After an incredible, and somewhat improbable year last year in which we won the National Championship it has been difficult to watch these great Tigers return to the middle of the pack. You can point fingers at the dismissal of Perilloux which threw a very young and untested corps of QB's into the starting role. You can look to Hatch's injury which suddenly dismissed all offensive creativity as a young Lee was suddenly handed the responsibility of leading the offense in one of the toughest leagues in the country. You can look at a defense that appears to be a mere shell of it's former self. Gone is the domination and the fear that these ravenous Tigers once struck into the hearts of the opposition. And when you're done looking you could very well be scratching your head with more questions than answers. Offense You don't have to look far down the roster to find talent. Thanks to the great job this staff does with recruiting we have enought to compete with anyone in the country. And more help is on the way. A Christmas gift in the form of Rueben Randle would likely put this class at the top. Still, it's been difficult to watch the offensive struggles and a young Lee go out time and time again and end up with the same results. I don't blame Lee at all. The kid has a ton of heart and is the kind of guy that you want to have on your team but he just hasn't been able to pull away and establish himself as the true starter. I hope you noticed his support of Jefferson after his TD and the fact that he wanted to walk into the locker room on his own after the injury. The most popular guy on any football team is often the backup QB and that has been the case for Jordan Jefferson. He has the skills and on Saturday he had that look in his eye combined with a renewed enthusiasm that briefly lifted the whole team. He is still young though and for the most part not sure that his overall results would have been a lot better but they may not have been much worse than Lee's. Still it's difficult to dial up large numbers on offense when you become on dimensional and the opposition doesn't have to respect your weapons. Even though they were limited in what they could do, I really felt like the coaching staff could have done a better job with play calling and didn't always put their team in the best position to be successful. Defense I know that a lot of people have been focused on the struggles on the other side of the ball but for me it's been the defense that has been the most disappointing. This defense has given up an average of 23 points per game. If you toss out the Tulane and North Texas scores it gets much much worse. Although Lee seemed to have a knack for the pick 6 it still doesn't add up to all the points and yards this defense gave up. I know there is a lot of youth on this team and particularly in the secondary where we seemed to give up a lot of big plays. I also realize that the coordination required by the DB's and Safeties can take some time. We didn't do them any favors by failing to get pressure on the opposing QB's. We didn't dominate or even control the line of scrimmage most of the time. The defense appeared confused and out of place a lot of the time and unable to make the stops they needed to keep the Tigers in the game. I know that when your offense puts you back on the field frequently it can be a challenge but still we are not the same as when Bo Pellini was at the helm. Coaching I really felt like this was a lackluster season from our Coaches. They just appeared unable to make the necessary adjustments and put the kids in a position to win. They also seemed unable to motivate or inspire this team. I just didn't see this staff "Coaching their a**es off". This is the year that should have happened and I'm a little disappointed. I recognize they had numerous challenges and that this was going to be a down year for the Tigers but I still don't feel that they put in their best performance. One big change for this staff: Get rid of the two headed DC approach. It doesn't work, never has and never will. When it comes to key positions like Coordinators you need one. One person that is in charge, who owns the position and is responsible and accountable for everything that happens. You need one philosophy, one mission statement and one goal. Everytihng that you do and everyone that you have on board aligns to that. You wouldn't have two Head Coaches so why would you have two coordinators? This has to be the first issue addressed and I'm not so sure that either one of our current DC's should be picked as the leader for that unit. Not sure who we should bring in but this needs to be changed this year. That may sound a little impatient but you should be able to see the writing on the wall. If the diaper is a little soft and smelly, get out the wipes and the Huggies. And Finally This year's Tigers team could certainly have won more games. I'm sure that there isn't a person on this board that would say otherwise. I personally thought we were a 9-3 team going into this year. I had us down for losses to Auburn (given our record on their turf), Florida and Georgia. Given the changes that we faced I thought this is where we would fall. I didn't anticipate going back to an ordinary team. Still, it's a great time to be a Tiger Fan when we can fuss about being middle of the pack. There are a number of teams with high expectations out there that would trade positions (can you say Notre Dame). It's also great that we all expect to be in the SEC and even National Championship games. It wasn't that long ago that we were just excited to make a bowl game. There is a ton of talent on this team and more coming and they will be back. As quickly as we fell, so too can we rise again. So I have traced the fall from grace back to a couple of key components. This team has suffered from a loss of confidence and an absence in leadership. These critical missing ingredients have drilled a big hole in the team's motivation and their swagger. You gotta have these things to be a champion. If you look at the spark Jefferson provided yesterday you may have noticed how the entire team rallied. For a time, they had that swagger. They owned that field and that stadium the way they had done in recent years' past. Unfortunately it failed to sustain and you know the rest. Matt Flynn, Jacob Hester, Glenn Dorsey, Dwayne Bowe, Early Doucett, Marcus Spears ... and more. These were players that were leaders. These were the guys that inspired, led and pulled rosters together. They were people that helped you reach down deep and pull out that one more push you needed to win that game when all appeared loss. They were guys that instilled confidence and that swagger that you must have to win on any football field. They defined their teams and created the identity. This is what is missing from this team and could very well be the difference between 7-4 and 9-2 or possibly 10-1. No one on this team has stepped up as that leader. No one stands out and as a result the team struggles and at times appears aimless. You must have leadership on the sidelines and on the field. You can't stand by yourself, you can't sit on the bench you must have guys that walk up and down that line, getting players on their feet, keeping guys in the game and inspiring each other. It must come from within the team. It is my opinion that this absence of leadership depleted the team's confidence, removed their swagger and prevented the definition of and identity and allowed a corps of serious talent to under perform their abilities. You hope that after going through a season like this one that the team would bond closer together. You hope that when you have traveled together down the road of extreme trial and hardship that you emerge stronger than you have ever been. You hope that the lessons of this year will translate to success next year. None of this will happen with the absence of identity. None of this will be achievable unless leadership emerges that can pull these young men together and will them forward to victory. And those are just my thoughts ... :geaux:
On top of all that you said, have you noticed that our mascot (the dude/girl) in the Tiger outfit must be suffering from anorexia. What happened to the full bodied Tiger from the past. He's starting to resemble the Auburn Tiger who has always been a skinny ass Tiger.
Please forward this book report to the coaching staff. They need the input. It will likely be enlightening to them and assist with future decision making. :rofl:
Tiger 420, you hit the nail on the head. We have the talent but no leadership on either side of the ball.
Better coaching, Good decision making, playing the players to their strengths would also help. Great Post, I was just gonna say that.. Awesome..
I competely agree: LEADERSHIP! There are several other things missing as well- chemistry and inspiration. Far too many times, our Tigers don't seem fired up. It could be the "hangover", but I put that on the coaches for allowing the team to become complacent with last year's NC. If this is the case. As far as our defense goes- changes have to be made. :crystal::geaux::crystal::geaux::crystal:
Our season isn't over, and I'm not one to look ahead. However, one thing the team shouldn't have (we fans might) next year is a hangover.
I 110% agree. I believe that LSU has always had leadership but I think that he hancuffed that role this year on both sides the ball. Jamarcus, Bowe, Davis, Flynn, Helms, Doucet,and Hester were all leaders of the offense while playing, but Les Miles to me has seemed to strangle that role from the offense by limiting the offense to nothing because of exp at qb. There are players that I think want the responsibilty(chuck scott) but miles seems to have only J. Lee as the only one capable enough to lead this team. Defense- Miles took away leadership when he decided to have 2 DCs. Beckwith is a good football player and should be the coach on the field as middle LB. Most people tend to think of Dorsey and Steltz but Jackson, highsmith, zenon played roles also not to mention chad jones being an eraser and destroyer for the d last year. RJF, H Coleman and the rest of the tiger roster that bleeds purple and gold didn't forget how to play football it's just different when they have to play the (play not to lose scheme) prevent defense.
