I've got nothing against Alabama head coach Nick Saban. Without much debate, he's the best college football coach in the game today, and he could very well go down as one of the greatest college coaches in the history of the game when all is said and done. In saying all of that, however, I don't buy that he's trying to slow the game down for the players' safety, so much as I think he's doing it because he is having trouble adjusting to the up-tempo teams. I also think the analogy he pulled out of his backside regarding the issue the other day was quite ridiculous as well.
Speaking to ESPN.com, Saban said this:
"The fastball guys (up-tempo coaches) say there's no data out there, and I guess you have to use some logic. What's the logic? If you smoke one cigarette, do you have the same chances of getting cancer if you smoke 20? I guess there's no study that specifically says that. But logically, we would say, 'Yeah, there probably is.'"
That's right - Nick Saban is comparing up-tempo offenses to cigarette-smoking. So, according to Saban, the more you do something, the more likely you are to get injured in some manner or another. This may be true of smoking or other types of drugs, however, that's not always the case when it comes to increased repetitions as far as work goes. If we want to look at things from a logical perspective, some may look at things from the direct opposite angle that Saban did, and say, "That's not true at all. The more repetitions an offense gets, the more likely they'll gel with one another, and through that, the less likely they'll be of getting injured." No, a study hasn't found that angle to be accurate, but then again, the same can be true of Saban's opinion on the matter. Chances are the truth will be somewhere between those two extremes.
The fact of the matter is, no matter which side is right, sports are ever evolving, and coaches have to adjust accordingly. When the likes of Rick Pitino and John Calipari started running up-tempo offenses in college basketball, led by a full-court press on defense, should that have been made illegal? When some NFL teams started running the no-huddle offense, should that have been barred? In baseball, when certain pitchers worked extremely quickly off the mound, should that have been outlawed by the league? The goal for coaches and players in all team-oriented sports is to do everything in their power to win. This is why many coaches experiment with different styles and strategies - in order to garner an advantage over their opponents. It's why some players resort to muscle-enhancing drugs (and the like) - to gain an advantage. Sports are about: Training, strategy, execution, and adapting. While Saban is excellent with the first three, the guy will need to learn how to better adapt to the changing trends in the game, just like every other coach - as opposed to trying to change the rules in order to better suit his style. If not, then he can expect a few more of those Auburn and Oklahoma-type of games in his future...
Well, I better get going. To test Saban's analogy, I'm going to talk to someone battling lung cancer and a football player battling a sprained ankle, and see how the two compare...
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/10552938/nick-saban-alabama-crimson-tide-says-pace-play-bears-closer-look
Speaking to ESPN.com, Saban said this:
"The fastball guys (up-tempo coaches) say there's no data out there, and I guess you have to use some logic. What's the logic? If you smoke one cigarette, do you have the same chances of getting cancer if you smoke 20? I guess there's no study that specifically says that. But logically, we would say, 'Yeah, there probably is.'"
That's right - Nick Saban is comparing up-tempo offenses to cigarette-smoking. So, according to Saban, the more you do something, the more likely you are to get injured in some manner or another. This may be true of smoking or other types of drugs, however, that's not always the case when it comes to increased repetitions as far as work goes. If we want to look at things from a logical perspective, some may look at things from the direct opposite angle that Saban did, and say, "That's not true at all. The more repetitions an offense gets, the more likely they'll gel with one another, and through that, the less likely they'll be of getting injured." No, a study hasn't found that angle to be accurate, but then again, the same can be true of Saban's opinion on the matter. Chances are the truth will be somewhere between those two extremes.
The fact of the matter is, no matter which side is right, sports are ever evolving, and coaches have to adjust accordingly. When the likes of Rick Pitino and John Calipari started running up-tempo offenses in college basketball, led by a full-court press on defense, should that have been made illegal? When some NFL teams started running the no-huddle offense, should that have been barred? In baseball, when certain pitchers worked extremely quickly off the mound, should that have been outlawed by the league? The goal for coaches and players in all team-oriented sports is to do everything in their power to win. This is why many coaches experiment with different styles and strategies - in order to garner an advantage over their opponents. It's why some players resort to muscle-enhancing drugs (and the like) - to gain an advantage. Sports are about: Training, strategy, execution, and adapting. While Saban is excellent with the first three, the guy will need to learn how to better adapt to the changing trends in the game, just like every other coach - as opposed to trying to change the rules in order to better suit his style. If not, then he can expect a few more of those Auburn and Oklahoma-type of games in his future...
Well, I better get going. To test Saban's analogy, I'm going to talk to someone battling lung cancer and a football player battling a sprained ankle, and see how the two compare...
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/10552938/nick-saban-alabama-crimson-tide-says-pace-play-bears-closer-look
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