Alabama's Win Does Little to Calm the Faithful's Fears; Tide Just Not Rolling

Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer) Last night Alabama played a team that lost to a sub division Jacksonville State team that is mired in one of their worst seasons in a while. They should have rolled over them easily, but they didn't.

The Tide may have won, but they are far from rolling.

The two most touted backs in all of college football in one backfield were held to 60 and 45 yards respectively. Their hefty six and eight yards a carry are now down to barely four.

Since their anointing as "Fast and Furious", they have become "Flat and Flabbergasted", and that leaves Alabama fans wondering why?

Are they victims of "clutter" that Saban warned the team about. That's Saban's term for distractions. Did they get caught up in their illusions of grandeur?

While some of that is possible, it could be that the long schedule and grind through the SEC has caught up to a team that is finally on the bad side of the injury bug.

The Tide has six starters hobbling around with varying degrees of injuries. Some like Marcel Dareus, James Carpenter and Julio Jones have tried to gut it out while others like right tackle D.J. Fluker had to take the night off to try and heal a leg injury.

You don't run as well with your two tackles limping.

This is a team in need of a bye week and a chance to recover, regroup and refocus on the remaining schedule ahead and the daunting task of facing two more top 10 teams in the coming weeks.

For Alabama fans though, there was a bright spot. The defense seemed to return holding a team that averages 32 points per game to only 10, or less than one third their average.

And Greg McElroy continued to shine, spreading the ball to eight different receivers and avoided for the most part, the sacks that plagued him last week with timely scrambles and balls throw away.

If they can get through next week's road game at Tennessee without further injury and then rest up for the gantlet run of LSU, Mississippi State, who just upset Florida, and Auburn, they may have a chance for redemption from an earlier season loss to South Carolina.

The only thing working in the Tide's favor for that stretch may be that the teams they are playing are beat up and tired as well.

Something needs to re-awake this team and Saban is working feverishly to find it.

Though last night's game ended with a win, it seemed like a game where the huge favorite, Alabama, was simply going through the motions.

Saban is emphasizing to the team that they need to dominate their opponent. Though they did win, it was hardly a dominating performance.

Is this an Alabama team that is reverting to the old habit of only rising to occasion against a top team? That is something Saban had hoped was long gone, but now seems possible.

To get back into the national title hunt Alabama will need some luck, some help from other schools, but mostly to shake this funk that they're in right now.

They need to start rolling again.