re: any coincidence that Byrd was non-existent in the offense

No! I don't think things are too good between him and JL. I'm sure Byrd does not like getting his arse chewed about drops when JL throws pick6's and gets CONSOLED after it.

Byrd deserves a break. If the guy doesn't play like he did last year, we don't have a NC! Remember the Auburn catch? Yeah, he has had some drops. I'm sure he has caught some bad passes as well. The fans are frustrated, to say the least, about JL's play. But nobody can be MORE FRUSTRATED than the WR's.