Nick Saban stopped himself before he said it.

He’s tired of listening to Alabama fans’ bullshit about the Crimson Tide’s less-than-stellar special teams play.

Per AL.com’s review of Saban’s Thursday night weekly radio appearance, the veteran coach believes in kicker Adam Griffith and All-American punter J.K. Scott and felt the need to defend the pair to an overzealous caller.

One remark in particular concerning Alabama’s so-so kicking game sent him over the edge:

“Aight, because all of your negative thoughts and all your, I hate to say it, I’m not going to say it. You know what I want to say. It starts with a ‘b’ and the second word starts with an ‘s’ about what you say about these guys really affects them in a negative way. It really affects them in a serious way. So you can do what you want to do, but I love them both and I rub their neck every day. I believe in them. I trust in them and they’re going to do a better job.

“And the biggest problem is people who criticize them and don’t think they have confidence in them, then the players are going to feel the same way.”

For the most part, high-profile coaches only take part in these weekly radio shows because it’s part of the contract, but when Saban has an opportunity to correct someone, he does it.

Second-ranked Alabama hosts Middle Tennessee on Saturday.