Naruto quality...

[Kaede]

The manga isn't that far ahead .... 1 episode usually covers about 4 manga chapters (if not more) and since they barely finished the arc after the whole Saskuke thing .... they put in filler episodes .... most animes opt for that option when they're getting to close to the manga's latest storyline .... another option (which I like better than getting crappy fillers) is stopping the anime stories for a few months(i.e. the bleach anime will stop after episode 70ish and start again later). As for me, I really think Naruto lost most of it's appeal (too much power too fast ... bleach is following the same path too) ... so ya ... I practically only read/watch One Piece now (in the newer animes ... I'll always be an oldschool anime fan .... albator anyone?) ...