Alabama Has Yet to Live Up to Its Full Potential

Alabama is 10-0.  They are the SEC Western Division Champions.  The Tide is ranked number one in the nation in all the polls.  And the scary thing for their opponents is that despite playing this well, the Crimson Tide has yet to play up to its full potential.

The destruction of Tennessee came close.  The wins over Clemson and Georgia were headline grabbing and the win over LSU was simply satisfying.  This is a team that can be great in quarters and spurts but still has not played 60 minutes of Nick Saban football.

Take last night's game at LSU for example.  When the Tide had to stop LSU, they did.  Rashad Johnson's pick off in the end zone was a defining moment.  Then Alabama simply marched the final 25 yards of the game and finished them off. When they had to, they simply "turned it on" and the game was over.

So why does the Tide, who clearly can do it when they have to, been unable to sustain it for 60 minutes?  And is it a goal that is unattainable?  Not if you talk to Saban or for that matter the players as well.

Through all the shining moments that each great player has had, there have been moments they'd sooner forget than be shown on replay.  But so far the team has survived John Parker Wilson's off games, Coffee's and Arenas' fumbles, the secondary's blown coverages, the dropped passes and the line's missed blocks and tackles.

So if every every player has had bad moments, is it going to be ongoing problem or is it just getting them out their system before the crucial games that lie ahead?

ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit has made numerous comments to the extent of "When Alabama puts it all together in one game, there's not a team in the country that can deal with it."  Other writers and commentators have said very similar things. 

No one is so silly to think they are "saving it" for Florida or a National Championship Game.  If they could, they'd do it every game.  But if the team does get it all together for those two games then they will indeed prove to be too much for one team to handle. 

John Parker Wilson sums it up for all his team mates when he recently said, "We know we can get better.  Just because we're undefeated doesn't mean we're where we want to be right now.  We will shrug off these mistakes."

If he's right, it spells serious trouble for any team that lines up against them.  Whether or not it ever happens remains to be seen, but knowing Nick Saban and the will of this team, there is always a possibility.