Word: bryants
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...Bryant controls the substitutions himself. The rolled-up sheets of paper he clutches on the sidelines, containing notes to himself and lists of alternate squads, are as much a symbol of his stadium persona as his jaunty houndstooth hat. Says he: "I want to have my best offensive and defensive units rested and fresh just before the half. I want them not to be worn down for the first five minutes of the second half, and I want them fresh for the last ten minutes of the game. These are the times that football games are won or lost...
...football, where the top coaches freely trade ideas and theories, a genius is a man who taps the common pool of knowledge and then prepares the best for a game. By that definition, Bryant is a genius. Says Paul Dietzel, athletic director at Louisiana State: "One of his favorite expressions is that 'it's the itty-bitty, teeny-tiny things that beat you.' He'll rehearse problems that might arise in a game over and over again...
They tell the story in the S.E.C. that Bryant has a game plan for a hurricane in the first quarter, a flood in the second, a drought in the third and an eagle swooping down to block a field goal in the fourth. Reminded of the tale, Bryant chuckles, but does not deny it. "Well," the voice rumbles, "we do try to be prepared...
...Bryant has worn down his critics-or outcoached and outlived them. He now seems somehow above the fray, a man who has left his past behind. And he has mellowed. His practices are no tougher and his teams tackle no more savagely than those of other top football schools, and the day is long past when he would yank a star quarterback out of a hospital bed and send him out to play. But just as in the old days, his players still regard him with awe that is tinged with fear. There is no physical intimidation, in the style...
Alabama Trainer Jim Goosetree, who has watched Bryant refine his approach in the past 22 years, puts it more precisely. Says he: "There is a degree of fear motivation still present in his personality. It's the fear of failing to live up to his expectations. He has recognized that the values of young people are different from what they were at one time; but in a fatherly way, he still demands a degree of discipline that is high...