Tide at work in off week

It’s not any single factor, but a variety of things that propelled Alabama to its stunning start.

First-quarter dominance. Being able to run the ball and stop the run. Third-down improvement. Staying healthy. Combined, these factors turned a team facing serious challenges seven weeks ago into a Southeastern Conference and national championship contender.

Midway through the regular season, the Crimson Tide is the only team in the country with victories over two Top 10 teams. Nick Saban’s 6-0 team is ranked second in the nation and was open, but not idle, this week.

While each of those above factors are tangible, perhaps the biggest reasons for the turnaround from last year’s 7-6 can’t be measured. The players, in Year 2 under Saban, have bought into the coach’s system and standards — on and off the field. Several admit that wasn’t the case a year ago.

“We had to make sure it was true, you know?” cornerback and return specialist Javier Arenas said. “He was a guy coming in, a new guy, none of us had been
coached by him before. We were just testing it out.”

Arenas said it wasn’t easy.

“(We were) kind of iffy about it, how anybody would be with a new coach or a new system,” he said. “It became repetitive — things that he said and things that he wanted us to do. Once we started rolling with it, we got our good results.”

But attitude isn’t always tied to wins and losses. Arenas said the collapse of last season, when Alabama lost its last four games, wasn’t because the team imploded against Saban.

“Most of the team wasn’t; it just seemed that way,” the cornerback said. “That’s why we were kind of almost separate, you want to say. This year, we’re all gelling. We’re all on the same page. We’re all together.”

That’s the biggest difference running back Roy Upchurch notices, too. Upchurch, whose improvements off the field have been reflected in increased contributions on it, tried to compare this year to 2007.

“I think it’s more brought together,” Upchurch said. “Everybody is more focused on their main goals and assignments and it seems like everybody is headed in the right direction.”

Upchurch said the buy-in is evident, at least from his perspective.

“I’m one of those guys,” he admitted. “I believe I’m able to contribute just because I bought into the system. It helps you get an understanding of everything that’s going on.”

Saban, who sounds like a corporate CEO talking about human resources, can only hope that continues to spread.

“We’ve been trying to build this kind of attitude for 20 months, or however long we’ve been here,” the coach said. “And I think it happens in segments, like a climbing up a ladder. I think more and more guys buy in.”

The coached noticed a change in the offseason and the team’s success has accelerated — or at least reflected — that process.

“A critical mass of guys ... have developed a team chemistry that’s based on a set of principles and values that, I think, a lot of guys are starting to believe in. I think that’s probably critical in being successful,” Saban said.

“You see improvements in players, and it’s because they made a change themselves in who they are and how they go about what they do. ... They represent the organization, this how the organization is going to be represented and this is how your job is defined — it’s your choice to do it or not to do it, academically, athletically and in all those areas.”

But even the players who bought in from the start say something is different this year. Senior center Antoine Caldwell reflects the aggressive swagger along the offensive line, which returned four starters from a year ago.

This is where talent and attitude merge. Alabama’s offensive line wasn’t dominant a year ago. This season, they’ve been able to run effectively in five of the six
games, with Tulane in Week 2 the only exception.

“I can’t speak for everybody, but I feel like this year, my mentality has been that no matter who is out there, we’re about to dominate whoever we’re playing,” Caldwell said. “There’s no doubts, no ifs, ands or buts about it. I don’t care who we’re playing. ... I can’t say that I’ve always had that.”

Running back Glen Coffee, who averages 118 yards per game, reflects that confident swagger when asked about this team’s identity.

“I mean, when you play us, get ready,” Coffee said. “Bring your lunch bags because we are ready to fight. Win or lose, we are going to go out there and we are going to try and just dominate you. You have to be ready.”

It’s a stunning attitude for a team that lost six games by a touchdown or less and looked so mentally fragile last year. But that’s where they are.

Alabama hasn’t been perfect. But its mistakes haven’t been fatal. There aren’t any guarantees about this team in the upcoming weeks. There weren’t any seven weeks ago, either.

Caldwell said if they gave awards for coaches being able to keep teams mentally focused, Saban would get the Heisman. The coach is determined to keep that aggressive mindset.

“The lesson to be learned is we don’t need to be dodging bullets, we need to be shooting them,” Saban said. “We need to finish things and do things right. ... Intensity has fueled our success. We don’t need to be looking into the rear-view mirror here.”