We have seen how this offense can be chameleon like under Jimbo Fisher...working towards our strengths....whether it be to strong armed quarterbacks in '00 and '01, or towards a running game with a smattering of keep you honest passing on '02 and '03... What will we see in '04? We OBVIOUSLY have more than enough horses to put up awe-inspiring numbers on the ground...but what will we do through the air? Will (insert the starting quarterback's name here) be allowed to "air it out" from jump street, or are we going to let them - whoever 'them' turns out to be - develop into a more of a "part of a whole" type role player first, allowing the ground game to manage the season for us? What do you guys think about the offensive identity next year?
Easy. JV, Addai, Barrington, and Broussard pound the ball away until teams are forced to stack the line of scrimmage to slow them down. Thats when that young QB will get all his receivers w/ single coverage. Plain and simple: running game sets up passing game. Pretty much like last year, but our QB will have a much stronger arm and more depth at receiver.
I think they play it pretty safe early and try to establish the run until the starting QB gets comfortable. None of the QB's have a ton of experience and only Randall has any at all.
But...anyone will tell you that the easiest down for a young quarterback to throw on will be 1st down...no pressure, teams not expecting the pass...If they are "forced" to throw on 3rd, it could get pressure filled early on... Now, I don't think our O-Line's gonna have any trouble, mind you, but again, I think we could see some interesting early season situations....This offense-in my opinion-could be wide open from jump street in '04...
It will be fascinating to watch. Even though there is talent aplenty, let's not forget that we are replacing a quarterback, the top two wide receivers and the right side of the OL. Could this be the beginning of the era in which LSU simply "reloads" year after year?
I say we start with a mirror image of what we did last year till the QB's get comfortable. Throw on second down a lot early in the season, try to keep down and distance in our favor like we always do. The vertical passing may become more of an option as the season progresses against the better teams. We will throw deep against the worse teams early though.
This probably makes the most sense. You surely do not wait until a more obvious 3rd down passing play to throw it. But the running game will be our starting point. So you basically get a favorable 2nd and short situation (less than 6 yards) to where you can pass or run. This will be a very efficient passing game with the occasional "big play". Big plays will come due to yards after catch, not deep routes necessarily.
