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Crimson Tide Links and Such for Wednesday, 10/10/07

By Todd

If you're the praying type, please keep the Britt family in mind. Vera Britt, the mother of the many Britt brothers to play for the Tide, underwent surgery on Monday after an accident over the weekend. Justin Britt is understandably absent from campus and will likely miss this weekend's game, and Antoine Caldwell is expected to move over to LG in his place.

The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reports that the coaching staff plans to drill the idea of sustaining intensity the entire game this week:

"It's a habit, like anything else," Saban said. "I don't think you can just tell everybody to focus, and everybody focuses. They're gonna focus for five minutes, or they're going to focus for three hours. "You can't get a shot for it. There's no vaccine for that. That's learned. It's a habit. We've got to make the players aware of it. They have to practice with focus, because it carries over into the game."

Also from the article, just one more quote that proves why Saban is the right guy for this job:

"The other teams have players, too, and they can make plays," Saban said. "And you have to play well, and do it right, to be able to win. We won't win any games this year (just) because we're Alabama. Not one. We won't. And that's what we try to focus on."

And on that note, from his Monday press conference:

"I do feel like we don't give enough respect sometimes to what the other people can do. I'm sure USC thought they were going to roll over Stanford and I'm sure all their fans did, too, but that's why you play the games."

Congratulations to Wallace Gilberry, the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week:

SEC DEFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE WEEK
WALLACE GILBERRY
Defensive End
ALABAMA
6-3 * 267 * Senior
Bay Minette, Ala. (Baldwin County HS)

Gilberry led the Crimson Tide defense with 11 total tackles (nine solos), 4.5 tackles for loss, including two sacks, and two quarterback pressures, in Alabama's 30-24 win against Houston. His sack of Houston's quarterback in the first quarter led to a safety and put the Tide ahead, 9-0. Gilberry is tied for third on the team with 37 total tackles, first among defensive linemen. He is second in the SEC with nine tackles for loss this season.

The Mobile Press-Register notes that Ed Orgeron wanted Terry Grant to come to Ole Miss:

Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron tried his best to keep running back Terry Grant in his home state.

In the end, Orgeron couldn't even get Grant to The Grove.

"He's a loud guy if you've ever met him," Grant said of Orgeron. "I had a feel of where I wanted to be. I just kind of felt that wasn't the place for me."

It also didn't help that the Orgeron's recruiting pitch involved the hurling of boulders.

I read about the amazing finish to the Western Michigan/Akron game at SMQ yesterday:

With a 38-31 lead and time winding down, WMU (2-4) elected to take a safety on fourth down with 15 seconds remaining rather than chance a traditional punt.

Akron's Alphonso Owen took the free kick from Broncos punter Jim Laney at the 11-yard line and began upfield. In the grasp of WMU's Boston McCornell at about the 25-yard line, Owen found teammate Andre Jones streaking up the left sideline.

Jones grabbed the short lateral and reversed field, beating WMU's coverage deep into Broncos territory before slipping past C.J. Wilson at the 5-yard line and ducking into the end zone for the victory after time had expired.

Naturally, Orson has the video:

Don't lie and say you didn't light up like a kid at Christmas as soon as the announcer starts screaming "Andre Jones is in the open field! Andre Jones with one man to beat! Andre Jones is going to go to the five to the two to the one TOUCHDOWN! THE ZIPS WIN IT'S OVER IT'S OVER THE ZIPS HAVE WON THE GAME!" because, even though I have no vested interest in either team and wouldn't have even known the outcome if it weren't for this incredible finish, damn it, people, I was grinning ear to ear watching that. God, I love football...

The big meme roaring around the CFB blogs yesterday was the news that Joe Paterno was allegedly involved in a road rage incident. Via Black Shoe Diaries:

Yesterday, two grad students (husband and wife) that I know were driving on campus and being followed closely by a white car. The white car passes them and then cuts them off and pins them against the curb. The driver gets out and starts screaming obscenities at the woman (who was driving), flipping both middle fingers and repeatedly saying "do you know who I am!". The irate screaming and cursing by the driver of the white car continues long enough for the campus police to arrive at which time the driver of the white car takes off. The woman is so shaken up that the police ask here if she's OK to drive. The only thing they can think of that set the driver of the white car off was if they were driving too slow. They were both in some state of shock the rest of the day that Joe Paterno, a man they both admired, could act this way.

Meanwhile, Block U has particularly amusing take on it as well.

Finally, your morning YouTube comes courtesy of Marty Robbins:

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