The state of the program...

It's that time of year again, when fans selectively bury the bad memories and obvious weaknesses revealed from the previous season, and focus on recruiting, spring practice, early enrollments, and next season. But, no matter how far you bury them, and under what material they are buried, Alabama has some very obvious weaknesses that will continue to plague the 2009 season.  In addition, the initial Saban onslaught has been absorbed and the rest of the league is starting to catch up.

The impact of Alabama's offensive line losses cannot be underestimated.  Because of greed, avarice, and the selfish pursuit of "cribs," fans were given a rare gift of clairvoyance in seeing the next offensive line.  The result, 8 sacks and completely ineffective pass blocking.  In the absence of some JUCO replacements, 2009 will resemble the notoriously porous offensive lines of the Mike Shula era.  Combine that with a new quarterback that this author feels very strongly will be JPW incarnate, and the big, athletic defensive lines of rival teams appear ominously on the horizon.

Despite a #1 recruiting class last year, and at least a top 10 spot this year, Alabama remains paper thin at many key positions.  Other SEC teams, such as LSU, Florida, and Georgia, have secured top 10 recruiting classes for 5 years during Alabama's probation/Mike Shula period, and are only now emerging as consistent winners with adequate depth and experience.  Despite a ridiculous "win now' mentality, it will take at least 2-3 more years to get to a level at which Alabama can consistently challenge on a national stage - a bit earlier in the SEC.  Any other opinions on that matter are complete and utter nonsense.  

Saban's return to college football at Alabama took the league, and nation, by storm.  His quick success in recruiting and on the field forced rival schools to reevaluate their coaching timelines and make some tough personnel decisions.  In the detritus of this reevaluation, four succcessful SEC coaches are now unemployed.  At first, Alabama benefited from this vacuum and took advantage of the coaching chaos in dominating recruiting and beating some teams in flux on the field.  Unfortunately, the league has been forced to react to the "Saban factor" and hire coaches that can compete with his work ethic and success.  Tennessee has hired a high-potential young coach that brought in some high quality assistants that will rally the talent that is already on the roster.  They have also added Ed Orgeron to the mix, who is considered a fantastic recruiter in all circles.  LSU took advantage of the Tennessee shake-up by hiring John Chavis, who will undoubtedly turn LSUs taciturn defense into a dominant force.  Any stupid comments by Alabama people regarding the weaknesses of Tennessee's defense the last 2 years have forgotten the 12-2 record they amassed over the previous 14 games.  While Auburn seemingly made a temporary hire in Gene Chizik, he is only a economical gap-filler until Petrino or some other coach on the short list can be hired.

The transition of Houston Nutt to Ole Miss will have strategic impacts in the SEC West.  Nutt is Saban' equal in coaching, preparation, and play calling, and is at least his equal in motivation. Furthermore, he has plenty of talent and a good QB to challenge the SEC's elite teams.  With him at the helm, Ole Miss will join LSU as the bane of Alabama's existence.  

The short-lived euphoria of Saban's SEC conquest is over.  Other teams are slowly catching up in coaching and recruiting.  Other teams are discovering that Saban's offenses aren't really that good or effective, and that in at least one game a season Alabama will be unprepared to play.  They are also discovering that the roster is still paper-thin and that there are ways of overcoming the starting 22.  They have figured out that Alabama's kicking game is the worst in the league if not the nation, and that although exciting, the return game is dependant on taking dangerous risks that sometimes are disastrous.  Fans will continue to base everything on wins and losses to Auburn and other rivals out of their preeminent desire to boast to other rival fans, but the recurring issues at Alabama are far more important. 

Saban's process will continue to develop, and Alabama will continue to improve.  So will other teams, under equally good coaches and staffs.  The gap that was temporarily formed this season will rapidly close, and all the same issues at Alabama will be the cause.  Unless the process addresses these issues, the gap will disappear completely.   Remember, all glory is fleeting.