TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Patience is an agonizing virtue, especially in football.

After eclipsing the 5,000-yard mark for the first time in the Nick Saban era and returning the Heisman-Trophy winner Bryce Young, the expectation bar was raised that much higher coming into the 2022 season.

However the old cliché rings true, every year is a new year improbable to compare season-to-season production no matter how hard we try.

Facts are that Alabama had to replace more than 3,100 yards of production when Jameson Williams, John Metchie III and Slade Bolden left for the NFL. As a result, Alabama went into the transfer portal and brought in Jermaine Burton and Tyler Harrell to compliment a wide receiver room of JoJo Earle, Ja'Corey Brooks, and Traeshon Holden.

The Crimson Tide didn't stop there, adding a five-man receiver class consisting of five-star talent Aaron Anderson as well as fellow speedsters Isaiah Bond, Kendrick Law, Kobe Prentice and Shazz Preston. Even with Earle and Harrell missing time due to injuries, Alabama still has a bevy of talent, but it hasn't come together yet.

"We have enough good players, " Nick Saban said. "I think good players have to make good choices and decisions about how they do their job, the discipline they play with. Everybody can’t have one my-bad. Everybody can’t have one loaf. We were running RPO and the receiver runs the route half speed. The quarterback is stuck. He didn’t know what to do. So all these things are correctable but all these things need to be fixed.

"We need to do these things on a more consistent basis and the players have to respect those facts in terms of respecting what it takes to win. If they’re willing to do that, we’ll get better and they’ll get better and create more value for themselves and we’ll have a better team. I do think we need to do that.”

Through three games this season, Alabama has completed one pass for more than 20 yards when Cam Latu snagged a 38-yard reception by leaping over a ULM defender. It was the first completion of 20 yards or more in seven tries, good for a 14.3% completion rate, which according to Pro Football Focus ties Young for 163rd in the nation while sporting a 52.3 deep ball grade.

It's a far drop from when he was ranked third in the nation last season with a 95.8 deep ball grade, tallying more than 1,000 yards and 14 touchdowns with passes 20 yards or more.

While it may not have all come together on the field Saturday, Jordan Battle sees the potential of this year's wide receiver room.

"We have guys on the offensive end that are very explosive," Battle said. "Guys like Jermaine (Burton), who run. Guys like Traeshon (Holden), who is a good route-runner. Guys like Ja'Corey (Brooks), he's been getting more involved lately. Just seeing those guys in practice go hard every day, I know they have the potential to be what they can be. They're very fast guys who catch the ball and can run the routes. Just trying to use them in the offense will be good in the future."

Alabama had its most consistent offensive performance to date against the Warhawks, tallying more than 500 yards of total offense in the win.

The Crimson Tide will have another golden opportunity to showcase how explosive its offense can be when it opens up SEC play with Vanderbilt.

The Commodores have allowed more than 274 passing yards per game through three weeks, good for 13th in the SEC.

"It’s something we all need to work on, just making big plays," Traeshon Holden said. "I feel like it’s a working process and y’all going to see it soon."