Don't forget that the defense turned the ball over with short field position, and twice we scored on the next play. I would like to have seen more sustained drives and establish the running game more. I was more disappointed that it took three plays to move it 2 yards and still had to take it outside for the score.
Good discussion, Elite and ChuckE. You can just ignore LSURuss98, IMHO. I'll never understand some new guy with 1 post who comes in here shaking his finger and pumping sunshine. Anybody who he disagrees with is not a TRUE TIGER FAN. Look Russ, we talk about a lot of things here, good and bad, positive and negative. Its just a discussion, not a purple and gold contest. We are all Tiger fans here. Got that? Challenging someones Tiger Spirit is a major rookie mistake and completely uncalled for. I agree with TigerLifer, Culbertson deliberately went for Careys knees. Another major rookie mistake. Players don't forget stuff like that. Culbertson will have to play LSU again next year and he will have to watch out for his own knees.
I wonder if Culberson will enjoy a career at MSU, where he'll probably have 3 coaches and 3 coordinators in 3 years, and, interestingly enough, might win 3 games total in those 3 years... It's kind of like what Saban told Tristan Smith when we were recruiting him at the Dome his senior year... Saban told him, "Son, if you can't tell the difference between LSU and Tulane, we don't want you here." Hey, Quinton, is the difference between LSU and MSU apparent now? Moo U is on ESPN.com's "Bottom 10" list, and LSU, well, we're #6 in the Top 10...Is that clear enough? LOL!
Newbie Just because I have 1 post doesn't necessarily make me a rookie. I have been reading posts on this board for well over 8 months. I'm not shaking my finger at anyone. My point was that football is a violent collision sport and injuries happen. What I disagree with is that to alot people on this board believe that MR can do no right. Give the kid a chance. Last year was last year. This is a new year. If he wasn't the 2nd best QB, 1 of the Freshmen would be #2.
I tend to agree that Randall-bashing benefits nobody. It is apparent that Randall is going to be our 2nd QB this year and we need an experienced backup. On the other hand, if Mauck goes down again, Saban may open up the contest to the freshmen, if they seem to have picked up the offense, because Randall has not exactly set the world on fire with his skill. Randall is likely playing out of position because we needed him last year. His long run in the Cotton Bowl showed me that he has the speed and moves to play WR or RB if he had been put there and allowed to develop.
LSURuss98: I hear what you are saying. I strongly disagree with your comment - This is a new year. If he wasn't the 2nd best QB, 1 of the Freshmen would be #2. The future of LSU FB at the QB position will rest with #4 & #15 and whatever number the kid "I'll butcher his name" Perilliou decides on. MR is not the best of the three. He just has the most game experience. Watch next season!
Russ, I'm with you...the votes of no confidence in Randall are pure poppycock, and if anything, it DOES show that people here clearly like LSU, but DISLIKE LSU football players. It's a sad and tired horse, but Randall and Mauck are no further apart than experience. Randall was CLOSE to the starting job when he blew out his knee in the spring before his sophomore year in the spring game. Everyone who is close to the program KNEW that Saban was disappointed that neither distanced themselves. He blew his knee out, and Mauck got the benefit of the off-season, and the fall camp. He was the starter, and he was allowed to mature into a role against inferior competition. The Citadel, MofO, and MSU were not "staunch" competition, and Mauck got to grow in those performances and get comfortable at the controls. Witness the horrible 4-12 performance in which LSU shut DOWN the passing game in the first half of the MSU game last year. Mauck had the worst passing day of any quarterback in modern LSU football history. FACT. What happened? Mauck struggled, but perservered, overcame adversity, and began to click. Finally, he became the excellent QB he now is in the UF game...But, he got hurt, and the rest is history. Enter Marcus Randall. There are no Citadel's for Randall. No Swiss Cheese Defense in MofO. No putrid Moo U's to play. There is no time to help him gel with his offensive teammates, and the continuity is lacking, and tangible. You also deal with the loss of LSU's best player on defense last year, outside of Bradie James. Damien James-when he left because of his inability to stay away from the "dozure"-was the key cog in our defense. We lost him after South Carolina. It showed, and ANYONE who says our defense didn't decline in performance because of this has an alternate agenda, or simply didn't keep up with the season... So, we have an offense adjusting to a new quarterback, a defense losing the guy that calls ALL the defensive checks and sets, and overall, a team that lost two of its top 3 or 4 leaders on either side of the ball. We also ran into the HEART of our conference schedule. Auburn remembered us rooking them for the SEC West the year before. They had us at home, with a chip on their shoulder. Then, we went up against Alabama, who remembered the record setting performance and the absolute pistol-whipping we handed them AT HOME the year before. We played a flawless game on offense against Arkansas, and the player of the game on CBS was Marcus Randall. FACT. He was RESPONSIBLE for giving us the lead... Another defensive back was responsible for not allowing anyone deeper than he was. He didn't do it, and the rest is history? Notice a difference here? I didn't mention his name, even though I and others know it, but we don't make a habit of BASHING players who don't deserve it. LSU handed it to Texas in the 1st half...If you ask what cost LSU the most in the 2nd half, it would be the IV that got put into the throwing arm of Marcus Randall at halftime...Ever felt what it's like to get an IV in your arm after you get it taken out? I've donated blood and plasma and had an IV before, and they ALL make your arm numb. There have been MULTIPLE trainers say that the IV went into Randall's throwing arm...Could THAT be a reason for the Texas 2nd half performance? The bottom line is that we had a MUCH tougher schedule for Randall to adjust to. We had a MUCh less potent defense, and we had MANY more inspired teams playing us with Randall at the controls in comparision to Mauck... Please, someone refute ANY of this information...
Fightn Tiger...What you're telling me is that... MSU, The Citadel, and MofO are the same as Auburn, Alabama, and Arkansas? Please tell me YOU are joking... You telling me that you have two employees...Both with no experience heading into the jobs... One that's had six weeks of performing tasks of relative ease, but with some challenge...then you ask him to perform tasks that your company is DEPENDING on? One that you bring in after six weeks with no experience to perform tasks that your company is DEPENDING on? Who do YOU think will excel more? You can claim it's all about the wins and losses... But, then you make the argument for the Strength of Schedule aspect of BCS rankings TOTALLY immaterial...Why would the NCAA rank SOS according to you, then? If it doesn't matter? Please, EXPLAIN how it's just as easy to perform against Auburn, Alabama, Arkansas, and Texas in comparison to The Citadel, MSU, and MofO? The only puddin here is the puddin that you appear to be in possession of instead of gray matter...It's TOTALLY illogical to say they aren't extenuating circumstances for LSU's decline in play, other than just Randall's poor athletic ability. He did not have EXPERIENCE, Tiger, EXPERIENCE makes good decisions, EXPERIENCE teaches you how to play under pressure... EXPERIENCE is what Randall doesn't possess. I am not saying that Randall IS tied with Mauck, that's just you misconstruing what I'm saying to make yourself look better. What I am saying is that Mauck is better, and he's better because he has MUCH more experience than Randall. I agree that Randall got thrown into the fire, and it hurt him long-term in my opinion. But, to say that they were not even coming out of that spring before the injury is total ignorance, sir. As it is ignrorant to say that the competition didn't create some of the disparity in results... I-g-n-o-r-a-n-c-e
I'm with you FightinTIGER, "The proof is in the pudding". TE's rant makes a lot of good points, but they are all moot. Mauck is the Man and he has answered his critics with this years performance. Randall is the Backup and he hasn't had the playing time to silence his critics. Questions remain. Oh, and anyone who disagrees with TE is ignorant. Everybody got that?
red55...What good points do I make? That Randall was not the sole deciding factor that dictated our failures to finish in 2002? That's the ONLY point I tried to make. If you agree, then you're not ignorant. If you don't, then you are. In other words, the point is the same as saying that Marcus Randall was not the only person on the field that played for LSU at any point after Mauck was injured. It's a team game, and yet, individuals have been blamed, with one in PARTICULAR, even though we could point to what happened at Arkansas or Texas as far as why we didn't stop opposing offenses from outscoring us... BTW-FightinTiger's piont was not that Mauck is better because he's had experience. He said that Mauck was a better quarteback because of his decision making and poor performance under pressure. MY point is that he's better because of that experience...Looks like you agreed with me again, without realizing it...
