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The key question on the minds of Alabama fans in Year Two of the Mike Shula regime: Is the program cycling upward or will 2004 simply be a season for treading water?
A drop to second-tier status in the SEC has been hard to accept in the Heart of Dixie. An indication of what two sets of major NCAA sanctions have done to this proud program: Alabama has more losing seasons (three) during the past nine years than it has Jan. 1-or-better bowl appearances (two) or SEC championships (one).
The Crimson Tide will have to show a modicum of progress -- against a quantifiably easier schedule -- to mount its first bowl-eligible campaign since 2001.
Shula's 4–9 debut season, the program's highest loss total since 1955, can be interpreted in shades of gray, particularly since his May hiring in the wake of the Mike Price scandal cost the staff valuable practice time.
The 2003 team already was thin in key spots and suffered damaging injuries or personnel losses at quarterback, offensive line, defensive line and linebacker.
That it still managed four wins with several heartbreaking losses is a tribute to its competitive spirit. That it endured clock-cleanings against Georgia, Ole Miss and LSU, lost at Auburn, gave away a game against Tennessee and dropped five of its last six shows that Shula and company must reinstill the will to win with a group that had its confidence rocked.
Shula made no on-the-field staff changes during the winter in an attempt to restore continuity to a program beset with tumult. The loss of 21 scholarships in the past three classes has thinned the ranks, but Alabama signed what most deem its strongest class in six years, and those freshmen were sold on the idea of early playing time. "We're going to be a young team," Shula said. "But some of those guys have some experience from last year. The premium is going to be on finding out in a hurry which [freshmen] can help us and getting them in the two-deep."
The 38-year-old Shula must show he's maturing in this most cutthroat of leagues. He needs to avoid short-sighted decisions such as inserting injured quarterback Brodie Croyle with a 27-point deficit at Georgia, only to watch Croyle re-aggravate his injury a couple of plays later.
"What we have to get done, get better at, is when we're in close games we have to find out some way to come out on top," Shula said.
On the positive side, Croyle should be healthy again after battling through left shoulder injuries all last season. Croyle should improve on his 16-to-13 touchdown-to-interception ratio with Miami transfer Marc Guillon bucking for playing time.
Ray Hudson leads a deep array of tailbacks, while Tim Castille, a superb pass-catcher, is expected to split time at fullback and tailback.
All-America candidate Wesley Britt's return to left tackle from a broken leg, plus personnel shuffling, make the offensive line a stress point.
The undersized receiving corps should be bolstered by a handful of true freshmen. The tight end slot is deep, but the top three missed spring with injuries.
The Crimson Tide have three good options at defensive tackle in Anthony Bryant, Jeremy Clark and Dominic Lee, while veterans Todd Bates and Mark Anderson lead a thin group on the ends.
Ramzee Robinson's rise at cornerback opposite Anthony Madison allowed the staff to look at former corner Charlie Peprah at free safety, where Roman Harper departed to man the strong side. Without a pure lockdown corner, however, Alabama cannot afford to play as much man-to-man coverage, keeping its safeties less aggressive versus the run. The ranks are thin in the secondary, so a quartet of freshmen will have ample opportunity to grab a spot on the two-deep.
Punter Bo Freelend could be one of the league's best if he discovers consistency. Place-kicking snafus cost 'Bama two potential game-winning field goals and other missed kicks, though Brian Bostick still looks like the kicker to beat.
Alabama could not find the killer instinct in Shula's debut, and lost every close game it was in. It would be fair to suggest the Tide should perform better in the clutch in year two of this regime.
Playmakers must rise up from the returnees as well as the true freshman class to help Croyle take this offense out of the mundane. Limited injuries and lots of good fortune could produce seven or more wins and a middle-tier SEC bowl; another spate of injuries, lack of cohesion on the offensive line and freshmen not ready to produce could spell another disaster.
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