Nick Saban Field Quotations

I don't know that tradition has ever won or lost a game. As far as I can tell, the field they have up there is 53 yards wide and 100 yards deep. They'll play 11. We'll play 11. The game will be decided on who does the best job of blocking and tackling and dominating the guys they play against.

I think every guy's different when it comes to that. Some guys are very instinctive and very understanding and therefore don't need to see it on the field as much.

What people do on the field is kind of your calling card in terms of the quality of work. When he was a defensive coordinator at Jacksonville and Pittsburgh, they did some pretty quality work. They had top-line defensive teams. He did it in different situations featuring different types of players. That will be helpful to us.

We had a great first drive. We looked like a good football team, but we've got to do that with consistency. We just have to take advantage of field position when we get it.

He's still hard to block. He does a great job of using his hands. He still plays with a lot of power. He still can rush and block people back to the quarterback. He's very instinctive on the field -- batting balls down and making a lot of plays. I think the guy is an astounding player and I think he's had a really good year doing what they expect him to do.

They were all on the field. They all did some things, but they didn't participate in team (drills).

We missed a couple of throws and had a couple of turnovers. . . We made some big plays on defense, which helped us. We just have to take advantage of the field position when we get it.

I felt very much appreciated on the field today,

I felt very much appreciated on the field today, ... There were a lot of people with Saints jerseys that were very nice to me in welcoming me back. I don't want to minimize the fact there was some personal adulation based on the reception I received.