Here is what I have been preaching for the last 4-5 years. As it has been said it is nothing new and we averaged like 4 dropped passes a game last year. Seems to be slightly better this year. I know some will not like what I posted on another board but it is the only way I can see it. The thing is you really can't use dropped balls as a reference for what should have been done because it has been the same over the last 4+ years. Just apart of our makeup over that span. People referred to the drops last year in regards to JJ and was mostly shot down because they weren't happy with his play regardless. Kind of funny how it is more widely accepted now that it continues with Lee. Sunk Cost Either way you slice it the offense has to improve one way or another and that includes all of the offense not just the QB or the WRs. We are still way at the bottom of offensive production compared to the rest of the NCAA (90th I believe and 101st in passing offense).
Why? Don't get me wrong, I'm not being a prick. I'm honestly asking someone that is much smarter about football than me why is it that our offense isn't what a #1 teams offense should be? If we had a top 20 offense with the defense we have we would be amazing. Another thing, if our offense is so sub par on the rankings, how are we scoring in the upper thirties- low forties consistantly?
I even remember defending B. Lafell who took a lot of heat for "dropsies" even though his soph numbers were better than Bowe's as a soph.
Really a puzzle on why our offense especially the passing game hasn't been on par since 2007 but it is a mixture of things. We seem to have been transitioning the offense in different phases each year under Crowton. Ex Meercat offense, from complex sub packages to simplified, etc... Now it seems we do have a foundation to start with but then right before the season we get the news on Krag and Stud inserted last minute. We have been in flux ever since the championship year in different aspects of the offense. Right now we are keeping the offense simple and we may be even asking Lee to stick with his 1st pre snap read to keep some sort of consistency which we do have to some degree. The only part of the offense that hasn't changed is the focus on the run game which has been our savior. As for why our offense is scoring consistently on paper is simply, Defense. The defense and special teams are scoring and if they are not scoring they are giving our offense a short field to work with a majority of the time. Another aspect that hasn't changed from last year.
Everything you say here makes sense. I guess the question we all have right now (and we don't know the answer) is will the offense be the reason why we potentially lose a game... The drops are problematic and can be corrected; hopefully it will. I'll admit I don't watch other teams with the same scrutiny as I do LSU; I'm sure other teams' receivers drop some throws now and then. :geauxtige
Just as a reference: The Ohio State team that won the National championship by beating a heavily favored Miami team (Ken Dorsey), had an AWFUL offense. THEY "won ugly", 13-9, 10-7, 14-13 games ALL season long. That Buckeye team that was #1 had no passing game and Maurice Clarette and they rode him and a solid defense all the way to a :crystal: Even OU! When Josh Heupel (spelling?) was their QB. I don't recall them setting the world on fire on offense. What I remember most about that OU team was that their defense was badass. My point to this is that just because you're the #1 team in the country, doesn't mean you HAVE to have this perceived notion to be "dominant" on BOTH sides of the ball. Because you don't. Offense wins games. DEFENSE wins championships! When your defense is as dominant as LSU ('03, '07 and '11), OU '00 (or was it '01?) and Ohio St in '02, and shutting the door on your opponent week-in and week-out, you just need an offense to put up 3-4 scores. A 21-28 point deficit vs a smothering and nasty defense is demoralizing for an opponent to try to over-come. OU had a Heisman trophy winning QB that buckled and withered under enormous defensive pressure in '03 and it frustrated and rattled the Sooners. Give me the option of having a top 10 offense or a top 10 defense, and I'll take that top 10 defense each and every day of the week.
