Alabama Football: On runaway trains, best Tide teams and Playoff contenders

Alabama football coach, Nick Saban would label comparison of best Tide teams and discussion of 2018 Playoff opponents as rat poison.

Alabama football fans, this is not following the Crimson Tide party-line. All of us have been directed to center our attention on the weaknesses of the 2018 Alabama football team.

As always, Nick Saban is correct. The Crimson Tide has weaknesses. And they are no minor weak links. Depth on defense is a major issue, particularly at inside linebacker and on the defensive line. Special teams play is another glaring weakness with poor punting and inconsistent placekicking. A third area for concern is run-blocking, that at best, has been far below championship quality.

Stepping back from gloom and doom, allows Alabama football fans to acknowledge no team in CFB is devoid of weaknesses. Like the Crimson Tide, all the other top teams are unfinished products. All the very good teams, who escape with no major injuries to key players, will get better, including the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Which brings us back to speculation of just how good this Crimson Tide can be. There is a rapidly forming consensus the 2018 Tide is Saban’s best offensive team ever. Among Alabama football fans, there is chatter the 2018 Tide offense can be better than any of Bryant’s 1960s and 1970s national championship teams. Most of us who saw those Bryant teams play agree the current chatter has merit.

On Monday, Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports described Alabama football as,

"a terror set loose upon the land, looting and pillaging everything in its path. In a departure from the normal Nick Saban methodology of flairlessly choking the life out of opponents, this Crimson Tide team packs plenty of offensive pyrotechnics … and is on pace to smash the 73-year-old school record for season scoring average."

Forde will get no debate from us. Largely because Tua is that good. As in potentially being the best Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback ever. He is not there yet and no one can know if he will ever win a Super Bowl. But as just a college QB, Tua has the opportunity to be compared with the Tide’s three best ever, Harry Gilmer, Joe Namath and Kenny Stabler.

Forde went on to say, the runaway train of Alabama football has few challengers to a 2018 national championship. He states Oklahoma, Penn State, Notre Dame, Auburn and UCF have no chance to beat the Tide. He doesn’t give anyone else a strong chance either but does not rule out Ohio State and Clemson, maybe even LSU.

Forde and many others are projecting CFB Playoff fields. Any early projection is suspect. There are just too many variables. The Bama Hammer staff will chip in our thoughts after week five since the regular season will be nearing the halfway point.

We expect Pat Forde’s quote above will be just as accurate for at least the next five weeks of the season. Unlike Forde, we don’t see LSU as a big threat.