Hawaii Wrapup: With a corner turned, Hawaii win raises questions

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Hawaii Wrapup: With a corner turned, Hawaii win raises questions
by Jess Nicholas
Sept. 3, 2006

There’s a saying that the most improvement a college football team makes is between its first and second games. Well, let’s hope that’s true.

Although any win should be considered a good win on opening night – ask New Mexico and Colorado, who lost to Division-IAA programs Portland State and Montana State, respectively – if Alabama did indeed turn a corner in 2005, then the way in which Alabama wins games against overmatched opponents is almost as important as the fact the game is won at all.

It all depends on which definition of the word “back” you ascribe to Alabama. Alabama is definitely “back” in some degree, fresh off a 10-2 season and with the monkey of the Tennessee series off its back (Alabama has split the last four games with UT 2-2). Alabama, though, is not “back” in the sense that the Crimson Tide automatically mashes mid-major opponents and only goes to the fourth quarter with the game in peril against one of the SEC’s other top-flight programs.

As opponents go, Hawaii was essentially on the level of the Southern Miss teams Alabama is accustomed to facing early in the year – although, Alabama played this game backwards from the way the Crimson Tide played most games against USM before that series ended. Rather than let Southern Miss take an early lead and wear the Golden Eagles down as the game went along – which is exactly what Florida did Saturday in their defeat of USM – Alabama got up 22-3 on the Warriors before holding on for dear life at the end.

The question for Alabama fans is this: Would you, if presented with the opportunity, take a team in 2006 that was no better or worse than the 2005 team? Many would say no, seeking year-over-year improvement, but the smart answer would be yes, since the 2006 team isn’t thought to be as good as its immediate predecessor.

So is the 2006 team as good as the 2005 team? Early results are mixed.

In a comparison of bad and good, the good was easily seen. Quarterback John Parker Wilson, in his first start, underthrew some balls but as debuts go, this one was about as good as you can get. Wilson had the poise of a senior and the confidence to match. He also showed off two of the attributes that will make him more dangerous to opponents with each start: Incredible field vision, and the ability to improvise under pressure.

If Alabama fans were expecting a straight-up replacement for Brodie Croyle, they should adjust their expectations, considering Croyle was good enough to beat out veteran quarterback Jeff Smoker and promising youngster Casey Printers to make the Kansas City Chiefs’ NFL squad. But if all they wanted out of Wilson was a solid performance, they got that and more.

Other good signs included tight ends Travis McCall and Nick Walker, wide receiver Keith Brown, fullbacks Le’Ron McClain and Tim Castille, and a pack of freshmen headlined by kick returner Javier Arenas, cornerback Marquis Johnson and placekicker Leigh Tiffin. Others who were either redshirt freshmen or who simply haven’t played much up until now included wide-receiver-turned-defensive-end Ezekial Knight, linebacker Zach Schreiber, linebacker Marcel Stamps and perhaps the most exciting debut of all, middle linebacker Prince Hall, for whom Hawaii had no answer.

But final score aside, there were easily as many negatives as positives. Once again, Alabama’s offensive line couldn’t run block against an inferior defensive line when the chips were down. The performance turned in by Kenneth Darby was disappointing to the point of being embarrassing, and little of it was his own fault. As with several games in 2005, Darby often found himself getting the ball and a pair of defenders in the backfield simultaneously.

Defensively, Alabama’s linebackers were somewhat AWOL with the exception of Hall. Juwan Simpson had nine tackles but the quantity outweighed the quality. Perhaps more disturbing was the erratic play of the safeties. It’s hard to tell who was missed more in this game, DeMeco Ryans at linebacker or Roman Harper at free safety.

Still, it’s a win. And regardless of Vanderbilt’s tough showing against Michigan, Alabama should by all rights sink the Commodores next week and then dismantle Louisiana-Monroe the following week. The first real test should be an Arkansas team on the road that for the second straight year got filleted by the Southern Cal Trojans.

Alabama fans were certainly hoping the 2006 Crimson Tide would hit the field and blow expectations out of the water. That didn’t happen. Whether you believe it’s still possible depends on how easy you think it will be to fix the problems that reared their head in this game.