No worries, this pre-season prediction "Adelaide will slide" happens to Adelaide a lot, and you are no worse than many others.
Adelaide have to "manage" the transition as their previous best players start to retire in the coming few years. It has been happening for a while now though ... D Jarman, N Smart, B Hart, and now M Ricciuto, and no doubt soon McLeod, Edwards & Goodwin ... my point though is that this is all normal turnover, happens to every club, and Adelaide has managed it reasonably well.
The club has already suffered the loss of form of Roo, and Edwards is now only playing a small role. Goodwin & McLeod are still important, but you will begin to see less gametime from Edwards this year for sure.
There is plenty of younger talent coming through however (despite the fact that you never hear of them in Melbourne press). The side is well placed already this year in respect of no longer relying on older players in key roles:
http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showpost.php?p=10056915&postcount=5
... and there are other up and coming players such as Dangerfield, Walker, Gallman, perhaps Jacky & Otten (plus new recruits in following drafts) some of whom no doubt will mature as players and achieve regular places in the side.
The Crows are not showing any sign of "being on the slide" (despite the way it is no doubt reported in Melbourne media) but rather if anything is showing great promise for quite a step up in form over what it achieved last season.
