JJ must show better poise and improvement, no doubt there. We most certainly need WRs to step up, make the catches, run better routes, etc. The play calling obviously has to improve as well. The right players must be in the game and getting the ball. All that said the OL is the key to it all. If we cant run the ball then JJ will be facing a D stacked to stop the pass. He will be under a lot of pressure. So IMO the OL is the key to it all. We need a serious improvement from last year. If players arent performing to par then Miles must start sitting some kids to prove a point. I think Blackwell, Lowe, and the second string showed a lot of fire last year. Id also like to see Parsons in at FB, LSU appeared to run better with him there, but sadly LSU did well. Then didnt use him against Bama? Alem didnt have nearly as good a SR year as hs JR year. So I dont think he will be missed. Montgomery should take over as the edge rusher. Jones was a highlight reel, both good and bad. He made some huge plays and hits. In between those though were bouts of extremely poor tackling, being out of position, and just poor play in general. Overall I dont think his play will be missed. I see Ridley as the starter. Being that Murphy is a SR he may get more carries but Ive never been too impressed with him. Ridley looks like a very good back. He has the speed, power, and vision.
:geaux: Great post and a great thread. Lots of good points and thoughts from everyone on this one. Just to add my two cents: JJ was hot and cold last year and his ability in developing some consistency will be crucial in how effective the offense will be this season. I'm hoping that he'll turn all that experience he got last year, good and bad, into a much improved second season as the starting QB. As mentioned previously, he has the tools and ability to be sucessful. He made a lot of RS Freshmen mistakes last year which is understandable. The problem was, he seemed to keep making the same ones throughout the season and didn't progress. IMO that's coaching and the staff needs to step up and correct a lot of that. I believe they will. He's (JJ) also got to have an improved OL as mentioned previously. If the Tigers can't run the ball effectively and protect the QB then JJ, or whoever the QB is for that matter, will have a tough year. Hitt and Black both underwhelmed, IMO, and Hebert was completely ineffective at center. I'm looking forward to seeing P.J. Lonergan at C and the addition of Chris Faulk to the OL. Dworacyzk is going to be a great one before he's done and Will Blackwell looked good when he was in as well. Also, what about Williford? Have heard he's really coming along well. The OL has no where to go but up. If the OL gets better, JJ will too. Continued coaching and experience should do the trick here. I'm hoping Gonzalez will make a difference with both the WR's and JJ. If JJ doesn't progress then we could be looking at another frustrating year from the QB position and this is what I worry about. I don't want to see Chris Garrett thrown in before he's ready. We've already had two years of that and I don't think I could take a third. I hope Garrett gains experience early and has the opportunity to develop like a normal backup QB. Let's all hope the light comes on for JJ and he realizes the TE is a weapon and option on offense. JJ acted like he didn't know LSU had TE's and Dickson was basically a forgotten man on offense. That was criminal.:nope: I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens when Spencer Ware gets here in the fall. This kid is going to be special, no doubt. I don't know how much playing time he'll get, but it would be intresting to see him in the Wild Tiger with Shep on the field at the same time! What a nightmare for a DC! And Jakhari Gore looks so much like McCluster on film that he could get some PT as well. Also looking forward to seeing Michael Ford on the field as I'm not convinced that either Ridley or Murphy is the answer at RB. Of course, if the OL doesn't improve it could all be pie in the sky. Totally agree with the comment on Crowton's grab-bag play calling and lack of identity on offense. LSU never seemed to develop a philosphy or vision on offense and it showed. Hopefully Crowton/Gozalez and the offense will develop that identity this Spring. I'm hoping for a more simplified offense but yet one that focus's on the weapons at hand. Is that too much to ask for?:huh: Defense is going to continue to improve under guidance of The Chief, Cooper and Haley. The "D" is going to be the strength of next years team, IMO. Sure glad Chavis didn't go to UGA or somewhere else. Can't wait to see Loston and Peterson in the same backfield this year! The DL will be much improved this year but not sure about the LB's. Hopefully The Chief and K. Shepperd will help them grow up fast. OK, I'm done ramblin'.:hihi: Again, great thread and look forward to hearing more thoughts.:thumb: :LSU231:
I can think of 1 pass in the PSU game that was a long ball and droped right out the hands. Sadly, would have won us the game too. The only thing is there are so many problems on O that it is truly hard to pin point the exact problems with JJ. Sure, the lack of long ball affects the run, but the lack of run affects the long ball too. Then it goes the lack of O'lin affecting the run and then back to the pass. Whatever issues we had on D are so minor in comparison to the O. Some have issues with he D, but with their faults, that D was good enough to win a title. Some will disagree, but I look at the fact of how close the score was in the games that we lost and how LITTLE O we had in each of those games. Some games we left with less than 50 plays on O. That is truly the terrible fact of this season.
I agree - that stat really tells the story. It's tough to get in the high 70s anymore with the new play clock rules (I remember 75 being a good goal at one point), but LSU was horrible in offensive plays last year.
I don't usually ponder but with spring practice coming up it's going to be interesting to see what the OL is going to look like coming out of spring practice. I think it needs a reconfiguration rather than just plug in somebody to replace the Hitt and Black. We were just too light in the middle last year and got dominated, Probably won't happen but perhaps something like this would work better. Give Lonergan a shot at Center, move Barksdale to LT, Dworaczyk to RT, Hurst to RG, Faulk or Williford to LG. Of course there are others in the mix who will have something to say about this. More muscle in the middle is the idea. Enough pondering. My head's starting to hurt.
It's going to be a reconfiguration. I expect new faces at center and both guards. I think Blackwell played well enough as a reserve to have one guard position practically locked up. If I had to make a wild-ass guess, I'd say. LT=Barksdale LG=Blackwell C=Lonergan RG=Hurst RT=Dworaczyk Who is going to step up and be a leader on the line is the question. Ciron didn't really get it done last year. I'm talking about a take-charge guy like Andolsek who wouldn't put up with second-rate performance by his colleagues. Studrawa didn't rotate many players last year. I think that has to change, too. If the OL is not dominating, then there is no reason to leave average starters in all the time. Let the younger guys get some PT and bench starters for underperforming.
