QB C+ Jarrett Lee sports the 4th best QB efficiency rating in the SEC, so it's not nearly as bad as things appear at this position. The errors that he is making are back breakers and needs to be limited or eliminated in the 2nd half of the season if LSU wants to head back to the SEC CG. Andrew Hatch has come into his own as a change of pace QB that gives the defense something else to defend. Look for more and more of this, as it takes pressure off Lee to share duties instead of having to do it all himself. RB/FB B+ One of the strongest facets of LSU's team, although it ran into a snag at Florida. Unfortunately, we hadn't yet discovered Keiland Williams could be a great alternative should Scott struggle. Now LSU has a two pronged attack in which they sometimes both appear in the backfield at the same time. Again, more for the defense to contend with, as Scott running the ball on a quick hitter at FB takes the heat off Williams at the tailback position. Look for this 2 back set more and more down the stretch. WR/TE B Lafell has been outstanding for the most part, and Byrd seemed to finally break out of his season long slump against South Carolina last week. That can only mean good things from here on out. Dickson is still a huge threat over the middle, but LSU has gone long stretches in games in which Dickson isn't involved in the offense, and that needs to change. Toliver has finally surfaced and needs to become a bigger threat in order for LSU's offense to start clicking on all cylinders. He's a huge target, one that LSU should be able to exploit an opponent's defense with very successfully. OL B+ The offensive line has been dominating for the most part. They did show that they are vulnerable if they aren't focused and ready to go, as was the case in the Florida game. Run blocking has been a tad bit better overall than the pass protection. Lee needs effective pass protection in order to thrive and to eliminate those back breaking interceptions. When LSU's offensive line decides to play, they dominate at will. Let's hope they have that kind of will the rest of the way. Offense B DL B Until last week, I would have considered this a disappointing unit and one in which we probably were overrating by quite a bit. But lo and behold, the tenacious D-line we have all been waiting for awoke the 2nd half of last Saturday's South Carolina game. The 'express' package which includes 4 defensive ends rather than having 2 defensive tackles on obvious passing downs paid big dividends. Look for LSU to continue this trend and serve up O-lines a slice of hell. The run defense is very solid, as most of Florida's success was on the edges, where linebackers and secondary personnel need to take over. LB C- This has been the eyesore for LSU football in 2008. Florida's success on the edges exposed what many thought might be the case leading up to that point in the season. Especially with the outside linebackers, the lack of athleticism, experience and communication has been evident. There have been flashes of brilliance from time to time, but nowhere near the consistency necessary for LSU to be the dominant defense it has been known for in the past. The 2nd half of the South Carolina game does give LSU fans some hope that the problem can be rectified. Dary Beckwith has not played Dary Beckwith football this season, mainly due to injury once again. We need a healthy and effective Beckwith if LSU is to make a push for another SEC championship. CB/S B- This particular segment of the team is the hardest to grade. So many great performances at the CB position, but not the overall consistency LSU would like to see. Safety play has been solid but not at a level where it has make an impact on the game, until Taylor finally intercepted a late 4th quarter pass against South Carolina. Communication is also a serious issue facing this unit. Instances where LSU is in the nickel or dime package where we are more likely to play zone coverage, communications have broken down and opponents have reaped the benefits of big plays in return. The emergence of Karnell Hatcher in the nickel and dime could be a big factor against teams like Georgia. Defense C+ Special Teams A- This has been the most consistent of all units. Colt David is magnificent once again. The punting game, a huge preseason question mark, has been a big positive for LSU thus far. Punt returning has been very good as well, and kick returning will only be a matter of time before something breaks. The kick coverage has been very solid on both punts and kickoffs.
What about a grade for the asst. coaches play calling? Go back and replay the FLA game and first half of the USC game before making the grade, and pay attention to not only the unassertive defensive sets, but focus on the offensive playcalling. Yes, we made mistakes/turnovers, but Crowton put the inexperienced players in too many vulnerable postions in the first half of these games, IMO. When we would make a few good runs, we would then abandon the run game for multiple plays in a row in favor of some funky pass plays, like ones behind the LOS, or requiring finesse blocks. I think we should be establishing the run a little more in the first half, thereby opening up the passing game more later in the game, and when we do pass early, they should be more high percentage/less complicated sets. My feeling is that these are the reasons we are not performing better right now. I think we have good enough players at most positions, and should be playing to our strength more by running the ball on offense, and getting pressure on the QB on defense, and doing these things early in the game to establish ourselves. Grade C-, IMO, FWIW.
OC B (scoring 31 ppg with a freshman QB is pretty damn good) DC C (that grade was a C-/D+ going into the 2nd half of the SC game) In the Florida game, I would totally disagree with your assessment. We tried to run too much in that game, and didn't take what the defense gave us, which was stretching the field over the middle and deep. We came out with a really conservative gameplan, which is odd for Crowton. Before we knew it, we were down 20-0 and too big of a hole to come out of. A lot of the problem on offense is Lee not executing the play correctly, basically tipping his hand early on. These quick hitting pass plays still require a lot of disguise to avoid being sniffed out. Lee's biggest thing to work on from here on out is to become a better "actor" on the field. He should start watching Peyton Manning film.
