Don't talk badly about SabanFan's Tigers. That's a no-no. It makes you a traitor. SabanFan still thinks we're going to the Orange Bowl this year and that MR should be considered for first team SEC. Quite delusional I would say. Not sure what stage of neurosis he is suffering from.
I just can't buy into that philosophy entirely. Not into today's era of style points and BCS rankings. Try to tell Auburn that. I truly believe that had Auburn beat Bama 35-6 like they should have, then we would be looking at Auburn having a half decent chance at playing in the NC. Now they have no chance if all 3 teams win out. I don't want LSU to go 12-0 next year and have 6 or 7 ugly wins and be 3rd in the BCS because of it. That would be too hard to take. I already illustrated that LSU would be ranked 8th in 1 poll and 9th in the other had LSU beat Troy and Ole Miss soundly. It matters. But heck, it's better than being 6-5, I'll grant you that all day long.
Well, we all know SuperFan, uh I mean SabanFan :yelwink2: drinks heavily during games to the point he is unable to attend, so I'll cut him a little slack on his analysis. But the people around here who say you aren't an LSU fan because you are willing to say Russell's play isn't all that great need to back off. I'm all for giving him a chance to succeed, but there's another kid sitting on the bench who I also think should be given the chance to succeed or fail as well. He made the same committment as JR and deserves his shot. IMO if you aren't playing for a championship, the 2004 season ends Friday in Arkansas and the 2005 season begins Saturday. It should be Russell vs. Flynn from there on out and both should see action in the bowl game. I take nothing away from Randall, I appreciate everything he's done for this program and I was disappointed he didn't see more pt in his last home game. Maybe they can put in a couple of formations to get him in the bowl game as an H-back or something if he has the hands for it. I think he's got the athletic ability to land in the NFL somewhere if he can catch the ball, but obviously not as a QB. Showing he has potential at another position would be the best thing for him. And to address SabanFan's earlier comments comparing Russell to Jason Campbell, if he will think back, plenty of others have been given a chance to take Campbell's postion in his four years at Auburn. If you have what it takes competition will makes you better and it's time for Flynn to get his shot. Do what it takes to beat Arkansas on Friday. LSU's quest for the 2005 NC starts immediately after that game ends.
Part of the "problem" as I see it is (as alluded to in both islstl's and marcmc99's posts) is that the bar is set at an NC. Trust me, you will never be satisfied. I see your points and do not intend to imply that you are bad fans. I just try to inject a little realism into the picture.
Just got back to Mississippi from the game. My 5 yr old son made his first trip to Death Valley and loved it. He told me last night that we should do it every weekend. It ended up being a great game, and thankfully the rain stopped about 2 hours before game time and he got to see the band march in. Alley Broussard and Joe Addai were freaking awesome. Alley just couldn't be stopped, more second effort yds than you can imagine. Joe Addai was a monster on special teams, I thought he had taken the head off of the ole miss punt returner as he was streakin up the sideline past all of our other defenders!! I have always backed JR and I know he is young and there is a learning curve, but to be honest he looked awful Sat night. He never looked off his primary receiver(hence the interception), he held the ball too long, and threw at the feet of the receivers. In his defense, it looked like he lacks confidence to throw the ball and that makes him indecisive. I hope that he can overcome the confidence issue and take over the offense as a leader next year. You know, Auburn tried to run Campbell off for three years, and look at him now!! I hope JR can turn that corner, but I also hope that it will happen sooner than his senior season. Now on to arky and finish out the reg. season on a six game winning streak!!! GEAUX TIGERS!!
I did not set the bar at a NC this season. I actually thought 8-3 would be good, 9-2 and a return trip to Atlanta great, but I didn't expect much more that that. The only "problem" I see is a lack of development in Russell and Flynn. Every team sets goals, and if you set a goal of winning the SEC West that is what you will be satisfied with year after year. Do you think Saban's ultimate goal is anything less a National Championship in 05? He won't say it publicly but you better believe he is after it. Yeah it's one game at a time but those individual games lead to something much bigger. You either accept the pressure and strive for greatness or shun it and be happy hanging around the top 10. You look at the best teams in the country this year and see what players they are losing and you have to say we are in a favorable position, except for the qb and the loss of a few key guys on defense. The losses on defense only serve to reinforce the point that we need solid play from the qb position next year. I'm not asking for 300 yards per game and a kid that can go out there and win games. All I want is someone who can make calls at the line, play good heads-up football, complete a pass on third and 8 and not lose games for us. The realism of the situation is that this team can recruit year after year and be in the hunt for a NC on a consistent basis, but it takes leadership and attitude (bordering on cockiness) on the field to do so.
