Piecemeal from Chizik

Hey everyone. Just finished a short chat with Gene Chizik.

You probably care about 2.2% of what was discussed.

a.) Chizik said a legit, real, for-sure evaluation of Zac Etheridge's ability to play football will happen in mid-to-late July. Etheridge has been participating in non-contact workouts for a while now. He also has been lifting weights.

``He's made some progress. He really has," Chizik said. ``As far as medical details -- is he going to be able to do x, y and z -- we'll make a further, more detailed assessment in mid to late July."

b.) Chizik dismissed talk that playing opponents coming off an off week is a tougher endeavor. He wasn't talking directly about Alabama's situation -- the Tide will play six consecutive games against teams that were off the week before -- but it was an interesting plot twist nonetheless.

``You know what? If the team plays really well, the team that had to week off beforehand, then it's: Boy, they had two weeks. If they play really bad, and I've been on that end, it's: Boy they're rusty because they took the time off. It really is how who wants to spin it spins it. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad."