I want to see him Improved from the Cotton Bowl Game, but lets be realistic, if he can repeat his cotton bowl appearence week in and week out - WHO'S B!TCHING? - Cause Im sure as hell not - I'll take it
That's exactly what we have lowered our expectations to. The Cotton Bowl was considered to be his best performance as a Tiger. Fortunately that's as good as we need him to be in order to win. Unfortunately he is yet to prove that he can consistently perform at even that low level. I'm really hoping this is his year and he can be consistently good, he doesn't need to be great. Just manage the offense and get the ball into the playmakers hands without screwing things up. All he has to do is meet the very low expectations and the Tigers will roll. Anything less and who knows.
As a Duck fan, looking at LSU, the biggest weakness you all have is QB. Yes, he is insanely talented, but....BUT.... his actual on field performance has been very very very very inconsistent. If JJ can play a full season at his talent potential, I think LSU will play in the BCSNCG. Unfortunately, I don't think he will. Inconsistentcy is not as easily corrected in a QB as bad footwork, or a poor follow through arm motion. It's a mental thing, and no amount of physical talent on his part can overcome the mental errors. I think JJ will have some great games next year, but he will also have some terrible games, and at least one of those terrible games will wind up being a loss for LSU. That's my prediction. Will he have a great game or a terrible game vs Oregon? I have no idea, but even a Duck fan like me realizes that if he has a great game, Oregon will lose.
Yeah, we know the effects of losing a starter without someone in the wings. Problem for us is it's mean seasonS.
My hope is that last year's interceptions made JJ realize picks can be thrown even when a guy appears to be wide open. J.Lee's 2008 season shell-shocked a lot of people to the point that our QB's wouldn't just trust our uber-talented receivers and let it fly. QB's train to find advantageous one-on-one matchups. You ALWAYS favor the receiver in a one-on-one matchup. There are many many great corners in the NCAA and the NFL, but their only a few that you flat-out avoid (PP last year, Darelle Revis, Nnamdi what's his face in the pros, and a very few others). Hopefully PP is about to join those ranks professionally. But back to my point... JJ wouldn't even trust one-on-one matchups. He would only wing it when he thought a guy was wide open, which realistically rarely happens where a QB can anticipate it. If he can free his mind to trust his pass catchers and let them be playmakers, his # of completions will increase, as well as his number of attempts. That only bodes well for the RB's who will be challenged by 5-6 guys instead of 8-9 guys. TRUST THE ATHLETES.
And that is a DIRECT consequence of poor coaching and a lack of confidence that went with it. If everything we've heard is true, his mind is in a better place than it's ever been under Gary Crowton, and that alone should lead to improvement. He doesn't have to be a complete QB package, he just has to do a few things reliably well, and be allowed to utilize his natural athletic talents to make plays.
And improve the timing! Jefferson for three years now tends to wait until a receiver is breaking open before throwing the ball, which is too late. I had hoped Gonzales would have helped Jefferson develop better chemistry with his receivers, but I didn't see much of it. Hopefully Kragthrope can improve Jeffersons sense of timing.
I actually agree with you until proven otherwise. However, I also agree with the above post that LSU can still win with JJ playing poorly in a couple games. Here's why I think this... JJ tends to play MORE poorly in games LSU can win without him. Vandy, Tennessee, and MSU come to mind from last season. Seems like in games where LSU has a 'quality opponent', JJ steps it up a notch and plays his best. Bama and Texas A&M come to mind.
