If you take a look at the locker room celebration after the Carolina game (Dolphins' website), you'll see that Saban tells the team they "did something special today," and then he gives them a bunch of days off going into the bye week.
I'm all for rewarding great play, but that game was a nail-biter to say the least, and the defense pretty much fell apart in the 2nd half, especially in the 4th quarter. Had it not been for Schulters's INT we probably would've lost the game.
The problem with rewarding mediocre play is that it sets the team up for a bigger let-down when they don't play well, a la yesterday and in Buffalo. The resultant attitude becomes one of "crap -- and I thought we were a good team."
I think the "whew!" win against Carolina was treated more like a dominating win by the coach, which was a mistake. It gave this team a false sense of greatness, and now we're seeing the let-down emotionally.
I'm all for rewarding great play, but that game was a nail-biter to say the least, and the defense pretty much fell apart in the 2nd half, especially in the 4th quarter. Had it not been for Schulters's INT we probably would've lost the game.
The problem with rewarding mediocre play is that it sets the team up for a bigger let-down when they don't play well, a la yesterday and in Buffalo. The resultant attitude becomes one of "crap -- and I thought we were a good team."
I think the "whew!" win against Carolina was treated more like a dominating win by the coach, which was a mistake. It gave this team a false sense of greatness, and now we're seeing the let-down emotionally.