Tennessee vs. Alabama
Oct. 26- 7:45 p.m. (EDT) - ESPN
Neyland Stadium - Knoxville | Questions and answers with Alabama head coach Dennis Franchione:
1. Is Kelley Washington the type of talent that you have to know where he is on every play?
A- "I think you have to know where he is and you have to do some things with him and that gets complicated at times, because he is such a weapon for them. If they can get their running game going it gets a little more difficult. But I think Washington is a factor you have to plan for in your game plan." 2. Is there anything you can do to protect Lane Bearden from getting hurt further?
A- "We told Nick (Ridings) to make great snaps and Lane will not cover kicks. Other than that, there is not a whole lot we can do. We will protect as well as we can; you always do. Lane understands that and he has a great feel and rhythm of when to get the ball off and things like that. There is a little bit of extra trust because of that." 3. Can you update us on Tyler Watts situation, and, if he can't go, are there any concerns about Brodie Croyle playing in a hostile environment in Neyland Stadium?
A- "Tyler practiced Sunday so I think he is on course, and Brodie has been to Arkansas. I don't think too much bothers that young man. I think he will be fine. He has grown up around Alabama football all of his life and I think he understands. I think he relishes the opportunity to play in these types of games. I think as a young player, a young quarterback, he is still learning the amount of focus and preparation that it takes, but he has done a great job so far and I can not fault anything he has done to this point." 4. How hungry are your players to get a win over a Tennessee team that Alabama has not beaten since 1994?
A-"I know they are very hungry to do that. I don't know exactly how to quantify that completely. I know there are some seniors that are leaving the program after this year and would like to leave with a victory. I know they would like to give our fans a victory. I know it is one of those games on the schedule that has special meaning to them and it may have been one of those games that they wanted to come back and get to play in. But I am sure they could put it into words much more eloquently than I can." 5. You lead the SEC in sacks and in the day and age of the three-step drop how surprised are you that you are getting the sacks?
A- "That is hard to do. I think the thing that is so many of you and so many of us, too, focus on is the defensive line. But sometimes it is because of coverage. Our secondary has improved, coupled with the pressure that we are getting some of those sacks. Otherwise, I think we have made the quarterback hold onto the ball a little bit longer, made him search, and sometimes there hasn't been time to do that, but, the times that he has had time, our coverages have been good that maybe we made him hold it a count longer and then the d-line or the linebackers have gotten there. It is a combination of the two that have given us the statistics. Plus, I think we are defending the run very well." 6. How different are the conditions for your team from being on the road, being sequestered, than being at home as you make preparations?
A-"We do that home or away. I don't know if there is really an advantage to that. The thing we preach to our players on a road game is tremendous focus and tremendous concentration and communication. All of those things are taxed a little more. The more you can get locked into the game and shut out the crowd noise and not let that be a factor on you, the better you are going to perform. At home you are going to have crowd noise that I think is going to help you. It gives you a boost from time to time. On the road, our fans do a great job but that can certainly be neutralized out when it is seven or eight to one and that sometimes can be difficult. Our fans find a great way to let us know we are there. I just believe players like road games in some ways because players know they have to go deeper into what I call the zone to play. Especially in games like this and the deeper they go into the zone the less they let external factors effect them, and I think that is what we coaches try to do in the last 48 or 24 hours is limit the external forces that can affect performance."
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