Following the University of Alabama's second scrimmage, Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban boldly went where no head coach - at least none I have ever heard - has gone before.
He went to "bulla-bulla ball."
The specific reference came when Saban was asked about junior college transfer defensive linemen Jesse Williams and Quinton Dial, two of the more talked-about newcomers in the Tide's spring camp. Saban said both Williams and Dial were playing well "when they know what to do. When they don't, they revert to 'bulla-bulla' ball, (that's) what I call it."
So what exactly does that reversion mean? The media didn't have the luxury of seeing the scrimmage, so there was no way to detect any defining characteristics of "bulla-bulla ball." Perhaps it has something to do with Australia, Williams' native land. There is a Bulla township in Victoria. Or perhaps the two got so frustrated they started kicking the ball around. After all, Anton Bulla was a famous Slovak soccer player and coach.
Regardless of the definition, Saban's tone made it clear 'bulla-bulla ball' wasn't a good thing, and when players "revert" to it, he doesn't like it. And while Saban didn't mention anyone else playing 'bulla-bulla ball' , there was some other reversion to bad habits he clearly didn't like.
More than once, he mentioned that "some young players" had "lost their poise" or "lost their composure" as the scrimmage wore on under some of the hottest conditions of the spring. Saban was quick to define the discombobulated players as "young ones" or "down the line guys," but if it hadn't been vexing to him, he wouldn't have mentioned it.
Click here for link
Show Posts
or 
Total Members: