BLAWGIN' FER YER NAWGIN: Gene Chizik speaks

Hey everyone. Let's boogie.

• He arrived at 11:34. Four minutes late.
  
  
• On being good in the zone de red: ``Down there, we have executed well. Gus does a great job. We have been productive when we get down there. Hopefully we'll have another great plan. It'll be more difficult this week than most weeks to get it in the end zone."
  
  
• On last year's film: ``You want to look at it and see what went on. Uh, 36-0 was the final result. There were opportunities in the game that were missed. That's pretty much what you see. Alabama did a great job. Both teams were physical. When you get in these rivalries, the physical nature of the game has to be on both sides of the ball. Alabama's not going to try to trick anybody. They're going to do what they do -- and try to be more physical."
  
  
• This year's matchup: ``We've had our moments when we played physical football. We've had times when we didn't."
  
  
• On players talking about 2008's game: ``We're not living in the past. This is a new time, a different year. This game won't be any different in terms of the fact that we have to do what we do better than what they do. Last year's game? We've moved on."
  
  
• On if he's worried about players dwelling on the 2008 game: "I didn't worry about the players when they were asked (early in the season) if things were going south because of what happened last year."
  
  
• What's at stake for Auburn?: ``Anytime you're playing a rivalry game, it has th epotential to have a bearing on recruiting. We're trying to prepare ourselves for a better bowl game. There's a lot to play for. This game is not an obligation; it's a privilege ... to play in. Somebody's going to do something, it'll go down in the record books and will never be forgotten. Happens every year."
  
  
• On the crispness of Auburn's offense: ``We feel like we need a fast start. The crispness of our offense potentially plays a role in that. We know we need to start fast."
  
  
• On Ben Tate saying he's the state's best back: ``I'm sure that it was very innocent. I wasn't there. I didn't hear it. Ben is a confident guy. He's also very complimentary of others. He was very complimentary of Mark as well. People can make that into what they want. Do I want all of our players to have confidence? Absolutely."
  
  
• Does Alabama have a championship team?: ``They have players. They're one of the teams that's a viable option to play in that game. I haven't seen everybody else out there. I don't know. I don't know who to compare them to."
  
  
• On Antonio Coleman: ``You've seen a better player over the last three weeks to a month. He was basically playing with one hand. For a defensive linemen, that's a tough situation. Never complained. Just worked hard. He's come along and improved every week. He's overcome a lot of things this year, injury-wise, to contribute to our team."
  
  
• That's a wrap.
  
  

Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University

Questions? Comments? Post directly to the blog below or email me at jgtate@gannett.com.