2 days removed from the loss, the emotional disappointment has subsided and I can now process the game in a more rational manner. With the one notable exception (previously noted by all), the team played hard and never quit. We know we have talent, so how did we fail? Yes, there were several players who blew their assignments (some multiple times), but the biggest fail was coaching. Offensive play selection was extremely poor for the first 3 qtrs. and did nothing to help a struggling OL and quarterback. Why did it take so long for Kelley to make the change to go up tempo? Special teams play was a disaster. How did Kelley and the special teams coach not see this coming? Even with the loss of Masson Smith, the DL performed well. The secondary played much better than many of us thought. The problem on defense seemed to be mainly at the LB position which seemed to be consistently out of position. They frequently got beaten on crossing routes and often failed to set the edge on wide run plays.
IMO that's difficult to "see" in practices. I suspect they knew special teams was an area of concern. That was confirmed Sunday night.
Big big difference in practice vs a real game and one that was the only game on Sunday in the Superdome. In addition Fla State had a game under their belt to clean up mistakes and see who is a gamer not just a good practice player. Lastly Fla State is on the rise. As I said earlier we will know a lot more by the end of game 3.
Worried but no panic, yet. New players, new coaches, new systems all take time to jell. IF no major improvement by game 5 then panic. Good sign they didn't quit and came back. Big worries about offensive line especially the middle, linebacker play is inconsistent and special teams is an outright disaster. Not sold on the QB yet. Happy feet and seemed to lok to run first at least early. Florida State came in ready to play, we didn't. Their game last week helped them a lot and it showed. LSU expects to win every week. It could be a rough season. I think Kelly can get the job done but can he get it done quickly enough to keep the job?
There's no way Scott gets rid of BK after 1 or 2 seasons. Anybody with any football sense knows BK can't turn around the mess he inherited from O in 1 or 2 seasons. Fire BK before he's had the opportunity to turn it around would be a disaster. There's no way you could hire a quality, name coach to replace BK.
the problem was an utter lack of experience working together on the part of the team and coaching staff. just general inexperience everywhere. for instance malik N not being comfortable catching kicks, and whoever was on XP blocking letting that guy get inside and block the XP. also lack of talent on the O-line, and the loss of smith, who was a bulldozer for the 4 plays or whatever he was in before injury. we will be fine. need experience. need to stop playing teams that played one game before us. its not fair. most improvement of the year is between games 1 and 2.
1. [C-] JD had flashes toward the end, but FSU went conservative on D at the end. His legs are a plus if he uses them in a more disciplined way. Not sold that he’s our QB. Considering there is a QB coach, not very happy so far. 2. [‘B]Pretty good showing by the CBs. 3. [B-] Played the run ok considering how poorly we did stopping the intermediate passing game. Had trouble bringing the QB down. Defensive run game coordinator did ok. 4. [D] OL was not helped by the QB play or play calling in general. Five guys getting beat by three at the end… sheesh. Also, no run game outside of QB. I still have faith in Brad Davis to get it right. 5. [C] Maybe affected by QB decisions, but not nearly the impact we needed. Maybe if Boutte is benched LSU wins the game. Young TE was a plus in the passing game. 6. [D] BK all but confirmed we ain’t cooking w fire in the RB room, saying he needs to coach creatively. A better passing game should make RBs more effective, but they missed several passes, I believe. 7. [F] polian, wtf; are you worse than the previous ST guy, who kinda sucked? Even the punter shanked one. 8. [D-] clock management wasn’t great, wasn’t god awful. Play calling was pretty lame, but JD may have made it look worse with happy feet. Also possibly hurt by Boutte looking like a super scrub, not an all-American. Defense got its ass-kicked all night. Execution is part of the job. Also, this inequitable game zero BS has gotta stop. As far as late game adjustments, hard to tell how much of that was FSU going soft. I am not more optimistic after that game, overall grade is about a D. Both Aranda and Napier won their week 1 (the latter against a top 10 opponent). I have not given up on this team, though. BK doesn’t seem like he is panicking. I hate hearing “we gotta coach better”, but maybe that actually means something coming from BK. Hope to see much improved execution against southern.
3-4 years seems too long, but if we suck for 4 years, unless BK willingly leaves, firing him would be expensive.
