We ran all over GT. He didn't put up gaudy passing stats. GT had no real way to prepare for Jefferson either.
Do you not remember the perfect left handed throw for a first down in the redzone? The guy was taking chances and showing he could lead. This year, the play calling has shackled him again, and now he's playing scared.
Jordan Jefferson is incredibly accurate when moving to his right. But i think there was 1 play where he rolled right and threw, and Toliver dropped it because he got popped. If you know what a guy's strengths and weaknesses are, why not create plays based on that? I totally agree with you man, the play calling has shut him down, but at some point you would like to see the kid make something happen. We have receivers who make UF's corner's look like midgets, throw the damn ball up, don't take a sack on 4th and 1 and then try to stretch the ball out, when you are clearly about 4 yards away from the stick. That was a pitiful play call by the way on that 4th and 1. What the hell do you have Richard Dixon for if you can't play fake to the tight end on an out route on 3rd or 4th and short. Same thing around the goal line, and now that i think about it, why the hell hasn't Richard Dickson been worked into this offense, the dude is money, hell you could have him block and then just turn around 3 yards past the line of scrimmage, he will pull people for another 2 yards. There should always be a checkdown option for JJ because he will sit there all night.
I completely agree that he was taking chances. But we gotta remember that the season was in the gutter and there was virtually no pressure on him to perform.
Speaking of Richard Dickson, how frustrated is that guy? Probably has the surest hands on the team, and has hardly any catches. Usually, the TEs and RBs are the safety blanket for a struggling/new QB, but obviously, that's not the case for LSU.
Another thing about Lee, he's a redshirt soph, so he has another year in the system than JJ, he should understand the playbook and the system better at this point. There's no guarantee on that, but it would make sense.
Well, when the O isn't working on any level, I don't rule anything out. But Lee did get worse last year instead of better as the season went on. He was really bad for those last five games (especially against Tulane, Troy, Alabama and Ole Miss). I think he had 10 picks in that 5-game stretch. But he was very inaccurate as well on his other passes. Against Troy, it was 31-3 nearing the end of the 3rd quarter and we could not get into the end zone with Lee at QB. We had to put Jefferson in to finally get a TD at the end of the 3rd. It was the same thing with the Ole Miss game. We never reached the end zone until Jefferson came in. I thought Lee did some good things in the beginning half of the year, but he just went backwards as the year went on. I just wonder if he could have improved that much by just practicing in the offseason. With Jefferson, I feel like he waited way too long to throw the ball on about three or four of the sacks against Georgia, but I thought he played well considering that it was his first major road game and we had a # of drops in that one. Saturday, I thought he played well in the first half. But the 2nd half was a different story. In the first half, he took off when he didn't see anything there, etc. In the 2nd, he just froze in situations where he knew we couldn't afford to take a sack. You can't get sacked on 4th and 1 - do anything with it but get sacked. You have to attempt to make a play on some level no matter how risky it is. His biggest problem right now is that he's holding onto the ball until he finds someone that has a step or two on the defender. Well against a D like Florida's, you're gonna hold onto the ball all night because they're that good. I was there and there weren't any times when everyone was talking about why he didn't hit the open man. You have to put the ball up and let your future NFL receivers make a play on it. You have to take the info. you have on the WR's route and put it where you anticipate them being and hope that they'll make a really good play. That's what great teams do. It's hard, but you can't have success on O against a D like Florida's unless you're willing to chance it. Playing safe with few turnovers against a team with a great D and O will only keep you close. It won't win the game for you. They're got to coach him and challenge him to make those throws. If he doesn't or isn't willing to do that, then you look at other options if things aren't working. With Lee in, my guess is that he would have put up a few more passes and we may have had a better chance at some longer completions. But Florida's D is so good that unless you're really accurate (as far as putting the ball in a spot where only your WR can catch it), they're gonna pick it. And Lee had a habit of lobbing a few too many passes. But if we don't start improving on O, it wouldn't hurt just to try him out for a drive or so just to see if he has improved. But I think LSU's biggest issues right now revolve around the playcalling and use of talent. We were close and in the game pretty much all the way. But the playcalling was just BAD and unimaginative (the 4th and 1 call would be one great example). It's upsetting to think about what could have been.
The rollouts don't work in the SEc, basically teams put a clamp on that even in the first game. I told you guys those rollouts and pitch options are going to disappear and it did. It's very simple if you are playing LSU... stack the line play up on the WRs and make the QB kill you. You have have take what the other teams are giving you... which is passing from the pocket. Teams are playing way up and stack the line and playing tight on the WRS... the quick slants are there as well as the up the middle play to Dickson.
Some good points there. But it really doesn't matter if you have a check down receiver, 5 wide outs, etc., if the QB stares down the receiver. Look back at last week's INT at UGA; he stared Dickson down the whole time. You're damn straight about the playcalling - an absolute abomination. The false start penalties didn't help, either. At this point I just don't understand why LSU doesn't play the freshmen. Lack of experience, big game, etc., I got it. But if what you're doing ain't working, why continue to do it? It just seemed like UF knew exactly where the play was going based solely on formation.
