Written by Ell | 22 October 2008

Nick Saban tried his best on Wednesday to make the press conference the most boring and least informative of the season. Other than one weather related nugget to close, he succeeded. As usual, we'll start with the injury update. Earl Alexander has practiced the last 2 days, after sitting out with a sore foot on Monday. Terrence Cody was on the stationary bike today and is still (obviously) out. Josh Chapman and Lorenzo Washington have both practiced well. Chapman will move into Cody's role, while Washington will back up Chapman. Milton Talbert has moved into Washington's second string left end spot. Saban noted that Tennessee has "a lot of good players and people capable of making plays." Eric Berry may have been cloned. As far as the rumors that Eric Berry may play some QB, there's some concern that there's no real film on that set. "They've used #4 (Gerald Jones) in that position," so we'll be practicing against those plays. There are some similarities with the "Wild Rebel", but according to Saban, "it's more of a QB zone read." This means he's more likely to hand off or run an option type play. He was asked about QB play:

John Parker has done a fantastic job for us. From a leadership point, he's really taken the bull by the horns. The other players respond to him very well. He's become much more business like in his approach and a little less emotional. He's been on a little bit more even keel. He hasn't had to pass as much, but that's not his fault - it's just the type of team we've become. I'm confident it's something he can do.

I'm glad he's confident. He was also asked about Rashad Johnson. Saban always has high praise for the senior:

He probably knows as much about what we do on defense as the coaches... He sets a great example how he practices, works, competes and plays. If there's one on the team that you'd like your kids to grow up like, it's him.

He again related the anecdote that even when LSU was playing for the national championship, he asked his players not to concentrate on that outcome, but instead on dominating the guy they're playing against. This is a constant theme. As the presser began to wind down, some unfortunate soul asked about the weather. There's a chance of rain in Knoxville on Saturday, and he was asked how we're preparing:

What should we do? Try and get the game canceled? What can we do? There's things that you can control and things you don't. If it rains, I bet you it rains on both teams. I bet you we have to play with the same ball. It's another one of those maturity factors, that you know it's not going to effect how I play. It's an external factor and it's something you can't control. We try and focus on the things we can control. There are things we can do; wet ball practice or whatever (which we do) so that players are more prepared to be able to manage or handle it if that circumstance comes up. You know I haven't been able to sleep for three days worried about that, so I don't know.... You know I'm kidding, right?

He then wordlessly left the podium. A focused and intense Nick Saban is good for the Tide.

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