I think most England fans are being realistic, and acknowledge that the Ashes was a high point for England and a low point for Australia. That's not to say it wasn't deserved, but the results before and since don't really reflect the same strength in each team. Still, it's been two tough tours to the subcontinent for England, against good sides and with injury troubles, so you can't be too harsh on a loss and a draw, especially with both series being consistently competitive.
I think it's obvious now that England's middle order batting is a bit of a worry. Bell/Pietersen/Collingwood/Flintoff isn't a lineup which is going to strike fear in many opposition sides, and even when you put Vaughan back in there it's nothing special. Then you've got Jones at 7 who has underperformed terribly with the bat. The bowling is still strong, especially when you put Jones back into the team, but I think any in form pace attack is going to be pretty confident against that batting. It will be interesting to see how it holds up in the next Ashes series compared to the home side, given that Australia from 4 to 7 isn't exactly settled at the moment either.