News "BIG press conference today at noon. The news will be substantial"

Honey badger is nothing like the diesel. He would sneak into ladies rooms and such. H badger just enjoys a smoke when he is stressed. The same way I enjoy a pint with my pals after along day.

 

You obviously missed the part where I said "at the rate you're going."

And you're still talking about two games, when there are nine others where he played very well. Another 12 his freshmen year, since he got beat pretty badly in the Arkansas game that year. So out of the approximately 24 games he played starter snaps, you're pointing to 2...3 if you add the one I mentioned freshman year, to say he's only a C+ cover guy. Your words. Your POV is that because he got burned in 2 or 3 games, he's not a very good cover guy. Other's POV is that out of the large sample, he only had 2 or 3 "bad" games. It's called perspective. That sir, makes a different POV, which you find impossible to accept.

 

Certainly, he doesn't have much freedom when a standard CB, but I saw a % breakdown the other day and something like 20 to 25% of the time he was "the nickel back". That indeed gives you more of an opportunity to go where you think you are needed. The strips I remember he was not the first to the ball...wasn't against the KY QB who was being tackled by Brooks at the time I think...wasn't when he stripped the ball from the Ark RB who was being tackled. He was the first to the ball when he tackled and stripped the WVA PR at the 8 yard line or whatever, but that was special teams, not playing defense. Like I said, I have never attacked his intangibles or being a ball hawk...I continue to say like several others here have said...he is not an extraordinary cover corner...not even close, and I would say the 3rd best cover corner on the team last season.

 

Well it was a fun, short ride. RIP mf

Everyone pour at a 40 in remembrance.

Tyrann Mathieu*CB 5’9 175 – Mathieu finished fifth in voting for the 2011 Heisman trophy, and received 34 first place votes. He’s an absolute playmaker who goes for the strip any time he can. He has forced 11 fumbles and recovered eight of them (a staggering six forced fumbles and five recoveries just last season) in his college career. In 26 games, Mathieu has intercepted four passes, broken up 16 others, sacked the quarterback six times, and made 16 tackles for loss. Last year was his first returning punts, and he averaged 15.6 yards per return and scored two touchdowns. Mathieu is a fearless player who throws his body around. Considering his lack of size, durability will be a concern at the next level. While he has solid cover skills and has shown the ability to get up to break up throws, he lacks the height to play outside on every play at the pro level. Many folks peg Mathieu for a role in the slot, and that does appear to be his best fit. He can get muscled at the line of scrimmage by bigger receivers (Da’Rick Rogers of Tennessee for one), but his feisty demeanor will make him hard to fight off on every play. Meanwhile, he seems capable of shutting down, or at least frustrating the NFL’s smaller wide receivers. Mathieu is still only a junior, but most people expect this to be his final college season. Here is a scouting report on him from last season.

 

all bullshit, he cant cover, Jason Seahorn (sp) is better.

 

On topic so would like to respond. First, everyone had a bad WVA game (463 yards passing against LSU). Second, IMO, LSU only played 2 decent passing teams in regular season....Oregon and West Virginia. Tennessee WAS a good passing team but that was with Bray who was hurt for the game. Alabama didn't light up anybody passing...they were a run first and defensive team. So yeah, I don't consider W Kentucky, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Miss State, Northwestern State, Auburn, Florida with musical chair QBs, etc much of a test.

 

ADDED SEP 30, 2011, UNDER: CORNERBACKS,SCOUTING

Tyrann Mathieu is a special player and a special prospect. If he was two or three inches taller he would be getting touted just as highly as Patrick Peterson was.​

Tyrann Mathieu is a sophomore cornerback on LSU. He wears #7 in honor of his mentor Patrick Peterson who left after his junior season after which he was selected with the fifth overall pick by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2011 NFL Draft. Mathieu is a play-maker in the same vein as Peterson was at LSU, and may even have a greater impact. Mathieu is truly a ball-hawk, a play-maker at cornerback and as a return man, and his versatility within LSU’s defensive scheme makes him incredibly valuable. He may not be the biggest defender on the field, but there is little doubt that he has the biggest impact.
Size: Mathieu doesn’t have very good size for a cornerback as he is listed at just 5’9”, 175 pounds. I have maintained that if he was two or three inches taller he would be discussed as a potential top five pick, but his size is one of the only knocks on him as a prospect. He more than makes up for his lack of ideal size, but when you see him line up opposite a receiver you notice that he has a natural disadvantage due to his height.
Athleticism: Mathieu is a fantastic athlete. He has great straight line speed, impressive quickness and burst, he changes directions very easily, he closes very effectively and he absolutely flies around the field whenever he steps onto it. His athleticism helps mask his lack of size.
Man Coverage: Mathieu doesn’t play a vast amount of man coverage at LSU (or at least I haven’t seen him do so) because they moved him around a lot last year as a nickel corner, and this year he often plays inside on the slot guy. However, he has fluid hips, he changes directions well, he closes incredibly fast on plays in front of him, he recovers very quickly on plays behind him, and he mirrors receivers well thanks to his quick reaction time. I think he could be a great man coverage corner, I just haven’t seen a ton of evidence of it yet due to how LSU uses him.
Zone Coverage: Mathieu is lethal in zone coverage for many of the same reasons he is lethal in man coverage. He is very instinctual (indicates he likely watches a LOT of film) and he reads quarterbacks very well. Then, once he knows where the ball is going, he is off like a rocket closing on the ball and more times than not if it is thrown near him he makes a play on it to either break up the pass or to make an interception. He is incredibly comfortable in space and his closing speed makes him a special zone corner.
Run Support: This is one aspect of Mathieu’s game that really surprised me the first time or two that I saw him last year as a freshman. He closes on the running game the same way he closes on passes in the air and that is surprisingly rare for cornerbacks. He is very willing in run support, he loves laying down a big hit, and he’s not afraid to tackle running backs that are much larger than him. He may be one of the best run support corners in the entire country.

Mathieu is one of the best tackling cornerbacks in the country, and has an uncanny knack for producing turnovers.​

Tackling: Mathieu is a very reliable tackler. He does miss tackles in open space at times, but most players do miss those on occasion. However, I would say he is a very good tackler especially for a cornerback. He is a fundamentally sound tackler and he doesn’t drop his head when he attempts tackles. This often results in missed tackles and a surprising number of players do this. On top of all that, he also packs a serious punch as a hitter. He is one of the best corners in the country when it comes to hit power and his proficiency for forcing fumbles.
Blitzing: Mathieu is an effective blitzing corner and he is very dangerous coming off the edge as a blitzing corner. He seems to be pretty good at knowing when to come late, when to show he is coming, and when to show that he’s coming and then drop back into coverage. It isn’t as much of a surprise to see him blitzing as a sophomore because he was so incredibly successful doing so as a freshman, but he hasn’t had quite as much success blitzing off the edge thus far this year. However, I would argue that his lack of success has something to do with coaching staffs scheming to make sure he isn’t the one to create pressure and get a hit on their quarterback because of his proficiency for forcing turnovers.
Ball Skills: Mathieu’s ball skills are out of this world. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a player who is more of a ball-hawk than Mathieu is. He flies to the ball constantly, he has great hands to make tough catches in traffic or on diving attempts, locates the ball very well in the air, he adjusts to the ball effectively in the air, and he will do anything to make a pass deflection or an interception. This part of his game is the part that truly sets him apart and makes him a rare, special corner.
Intangibles: I believe that Mathieu has very impressive intangibles. He’s an aggressive player and he plays with great energy all the time, and I think he has fantastic instincts and I would imagine that has something to do with good study habits. However, he does have a tendency to get in people’s faces due to his intensity, and I see him “barking” at players after the play is over which will eventually get noticed and draw penalties in college and in the NFL. I think he has had a late hit or two when I have watched him as well, and that is something that he needs to make sure he doesn’t do. You love the intensity and his willingness to fight until the whistle, but late hits are cheap yards for the offense and he can’t make simple mistakes like that.
Overall: As I’m sure you can tell by reading my breakdown of Mathieu’s game, I am a huge fan of his. If I were forced to pick one favorite player in all of college football I think it would be him. He plays with a reckless abandon, he’s the definition of a playmaker and a ball-hawk, and he plays the game the right way. He is everything you could want in a corner, even if he’s two inches shorter than he ideally would be. He has top five-ten ability and if teams can look past his height they will get an absolute stud once he is draft eligible. Because that’s the amazing thing: Mathieu is still only a sophomore. He still has another year after this season to develop. I just hope that he stays healthy for the remainder of his LSU career and for his very promising NFL career. He has a ton of upside and potential, and if you haven’t seen him play I encourage you to find a way to watch a LSU game this year or next. You won’t see a talent like this very often, even in the SEC. He’s truly a special player.
Projection: Top 15 in 2013 draft. As good as Mathieu is and will be by the time he is draft eligible his size will still be a knock on him. For some players it makes sense to knock them because their lack of size will inhibit them as playmakers in the NFL. I think Mathieu is an exception to that rule. Regardless, I find it hard to imagine that he will get picked in the top five or ten overall selections even as his skills continue to develop. But if he fell out of the top 15 it would be an absolute travesty for someone with his level of talent.

 

Have to disagree here a bit. The starting CB there will now be Jalen Collins who has never played one down in a college football game OR Ronald Martin if they move him, and he only played sparingly at safety. They are getting razor thin in the secondary after losing Vinson, Gibson, Jenkins, and now Mathieu in the offseason.

 

Drug testing, and our country's general policy on drugs are dumb.

On the other hand, if your entire future is tied to football, you need to be smart enough to say no.

 

I agree with this and it is a little worrying. My only memories so far of Collins is getting beat a couple times for big plays in the spring game. Hopefully the new DB coach can get these guys ready to go day one. Like someone else has already said, it is much better to have this happen now while we have time to prepare and fix the situation, rather than in the middle of the season where it would have blindsided us a bit.