I agree with you. Last night, the team put more effort out there than the other four games combined. Now, had there been individual performances here and there that showed effort before last night? Of course. But not the team as a whole. So...we can debate why the effort that has been missing was there last night when it has been absent before. But there is no doubt that the mindset of that team was very different last night. Will is last or will it wane? I suppose that remains to be seen.
It's not that they weren't trying to the best of their physical ability. It's that they were affected by the malaise permeated by Miles approach to the game and were not fully on board mentally and emotionally the way they were last night. They might have run through a brick wall for Miles and Miles would ask them to do it over and over. They would run through a brick wall for Oeaux already this early in his tenure but after the first time Oeaux would tell them to go around the wall instead. We have all had days when we wanted to do our best but just weren't totally into it. If you asked me about how I did at work one of those days I would tell you I did my best but it really wasn't the best I could have done if I had been enthusiastic about the job.
If a player is lacking intensity I don't see Coach O putting up with that. Looks like he wants to send a clear message of pride in LSU football. A focus on the little things while bringing the team together. We will learn a lot more this coming weekend as the defense will be much better. Not to mention going into a hostile environment. However I feel more optimistic about LSU football than I have in a few years.
Last night they were given the tools they needed to get the job done. The effort was the same, the result looked very different.
I agree they were given the tools needed to get the job done. The results were certainly very different. I have to disagree though that the effort was the same. Last night we saw a fire in LSU that we have not seen the last few years. We saw a team that believed, a team that wanted it more than the opponent. Again, I go back to the catch Chark made where he wrestled the ball away from the defender, that was a fire that had been missing. The OL and DL played their best games as well. Sure, Guice and Williams made nice cuts but the OL was blowing up holes that they weren't in the first few games, allowing the back to get to the second level more frequently.
I just don't see how you feel the effort put forth was the same last night as it had been in the previous month. It was night and day, as @ThePhenom74 alluded to in his post.
We're the results night and day different, you bet. Was the effort in the early games any less, very doubtful. The effort and desire to win has been there, the team played hard in the first 3 games, they just did it with one hand tied behind their backs. Are players and the fans more excited after an 85 yard touchdown drive than they are after a 3 and out, he'll yes! Doesn't automatically mean they gave less effort in the drive that resulted in 3 and out. The difference the playcalling made in the game is well beyond significant. It was the catalyst that got the offense moving and kept the chains moving. It's hard for me to imagine that anyone that regularly watches LSU football wouldn't see the difference playcalling made.
Yes, there is more to the story. The safeties were creeping in the box in the second half because we had a big lead, and had been gashing them for long runs, and they expected us to take the air out of the ball, which we did, particularly in the 4th quarter.
