Week 9: Alabama: Five Keys

1. Offensive Lines.  Alabama’s M.O. on defense is stopping the run with a solid front four and blitzing two or three backs during passing situations.  LSU’s offensive line has been suspect all season but improving a little with every game.  Still, the last time they faced a defense similar to ‘Bama, less than 180 yards of offense were gained in the game.  How LSU running backs and fullbacks pick up delayed blitzes will dictate their offensive performance.  LSU rarely blitzes and does not supply much pressure with its front four, but stopping the run has been a stalwart of their success on defense.

2. Quarterbacks.  Each is inexperienced and flaky, with moments of brilliance surrounded by stretches of mediocrity.  Each defense will bait the quarterback to throw deep into talented defensive backfields by trying to stop the run and 5-10 yard passes.  Whichever manages the game and protects the football more successfully will likely get the W.

3. Red Zone Play.  Both teams have had trouble getting six instead of three.  Alabama has scored two offensive touchdowns in its last three games; LSU had its own offensive drought against the only comparable defense they’ve faced all season.  In a game dictated by field position, rare trips to the red zone can’t be wasted.

4. Jones/Peterson.  Part two.  The flashy side of this year’s installment.  Both are future pros and will be physically challenged for only the second or third time all season.  Peterson must stay step-for-step with Julio Jones, who is fully recovered from ankle and knee injuries.  If Jones does catch the ball, Peterson’s superb open-field tackling must continue against a player used to getting chunks of yards-after-catch.

5. Russell Shepard.  He was sick for the Florida game, but finally made a significant impact in the Auburn game.  Could this be the week we see him throw his first pass?  It seems like LSU has been sitting on 8-10 specialty plays for Shepard, and we could see a couple this week.  Without a big play for Shepard, it’s hard to imagine the LSU offense mixing it up enough to keep the ‘Bama defense on its toes.

Week 7: LSU 31 Auburn 10: Thoughts

“Nobody will ever know how it feels.  I got all kinds of things running through my mind. I got my chance and I took it.”

• First off, let’s never take beating Auburn for granted.  Let’s never take for granted talking about taking beating Auburn for granted, either.
• My God, Tommy Tuberville was a fantastic coach.  Looking back on it, Auburn was basically a house of cards for years now (when’s the last time they had a decent quarterback?  wide receiver?  safety?  kick returner?).  But ol’ Tubbs got them motivated week after week, especially for the LSU game.  This LSU/Auburn contest didn’t quite have the same palpable, blood-boiling hatred.
• JoJef was challenged to throw deeper, and he certainly did, but let’s not overlook the main reason why: the offensive line played their most complete game by far.  Jefferson was rarely hurried, and when he was, it was usually a designed rollout.
• “Let’s not start sucking each others’ dicks just yet.”  Things that need improvement: north/south running game, red zone offense, front four pressure, consistent WR play, Jefferson’s confidence, offensive creativity.
• On a scale of one to Colt David, how funny would it have been if Jarrett Lee threw a pick six in the final minutes of the fourth quarter?
• Russell Shepard!  So proud of him.  When you read Facebook status updates like, “God, please don’t let me feel like I’m about to make the biggest mistake of my life” from two weeks ago, things are not optimal.  But dude has more passion for this program as a freshman than most of our seniors.
• Alabama looms large, but let’s not take an opportunity to beat the fuck out of Tulane for granted.
• Game balls: Harry Coleman, Russell Shepard, Terrance Tolliver, Kelvin Sheppard.  And Chief Chavis.

Week 7: Auburn: Five Keys

1. Gus Malzahn.  Auburn’s generally known for their running game and defense, but the addition of kitchen-sink offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn is very un-Auburn.  At Tulsa and Arkansas, he was known for pulling out whatever trick or gadget play was necessary at the time.  Whether Chris Todd and the Auburn offense can execute them is another story.

2. Jordan Jefferson.  More specifically, how much his coaches trust him, how much he trusts himself, and how he fares throwing downfield into coverage.  Because, so far, he’s clearly afraid to throw any kind of interception… and that’s handcuffing us to 10-yard outs.  Florida sat on those all game and challenged him to throw deep.  When he tried, he usually ate a sack or threw it away.

3. Auburn linebackers.  They’re always good.  They’re always physical.  But this game in particular will be huge for them: LSU has said it will try to reestablish the run with Charles Scott early.  If Scott can break the D-line, the onus is on these linebackers to stop the run and make Jordan Jefferson beat them.

4. Open-field tackling.  Ben Tate, Ontario McCalebb, and Kodi Burns have all proved they can get the corner on any SEC defense.  Whether it’s LSU’s corners, safeties, or linebackers, they’ll need to make the first tackle to prevent unnecessary yardage, something Auburn feeded off of in their last two visits to Tiger Stadium.

5. Bye week adjustments.  If we’re still running the option with Jefferson and Williams… I just don’t know what to say.

“Criticism is fine.  We’re pretty critical around these parts as well.  But this Chicken Little attitude which has infected the LSU fanbase has got to go.  When Auburn comes to Baton Rouge this weekend, I want all of you Tiger fans to give them the greeting they deserve: loud as hell and full of vitriol.  It is the coaches’ job to teach, it is the players’ job to learn, and it is our job to cheer.  Let’s hold up our end of the bargain.

Down with Auburn.”

- ATVS

Commence Auburn Hate Week.

Week 6: Florida 13 LSU 3: Thoughts

P-Pete with another solid open-field tackle.

• This is long, so bear with me.
• First off: the defense played inspired football.  That’s the crispest tackling we’ve had since the ‘07 Va. Tech game.  Players like Patrick Peterson and Kelvin Sheppard are really becoming the cornerstones of a unit improving every week.  Sure, the score was more like 23-3, but give the D credit for bending but not breaking most of the time.
• On the one time they broke: no jersey can be pulled so that the DB is ten yards behind the receiver.  Chris Hawkins played the wrong coverage, and Jai Eugene took his spot in the second half as a result.
• I think I’ve figured out the major issue with the offense.  Crowton, for the first time in earnest, decided to heavily feature a no-huddle, audible-at-line offense this season.  Teams like Florida and Auburn have done the same in the past, with good/bad (Florida/Auburn) results.  In addition to the fact that it’s a rhythym killer and the players are obviously confused, it really limits the plays a sophomore quarterback can run.  Basically, you have a nineteen-year-old making his eighth start.  He looks to the sidelines during the final fifteen seconds of the play clock to read hand signals teaching him the play.  With this system, LSU is limited to not only the parts of the playbook Jefferson has learned as an eight-game starter, but to those plays that are communicable via hand signals.  It’s why our offense has been putridly vanilla all season long.  Crowton hasn’t out-thought any defensive coordinator he’s faced, only himself.
• As a result, message boards are clamoring for Gary Crowton’s dismissal from the team.  There’s no doubt that the passion of LSU fans is unmatched, but let’s keep in mind that no recruits/coaches would ever want to be a part of a program so volatile.
• On the other hand, it’s no secret that Les Miles isn’t the most technically sound Xs-and-Os coach.  It’s pretty apparent that his role is that of the motivator, recruiter, and delegator.  The team respects and genuinely wants to play for him, so his role as motivator is not in question.  Our current and past few recruiting classes are sterling.  However, his third role— and perhaps the most important— has to do with his staff hirings.  Peveto/Mallory was a nightmare, and Miles was directly responsible for us losing two or three otherwise winnable games last season.  Crowton worked in 2007, but seems to distrust anybody under the age of 20 to grow in real game situations.  If Miles can’t surround himself with technically skilled assistants, he’s the football version of Dale Brown.
• There’s enough out there about this but I thought I should remind: we’re 109th in the country on offense.
• Saturday’s game can’t be solely placed on the shoulders of Jordan Jefferson.  In fact, I thought JoJef played one of the best halves of his short career in the first.  Nearly every throw was in-stride, and he tucked the ball and ran in the correct situations.
• About half of the sacks JJ took were his fault; the other were simple coverage sacks for a pro-caliber secondary.  Joe Haden and Will Hill are Patrick Peterson and Chad Jones with more experience.  However, many of the sacks likely had to do with Jefferson’s knack for eyeing only one or two receivers in a five-wide set.
• I literally feel embarrassed for Russell Shepard at this point.  Please don’t transfer.
• Game balls (the usuals): Patrick Peterson, Jai Eugene, Drake Nevis, Coach Chavis.

Week 6: Florida: Five Keys

1. Coaches.  Florida has a new offensive coordinator.  The old one played us a couple weeks ago and drew up a near-perfect gameplan on both sides of the ball.  Our new defensive coordinator was not exactly, ahem, sterling against Florida in the past.  Both head coaches have combined for the past three national titles with very different management styles.  These off-the-field stories all add up to the most critical factor in the game.

2. Tebow Tebow Tebow.  Every possible angle has been exhausted here, with Tebow, his concussion, and John Brantley.  It’s been an unexpected wrinkle, since we’ve likely been preparing for this game all summer, that we might have to face Tebow and/or Brantley, who no one knows anything about.  Depending on how Brantley handles himself— and I do think he’ll start— it could be a major advantage or disadvantage for Florida.

3. The quarkbacks.  Jeff Demps, Chris Rainey, Emmanuel Moody.  They’re all tiny, feature world-class speed, and have been successfully utilized way more than Trindon Holliday.  Their role has suddenly become huge with Tebow not able to run the spread 100%.

4. Offensive Lines.  Florida’s front four is the best we’ve seen this year by far.  All have pro potential, and, when you factor in the delayed LB blitzes Charlie Strong favors, it could be a disastrous night for our pass protection.  Meanwhile, Florida’s offensive line isn’t nearly as patchwork as the past few years, when they still managed two win a couple titles.  Rahim Alem has been the only DE on our roster so far capable of consistently getting to the QB.  Florida’s offense relies heavily on misdirections and screens, so we can’t be overaggressive either.

5. The line.  When’s the last time LSU was a home underdog?  That one’s easy, it was last November against #1 Alabama.  Ok, when’s the last time LSU was a home underdog by nine points or more?  I’ve thought a while about it, and it was likely the October 2001 game against Rex Grossman’s Florida (it was 41-9 UF I believe).  These players have never had any kind of motivation like this since possibly high school, and it’s scary to think there are high school lines in the middle of Louisiana.

Motivation

We shouldn’t be lacking any come Saturday.

Week 5: LSU 20 Georgia 13: Thoughts

Find a paced-looking Chavis in this photo.  He likely hadn’t slept in 60 hours.

• First off, so proud.  Watching young talent grow on the road is probably my favorite experience as a fan.  Last night, players like Jordan Jefferson, Terrance Toliver, Patrick Peterson, Kelvin Sheppard, and Reuben Randle logged some valuable experience for 2010 and on.
• But still, that run… my goodness.  Where is this in the Top 32?  A three seed?  A two seed?  He’s got enough for a first down… he’s got enough for an easy field goal… he’s got a safety to beat… he’s gone!  [Jump about six feet in the air]. I’m sure I wasn’t alone in that reaction.
• Tip of the cap to the defense, especially the linebackers and backfield.  Finally, it seemed like players were flying to the ball with a purpose and making that first tackle.  Also, as much as the line has been struggling with QB pressure, Georgia’s running game was held non-existent until Ealey was subbed in.
• The offensive line made strides in creating holes for Scott and Williams, and did a decent job of giving JoJef time to throw, at least in the first half.
• Six points out of four consecutive red zone trips to start the game.  This can’t keep happening.  Georgia didn’t deserve to be on the same field as us in the first half, but of course, things can never be easy in the Miles era.
• That first half was the crispest we’ve looked since the Ga. Tech game.  It was fantastic to watch, but it’s also disheartening that we can’t play like that more often.
• Some questionable coaching: abandoning the running game in the second half, the curious QB sneak on that 4th and inches inside the red zone, our insistence on running the option with Jefferson/Williams in the first half.  It’s not always clear if Miles, Crowton, and Jefferson are on the same page every play.
• “But Scott can throw a bone to Jefferson,  who asked off a passing play on second down while suggesting Scott might be a better alternative.”  There’s something special about Jefferson.  This week I’ll compare his first seven starts to Rohan, JaMarcus, Matt Flynn, etc.  It’ll be interesting.
• Game balls: Kelvin Sheppard, Terrance Toliver, Charles Scott, John Chavis.