If we were to lose I don't think we could blame it solely on the QB. There were times last year where our defense was subpar, such as against Arkansas, Auburn, and Mississippi. Everyone is expecting the defense to be great again, which in all likelihood it could be, but it was still far from perfect last year. And we lose our best 3 defensive players.
This is the best answer I've seen...or at least the one that most closely resembles my opinion. (Sorry Fish :yelwink2 I don't think we have a real good handle on how good the remaining defenders are for LSU. I posted somewhere that losing Nevis and Sheperd may be worse than we think. Those guys may have been so good that they may have made the guys playing along side them look better....the way Ricky Jackson made Pat Swilling and Vaughn Johnson look better for the Saints, by creating so much chaos in the pocket that he chased the QBs and RBs into their arms. I don't expect Ego Ferguson and Anthony Johnson to wreak havoc against veteran SEC OLs at the beginning of the season. Also I'm thinking that Sam Montgomery may still be affected by his injury. (Now, if our defense destroys the first five opponents, I fully expect someone to resurrect this post and I'll gladly eat crow, but I'm concerned about the defense more than the offense. :grin
I expect Freak Johnson to wreck havoc. He was the only DL double teamed a majority of the spring game by the 1st team OL. Maybe wishful thinking but he will catch the opposing OL's attention.
Yep, and when he wasn't double teamed, he was in the backfield. Still, I wouldn't have him as the most effective DL we're gonna have. I think folks are gonna be really surprised by Brockers. And SO many guys played last year and are back this year, we're very deep on the DL. Nothing against Nevis, but he'll be the least missed of the 3 as far as production goes. - Sheppard is another story. I didn't see anyone really step up the other day and resemble his contribution at all. - The DL is gonna continue to be disruptive, because of the scheme, the speed, the experience, and the quality depth. We're still 9 deep at least...with quality. - I'm a bit concerned about Montgomery as well. People can say what they want, but I'd be surprised if he's 100% this year. A lot of people said he would be back for the spring, and I didn't see that happening. Well, he wasn't. That was an unbelievable injury...not your typical knee scope.
That's certainly a possibility I do contemplate. Then again, before his Junior seasons I didn't expect that it would necessarily be Drake Nevis destroying veteran SEC OLs the way he did either. Or Glenn Dorsey before the 2006 season. But I did expect that somebody would be, just like I expect it now. Has there been any specific news about Montgomery not being 100%, or is it just a general concern for a serious injury (I don't get all the news out of BR up here in DC)? ldskule::geaux:ldskule:
Brockers is the rock of the DL. Everything will revolve around him. Montgomery could have gone this spring but he and the coaches decided to not risk it with full contact. He did all the drills other than full contact. Very impressive how fast he came along.
No offense, but some (you included) said he'd be ready for spring. Clearly he wasn't, or he would've played last week. I'm withholding my excitement until I see him on the field. Again, NASTY injury.
Guess your definition of ready differs from mine. He was cleared by doctors and participated in spring drills. We held a ton of players out of the spring game due to minor injuries. I think Montgomery made the right choice.
Hey, I have no idea what his current condition is. It just makes sense to me that if he's "ready", he would've played. Of course, Bama played two defenders in their spring game with no contact jerseys, which I thought was silly. How can you play defense with no contact?? - Anyway, knowing Miles' habit of either not releasing info on injuries, or even possibly releasing misinformation about injuries, I just maintain it's better to see it for myself before I believe it. Trust me, I WANT to believe it...
