i'll take a stab Offense OL- Have generally provided at least adequate protection for JR, which is especially significant since many teams are trying to slow the passing attack. They are mostly having a rough time opening holes for the RBs. They have not performed well, but in light of the injuries and losses from last season an overall satisfactory job. B- QB- JRs stats are great, he has lead the team to a 9-2 record, and has engineered several successful drives at crunch time---and all of this without a dependable running game. Yet, he has been part of the cause of the team needing to pull a rabbit out of a hat, and has a great receiving corps. B+ RB- The OL isnt consistent. This group does better when jimbo actually uses his brain. They know how to pick up a blitz, are great out of the backfield (jh and jv), and havent put the ball on the turf much. Considering the injury to ab and the inexperience, not a bad job. B WR- They get open, dont drop the ball, and block downfield, but it would be nice to have a playmaker. A- TE- Tight ends? What tight ends? I Offense- They have basically laid two eggs (auburn was a helluva lot better then than now) and both against top 10 teams on the road. Will be better next year even without JR, because of with flipped schedule, better OL and RBs. B Defense DL- They have pressured the QB less than you might have expected, but until last night have been solid to dominating. They have always come through in the end (UT, Bama, Ole Miss)and most of opponents offensive success have resulted from great field position given by special teams and offensive problems. A LBs- Very solid, especially with three younguns getting so much pt. No one has run all over them (ok, more than a drive or two) and are great in coverage as teams have not had success with short routes and medium routes in the middle of the field. Will be the core of the D for the next couple years. A- DBs- We expected a lot from this group and they have been solid. Their few lapses have been relatively temporary (Bama and UT). They have delivered tons of heavy hits/passes defended, but did not continue early season indication of making big plays. A- Defense- No team has scored much on the Tigers. The stats are great and the two losses cannot be pinned on them. A Special teams- FG kicking-ok, XPts- good considering past problems. coverage great except for last night. But there have been next to no better than average returns--unacceptable for a top program. C+ Overall- You cant say "well, this team has a ton of talent so they should do better" because they should get credit for having talent, not be penalized for it. Plus, Bama, UT, UF, Au have similar talent. 3 road games against top 10 teams in the regular season is unprecedented. 1-2 in those games isnt horrible especially considering the crap that happened at AU. B+ All of these are subject to change with two big games upcoming.
OL = C+ -- This is an average offensive line. They pass-block very well but they run-block poorly. QB = A- -- Russell may end up as all-SEC quarterback. His detractors have never forgiven him for not walking on water from day 1 as a freshman, but he's getting the job done. He has the top QB rating in the SEC and is #6 nationally. Link RB = B- -- Despite the lack of a dominating running back, LSU's group of injured backs, green freshmen backs and dual-purpose fullbacks has managed to make LSU the second best rushing team in the SEC. Link WR = A -- Big strong, fast, and deep. Three LSU's receivers are in the SEC top-8 in receptions. TE = B- -- Richard Dickson was thrown in as a freshman because of Zingers season-ending ailment. While the tigers don't rely on him in the passing game with so many good wideouts, he has caught some impressive passes and is blocking well. He's going to be a star before he leaves. DL = A -- This line may be better than last year's line. It is certainly deeper. LB = B+ -- The linebackers have no depth, but the starters are very good. Beckwith's absence will hurt us from here out. DB = A+ -- One of the best backfields in the nation and certainly the best in the SEC. Special Teams -- C- -- good punting, average kicking, below average kickoff coverage, horrible punt coverage. Coaching = B+ -- Better than average head coaching, strength coaching, and offensive coaching. Excellent defensive coaching. Poor special teams coaching.
OL = D. Started out good at pass blocking, bad at run blocking. Run blocking never improved, pass blocking has gotten worse as the season went on. QB = A. If not for JR, I don't know if we would have beat ULL with the gameplans this coaching staff has come up with. RB = C+. Nobody has truely seperated themselves, may have something to do with the Oline play. They get the benefit of the doubt for that fact. WR = A+. Very limited drops this year, big plays when we need them, the starting three will all be NFL starters. TE = B. Dickson is gonna be a good one. The tight end blocking has saved the Oline this year. DL = A. Dorsey is a beast, too bad he won't be here next year, but the young guys all contributed and we never had a tired DT in the game. Very deep, looks good for years to come. DE = A. Pittman had the type of season he needed to get a look at the next level, and TJ became one of the studs of the defense. LB = A. Beckwith blossomed into an ALL SEC LB, Highsmith was his usual self, and Sanders played above average football all season. DB = B. TWo weeks ago, they had an A+, wondering what is up these guys lately. Special Teams = D-. Punting formation needs to go away, Net punting and kicking dropped to near bottom of the barrell, return game is just OK, and a 50% FG percentage won't get you to the next level. Coaching = C-. I am a huge believer that in the games where the talent is at or near equal, coaching decideds the game. We went 0-2 in those games, and had to come from behind against a team with the talent level of the LA 5A state runner-up. After all of that, I give the season thus far a B+. Even though the competition level was weak at best, 8-0 at home is something to be proud of. We will be in a decent bowl game and with two more wins finish in the top 6 in the country.
OL = C -- It's hard to watch a line get progressively worse over the last two years. I was going throught posts from last season and forgot how poorly our line played most of the season, hindering our run game. This year, it appears to have gotten worse, and I hope the OL woes are fixed by next year. QB = B- -- Yes, he's electrifying against pansy teams LSU plays, but against stiff competition, he's been iffy. Against ranked opponents this season, he has been 68/112 (61 %) for 744 yards, with 4TDs and 6INTs - an NFL QB rating of 69.9. RB = B+ -- So far, I'm impressed. We have another group of young, talented, freshman runningbacks that get better with every game, despite the poor OL play and performance by the incumbent RBs. Williams and Scott have been the most productive, while Holliday has shown flashes of excellence. Next year is looking promising if the OL can get things together. WR = A -- After last year, Bowe has made a definite improvement and has solidified himself as an elite SEC reciever. He'll drop a ball occasionally, but even the great ones drop passes every now and then. Davis is a quiet, productive starter that gets the job done as well as anybody. Early Doucet has finally blossed into the WR we thought he would coming out of high school - extremely impressive, bailing out his QB on a few occasions. TE = C+ -- Richard Dickson will probably be our next David LaFleur. As a starting freshman, he's quick and has shown that he has good hands and is a decent blocker. DL = A -- The highlights of this line are Glen Dorsey and Tyson Jackson. Both get to the ball carrier with good pursuit and finish thier tackles. Dorsey can not only stop the run, but can pressure the QB extremely well and has a motor that reminds me somewhat of Lavalais. The only guy I'm not sold on is Chase Pittman. He seems to ge good in pursuit, but watching a few games for a second time, I've noticed that he doesn't finish his tackels as well as the rest of his line, while the opposition often times slips away. LB = B -- Beckwith has emerged as the future of the LSU LBs. Highsmith is having another solid year and hopefully will return for his senior season. Sanders hasn't really played up to his potential this year and tends to get 'lost.' DB = A -- A team that has Landry and Daniels at saftey accompanied with Jackson and Zenon as corners has the best defensive backfield in the nation. Despite the poor showing against Alabama, these guys recovered and proved to be what they are - solid. ST = D -- Decent punting and kicking. Decent coverage. Decent returning. Coaching = C+ -- I won't go into what's already been said, but I still think that an undisciplined team will catch up to us with LM at the helm. All those penalties will hurt us, the younger and younger we get.
