Tide Tidbits - August 5, 2008

Saban, coordinators review early practices
“In this offense, we’ve been very fortunate in the past to put up some numbers, but, in the end, it’s all about wins and losses. I’m not a stats guy. The key is figuring out a way offensively to combine your defense, your special teams and your offense into one unit to win a ball game.” McElwain said his philosophy is to identify his playmakers and to get the ball in their hands.

Steele, who also coaches the linebackers, will have to count on some young linebackers. “We have a lot of youth running around out there,” Steele said. “The young guys have done a great job of being energetic and being focused. We’ve got a lot of guys who have the potential to be pieces in the puzzle. True freshmen like Jerrell Harris, Donta Hightower, and Courtney Upshaw are among those fighting for playing time.

NY Times has Alabama at #25
In the eyes of the Countdown, the Alabama-Auburn rivalry, the Iron Bowl, is the best rivalry in all of college sports. If you put North Carolina-Duke basketball first, please stop reading. There is something about the matchup that makes it, regardless of the teams’ records, a must-see event. This is partly due to their mutual hatred, their recruiting battles, and their long-standing competitiveness; Alabama leads the series over the Tigers by 38-33-1.

Roll Tide!