Most observers said that he wasn't ready yet. And we all saw what happens when you throw a rookie to the wolves with Jarrett Lee. Nobody wanted to do that when we were undefeated all season. Why we never saw all three quarterbacks in the BCS game is still an astonishment beyond understanding.
I agree with you.....obviously not at the beginning of the season but brought along. It was obvious to me that neither Jefferson or Lee was good enough to take LSU that last step to the NC (IMO, LSU should have lost twice to Alabama last season, not just once). Have said that about Mettenberger, there were comments from people like Will Blackwell who said that Mettenberger was pretty immature. But I still would have liked to have taken my chances just like you suggested, especially after the Shady's bar situation. That automatically put Mettenberger as the #2 for half of the season. Since when is a RS FR "being thrown to the wolves"? Tommy Hodson started the entire season as a RS FR and became LSU's all time leader in QB stats. Lee and Mettenberger aren't remotely the same skill wise...Mettenberger has a stronger arm, better reading of coverages, doesn't throw off his back foot, etc. The last thing I wanted to see in the NC game myself was a change of QBs. From what I saw the QB was not good obviously but LSU was losing the LOS on offense big time. The last thing I would want to see is less mobile QBs in the game like Lee and Mettenberger (unless Mettenberger had been brought only which he hadn't)
Tommy Hodson went into the season as the number one quarterback and had been groomed for it. Lee went into the season as the #3 with prospects of little playing time until injuries forced him into the starter role unexpectedly. Thrown to the wolves.
#3? Ok I remember Perrilloux and would of course concede him being #1 before being booted. Surely, you are not referring to Andrew Hatch? I have no idea what the "official depth chart" was after Perrilloux but I suspect it was: 1) Perrilloux 32a) Jarrett Lee 32b) Andrew Hatch if that is who you are referring to. Matthew Stafford started his 4th game as a TR FR at Georgia...Garcia at S Carolina I believe played as a TR FR. If you are not ready to play as a RS FR, something is very wrong with either the QB coach (with Crowton, that could have been part of it) or the player. Auburn and Florida have recently played TR FR also. Wikipedia to the rescue. Perrilloux was suspended in February 2008 and booted May 2. Sounds like he didn't even participate in spring practice and certainly not the fall one. Thus, Hatch moved up to #1 and Lee #2 in the spring of 2008. No way was Lee #3 after Perrilloux got suspended, 1/2 a year before the start of 2008 fall practices.
Dude, Lee didn't play until Hatch got injured, so he was obviously behind him on the depth chart. See how that works? And yes, he was very much thrown to the wolves. No question about it.
Correct, broken leg from what I just read. He was not thrown to the wolves and BTW, a suggestion was made that going into the season he was #3 on the depth chart. See, here is how this works....if there are only 2 QBs in the fall, he cannot be #3. As added to my previous post, Perrilloux didn't occupy a roster spot officially for LSU after Feb 2008, 7 months before the start of the season. Thus, Lee was clearly #2, not #3. The suggestion that he couldn't be expected to play is simply not factual. He WAS the backup QB to Hatch.
He was forced into a starting QB position long before he was ready. There is tons of actual evidence that proves this. He was thrown to the wolves, and got mauled by them. Are you really going to spend your day arguing over a figure of speech?
I must respectfully disagree that we should've lost twice to Bama last season. I rewatched the November game just a couple of weeks ago, and we won that game fair and square. In fact, I would argue that without TM's personal foul on the OBJ punt return late in the 4th, we'd have won the game in regulation. We were starting to wear them out. As for it being "obvious" that neither JJ or JL could take us to that last step, I also have to disagree. Our team was so good that we dominated most of our opponents all season long, even with subpar QB play. Our OL got seriously owned on 1/9. Our problems that night started there.
No, I'm going to continue to say that you should be ready to play QB as a RS FR and the #2 QB starting from spring practice going into the fall season. BTW, I do NOT disagree with you that Jarrett Lee "wasn't ready". You know why he wasn't ready... because he wasn't/isn't a very good QB. Neither was Jordan Jefferson. Those guys could hang around college for a decade if allowed and they STILL wouldn't be ready. That has nothing to do with not taking enough snaps...they simply don't have the physical and mental tools to succeed. Tommy Hodson had them...Lee and Jefferson do not.
