Mel Kiper - "LSU is not as good as there record indicates..." "...I see LSU losing 2 games by the end of the year"
Isn't this the guy who ripped on Indy for taking Peyton Manning over Ryan Leaf ???? Man he knows his stuff. Remember that.. The GM of Indy and Mel got into a bitching match because Mel called him an idiot, and the GM of Indy was calling him an idiot.. Fact is although I disagree with the "not good" comment. I cannot argue the 2 losses. Lets face it for LSU to go undefeated is a very tall order in the SEC with Auburn, Florida, Arkansas, USC and Alabama left on the schedule, and Ole Miss will be no slouch. Before you rip on me, if I said before the season LSU will got 10-2 this year with a top 15 rating and bowl victory. Would you have ripped on me then ?
the fact us, almost all tiger fans expected us to be at the worst 4-1 right now...so, i think the 5-0 has gone straight to our heads...including mine. however, i will admit all question marks have been answered about the Tigers....there were quite a few but none now i said 9-3 to begin the year but now i'd say 11-1 or 12-0
Uhhh, not so fast... I admit that I am pretty much of a pessimist, but I still have questions. 1. Can we truly run the ball in a running situation (when the defense guesses we will run it)? We will find that out in three weeks. Don't get excited if we run it down Floriduh's throat. Wait until the AUburnt game to see if we can run it. We certainly struggled against UGAly. This is a major problem right now. Third down and 1 is NOT our strength (translate that to me saying "crap I wish it was 3rd and 4"). 2. Can we stop the run against a powerful running team? Especially when they run to the outside. This FL game will be a good test, but again, wait until the AU game. We have some size questions. Our depth will help us here. 3. Will this massive blitzing scheme work against every offense. Probably not. If we get behind a good bit (10 points or more), our defense will have to change a bit. As long as we are in the lead or the game is close, we know the defense is dominating. Let's see what happens when we get behind and they start running the ball (better yet, let's not ). 4. Will Mauck continue to play well? That INT early in the MSU game shows that he still has problems with his mental approach to the game. The coaches need to take it easy with the play selection early in the game until Mauck has taken a few hits and gets into the game. 5. Let's not even talk about the possibility of a QB injury. Other than that, we have the depth to sustain a few injuries. I still see the possibility of losses on the horizon. Lose one game to the wrong team and we sit at home for the SECC. The SECW is looking more like the SECE of old. One SEC loss and you are watching the team that beat you in the SECC. I certainly see the possibility of running the table too though. Everyone we face should be an underdog in our game against them. We are playing some good ball right now and should be undefeated going into the AU game.
tigermark i agree with a few of your questions but i have a rebuttal or two on the others. I think that Matt Mauck's mental awareness is about right for the time now. That int that was thrown was more of Henderson not going up harder for the ball because there was a great chance that would of been caught for big yardage. As for the defense, i am a little more concerned about LSU's abilities to go after great RECEIVERS. I think we can handle good QBs since they for the most part stay in the pocket. I would like to see how LSU will handle this receiver Kelvin Kight from Florida since he is a little better than then the other WR we have faced. Also they have their TE Troupe (SP?) who i have watched and looks to be 1st round potential sooner rather than later.
