It's 12:30 am, and I still can't sleep after watching LSU play earlier in the day. This was 7 hours ago. I digress. What a game, as we all saw. LSU did not win that game, Tennessee lost it. But a win is a win. And we are still undefeated at 5-0, for now. It most certainly is a "matter of time". Nonetheless, we have 6 days (let the countdown begin), before we walk into The Swamp, and have our asses handed to us. Why? Because for whatever reason, there is a very large disconnect between the offensive coordinator and the "talent" (I use that word loosely) at QB. The disconnect between these two people is atrocious. And this problem rears its ugly head every single weekend. Thus far, we have been lucky. But our luck will indeed run out this upcoming weekend if we do not get better play at the QB position. I know, I know, I am clearly stating the obvious. So everyone is wandering: What is the solution? I'm glad you asked. The solution is: PUT RUSSELL SHEPARD AT QUARTERBACK!!! What is so difficult to understand about this concept? You signed him as the NATION'S (when I say nation, I am referring to all 50 states within the United States of America) TOP HIGH SCHOOL DUAL THREAT AT QUARTERBACK! We all know the stats from his senior year: Accounted for nearly 4,000 total yards and 48 touchdowns on the year ... Completed 55 percent of his passes for 1,843 yards and 20 touchdowns with just four interceptions ... Also carried the ball 257 times for 1,946 yards and 28 touchdowns ... yada yada yada...So my question is this: If Gary Crowton wants to have a dual-threat quarterback who can run his sorry ass quarterback option plays around the right side of the offensive line, or straight up the middle of the heart of the defense, or someone who can pass while on the move, then why would we convert the ONE player who is built for this system to receiver (especially when we already have top-notch receivers in place)??? Here's an idea: LET HIM PLAY HIS NATURAL POSITION AT QUARTERBACK! I can guarantee that (a) Shepard is faster than JJ and JL (combined), (b) Shepard can throw the football down the field as far as both of them, (c) Shepard is more accurate with his passing, and lastly (d) I have no doubt that he's intelligent enough to run the offense AT LEAST as well (or bad, depending on your outlook) as JJ has. I really do not see the issue, besides foolish pride and the stubbornness of a football coach to make the necessary changes to win out for the rest of the season. I hate to say it, but it's as if Les Miles and Gary Crowton are afraid of success. They seem as if they are trying to lose football games on purpose. And I KNOW I am not the only person who feels this way. I watch LSU football games because I bleed purple and gold, but we as fans should not have to subject ourselves to this type of tomfoolery from the "coaching" staff. A coach is a leader of men, and I don't think there is ANYONE in this forum who would follow Les Miles into battle. But again, I digress. Les, baby, if you're reading this: PUT RUSSELL SHEPARD IN AS YOUR STARTING QUARTERBACK FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SEASON! If you have seen Shepard play QB in high school (and I have), I promise you that the stage is not too big for him and the learning curve will not be as steep as everyone might think. The guy is a flat out baller! Let him do what he does best! Make plays. You converted him to a receiver because you wanted to put the ball in his hands more. That's great. I applaud your efforts. (<----Sarcasm) But I can guarantee you that if you make him your starting quarterback, he'll get the ball that much more...as in every play of the game. Granted, I was a political science major and all, but that seems to make perfect sense to me! But what do I know...I'm just a guy... GEAUX Tigers!
I see some merit in your suggestion, but at this point in the season I don't think it's feasible to switch him from WR to full time QB. How about this compromise?: 1. Sit JJ on the bench until all other QBs suffer a broken leg and a torn rotator cuff 2. Have both Lee and Sheppard on the field at the same time. About every 4th play (depending on the situation of course), split Lee out a WR and let Sheppard be the Wild Tiger QB. If the snaps Sheppard is getting are consistently the most productive, then give him more snaps. This is exactly what Bama does with McElroy and Mark Ingram, and I think their coach is a bit smarter than our brain trust.
Yes, and think about the 'surprise' advantage against Florida as they try to figure out when and where Sheppard will strike...DANG! LSU could play three QB's in the same game. You'd also see our coming opponent's coaches having to review Shep's old HS football tapes! If we can't dazzle them with our brilliance, let's baffle them with our substitutions (or something like that)!
PUT RUSSELL SHEPARD AT QUARTERBACK!!! I agree with the sentiments expressed by FIRELESNOW (Not firing Les but his take on the quarterbacks). Living in Houston and watching Shepard it is hard to imagine going with those other 2 QB's. Look at the stats from yesterday: JJ: 3 of 10, 30 yds. 2 picks Lee: 16 of 23 185 yds. 1 pick but 3 major QB mistakes. Intentional grounding penalty Illegal pass (over the line of scrimmage) Delay of game Is it Miles or Crowton who is the problem here? :insane: So, any bets on how bad we're going to get whooped at Florida next Saturday? God help us.
Put Shepard in at QB and LSU will be the worse offense ever not that they are very far from that now. The QB position is not the problem, what you are witnessing is the symptom of the problem. "I have a fever and the only cure is more cowbell" How much proof does someone need? 1.) Demote Crowton immediately 2.) Give anyone a chance to call plays, might actually make things worse temporarily but you have to start moving forward instead of backwards 3.) Start looking for a OC that is solid and could possibly take over as HC in a year or two if the G-Man does not have it.
At this point, I'm willing to agree with you that Crowton is not getting the job done and is a liability. I'll name my next beagle, Jasper-SIU. Substituting with 13 seconds left and no time outs was foolish and its on Crowton. But it is crazy to keep insisting that we have no problem at quarterback. Despite the foolish move, The Tigers did get into the game, got down and set, and then Jefferson had no clue what to do. He had no awareness of the clock at all. He had no leadership ability to take charge of the situation . . . T-Bob had to do it. JJ needed someone to hold his hand. We have a problem at quarterback, Hoss. Come to grips with it. I don't want to see Jefferson anymore except as a reserve. Lee was rough around the edges, but he threw the ball downfield and hit some very grateful receivers. Reuben Randle is a first-class receiver and Jefferson was only frustrating him. Tolliver got the ball a lot, too. Getting the ball to your top two receivers is quarterbacks job #1. Crowton needs to go in November. I can see it and Les can see it, too. But Jefferson needs to see some bench right now. To get the pressure off and get his head on straight . . . because we have no other reserves and he will be needed again before the season is over.
While I think using Shepard sometimes in a Wild Tiger configuration is not a bad idea, I dont think you can win in the SEC without a passing game. Lee, while making some horrible mistakes, did show the ability to move the ball down the field. I've not seen Shepard throw one pass. Maybe he can throw, but I havent seen him do it, so I dont know. JJ looks like a deer in the headlights right now - look at his eyes when he's at the line of scrimmage. I think he is somewhat of a mental case right now, figuratively speaking of course. JL feels comfortable at QB and I think the team feels and plays more comfortably with him being there. On that 4th and 14, when they showed JL looking down the field - his eyes were looking left and right - he was going through a progression, which is why Tolliver came open - had he been staring down TT, that pass would have never made it. JL has a strong arm and makes quick decisions. Just hope he can mature, because some of his mistakes can be monumental. But overall I think he's our best shot right now. :geaux:
RS is not the answer at QB because he has a high school arm, not a D1 college arm. He was basically a running QB in high school. JL is our best option at QB now, he is the only one that can keep the opposing defense honest by posing a creditable passing threat. He made some mistakes, but I attribute those to rust from not being played for 2 years, a big head coaching mistake for the last 2 years from Les, given that JJ was barely competent at best, and not competent to give LSU a shot to win at the championship level (witness our results against Bama and Fla. the last 2 years, 0-4). That is the bottom line. All the wins against the weaker and medium teams don't count for squat, they are the warm ups you need to get ready for the championship play, and that is Bama, Fla. and sometimes Auburn or Arky or OM. Les has needed to be playing and grooming JL the last 2 years, because JJ could not put us in position to win at the championship level. Without a creditable passing attack, you load the box, stop our run, and we could not pass, and we lost. It's just that simple. Then Les throws Garrett off the team (how smart was that?) and Zac Lee take the pro baseball money and runs (not Les fault), but we didn't sign 2 QB in last years class to cover that contingency which has been a real known threat all along. Les has let us down by his failure to recruit championship level QB's and keep them in the program.
Yes. JJ is "deer in headlights". I have completely reversed my position that JL must be worse because he's not playing. I'm not professing to know more than the everyday coaches but I wasn't drunk and I know what I saw.
