Very objective view, CP... I'd have to agree with most of it, however I'm not much on comparing scores... It's been a pretty wacky season, so anything can happen. I think LSU's style of playing is that they play to the level of the opponent. This is why we've had close ones with Bama, Auburn, Ky, Fla, etc.. Except at the beginning of the season. I think they were just anxious to put the wood to someone after waiting all off-season... Bottom line, this team knows how to find ways to win a game. They've shown this time and time again. I don't like the situations they put themselves in at times, but in more cases than not they know how to get out of them... They've definitely given us a season to remember.
This element concerned me most as well. Were it not for the key interceptions, Ole Miss did not have great difficulty getting yards, and the score could have been much closer. Overall their offense showed it was not on all cylinders, but the better elements gave us fits. A more complete offense would have proven difficult yesterday.
Tebow is more of a north-south, run over you type of runner. You won't see him juking breaking anyone out of their shoes. Schaeffer on the other hand was pretty effective running on us, because he is a much more shifty QB. He just can't throw. Pat White, though not a Steve Young, is fast, shifty and can throw the ball pretty well. Steve Slaton is just fast and, from what I've seen in him, he has incredible balance. I can definitely see WVU giving our D a hard time. If Ole Miss can do it, WVU can. However, our offense would put up a ton of points on them. Their defense isn't as impressive as their offense. BUT I will say this, since Miles has been here, I've felt that in the last couple of years, the Tigers have been playing not to lose. If they would get ahead, they would play really conservative, allowing the other team to get back into the game. This year it doesn't seem that way. They play to win, no matter how ugly the win is.
I did and see that LSU is still the #1 ranked team in the nation and still squarely in the driver's seat for a berth in the NC game. You, and a lot of other fans are concerned about what will happen. Valid, I guess, but I'm not cut that way.
I'm a bit confused. Are you saying Miles seems to playing to win this year, unlike the last two years which you think he was playing not to lose?
Remember the Tennessee comeback of '05 and the near loss of '06? This year, we aren't playing pretty all of the time, but we are finishing games. I'm not saying Miles was doing it on purpose. It just seemed like a trend. Jimbo would almost go completely conservative once we were a couple of touchdowns ahead. Run run pass punt. It got to a point where I could call the next play with good accuracy. This year, not so much.
I would definitely like us to run more. Wear down the defenses and keep the clock running so that our Defense gets lots of rest. I think we are pretty well balanced though between the pass and run. Sometimes it feels like we pass more than run but it is actually dead even. I would like to maybe shade the plays a bit to running it more. Especially against Arky so that our D gets rest. The D line needs to be able to get off the field quickly and we know Arky is going to run a lot. I think in the SECCG we will want to have the time of possession advantage because both teams in that game will have very good offenses. So we need to eat the clock with lots of good running plays.
I think Pelini has been blitzing more lately, which was pretty non existent against UF and UK. Starting in the AU and Bama game he started blitzing more. For some reason our DB's aren't locking down on WR's like they used to. I don't know if this is Pelini's fault or not. I think Pelini is like Miles, in that if a job opens up he will still be 100% focused on winning out. Not only for the players and team's sake but because it rarely happens in coaching careers that you get a shot at the NC. You have to take a shot at it while you can. Plus it means a nice pay bump. Bama exposed us with their good WR's and picked on McCray. The D was good against AU. Our defense is still arguably the best in the nation, and I think they are when they are all healthy.
BTW, I still believe Pelini is going to Neb. A while back I started a thread about it and that I had some booster info a friend of mine got. The scenario is that after LSU is done with the SECCG Nebraska will announce a coaching change or that Callahan will resign or be let go. They didn't specify if Pelini would be named at that time. But I find it odd that Osbourne hasn't announced yet that Callahan will be replaced when the CFB world pretty much concludes that he is gone.
Gotcha. I do like the offense more this year. Although, the I formation still seems like a telegraphed run 95% of the time. Can't say the same about the shotgun, where we run an option enough to keep defenses from cheating.
