Adam Griffith is the Crimson Tide’s place kicker. As many players, Griffith has his ups and downs. During the 2014 season, Griffith missed 7 out of his last 12 field goal attempts. As anyone who watches a little football knows, field goals can make the difference between a win and a loss. This year, he missed his first four.
After that, Griffith made five in a row. Then he missed two in a row. At one point this year, he was only 6 of 12 and 56% for his career at Alabama. During an interview, a reporter asked coach Nick Saban about Griffith’s inconsistencies. “Mentally, you have to have a positive attitude about what you’re doing,” Saban responded. “You have to believe in it. You have to trust it. You have to think, ‘What does it take to make this kick?’ And not think about ‘What’s going to happen if I miss?’ I think a lot of that is eliminating the negatives and focusing on the process of what you have to do to be consistent in what you’re doing” (AL.com). It was Griffith who missed a 57-yard field goal in 2013 which allowed Auburn to catch it and run for a touchdown – the so called “Kick Six.” At one point this year, Saban rebuked Alabama fans for being down on Griffith.
I wanted you to understand where Griffith was in order to understand what happened this past Saturday. For those who do not keep up with college football (or Alabama football), the game was between Alabama and LSU. LSU was ranked #2 in the College Football Playoff poll and Alabama was ranked #4. This game, then, was sort of a playoff game itself. It was very important.
Before going into halftime, the two schools were tied at 10. Alabama had the ball at LSU’s 37 yard line and it was 4th down. The question came up: “Do we punt it back to LSU or do we try a 55 yard field goal with Adam Griffith?” If they missed, they would give LSU good field position with a little time left on the clock (15 seconds) to help put LSU ahead for half-time. At first, Saban was going to go for the punt.
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Then, he called a time out. Saban asked Griffith, “Are you feeling good about this?” Griffith responded, “Yeah, sure, let’s try it.” Saban said, “Alright, go out there and do it” (montgomeryadvertiser.com). Adam did it – 55 yards. It was the second longest in Alabama history and the longest in 17 years. Griffith went on the make three out of three which helped propel Alabama over LSU.
I’ve related all of this to illustrate how important it is to continue to give each other second chances. A good coach believes in his team. He trusts them to put into practice what they have learned. He (or she) also has to give second chances. Don’t give up hope and confidence in each other. We all make mistakes; we all sin… sometimes quite consistently. But we need patience from one another. We need tolerance. We need encouragement.
God told us to forgive each other “seven times a day” (Luke 17:4). If God holds us to that standard, we should find comfort in the fact that He holds Himself to a higher standard. That does not mean we should tolerate sin. “Go and sin no more,” said the Savior of Second Chances (John 8:11). Preachers need to give second chances. Elders need to give second chances. Parents need to give second chances. Children need to give second chances.
