Nick Sheridan: On Preparing the Offense Ahead of LSU

Alabama's offense has faced numerous challenges this season, with these obstacles sometimes leading to setbacks against formidable opponents. Each week necessitates a fresh game plan, as every game presents unique difficulties.

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Nick Sheridan is aware of his offense's potential, nothing that when they operate cohesively, they pose a significant threat to various defenses. The second bye week of the season provided an opportunity to asses areas for improvement ahead of their next matchup. "Well, I think it gives you an opportunity to maybe heal up a little bit. I think the advantages are the same for both teams, obviously. So anytime you have a little bit of time to reflect, you can get healthy, you can identify things that you need to work on, you maybe get a hair bit more time just for preparation for the opponent. But they're on the same schedule that we're on and so ultimately it'll be whoever used the time the best, prepared the best. And we're still right in the middle of that. These next few days certainly are important, you know, the practices, the preparation, the finalizing of the plan from the staff. And so that'll really be the focus here the next few days. And so obviously, you know, use the time to try to help individuals get better, help your unit get better, help your team get better. And we still have preparation to be had over the next few days," said Sheridan on the advantages of a bye week.

The team's overall preparation is crucial, but the quarterback plays a pivotal role. Jalen Milroe has encountered significant challenges this season, looking to claim a vital victory against LSU, he remains focused on overcoming obstacles in order to improve. "His approach has been just daily improvement. You know, being where your feet are. I think that's the message for everybody in the building is to just be where your feet are and focus on being the best you can be each and every day in practice, in preparation, and then that's how you best prepare yourself to go play well on Saturday. So I don't think his approach has changed in that regard. I think it's been steady throughout the season just his consistency and his routine and his preparation. I think that gives you the best chance to play well in the game and have the most confidence in the game. You lean back on your routines, your preparation, your training. And so I haven't seen that change based on the opponent, throughout this season, not just this week, but in previous weeks as well," said Sheridan regarding Milroe's approach moving forward.

The Crimson Tide has struggled on the road since their victory against the Wisconsin Badgers. Since that game, mistakes and lack of cohesion have hindered their performance. However, they plan to play better on the road in order to execute their game plan. "I think, pretty simply, we just played better. We executed better, did a better job as coaches. So certainly that’s a point of emphasis, to execute and play cleaner. I think that you talk about some of the personnel that they have, some of the schemes that they have, when you can execute and do your job a little bit more consistently, sometimes you keep them out of those situations where the advantage goes to the defense. When you look at those opportunities that we’ve had on the road, we need to play better and I think that comes down to simple execution. I think, making sure as a staff, we’re putting them in a position to play fast and play confident because you are dealing with other factors in the game, crowd noises, etc., so making sure that we keep it simple enough so our guys can execute and do their job, I think that’ll be important" said Sheridan on the road struggles since the Wisconsin win.

As the Crimson Tide prepares for their matchup in Baton Rouge, a strong start at kickoff could provide an early edge against the Tigers. Their last early start came on Sept. 28 against the Georgia Bulldogs at home, where they nearly shut them out in the first half. However, starting strong on the road presents a unique challenge that is often more critical than at home. "We always want to start fast, I think that’s really important, particularly when you’re on the road. I think that is helpful, there’s no doubt about it. I don’t think anything that occurred in the past relative to previous bye weeks or previous games will have any impact on this one, but I would say the importance of starting fast in the game is certainly important. Like I said, particularly when you’re on the road and you’re dealing with the crowd and those types of things, to be able to get off to a good start, I think is always beneficial, but certainly when you’re on the road," said Sheridan on replicating a fast start.

The last defeat for the Crimson Tide came at the hands of the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville. A key factor in the Vols' victory was the lack of communication among the Crimson Tide, who struggled to cope with the intense crowd noise. The crowd noise in the matchup against the Vols' can somewhat be beneficial for the Crimson Tide, as they now know what to expect heading into Baton Rouge. "That we needed to be better. I thought that was evident. We obviously didn’t start the game off the right way, relative to the noise and the communication. We continue to work on that as a group, as a staff, to make sure that what we’re asking to do in those moments, that they can execute it at a high level. I thought there were moments the last time we were in an environment like this where we were fine, we settled in and were able to communicate, but certainly, we didn’t start the game off the way that we would like. And so, I think the message was to learn and grow from those experiences, so that you can do better the next time you get into those environments" said Sheridan on what Tennessee's crowd noise taught the team.

As the team continues its preparation, stay updated through Tide 100.9. More news regarding the matchup is expected to come later this week.