After all the hand wringing, lets take a serious look at next year's team

This is the post I've been waiting for. Thanks

I don’t necessarily disagree with anything you said. But you did said you were taking a “serious” look at next year’s team and only listed one possible concern or question mark. If you seriously think that Sloan is the only question mark going into next year that’s fine, but I don’t think most would agree with that.

Saying that the safety position isn’t a question mark because we will add one in the portal without having a clue who it is shows that your analysis isn’t really that deep.

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We have solid coaches, we have talent, experience and depth at most positions. I expect big things in 25'.

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^^^ Offseason hype thread. (Me) --> I want to believe!

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I don’t necessarily disagree with anything you said. But you did said you were taking a “serious” look at next year’s team and only listed one possible concern or question mark. If you seriously think that Sloan is the only question mark going into next year that’s fine, but I don’t think most would agree with that.

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By all means jump in. Sloan was the only coaching question mark outside of Special teams which needs a dedicated coach.

That is a little optimistic, which is fine.
But there is another way to look at this if you think we can make a run at elite status:

On offense, the "hope' that Sloan improves with experience is not a plan. And that is not an insignificant issue, IMO.
And if you look past the last three games, you have to acknowledge that when Nuss does not have a clean pocket, he is not good (understatement).
Our OL will be deeper, but it is unproven and our best guys are gone.
I like our WR room now, and i think we will be ok at TE for the passing game. Can our OL provide Nuss a clean pocket next year, and can it block for the running game with new folks? Where is a blocking TE?
I like our defense with the new guys, but again, hope is not a plan for safety.

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^^^ Offseason hype thread. (Me) --> I want to believe!

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Not really hype. I'm not proclaiming a NC, but we have addressed most of the team deficiencies and have a good mix of talent, depth and experience that we haven't had in the last few years. OL will certainly be an unknown, but they looked OK in the bowl game and Moore should make the C position much better. That's the QB of the OL and Chester's struggles hurt us a lot this season.

LSU will return the top QB in the SEC from a statistical standpoint. I'm sure there will be optimism around guys like Sellers, Nico, Green (Arkansas), but no one in the league threw for more yards and TDs than Nuss (with Ewers still playing). While maybe not to the level of both guys, there is no reason to think Nuss can't improve from year 1 to 2 as a starter like Burrow and Daniels did.

LSU may or may not have any superstars at WR (TBD), but they seem to have a hell of a lot of guys who can make plays. Green is an emerging mismatch at TE. Sharp should at least be solid.

Durham was the breakout freshman this year. I still think Jackson is a good player...if used correctly. The approach the running game as a whole sucked. If Sloan/Kelly are willing to accept than and adjust LSU should be fine at RB.

The OL has the most uncertainty, but they've addressed it with productive players from major conferences. If you believe the HS recruiting at the spot is good, you have to to think the OL can be "good enough".

IMO, a lot of how good LSU can be will rest on Sloan. He wasn't great this year. Relative to the rest of the SEC there is no reason LSU can't be the top offense in the league.

Baker improved from year 1 to year 2 at Mizzou. No reason to think he can't do it here. You like what LSU did in the portal at DE and there is reason to hope the DTs will be better than "just ok" given Guillory's return and the hopeful development of Breaux/McKinley. If nothing else, LSU has several "bodies" to try.

CB should be better (even though its wasn't bad last year).

I'm surprised LSU didn't address the LB position in the portal. Weeks was great, but everyone else looked to be pretty average. Yes, Keys had moments, but he didn't really flash. Think back to other great LSU LBs. like Beckwith, White, Clark, even Weeks. While they weren't starters in their first year when they played you could see the flashes. I'm not sure this group of LBs has that. I guess what they will try to do with Perkins again is the wildcard.

Safety is still a big concern.

Unfortunately, the schedule is not as favorable as last year. A true road game @ Clemson is tougher than a neutral site game against an average USC team. Assuming LSU likely would need to be 10-2 to get to the CFP, losing the Clemson game reduces their margin for error with road trips to Alabama, Ole Miss and Oklahoma. Yes, no one "fears" those games now, but this past season only 2 SEC teams lost fewer than 2 SEC road games.

I think with a productive 5th year senior returning QB Kelly knows this is an "all in" year. He blew his last shot with such a player by fielding one of the worst defenses in LSU history. I trust Baker won't have a defense THAT bad next season. Given that, I think the offense can be good enough for a CFP run.

This year a CFP appearance shouldn't have been expected. Next year it will be disappointing if one doesn't happen.

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Sloan is the question mark

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Per game averages: (2022 numbers)
30.46pts (34.5)
23.54 1st downs (24.9)
6.19 yds/play (6.36)
49.2% 3rd down conv. (48.6)
50% 4th down conv. (50)
83.02% Red Zone Success (86.15)

LSU finished as the #28 offense in the country. One spot below Ohio St.

4,000yd QB (2nd best year in LSU history)

FR RB who probably would've been 1k rusher if not hurt ended with 5.4yds/car


People keep trying to say Sloan was the problem because they want one thing to be the problem. We got spoiled to Jayden/Malik/BTJ so it looks bad by comparison, but if you compare to 2022 when Denbrock was the OC and Jayden was in his first year starting, we were pretty comparable.

The reality is play calling wasn't that bad. Our struggles had just as much to do with players on the field as it did with play calling. Key injuries to Dellinger, Daniels, and Durham during our toughest stretch of games hurt more than I think we realize.

Everything except OC and Safeties sounds like an NC team. The problem is we have a very difficult road schedule next year. We have to find a better running game. Also don't forget about STs needing a major overhaul.

I forgot Special Teams.
BK seems to have the same problem, which for a $100 million price tag is..., er...surprising.