Thoughts from the Bama Game, Sorry Long.

First, a couple of things. I don't post much here because I see what some of the posters get for expressing opinions and in a lot of cases, rightly so. I have been an LSU fan for 33 years and I am neither a Miles hater nor lover.

Miles and the staff do a very good job of recruiting and consistently bring in as much talent as any program in the country. I also think they do a good job of developing the talent they have, even at QB. Most freshman QBs are not good and the team has to deal with problems. Tebow, Newton, and many others did not start as a freshman. Others who did, had growing pains. The ones who succeed highly are generational players or have an offense that lends itself to staying away from issues.

What I saw saturday night is the same thing I have seen for a number of years out of the program. The talent LSU puts on the field is good enough to win 95% of the games played, period. The team can line up and cram the ball down the throat of the defense and not blink an eye, assuming there are no turnovers. However, Bama is the one team every year that has equal to or greater talent than LSU has. This year, across the board, it is pretty close to even with Bama having the edge on the defensive line and LSU having the edge on the offensive line, RBs, and WRs. The difference then comes from coaching.

The Alabama defense, like all Saban defenses, is built to stop the run. This year they are better than ever. They are specifically build around power and to force teams away from the inside run game. They line up 3 to 4 300 plus pound defensive lineman and want them to occupy blocks and allow the linebackers and safeties to pursue from the gaps and around the outside. They want to choke the life out of a running game. And they did it.

The reason they were able to do it is not because our line isn't good enough to block them or they are far superior, like all the talking heads want to say, but because the LSU coaching staff refuses to make adjustments either for the game as a whole or at least in the second half. No one can expect LF7 to pick up 5-7 ypc if there are no holes to run through. According to Tiger Tracks, LF7 ran 17 times excluding the goal line carries, and Bama had 7 or more defenders in the box on 12 of them. When you look at double teams on players and a few missed assignments, that means there is always at least 1 free defender to make the tackle. For a good tackling defense, those are odds you want. In a game against Bama, LSU should very rarely run out of the I formation. They should almost always have 2 or more WRs in the game. Force the defense to spread out.

If you want to see how it works, all you had to do is watch Bama on offense. Henry got most of his yards from the pistol or zone read formations with 2 or 3 WRs in the game. It forced the LSU defense to play with 4 DL and 2 LBs.

LSU still has a very young team in large part. In looking at the starters for the game, they will lose Gordon and Alexander on offense for sure. Possibly Hawkins. On defense, Mills, Jones, Louis, and Thomas are gone and maybe Beckwith, Neal, and White. But almost all of those players are replaceable with kids as good or better by next year. But, with all the talent coming back, there is no way they beat Bama continuing to do the same ole thing.

I love LSU and always will, I just want to see LSU come out with a game plan that will showcase the athletes and talent on the team. Some people point to Miles or Cameron or others, but the truth is it is the whole staff. They have to do better as a group. Saban let's Kiffen do what he needs to with the offense and they win because of it. It is time for Miles to either take the cuffs off Cameron or find someone who he trusts enough to.