As embarrassing as Alabama football's overall performance was in Saturday's 31-17 loss to Florida State , there were some impressive individual efforts — most notably from wide receiver Germie Bernard . The senior recorded eight receptions for 146 yards as one of the Crimson Tide's few bright spots. His overall play, including blocking, was praised by offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb on Monday. That makes him one of the few players who are in a strong position to be critical of teammates this week as UA prepares for its home opener against Louisiana-Monroe this weekend.
The way Bernard tells it, the team's leaders aren't waiting around for coaches to get on the case of a player who isn't giving maximum effort.
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"We all love each other. We all want the best for each other, but we're not going to allow one guy to stop us from getting to our goals. So, holding each other accountable, that's what it's going to take," Bernard said. "Being able to be on your brother, yell at your brother if you need to. They know it's all love at the end of the day."
The entire UA defense could use a talking-to after FSU rolled up 230 rushing yards against an experienced collection of defenders that was supposed to be the Crimson Tide 's strong suit. There were far too many missed tackles and instances where UA defenders were caught out of position. Lawson said Deontae Lawson , Ty Simpson , Parker Brailsford , Kadyn Proctor and himself have been among the most vocal players in the locker room this week.
"This (opponent) is trying to stop you from feeding your family. Are you fixing to let them stop you from feeding your family? No, I can't let that happen," Bernard added. "Everybody's got to play with that edge. That's what I'm trying to bring to the guys."
Added tight end Josh Cuevas: "We have that culture in our program to not be uncomfortable calling each other out."
That can only be a good thing after a non-competitive loss like Saturdays.
The Crimson Tide (0-1) plays host to Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday (6:45 p.m., SEC Network).
Reach Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X @chasegoodbread.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football WR Germie Bernard: 'If it takes yelling ... yell'
