Expections for this Tiger team the rest of the way

First off Im a Tiger fan through and through no matter the record. Of course Id much rather be a championship team or at least BCS team. That said Im not sure about the expectations for the team.

Are we fans maybe expecting more than the talent and coaching can give us? Are we spoiled by the last few seasons? Does this team have the same or similar talent, just lacking leaders and coaching? Do we put too much emphasis on the recruiting forecasters?

That said I think LSU has a lot of talent but there are a lot of variables as to how far this team can go. Talent wise I do think LSU has as much talent as any school outside of Florida. A lot depends on how the DL and especially the OL plays. A lot also depends on how much JJ improves. He has to have much better touch on the deep ball. He also has to set his feet better. A lot depends on the coaching as well. Miles is at a crucial point right now in his career at LSU. We had way too much talent to lose and play like we did last year. This season JJ has been coddled too much. If we play this conservative against UF, Bama, and Ole Miss they will eat us up. Auburn and Ark are no gimmes either. I know a lot of the play calling is based on the OL and JJs play but still. We arent even throwing intermediate routes here much less going 20 yards down the field. We also have to find ways to get Shepard the ball and use to game situations. He is serious weapon that should be getting more touches than he has thus far.

On the defensive perspective we have to sure up the tackling. Although improving we still miss way too many tackles. LSU takes very poor angles, especially Jones, Sheppard, McCray and the DL over pursues a lot. Coleman as well at times. Overall the D looked good last week but was helped out by pathetic WR play. I think we have a very solid D, but once we get to the bigger games we cant afford to have as many mistakes to compensate for the lulls in the O.

Talent wise, I think we should lose 2-3 games. UF is pretty much a given. Our DL isnt dominant enough. Nor do we have the OL and QB play to beat them. Fine, they are by far the best team in the country. Id hate to lose to Bama but I could accept it. Ole Miss is a very good team so thats acceptable. I think LSU has more talent than both Bama and Ole Miss. Both being road games make it tougher though, plus the uncertatinties of the O. If LSU loses more than 3 then yes there will be a lot of rumblings and Miles will be on the hotseat. Honestly, I just dont see the same fire in the players since the '07 championship. I dont see the same gutsy play calling. I dont see the same mean streak D. Thats on both players and coaches.

 

That's a pretty dire (depressive?) prediction for a team that:

1. is 2-0 after beating 2 reasonable BCS schools,
2. has probably a Top 5 cumulative recruiting class in the country over the past 4 years,
3. Has a head coach with an 80% or so winning percentage,
4. has two of the very best coordinators in the country,
5. and is just absolutely brimming with proven talent.

:nope:

Anything can happen: injuries, disciplinary issues, hurricanes (knocking on wood). But the following things can also happen: JJ becomes THE MAN, Shep averages 100 yards a game for the rest of the season, Rahim Alem sacks 14 this year, Patrick Peterson earns All American honors, LSU leverages turnovers and Florida mistakes and beats UF in Tiger Stadium, etc, etc.

Your prediction allows Georgia, Arkansas and Auburn to play above expectations, plus you allow La Tech to get close to LSU, yet you don't see LSU playing above expectations at any point.

This may be one of the most deeply negative posts I've seen in a long time. And I sure hope you're so wrong you feel silly for posting it come December. :shock:

Anyway -

Expected: Losses to Florida, Bama and one of (Ole Miss, Auburn, UGA or Arky) - Cotton Bowl or something similar.

Great season: Loss to either Florida or Bama.
Better than epected: Losses to both Florida and Bama.

Disappointing but not bad: 4 losses.
Fan base meltdown: More than 4 losses.

 

that's ONE sec win. man i expected this dude to be torn a new one over that post. :huh: guess it's just me. :rofl:

 

The LSU fan base could be the best but could also be one of the worst. I believe if LSU underperforms again this year and loses 4-5 games then yes Miles will be on the hot seat. He certainly wont be fired but no doubt this a big year for him. I like Miles and how he has genuine love for the state. I also really like his integrity, how he cares for his kids. That said last year was a horrible coaching job. Lee should have never played that long. The D was never addressed, etc. I wont go on about last year. If LSU loses 4-5 games this year then next year would really be crucial to his tenure.

Granted a lot of it depends on how well the team plays as well. If we play and lose to clearly better team, thats one thing. But if we lose games we should ahve won like Bama and Ole Miss last year or could have won like UGA then thats another thing.

 

I can't see into the future well enough to predict who we beat or not and down to the final score even, but I think we are going to have a very good season. We got too much. We just haven't jelled yet.

 

it wasn't a great coaching performance, that's for sure. but coach miles attempted to fix things, so let's give him a chance. i'm pretty sure i have CLM figured out, and i think things will be OK. did it ever occur to you that JJ just wasn't ready at the beginning of the season? i still don't think he's 100% ready. there are times where multiple receivers are open downfield and jordan will take the option, or throw out of bounds. but he's a sophomore. on the other hand, i would have started playing JJ a little bit sooner than CLM did. no one's perfect, not even christ, i don't think it's fair to expect CLM to make zero mistakes.

 

Man you're a bit harsh.

ULL - W - by at least 21 points
MSU - W - by at least 21 points
UGA - W - by 7 points
UF - L
Auburn -W by 14 points
Tulane - W - by 20 points
Alabama - L (It's a W if they continue to struggle protecting the QB)
Louisiana Tech - W - win by 14 points
Ole Miss - L
Ark - W - by 10 points

That's right now for me. This team has gotten leaps and bounds better in just 2 games.. who knows how nasty this team could get?

 

Dude, blind melly jelly could have coached that team that Saban had left for Miles. Where are the 11 wins now?