Ok so let's try it from this angle. If Matt Mauck came back for his senior season, would LSU be 7-0 (or at the very least 6-1 with a very close GA loss)? I would tend to think we would be. It's what Saban has been griping about all year long.....LEADERSHIP. There is none on this team, period.
I would say that the results would be similar, but not nearly as bad. He would have picked apart the lesser teams but struggled behind this year's o-lines against the heart of the SEC schedule. Mauck had the bubble screen and quick passes mastered. Still though, he had become a pocket passer and well the o-line play has been bad enough that the pocket is a moving pocket at best.
I just think with Mauck's mastery of the offense, we could have explored many more options offensively and kept defenses off balance. With the current inexperienced QBs, the defenses can afford to be much more aggresive. Thus the difference in what I think Mauck would have done with this offense vs. the current 2 QBs. I do agree the O-line is not nearly as good as last year.
No doubt that all of us would feel better with Mauck under center. With the losses of Clayton and Henderson (which seem to get overlooked.....), opposing defenses would be more likely to respect the running game though, and all of the quality returning backs, and thus try to first and foremost stop the run. If Mauck were here and had been able to negate that strategy and develop consistent passing with the younger receivers then perhaps the o-line would not have been exposed as badly as it has been to this point.
Stacking the box or not, something tells me Jimbo and every last one of us figured before the game that our O line would push around a Sunbelt D line and backers. I think ChOsnOne makes a good point. It's easier to completely lay the blame on MR than to figure out why our Oline is not pushing their man back 5 yards. The Oline this season is just not working well as a group. There are other problems, so it's foolish to lay it all on one position. Football is still a team sport. That said, we still found a way to win the game and in the end that is all that matters.
Great points, I believe the o-line and the QB are equally bad this season. A QB cannot throw when running for his life, the WR's cannot run deep routes if the o-line is not giving the QB protection, the RB's cannot find lanes if the o-line is good and the defense doesn't respect the pass. It goes both ways. And our fumbling of the football is horrible. It's amazing our record is as good as it is IMO, not because of the QB but because of the entire offense and special teammers except for a couple of the WR's, and God knows they have probably missed their share of blocks also. May as well as throw the defense in there as well for not forcing any turnovers since the 4th game also ,even though it's kind of incredible they have played as well as they have when you think about it.
Had Mauck stayed for his senior year . . . . . . . we would have taken Auburn, but would still have lost to Ga by 2 TD's or so. Ga was too fired up, running on adrenaline, playing out-of-their-minds great ball, offense and defense. To a large degree, every opponent this year looks to the LSU game on their schedule to get extra pumped about playing a NC. And face it, even with Mauck at the helm this year, many would be complaining about Mauck losing his touch or whatever else -- its human nature to want as much or more than last year. I think we're still working towards a top 10 finish, setting up for a run next year with the favorable schedule. :lsup:
