MIXED DAY FOR THE TIDE

Tide rolls over the Gamecocks 47-23...

    The Alabama fanbase loves to yell Roll Tide Roll.  We might want to add "and thank heaven for Tua." On a hot and humid Saturday afternoon, the Crimson Tide slowly beat down the game South Carolina Gamecocks. Once again the Tide showed tremendous promise and glaring problems. That is the dichotomy of Tide football. The promise is built around a gifted QB and the best four wideouts who have ever played together. Whether the problems with the offensive and defensive lines can be fixed remains the question. 

    Going into the  Carolina game it was thought that Alabama might have found some answers on the defensive side. After giving up 86 offensive plays to Carolina it seems that there are more answers to be found.  If you give an offense 86 chances to score you can bet your bottom dollar your opponent is going to score. USC scored 23. That is far more than Tide fans wanted to see, but keep in mind that one of those touchdowns came at games end against non-starters. But we also have to keep in mind that the vast majority of those 86 plays came against first-team defenders. Nick Saban even replaced one of his two freshman linebackers. A freshman quarterback riddled the Tide's defense for 

     Defensive coaches seemed unable to make changes to help their players. The defense was on the heels most of the game but only gave up one touchdown when it mattered. On the other hand, Carolina made 6 trips inside the Tide 30-yard line. USC had 459 yards in total offense and made 31 first downs. It wasn't senior that racked up that yardage for the Gamecocks. It was a freshman Quarterback riddled the Tide secondary and linebackers for all that yardage. It might very well be the case that the best Tide defense is the Tide offense.

    In all honesty, even though no one wants to hear this, the Tide defense seemed confused. The Tide has two games to find some answer to the defensive problems. Southern Miss is next. Then comes Ole Miss. Alabama should win those games, and then we find out whether the Tide is ready for prime time when they travel to College Station. Two games to find some winners on the offensive and defensive lines. I know that many like to say the Tide's running game is a part of a short pass game. I don't buy that. I believe that Saban wants a line that can open some holes for the running backs. The linebacker problem is real and is likely to come more apparent in the future. Southern Miss likes to throw the rock, and the young 'backer corp needs to step it up. 

    Winning by the pass will work until it doesn't Somewhere down the schedule a coach is going to figure out a way to slow down Tua. They may not stop the lefty but to reduce his effectiveness will make the Tide run game important. I have faith that our coaches will make these problems better. Can they up the offensive and defensive line to national championship standards. I don't know.  When you beat an SEC foe on the road by 24 points it says a lot of positive things about your offense.  My bet is that there are going to be some tense weekends for Tide fans. LSU, Auburn, and Texas A&M are teams that can play. Mississippi State isn't a pushover. I believe that four of the best 5 teams in the Southeastern Conference play in the Western Division. The Tide might very well win the West but I don't think they can dominate. And the kicking game had its problems as well. All teams have problems. Having problems isn't unique. Injuries take a toll on a team, changing coaches hurts, have so many juniors leave early is bound to hurt some season. 

THE GOOD: Tua and the wideouts, McKinney and Diggs in the secondary.

THE BAD: The running game was missing in action. The Tide linebackers.

THE UGLY: One Alabama punt traveled 14 yards. 14 yards? Seriously? A missed extra point.

    My friends tell me that Tua will play again for the Tide next season. I hope they are correct. Roll Tide and Thank Heaven for Tua.