Yep, we're never supposed to question anything. Guess the offensive staff is doing just fine, too. We just happened to have the bad luck to recruit duds for the last 4 years at key spots who can't respond to coaching. Anyone can have an unlucky year with injuries, but when season-ending injuries hit the same unit for several years in a row, that's going to elicit questions.
We also lost a starting RB and LB. Injuries are part of the game, happens everywhere. I think that we have been more than lucky with injuries, up till this year. We also had a WR that could have helped get hurt before the season.
I'm not even talking about season ending injuries. I'm talking about guys who are dragging ass in the first half or laying on the field when they get knocked around in the trenches. You have to be blind to not see that LSU has more kids who seem gassed or more prone to the "sit out for one play" type injuries on both sides of the ball. Yes, the SEC is tough & yes these are young men, and yes our defense is on the field for 55 minutes of the game because our offense sucks, but this is not just tired kids. These are unprepared kids. Moffitt may be the best in the business and Marucci may be a genius with a wood lathe, but as long as I see our guys getting hurt & gassed more often than our opponents, I am going to point the finger at the guys who are directly responsible for keeping them strong & in shape.
I've always been a Moffit fan, but I kinda see his point. Ticky-tack injuries seem to be a real problem, but maybe it only seems that way because we're watching LSU more closely. Another possibility might be that these kids are instructed to go down with every minor injury by the coaching staff, to make damn sure they don't turn a small injury into a major one while running off the field. It's smart, really; it gives the rest of the players a break and a chance to regroup, it allows the injured player to get a full assessment of his issue, and it allows the coaches to think more carefully about their next move. Maybe some of the less "player-friendly" coaching staffs don't like that idea, and if you can walk it off, you damn well better do just that. Jes' spitballin'.
While it may be well within the rules, do you think that anyone outside of the confines of the LSU halls would ever come to Miles or Alleva or Marucci/Moffitt and call them on this? I'm all for slowing down a HUNH offense, but doing it by laying on the field because you have a little bit of pain that could possibly develop into a larger issue if you go one more play without a trainer looking you over seems a little chicken shit to me. Just my two cents. You are right that I may see it more often by LSU because I am closer to our program, but when I hear opponents (and even casual football observers) call it out to me, I have to think it is not common practice & we are the exception more than the rule.
I'm not trying to suggest that they are taking dives just to get a breather. That would be chicken-shit. I'm suggesting that they may be instructed to use a little more caution when evaluating their level of pain. A small tear in a tendon can turn into a full-blown Lattimore-knee in a split second. Momma always said it's better to be safe than sorry, and with the way Miles obviously cares for his players, it wouldn't surprise me to hear that my hypothesis is correct. And it's not JUST against HUNH offenses that they do this. It's only more prevalent because a)there are more plays, and b)everyone has it in their heads that it's just a ploy to slow their team down, regardless of the situation.
My wife being a Texas alum, I watch a lot of Longhorn games, and their guys seem to get hurt a lot less than ours. They win less football games, too, so
you are overanlyzing. if you see a couple players down it doesnt mean everyone needs to be fired. it means a couple guys are down.
If I saw a couple guys down, I never would have started this thread. Because I have seen guys going down consistently & habitually over all games for the last couple seasons, I started this thread.
