Under Saban, Bama has featured running, but it’s at least a viable theory to say that we’ve done that because that’s where our talent has been. Now we’re signing top QBs and top receivers and that talent balance may be about to shift.

Last year we had Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson as running backs, and Greg McElroy as QB. Nothing against McElroy, because he’s a pretty decent QB, but you see where the weight of the talent lies. Nevertheless we threw about 30 times a game.

Every indication has been that Saban’s desire has been to build a balanced offense. Like I said in my initial post above, the team has all the pieces except for a top QB, and I expect the Tide’s passing game to take a larger role in the offense once that piece is in place – which is only a matter of time, and hopefully not much of it.

p.s. I’m not the world’s biggest fan of Nick Saban as a human being, but I don’t think “shady” really has any basis in fact. The man may be an asshole, but he’s up-front about it. I’ve been watching pretty closely since he has been at Alabama, and everything I’ve seen from him on the ethics and integrity front has been pretty admirable.

Yeah, there are some questions about how he left Miami, but you know Huizenga, who knows more about the matter than you or I, gave Saban has blessing to leave after they talked privately. And really, it’s kind of not doable to be a successful coach somewhere you don’t want to be.

I don’t wave that affair off entirely, but neither do I draw too many conclusions about. I simply don’t know what went on behind the scenes; I don’t know what discussions Saban and Huizenga had at the beginning or at the end of that Miami job, and I don’t know what kind of discussions Saban had with his wife. Given how up-front and honest Saban has seemed at Alabama, I’m not convinced that he was the weasely back-stabbing bastard then that the media made him out to be.

I would still take Florida, Texas, or USC in the Heisman tally for the next decade.

(I had to throw in that barb. I detest Nick Saban.)

So whattadya take, history or recent events? As for me, I’ll put my money on Bama players winning Heismans this decade vs any other single team, even Notre Dame, even (gasp) USC. I’d almost bet straight up that we get at least two more – almost but not quite.