I loved the way both Alley and Justin came through big time tonight. Alley can run over people and Justin can juke a linebacker out of his socks. Alley outrushed Justin 108 yards to 77 but Justin added 46 receiving yards to Alley's 5. Total offence for each over 100 yards. If its 3rd and 2 or a goal line situation I want Alley in the game. If its 3rd and 4 or longer I want Justin in the game.
No question Alley should start against Auburn. The Auburn/LSU game is going to be a brutal, physical trench war the likes of which have not been seen in Tiger Stadium in a long time. And to crack that defense, we are going to need a big, physical back who can shed the first tackler, keep his legs pumping, and push it beyond the front seven. Broussard tonight gave us the physical presence in the backfield this team has been missing. And it's not like he was gashing his runs against ULM or ULL; that was the 8th ranked rushing defense in the country he was going up against. Shyrone is a scatback, a small guy with lightning quickness who can squirt through a hole in a millisecond. He should be #2, our change-of-pace guy. But if I'm Jimbo Fischer, Alley Broussard starts in my backfield next week. I also see nothing wrong with Vincent and Addai getting five touches apiece. Everybody's been talking about Auburn's "four horsemen" since the start of the season. Let's show everyone that our quartet is better.
I really don't think Addai will be at 100% for the Auburn game if he can play at all. I hope Carey is ready and probably will be since his injury occured 2 weeks before Addia's. Either way and no matter who starts a tailback I want to see Vincent get a lot more than 5 touches in the game.
It is nice to have a "stable" of running backs at present, as we have discovered. Broussard looked great, but what did Vincent do to have his starting role taken away? I thought he had a great game as well. When a player has one good game, does that mean he automatically should start the next game? What if Broussard starts against Auburn and then has a mediocre game? Does he then get demoted and whoever gained the most yards against Auburn get to start the following week? Both Broussard and Vincent showed me one intangible thing that is hard to coach and that is that they are both good instinctive runners. Shyrone seems to have that innate ability as well. On the other hand, I don't think that Addai is as gifted with that same type of instinct. He has great physical tools but not that "sixth sense." Of course if Addai gets the kinds of holes blown open for him like our O-line did against SC, he could look all-world too. I say whoever starts and whoever plays, let's not get too high on them after a good game and not get too down on them after a bad game. It's all about consistency and continuity.
Honestly, I do not want Addai in the Auburn game or any game left over Vincent, Broussard, and Carey. Broussard is a true power back for between the tackles runs and off-tackle sweeps. Shy Carey is a scat back with excellent cut-on-a-dime running skills and vision whose skills will continue to be most effective in the spread and shotgun sets. Vincent rings a little of everything to the table including excellent receiving skills. Addai just seems to be an average back with no outstanding qualities by comparison. I think the USC game has given Saban and Fisher a clear view of what offensive personel needs to be on the field.
I would never have thought that with Clayton, Green and Henderson on the team our trademark might be the running game. We now have both dimensions.
I hope we are able to find a hot back and stick with him until he needs air and then continuously rotate guys in with fresh legs.
I like these freshman backs but they still have to show they can perform with some consistency. Auburn is going to be a big test for these young guys. But they are physically fresh at mid-season when a lot of teams backs are pretty banged up. The offensive line was responsible for some big holes yesterday, but lost a man to a knee injury and is starting to get a little beat up, too. We need for them to keep performing at the high level they showed against Carolina for Broussard, Vincent, and Edwards to really shine. We could have worse problems than having 5 capable running backs. Carey and Addai beat these freshmen out when they were healthy.
Carey & Addai, as far as I’m concerned, can stay sitting on the bench, because you can’t argue with success. While the line certainly played its best game of the season, those guys running the football out there last night were making plays. LSU’s offense has finally stepped it up a notch and reached a new level. I'm not sure there was any team in the SEC that could have stayed with LSU last night. Hell, there weren’t that many teams in the country that would have stayed with them. If LSU can get their timing down on the long vertical pass and stop missing assignments in the defensive backfield, they may be unstoppable the rest of the season.
I'm with red55 one this one. Carey and Addai beat these guys out in practice. Saban put those guys at the top of the depth chart for a reason. I guarantee that if they were healthy for this game, they would have performed just as well if not better. I saw Broussard tackled by one guy a few times that I know that Addai would have run through. Addai is a fierce runner that has lost some confidence this year. If he could have played in this last game, the people on this board would have been talking about Heisman trophies (that is a jab at the wild optimism of the board, not pumping up Addai's ability ). That said, I think that both Vincent and Broussard had great games and showed that they are very capable running backs. Tough call for Saban.
