WHERE DOES THE TIDE STAND?

IS BAMA AS GOOD AS ADVERTISED...

 

      Four games into this young season the Crimson Tide is 4-0.  They have scored a total of 168 points and given up only 21. That is 42 points a game on the offensive end and giving up only 5.25 per game on defense. By anyone's measurements those are lofty numbers.

   

      Just for the record those numbers translate into #3 in the nation in total defense behind Texas Tech and and Florida State. Texas Tech is #1? That won't last. Florida State has given up 184 yards per game. That is 1 yard less than Alabama. After watching Clemson slam the highly publicized Seminole defense,  I can see the Seminoles falling from grace as well. This weekend the Tide hosts the Ole Miss Rebels. They are averaging 488 yards per game. Don't count on the Rebels matching that number. Incidently, Alabama is not in the top 50 in offense. I have no doubt the Tide would be near the top if they played their first team for more than 2 and 1/2 quarters.

 

     So just how good is the # 1 ranked team in the NCAA?  I don't think we know yet. We probably won't know much more after the Ole Miss game. The truth is this - the Tide hasn't played a really good team. That's no fault on their part. We all thought Michigan was a really good team. Notre Dame proved otherwise. Arkansas is a team that has fallen apart. Western Kentucky beat Kentucky. That's a good win for them, but beating the Wildcats in football is no big deal.

 

    The current CBS and ESPN talking point is that LSU, Alabama, and perhaps Oregon were separating themselves from the rabble. Southern California had their annual meltdown against someone else, namely Stanford again, and Lane Kiffin is starting to grate on the nerves of the press. That is hard to believe in a town where crazy and totally insane is normal. Everyone believed that LSU would go to Auburn and beat them like a drum. It didn't happen. The Tigers went toe to toe with LSU only too lose a heartbreaker 12-10.  The Bayou Bengals appear to be great on defense. LSU has of similarities to Alabama on defense. The Tide has gotten leadership and performance from A.J. McCarron. Zach Mettenburger showed he wasn't ready for prime time, however. The Georgia transfer looked pretty bad. The Tiger defense chased him all night long. When they couldn't sack him they hurried him into a lot of bad passes. Auburn stacked the box early and often, then dared LSU to beat them through the air. It didn't happen. With LSU struggling with their passing game,  the Tiger defense was able to slow down the vaunted Bayou Bengal running game. An early safety was the difference.

 

     I thought Auburn was a pretty bad team. I still don't think they are very good, and they are finally getting something out of their considerble talent. Now the questions arises among Alabama fans - is LSU a good team or not?  Is Auburn better than we thought?  Auburn has played three good teams in Clemson, LM, and LSU. They lost 2 of those games. They could have won each however. LSU marched through their early games like they might actually be the best team in America. The first decent team they played almost beat them. Granted it was in Auburn and it was a road game. We all know their are no pit stops on the road in the SEC. Auburn has a history of playing the stripes of the Bengals. Last weekend they almost pulled off a significant upset. At least I think they did. But I'm not really sure. If LSU and Auburn don't improve on offense there looms some losses for both teams. Let's apply the same standard for Alabama. Who has the Tide played? Has the young defense really played anyone who could actually test them. When you look at the Alabama offense the first thing I notice is that rushing yards are not exactly exploding. The Tide looks much better passing the ball. This is not a good the way Nick Saban wants to win. Saban wants his offensive line and runnn backs to pulverize defenses.

 

     Alabama hasn't come close to losing or even having been pushed in any way so far. You look at the Tide schedule and you wonder when will that happen. After hosting the Rebels this weekend, the Tide then plays three out of the next four games on the road - Missouri, Tennessee, and finally LSU I've seen Missouri and Tennessee. It would take a monumental effort by either to beat the Tide. Then comes Mississippi State.  State is vastly improved and hard as nail. They are physical. That game is no pushover, particularly when LSU is on deck. As a Tide fan I hope that Mettenburger doesn't improve before the showdown in Deaf Valley. My point is this - four games into the season isn't enough to declare the Tide unbeatable. Even though I believe that the Tide can go undefeated they haven't played anyone who put up a fight. Or perhaps they did put up a fight and were simply battered to death by a superior Tide.

 

     As a Tide fan I always want to believe our team just puts on the Crimson jerseys, at which point the other team rolls over like a possum.  As a Tide fan I also have a high anxiety level. I constantly think about a game where we have 6 turnovers, and A.J. McCarron falls apart.  Now, neither of those things are likely to happen but Tide fans worry.  We worry out of habit. High expectations will do that to a fan base. When your teams has had 14 national championships, won more SEC titles than you have digits to count them on, and have had coaches like Wade, Thomas, Bryant, Stallings,  and Saban high expectations are normal. So here I am on September 26th worrying about whether or not we really are the #1 team in the nation. Other than LSU there doesn't appear to be any team that can beat the Tide. If Mettenburger is the reincarnation of Jefferson they may not be as good as we think. As usual the Tiger are open the week before the Alabama and they are in Deaf Valley. It seems that every team has an open week before Alabama doesn't it? That's just one more thing to worry about.

 

 

 

 

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