Nick Saban wants Alabama offense more explosive

TUSCALOOSA — Just in case word didn’t get back to Alabama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain that Nick Saban was, um, less than impressed with the play-calling in Saturday’s victory over Tennessee, Saban was even more pointed on Tuesday.

The head coach made it clear he wants to see the offense take more shots downfield — particularly with SEC defenses loading up to stop Mark Ingram and the Crimson Tide’s rushing attack.

“I believe in attacking the middle of the field. That’s my philosophy — make the other team defend the middle of the field,” Saban said. “So we need to make them do it. That’s my philosophy. That’s how I want to play offense. That’s how we’re going to play. We just need to do it more.”

Saban said after Saturday’s 12-10 victory over Tennessee that Alabama “can’t be so risk-aversive.” He said the offense had to be more aggressive because defenses in recent weeks have put so many defenders on or near the line of scrimmage that “we can’t block them all.”

The coach said the pieces are in place to hurt defenses that dare the Crimson Tide to throw the football.

“We have the weapons to do it; we have the plays to do it. We need to do it. And we’re going to do it,” Saban said after Tuesday’s practice. “It’s not a criticism of anybody. It’s just a point of emphasis.”

Point taken.

Saban said Alabama doesn’t even need to complete all of its bombs.

“We used to play the Raiders when I was in pro ball,” the coach said. “They’re going to have two fast guys, and they were going to (throw) them the ball five or six times a game and they were going to run deep down the field and you had to cover them.

“But then that guy that’s playing them, whether they catch it or not, it makes him play different all the other plays in the game. So it’s not just about the results sometimes.”

The problem wasn’t with quarterback Greg McElroy, who completed 18-of-29 passes, although for only 120 yards.

“I thought he played well in the game ... as a passer, too,” Saban said. “He had command of his pitches, if he was a baseball pitcher. He was throwing the ball in the right place; he was throwing on time. He did a good job executing what he was supposed to do in the game.”

The coach said it wasn’t just the offense that underachieved.

“We probably played a little tight in the game, played with a lot of anxiety,” he said. “... We certainly don’t want to play that way. We want to play aggressive, guns a’blazing, focus on dominating the guy you play against.”

Several players welcomed Alabama’s bye week.

“This is the perfect time for a bye week,” Mark Ingram said. “Time for everybody to get back healthy, get refocused and finish out the season strong.”

“We’re not really beat up. We’ve got some bumps and bruises. We’re just tired, sluggish right now,” Terrence Cody said. “The bye week came just in time. This is really going to help us get our legs back under us.”

Senior defensive end Lorenzo Washington said the players needed it.

“This has been a tough season. A lot of people have been nicked up,” Washington said, adding there are three parts to this week. “Focus on fundamentals, get back to basics, getting healthy.”

Players recognized: Saban said five players were recognized by the coaching staff for their play against the Vols.

On offense, receiver Julio Jones and left tackle James Carpenter were singled out. Defensively, Javier Arenas, who missed the South Carolina game due to bruised ribs, earned accolades after leading the Tide with 13 tackles, 3 1/2 tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry.

Special teams players of the week were Leigh Tiffin, who provided Alabama’s only points on four field goals, and Terrence Cody, who preserved the win with two blocked field goals in the fourth quarter — the second one on the game’s final play.

Injury update: Saban said tight end Colin Peek was the only player that didn’t practice on Tuesday.

Peek injured his knee in pregame warmup. He tried to play in the game but couldn’t push off.

“We’re hopeful that we can get him back for the LSU game, but that’s going to be day to day,” Saban said. “He probably won’t practice this week. A real key to it will be where he is next week when we come back.”

Alabama will practice today and Thursday but will have the weekend off.

The Crimson Tide will face No. 9 LSU in Tuscaloosa on Nov. 7 at 2:30 p.m.