Alabama Football: Can the Crimson Tide avoid another 2021?
The 2021 season was one of the most inconsistent and stressful years of the Nick Saban era for Alabama football fans. While the Tide still managed to finish the regular season with an 11-1 record, it was something of a miraculous achievement considering how flawed the team proved to be when compared to past Alabama teams.
In its conference opener and first road trip of the season, Alabama received a serious scare from Florida but escaped the Swamp with a 31-29 win. The Gators ended up being mediocre at best, and many of the issues that Alabama displayed during the game (which was initially chalked up to being an “off day”) turned out to be chronic.
The Florida game looked like a fluke when Alabama dominated Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss to go to 5-0, but it shockingly dropped a game to Texas A&M the very next week. From that point on, it was abundantly clear that the 2021 Alabama football team was far from invulnerable.
Tennessee gave the Tide problems for three quarters, before an average LSU team and a solid Arkansas team both took Alabama to the wire in Tuscaloosa. Struggles of this ilk were unfamiliar to Tide fans. Under Nick Saban, Alabama has reliably eviscerated average and even good teams when it plays within the confines of Bryant-Denny Stadium.
A week after the Arkansas shootout, the Crimson Tide played another nail-biter in the Iron Bowl. An Auburn team that was believed to be an afterthought proved to actually be in wounded-animal mode, and took Alabama to four overtimes in a last-ditch effort to salvage its season.
As we know, Alabama went on to lose the national championship game. Those who understand the turmoil that the 2021 team faced realize that just getting there was an impressive feat. But Alabama football does not celebrate runner-up seasons or participation trophies, ultimately making the 2021 campaign a failure.
Through the first two weeks of the 2022 season, Alabama has shown a lot of the same issues it displayed last season. Its narrow win over Texas has many parallels to the 2021 team’s escape from Gainesville. Unlike typical Nick Saban teams, last year’s squad was unable to take an early scare and turn it into a motivational learning experience. Some of the warts it showed in that early season game proved to be embedded in the fabric of the team, and were never truly resolved.
The 2022 Alabama football team appears to have more experience, leadership, depth, and continuity than its predecessor. There are not visible distractions, nor concerns with chemistry, focus, or effort in the Alabama locker room.
Next. Tide focused on getting better. dark
This team has to make sure that it grows from this experience and does not allow a repeat of 2021.