Matt Canada - 7/21 Interview - Off the Bench

Cliffs:

He's excited to be at LSU and says everything is as great as expected but the players are his favorite part. They are buying in when it's easy to resist change.

Loves guice, said his first question to CMC was about protection schemes. That says a lot about his mentality. Said he's got more talent than any RB that's been in his system. (Melvin Gordon, Michael Turner, and Montee Ball to name a few).

Chark is a class act, does all the right things. Works hard and has no ego about him.

Loves the talent of the WR group. Says they are as good as anyone. He needs to make sure they live up to it from a production standpoint.

Thinks the Oline will be the strength of the offense. Thinks there is a lot of talent and experience in that group.

Etling has the lead on the starting gig but all QBs will get a chance in the fall. He and CEO both agreed that they would look at the different skill sets of the QBs and choose the one that gives the best chance of winning. At this point, that's Etling.

Said McMillan shows a lot of promise.

Said Narcisse is still trying to get his legs under him. Says he has the potential to be a game changer but he's been away from the sport for so long that there will be a learning curve so to speak.

Game plans will be based around getting our best players matched up on there worst players. Packages and play calling might change week to week but the core of the offense will remain unchanged.

Loves the sliders from walk ons.

Great interview. Etling having numbness in his leg and back issues says a lot about his toughness. Also explains the accuracy and velocity issues last year. Looking at what etling did last year with a bad back I would bet no one is gonna win the job over him. The way Canada and O talk we got a pretty good qb. I think he's gonna shut some nay Sayers up this season.

I think you have to take the off-season comments of Les and throw them out the window. We have a new regime in town so the comments need to be taken in a different light.

Not saying that because CEO and CMC say it that it means it's true, just saying that just because CLM routinely lied to us doesn't necessarily mean this coaching staff is doing the same.

I'd also like to note that the old offensive system wasn't very Oline friendly. It's much harder for a lineman to block guys that know what you are doing.

Again not saying that it is a definite but I choose to believe that a system that confuses the defense will help our Oline play at a higher level.

quote:

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We heard this every year from Miles. I'm just ready to see another dominant line that can move Alabama.

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Should be different if we have a more complete offense, starting with the play calling and passing game. It's harder to get as much push from the line when it's 5 vs 8 every play. Get those defenders out of the box and the blocking will be fine.

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We heard this every year from Miles. I'm just ready to see another dominant line that can move Alabama.

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You can't hold the sins of a previous coach against the new coach.

quote:

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Thinks the Oline will be the strength of the offense. Thinks there is a lot of talent and experience in that group. 

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I hope this is accurate and he's not just comparing the LSU offensive line to the Pitt offensive line. Pitt's offensive line was absolutely dreadful last year so I think a lot of offensive lines in the SEC would look really good to him. He's been around a lot of teams though so I'm sure he knows what he's talking about.

If KJ Malone has put on a little more weight and strength then I think he can be an above average left tackle in the SEC. He just got pushed around too much last year. Teuhuma(sp?) is an awesome guard, not worried about him. His pass blocking could improve though. Will Clapp is supposed to be our best offensive lineman and he's got the center spot sewed up. So that leaves Brumfield? at left guard and Weathersby at right tackle. Both were highly rated recruits coming out of high school so I believe they can be good players. Weathersby looked pretty damn good when he did play last year.

If it all comes together then I think this could be one of our best offensive lines in the past 3 or 4 years.

Great summary, Bert. Thank you.

I have no article or anything to back up this claim but I'm pretty sure Jimbo has been quoted saying that one of the reasons he left was because CLM would interfere with his play calling. Said he would hear the play over the headset and then tell him to call something else.

At OSU, Mike Gundy said that CLM would throw out all the creative plays that his staff would come up with any time they were brought up in game plan meetings.

Thanks Bert