Let's discuss expectations for the rest of the year and 2018

so there are a few things that are pretty clear by now

1. our OL is in shambles. be it talent, depth, coaching, or whatever reason, our OL is simply not very good this year. that is unlikely to change during the year, so the real question becomes: what can we expect next year?

2. our WRs and OL are likely holding back our offense. whatever Canada's apex as OC may be, it's clearly not going to come close to being realized anytime soon with our OL and WR issues. now unlike OL, there is hope for 2018 that our WRs do take a big step next year due to natural development and having a full year under their belts in the system

3. our RB position is very murky moving forward. Guice is hurt and Williams is serviceable, but both are gone after this year. our cupboard looks pretty barren for 2018. that's going to hurt us next year i'd imagine, especially since we'll be breaking in a true sophomore QB

4. our secondary seems to have issues but is still strong moving forward. i don't rate KT very well and DJ has issues, but greedy still looks awesome. our Ss are stocked. hopefully DJ stays, takes a step next year, and we'll have an amazing secondary with DJ, Greedy, and GP leading the way.

5. i'm not worried about our DL. we are just hurt in terms of depth by circumstance. that will continue to linger this year, but this year is a waste it seems, but we should be absolutely loaded next year.

6. LB looks solid but White cannot get hurt. next year he should be a super stud. our rush LBs are stocked even after key leaves. we need that 2nd ILB to step up for next year, but we have 2 promising options.

7. QB should be OK, but i'm a big fan of NOT rushing Brennan into service this year as a starter. let him get some snaps and build his packages over the year, but don't throw him to the wolves. maybe if we are truly terrible and there are literally no expectations, but we have just chewed up way too many young and promising QBs the past decade to see it happen to him

so this year looks like it's a punt. we just are simply not very good. next year should have a dominant D but our offense may, once again, be in shambles. the RB/OL issues are going to hinder any real progress. assuming Brennan is legit and our WRs take a step, we may be able to rely on passing to set up the run, but for an LSU fan that's like waiting for a unicorn to save us. also the OL may completely inhibit that philosophy. our offense could be really ugly next year...like, to the point where we wish we could have a Les Miles' offense again