It's not the loss that hurts, it's the performance...

I watched the game last night in utter amazement. This team that had always risen to the occassion, who never got consumed my the moment, who had battled through seemingly everything were, for once, dumb founded by the scene and the scale of the scene.

After cooling off this morning I have tried to think this through because the team we all saw last night is not the same team that we've seen all season long. From the outset it was apparent that Alabama had come to play ball and that we were lack luster. This is taking nothing from Bama's performance because they won the day but it almost seemed as if the entire team and coaching staff had taken a punch to the gut before the game started and could never recover.

As bad as it hurts, I can handle losing if our team performs to their best. Not only was last night not our best, it was the worst performance in the past two or three years and maybe further back than that. All night I kept waiting for someone or something to spark our team and it never happened.

I cannot help but believe that the youth of this team played a part in last night's performance. Since before the SEC championship all they have heard is that they should be mentioned with the greatest teams in college football history and that is a lot for a 18-20 year old kid to absorb. Our coaching staff also did a poor job of mentally preparing our kids for what they were going to face: it was always going to be harder than it was the first time. To me this was evident by the some of the statements players made regarding Bama not deserving to be in the BCSNCG.

Lastly, there is no excuse for our QB play last night. I could go into a lot greater detail, perhaps play-by-agonizing-play but I am afraid it would only serve to raise my blood pressure as it did last night. I will leave it at this: glad the whole saga is over.

On to an improving Tigers basketball squad and the spring game.

GEAUX TIGERS!!!

 

Well put. I totally agree.

 

Good post! Pretty much my feelings as well.

 

That's it. It's not the loss but the embarrassing way it happened.

Everyone down to the most ignorant football fan could see that Jefferson wasn't getting it done and was never going to recover. Everyone knows Lee should have been given a chance.

Maybe someday we'll all get the inside information about Les infatuation with Jefferson. It's not rational and doesn't make a bit of sense.

This loss has changed the way I feel about LSU football

I'll never be as heavily invested emotionally as I have been in the past.

Last night's embarrassment hurt too much and it just isn't important enough in the real world to get so worked up over a sport.

There is no shame in losing to that Bama team.

There is a ton of shame the way that game was coached. I'm trying to give the O line a pass because there isn't much they can do when a Saban defense knows your QB can't pass the ball to save his life.

 

Add me to your list!

 

Yep, he nailed it.

 

Last night’s game was perhaps the most frustrating LSU game I can recall watching in my entire life. The team looked scared, uptight, and ill-prepared. I did not think we played with any swagger, and we looked like a team that got away with one earlier in the year and knew an ass-whipping might be in store. I was very disappointed with the lack of championship swagger. I can recall many LSU teams under Miles looking disorganized, but we always look like we are there to kick some ass. We didn’t have the eye of the tiger last night.

JJ is a total, unmitigated disaster, and he played the most frightened, indecisive game imaginable from the QB position. When he ran, he ran like a bitch that was scared to get hit. On options, it is his responsibility to make the end/LB commit to him, and that means taking a hit. He NEVER took a hit. Instead, he strung the option all the way to the sideline, then pitched it backwards 4 yards for a loss.

Worse than the running is the passing. Miles said after the game they didn’t put JL in because they thought they needed a mobile QB given the pass rush. That is bull****. What you need is a QB to make a quick decision and get the ball to the open spot in a place where your athletes can run after the catch. Anyway, it’s not like JJ’s “mobility” was doing us any good – he just held the ball forever with that “confused dog” look on his face and then ran out of bounds (before getting hit, mind you) for some glorious 1 and 2 yard gains. Bama’s game plan on D was simple: commit to stopping the run and make JJ beat them in the air. The passes were there for the taking, we simply did not have a QB in the game to take them.

LSU did not play to win last night. They played not to lose. Bama came out aggressive, and they played far more aggressively all night. I though they beat LSU physically , mentally and emotionally, and that is embarrassing. We will NEVER be able to pay back Bama for this one, because these two teams will NEVER play in the BCS title game again. Bama will always laugh about how they ****ed up our magical year, got revenge and won the title all in the same night.

I cannot tell you how relieved I am to have those two QBs off the team. I swear, if they could get another year of eligibility, Miles would play them again next year despite having two 5-stars on the bench. I will never fully understand Miles’ devotion to JJ, but I do know it cost LSU an incredibly important and historic title.

 

I agree with your post but let me add a little, we should have seen this coming. JJ and the offense vs Arkansas, Georgia in the first half. We all knew that there was no way we could do the same thing again and win against Bama. Was just listening to the radio and caller brought up the point that Alabama game planned for JL and not JJ the first time around. The second time around they game planned for JJ, if you want to try and outsmart the other team JL needed to play especially if JJ wasn't getting it done.
I agree with your post, Our offense probably didn't play for 60 minutes since the bama or Ole Miss game either.

 

Agree with all of this....well said.

 

Those kids deserved much more than the lack of effort they got from the offensive (literally) coaching staff. Miles, Krags, Stud and the rest of the band of merrymen should be ashamed of themselves.