45:33 +0000

@Tusk @noinipym To your mind why is he mentioning it then…To what end – if not to get rid of the no huddle.

By: Tusk

Tusk — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 20:35:02 +0000

@noinipym
Where does it say he is trying to remove it?

By: noinipym

noinipym — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 20:31:11 +0000

I am completely on the side of a defensive coach trying to use safety as an excuse. If your defensive team is walking around not ready to go on that play then you can always call time out. The O-line and offense are lining up just as quickly as his defense; yet, I see no mention of it as an offensive injury potential. He is just trying to remove something that is not to his advantage.

By: 40Capt

40Capt — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 20:21:57 +0000

It’s really compassionate of Nick to so concerned w/ player safety. I’m sure this comment was made right after he said defensive players shouldn’t hit the ball carriers so hard, cause it might, you know, hurt them.