That’s true; Etling and WRs deserve credit there. But too inconsistent and didn’t do it with the game on the line.
Etling may have played his best game as a Tiger considering the opposition but the inconsistencies tonight were more him than the WR's. Two throws to Chark, one overthown that would have been a TD. OK, it would have taken somebody with the accuracy of a Brees or Brady to make the perfect throw but it didn't have to be perfect, just a tad more accurate. There is another one that I thought Chark slowed then sped up and couldn't catch up to the ball. Etling threw another one short that I heard some people blame Chark for dropping but he caught it between his ankles and knees in traffic and was hit. Another point is that tonight none of the WR's were getting much separation from the Bama DB's. Like ours, they will all be playing on Sundays too. It takes almost perfect throws to complete some of them. I think Brennan probably has the tools to make those throws but next season all depends on how quick he adjusts to the speed of the game and it slows down for him.
This game pretty much comes down to quarterback play every year. Of course the lines have a huge affect on the QB play but whichever teams QB plays better usually gets the win going on about 10 years now.
The Oline gave Etling plenty of time on a lot of passing downs but Etling is too slow in releasing the ball.He was locking in on the primary receiver last night. And the WRs dropped a couple. We were just a couple of those dropped or overthrown/underthrown passes away from beating Bama.
We never had good field position. We picked up our share of 1st downs but we always had to drive the length of the field. We didn't force any turnovers. They got 1 and turned it into 7 points. The block in the back penalty on Chark's punt return to midfield hurt us. The 3-4 missed deep balls were missed opportunities. We got inside the 5, down 14-0 and had to settle for a FG. Otherwise, we played a pretty good game. I liked most of our play calling. We made Bama defend the entire field, not just the phone booth. We tried to throw the ball but didn't complete enough of them. Both of our lines played well last night. Give Bama credit. They didn't make very many mistakes. And, as bad as I hate saying this.... they're still a little better than us.
Yeah, overall Canada’s gameplan was good. Rex makes some good points about a few more adjustments that could have been made, but if DE is more accurate with the longer passes, that game has a different ending.
Etling missed some throws and the WRs missed some plays, but to act like this game wasn't close is just idiotic. Take away the pick on Guice's lazy ass route and its a 17-10 game and LSU is playing for the tie/win in the 4th.
There were a few things that would have changed the score that didn't go our way. If Etling hadn't overthrow Chark it's 24-17 and we are in a one score game late.
