Calling out a player publicly is risky business. Can easily backfire. But, it's not necessarily Saban's job to get every guy on the roster to like him. Remember the last guy we had as a coach here who tried to do that? Coach Wannsomethingorother?
Kevin Vickerson and Manny Wright have a lot of pride. Having the coach say they had a "brook-trout look" in public is an embarrassment to them that they can only make up for by going out there and hitting somebody. I will say I have not seen any negative effects of the comments yet. Vickerson turning to Kevin Carter with his problems is a positive, Kevin Carter coming right out in fierce support of Vickerson is constructive for Vickerson and shows him the value of the bonds he is forming, and having Kevin Carter call you out in public in addition to your head coach may serve to help light that fire under Wright's butt.
Wright is a wad of cookie dough. If what Carter said is true, that he's quitting practices early, sitting out practices, fainting, vomiting, etc then he NEEDS to be called out. He has a lot of pride in what he has the ability to do and he needs to be smeared so that he knows that here in the NFL you can't do jack squat unless you're conditioned like the rest of them.