Looking at the offensive depth chart, there is real potential for lots of big plays (ala T. Toliver against Washington). Jefferson has a gun, can run well, and if given time can be patient and find open guys long. Both Toliver and Lafell are big play receivers, and we haven't seen what Randle can do yet. K. Williams has proven he's a big play RB. C. Scott is good in the trenches, but he's also proven he knows how to run to the light. R. Shepard is a big play guy in waiting. T. Holliday is a big play return guy. Point is - lots of potential to score very quickly this year. Conversely, not sure our OL is going to be a grind it out kind of dominating force like we've had in the past couple of years. So - do we see a full season of LSU/UW games where time of possession favors the opponent and our offensive plays number in the 50s (or less) and not the 70s? I think that's a real possibility. If so, our defense could see a lot more of the field than they'd like. Look at teams with high powered offenses - they often give up a lot of points on the other end, and often that is because their defense just spends too much time on the field. Worth pondering. Time will tell.
I've always felt this was one of the Saints' problems. Maybe that's why Les likes conservative, ball-controlling, ground-it-out football vs. letting it air out. But this is LSU...we should have a defense to match the offense. Florida has similar talent and last year their offense was one of the tops in the nation and their D held up nicely. If the defense can clamp down on third downs and force a few three-and-outs (something LSU didn't do at all vs. U-Dub), then they won't be on the field as long and our offense can be THAT much more proficient with more possessions to work with.
need to see what jj will do week in and week out against real defenses first. they are going to stack the box and bring pressure often until he shows he can burn them. for things to really open up, he will have to show that he can hit some longer patterns---unless toliver can keep making mountains out of molehills. then Ds will have to keep their safeties back.
Not sure if you are right about the OL comment. Charles Scott has gone on record saying that this is the best O-Line that he's played behind. I think after it's all said and done that will probably hold to be true.
we are in trouble if that is the case. I don't think our offensive line is that great, and if we get in a trench match with Alabama, Florida, Ole Miss, or even UGA, we will get beat. We have freaks at the skill position. Our power is on the edge. Now playing these SEC schools will diminish alot of it, but i still think we have the best talent in the country on the edge by far. Mix in Shep, and JJ, and there is no reason we shouldn't be scoring at will on people. This was my problem with the 06 team. Probably the most talented offensive team in LSU history, and we couldn't score 1 freaking touchdown at Jordan Hare.
I didn't like the o-line play last week, but I think it is correctable, and I'm betting that it gets corrected and we play better. And that's all I'm gonna say about THAT! :yelwink2:
I don't think it's fair to write off the OL so quickly, the same way I don't think it's fair to do the same thing with the defense. For one, people who know a lot more about this sort of thing than you or I ever will (i.e. the coaches and the players) seem to believe that this unit is one of the best they've been around. Whether or not they really are that good remains to be seen, but I think that speaks well of their abilities. Secondly, they've only played one game together as a unit. OL's take a little while to really gel with each other, so I think they're likely to improve in that aspect as the season progresses. Just remember, with all of our woes last year, we still managed to put up 31 points per game.
No doubt. I don't buy into either side of this subject (write off, or the coach/player speak). Performance will tell over the next two weeks. My comment was mostly related to this: last year, Charles Scott could almost guarantee a 4-5 yard gain behind Black, Big Herm and Brett Helms. So far this year, not the case. Doesn't mean tomorrow won't be the beginning of a fantastic season of gaping holes (in the defensive front) for LSU RBs. This is actually what got me thinking about this. LSU had a very good offense last year, even with all the problems at QB. If the OL is even a wash with last year, our offense this year will be EVEN BETTER. Maybe MUCH BETTER. If JJ keeps improving (and I think he will) and Crowton opens it up (and I think we're going to see that soon) and Shep lives up to even half of the hype, we're in for a show this year. I just hope the defense can generate some 3 and outs to give themselves a break.
We also need to keep in mind that we haven't seen a dry field yet. That just compounds all the other things mentioned so far. Maybe with a little more experience at QB and OL the wet field wouldn't matter. Or maybe with a dry field they could have done better despite their relative inexperience. ...just something to consider.
