It's Apparent to Others: Alabama's Football Team is a Machine

Vince Lombardi was once asked why his teams did better than other teams. His answer was simple, "We do the little things that nobody else does, or hardly notices."

Well, one Ole Miss fan noticed why Alabama seems to be a lot better than other teams. He saw something small and, being a sports enthusiast, he noticed.

This is what he saw and wrote about when he watched the Alabama players doing something as simple as getting off the bus.

"When Alabama arrived yesterday, they looked like cloned, disciplined, suited warriors. Their whole demeanor is one of order and discipline. They were wearing coats and ties (like Alabama did years ago) and they looked like individual parts of a machine. There was no 'individuality' displayed at all. Just a body. A body of soldiers. It was really impressive."

That is Alabama this year. One machine with many fail-safes. Stop one part of it and the others will simply compensate to make up the difference.

It's not about individual glory. I've interviewed players who only want to reference the work of others and the team as a whole, downplaying any individual effort.

I heard Rolando McClain tell me a tackle he made in the backfield was not his accomplishment, but Cody occupying two offensive linemen and Eryk Anders putting pressure on the other side that chased the back to him to give him the easy shot.

"When everybody does their job, sometimes it makes just one of us look good," McClain told me, "but if you were really looking, you'd see it was a team effort."

I saw a Mark Ingram, a running back, take in a pass and go the distance. He then did not jog, but ran back up the field to hug a receiver who made the key block that made it possible. No end-zone dance for him. He simply wanted to thank the real hero that never got a stat for it.

This is Alabama football in its purest form. The team with all the championships and no Heisman champions. It's team ball or, if you want to call it that, 'Bama ball.

As long as this team has this mindset, there is nothing for opponents to do but worry. Well, they could always worry a lot.