re: SEC’s best returning QB

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McElroy makes it seem as if Daniels was bad against FSU. Uh.. He completed over 70% of his passes for 209 yards 2tds, 0ints, rushed for over 100 yards on 7ypc. Dude battled drops and an inept offensive line with no time to throw - he was sacked 4 times and hurried a bunch more. He single handidly had us in that game from an offensive perspective. The article says his numbers were boosted by 2 late tds.... yeah 2 late tds in a comeback that should have gotten us to overtime. Not exactly garbage time tds.

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I thought the best Daniels played all season was in the 4th quarter vs. FSU. He didn't have time or the opportunity to be conservative with his decision making. He had to be decisive and react quickly...and he was...leading LSU to an improbable comeback. Including orchestrating one of the best do-or-die drives in years which, unfortunately, gets forgotten because of LSU's awful special teams.

From that point on Daniels was a bit of a roller coaster in terms of play. There were moments where he looked like the most dynamic QB in the SEC. Quickly followed by moments where he was indecisive and refused to make throws to open guys downfield.

The tools are there. He's not just a "running QB", but he has the ability to be the best runner from the QB position LSU has maybe ever had. That is a big advantage if he can complement it with a more consistent passing game. Hopefully after a year at LSU he is more comfortable and the coaching staff if more comfortable with him, which will allow them to tailor the offense to better fit his strengths.

I think if you are going to camp Daniels out in the pocket and force him to read through long developing routes LSU is probably going to get the same results as last season. That's not bad by any means. But it's probably not fulling utilizing his strengths. If the OC can give more quick developing plays, I think you will see Daniels start to thrive in the passing game.

You saw that with Burrow in 2018 and 2019. In Ensminger's antiquated 2018 offense Burrow was a decent SEC QB, but not dynamic. He probably would have been the same in 2019 if LSU had not completely changed their offensive approach. But the 2019 fit Burrow's savvy and quick decision making. The formations gave him the pre-snap matchup advantages he could quickly recognize and exploit. Same QB. Just one offensive approach better suited to fit him.

That is Denbrock's charge this year. Don't run an offense that best fits you (the OC). Run an offense that best fits your QB because, ultimately, HE is the one that has to orchestrate it on the field. The approach/playcalling you take with Daniels is probably not the same approach you would take with a guy like Nuss. And that is fine. Average/bad OC's run their offense regardless of the personnel. Great OC's tailor their offense to fit their personnel.