You guys aren't differentiating between problems in the story and problems with the animation quality. Even though there are certainly sub-par episodes in terms of pacing and animation, the story itself remains wonderful, and that's due to the original creator.

The anime team sometimes has to expand episodes in order to make them last enough to fill a TV slot, and they 'farm out' some episodes to the korean team in order to be able to afford to spend more time and money on the really importantm high-quality fight scenes. Rock Lee vs. Gaara anyone?

Wierd continuity errors such as the foot problem abound in not only anime, but films as well. Try looking out for some, it can be pretty funny. One other continuity error in Naruto: in 19, when Sakura first throws herself crying on Sasuke, and then when Sasuke finally wakes up, she has switched sides! Check it out and pay attention to what side of Sasuke Sakura is kneeling on!