you keep reading and hearing? For instance: Up here in Shreveport-Bossier, Tim Fletcher the local ABC affiliate's sports director has a morning talk show on a local radio station. This morning he had Michael Cauble sports director at WBRZ in Baton Rouge on to talk about the Tigers. He said that Alley Broussard's injury is going to really hurt the Tigers big time because no other back weighs as much as AB and can't run between the tackles. And we have no 4th quarter RB to run over people, basically totally dismissing Addai, Vincent and Carey. Well, if I remember right Joe Addai was the RB who delivered warrior-like efforts and was the reaseon the Tigers beat Florida last year. Well then Cauble starts talking about the LBs and saying they were a sore spot. That Cameron Vaughan wasn't mean enough to play the middle, the Hollis was mean and would hit but takes himself out of plays often and that the WILL spot is still up in the air. NOW - someone please correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Les Miles come out last week and say this was the strength of the defense? Now, I know coaches give "coach speak" all the time, but I really have a tough time believing a guy who shows up at practice for 30 minutes then has to leave over the head coach, a guy whose livelihoood depends on these young men. He finished up by saying originally I thought 9-2 now I think more 8-3, which is fine I could care less about anyone's predictions. I'll just finish with this...the Tigers went 9-3 last year with very average QB play and an unfriendly schedule and were very close to being 11-1 or 10-2.
I have not been to a practice under Miles, but I went to almost all of the practices under Saban during his first three years. Let me just say this, judging by how the media is saying they are only getting to stay 3-4 periods each day, they do not get to see ANYTHING!!! Nothing more than some very simple warm up type drills. Quarterbacks throwing different routes (uncontested) to receivers, running backs taking hadoffs and finishing about 5 yards of the play, linemen hitting the sled, or thudding each other, and so on. During Saban's tenure he would let the media stay for one period of actual 7 on 7 type drills, up until about two weeks before the season. Then he kicked everyone out. Miles appears to be following suit. This is exactly why the media defended Josh Booty for three years, saying how much better he looked than Ro in practice. Gamers step up when opposed, not when lobbing a ball to a wide open, uncontested receiver, and no line to throw over or around. All of the things they are doing during these periods are of course needed for developement, but in no way can you tell if a runningbacks looks good or bad dodging the very huge brutal orange cones.
We have a couple of 230+ pound fullbacks and Addai is a hard-hitting 210-pounder. They are going to be running through big holes this season, anyway. LSU will run between the tackles whenever it wants to.
I thank you all for your responses and agree with y'all whole heatedly. It just aggrevates me to no end that these guys have such little integrity as to report things that are marginal at best or even worse, that they know is incorrect.
Iowa had a pretty damn good team without a running game and we still have proven backs like Carey, Addai, and Vincent plus the freshmen. If Korte can really carry the ball, we have a Mike Alstott type goal line RB. Speaking of the freshmen, I had heard A Rob might be switching to LB earlier in the year, did the coaches change their mind?
I have blackmail pictures of Cauble from Birmingham a few years ago. All I can say was he was dancing with a pink scarf. I can't believe he is the sports director. WOW!
Well, not to defend them, but it is there job to write about the tigers, and when all you get is coach speak and warm-up drills, it's easy to see where assumptions can differ.
I'll say it again: the loss of Broussard is a harsh reality that we can't fully understand. Addai is a warrior and a leader, but is he injury prone and can he take the abuse game in and game out as an every down back? Carey is a super talent and ready to play, but he's tiny. Vincent is a huge question mark at best and to give him any more credit than that at this point is simply wishfl thinking - if he sets the world on fire again we are fine and dandy, but to assume he will step up because he has before is insane. Hester and Korte will relieve the pressure and we will move on - my only problem is how lightly so many people take the loss and how they preach about our "stable of running backs." Yeah, we're deeper than most and the talent is there, but Broussard was the # 1 guy we could not afford to lose IMO. Damn this could have been a special opportunity for Barrington Edwards. No need to dwell on the injury and the loss of a HUGE playmaker, but take a good long look at things before resting your elbows on this "stable" we've been blabbing about for seasons now. The "stable" may be able, but the force was in the horse...
