In defense of our offense, our average starting position tonight was our 47 yard line. We struggled on some 3rd downs in Mississippi State territory tonight and could only get field goals, but some of the lack of offensive yards was due to our special teams and defense getting us great field position.
I have to borrow the Bill Parcells method of evaluation ... you are what you are... and that grade is 22 points better than MissStake. QB - Improved Extra Points and Field Goals - Perfect 17 Running out the clock at the end of the game - Fumble
There is no doubt in my mind that you have never actually played the game of football. Xbox does not count.
Offense - B- Stats are going to look much worse than the offense played. Scoring 7 times out of 9 drives is an incredible thing to do against an SEC team. I don't care how many of those were FGs (Blue's fumble ended what looked like scoring drive #8). Jefferson is who we thought he is. He is an okay QB. He is still afraid to throw the ball. He will not win us a game alone, because..... Defense - A Mathieu looks like a veteran on the field. I keep track of #14 every defensive play. LSU fixed the biggest problem they had last year with the D-Line and an inside pass rush. State crossed the 50 only 3 times during the game, and the third was on the final play of the game. Special Teams - A+ The penalty was a speck on a pristine game. Teams will be afraid to kick the ball to Peterson all season, and that will be a great thing for this team. What a struggling offense needs is a short field. Kick coverage is beyond incredible. 10 MSU drives, only 1 started past their own 23 yard line. And of course, Jasper. This team is close folks. VERY CLOSE. We will not have any "pretty" wins. Don't expect any 30-40 point wins against ANYONE. However, they are playing sound, fundamental football for almost 60 minutes, and it CAN work. Also, the team needs to keep improving as they have done so. The post-game radio show was harsh on the O-Line, but they are getting better each week. Yes, this team likely would not have beaten Bama tonight. But no team plays their A game week in and week out. I like what I see. It may not be the most pleasing thing to look at, but it will win games.
great post, and the more i think about it, the more the bolded parts of your post stick with me. this team seems to be well-disciplined, well-coached, and solid. we're not the flashiest offensive team by a long shot, but i'll be damned if this team doesn't have a "never quit" mentality. the play calling needs to get better, jefferson needs to have a bit more confidence in the pocket, shepard needs to learn how to catch, but when it comes down to it, at least this team seems to be progressing in certain areas within the offense. i think by the florida game, things will come together and we'll have an identity on offense, but until then i think that we can get by with what we're currently doing. defense? well, those guys really are playing a LOT better than i thought they would be at this point. i have NO complaints here at all. to be honest, i don't have too many complaints with the way we are playing in any phase of the game. state might not have the best athletes, but their schemes and what they were doing on offense was sound and was executed well -- at times. their biggest problem was our defense not allowing them to get in rhythm. their defense was physical and pressing, and i think this game was a very good warmup for the rest of our SEC schedule. we had a short field to work with the entire night to aid us, but their redzone defense was impressive. fans might not want to hear this, but jasper might be our biggest weapon this season! this miss state team is on the rise. much better than vandy, that's for sure. the egg bowl might be worth watching this season.
I agree with this analysis. No question, ST gets an A, irregardless of whether they scored. They played so solid in FG, the lone punt, returns, and in coverage. When you play that well all around you get an A! Defense, what can you say, lightsout, baby! Sure, they gave up one drive against the Mullet offense - that's quite impressive in my view. There is going to be at least one drive in every game that they are going to look a little vulnernable, but at the end of the game, the opposing team is going to be under 17 pts. If they keep a team under 13, it's a guaronteed win! On offense, agree with C grade in 1st half, and B in second. Like I have maintained an average offense will be enough this year with our D and STs.
Offense - B- - did not turn the ball over but once late and no stupid penalties to kill drives. (at least I don't remember any) Defense - A+++++ - without our defense none of this would have been possible. 5 Intercepts. Special Teams - A+ - Jasper, Jasper, Jasper, Jasper, Jasper Overall a good win and something to build on. :geauxtige
Offense: C+ Actually I probably would have given them a B, if not for a couple dropped passes and the fact that we only threw 16 times. As far as yardage production, it's misleading since LSU's average starting position was close to mid-field. Hard to rack up yardage when you only got half a field to go. Defense: A- The defense continues to impress. They are extremely confident in what they can do, and for the most part they do it. Special Teams: A- There were a couple mistakes; the block in the back I didn't like to see. But other than that I say they were pretty damned solid. All in all, I wasn't disappointed with last night's game. The offense wasn't a high flying offense like everyone would like to see, but we are having success doing what Miles likes to do, which is hammer the football. They will continue to get better at what they're doing, I think. As much as many fans don't like it, we're starting to see an identity on offense as a running team. Hopefully the passing game will shape up a little bit before we see Florida and beyond. I think we can take Ole Miss & Auburn down. Florida, we are very capable of beating. Arkansas and Bama will be tough, and WVU will test our defense next week. The season may not be as pretty as we all like, but there's nothing to cry about if they keep winning, other than they're just not playing the kind of football we all want to see in our minds. Do we have some issues that need attention? Yes. But the bottom line is, we're 3-0 and 2-0 (1st) in the SEC at the moment. Things could be a hell of a lot worse. Enjoy it.
