- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
The preseason is officially over ...
Posted on 9/27/09 at 10:34 am
Posted on 9/27/09 at 10:34 am
Thank God we got outta there with the win. I'm definitely not pleased or satisfied with the performance, though. That said, the only way one of these first four games would have "mattered" is had we lost. I'm just glad to get home with a victory. We did, however, make the big plays when we neeeded to on the road in some adverse conditions, and I am pleased with that. Good teams find a way to make the plays when they need to be made. We did that, Mississippi State did not.
Hopefully ... HOPEFULLY, our guys will be more fired up and start playing more inspired football when we finally play a "name" team this week when the real season begins. We are simply put: a very inconsistent football team right now. There are certainly flashes of brilliance and at times play like the team we all expect to see, but we just have to be more consistent with that. We also need to develop that killer instinct and put lesser teams away when we've got them on the ropes, instead of letting our foot off the gas and making mistakes to keep teams in ballgames they have no business being in.
The biggest issue I see on this team right now is our inability to run the football with consistency. Our offensive line HAS to get better. I'm very pleased with Jordan Jefferson's progression. He continues to play without mistakes, which is key. He had three 40+ yard completions in this game, so his deep ball is obviously getting better, and the vertical passing game will continue to improve as he matures (fwiw, I called those long passes to Toliver and Lafell on Friday, lol). If our offensive line gets better, this offense has the potential to be very good, but until our offensive line gets better, we will continue to play with inconsistencies on O. I will admit: Jordan Jefferson has surprised me this season. I was really worried about him coming into the season, but I really like what I am seeing from Jefferson. He is going to be a solid QB for LSU when all is said and done.
Although I think the defense is not playing great just yet, I'm not as concerned with the defense as I am with the offense. I think in the end this will be a solid defense that will obviously go down as being a much better defense than last season's D. It was nice to see Chad Jones beginning to be the playmaker on defense that we expect of him. The strength of our defense, IMO, is our secondary, which should help against an anemic Georgia rushing attach (much like our own). Georgia's strength up to this point has been their ability to score points through the air.
Special teams must improve. We cannot give a team 11 points on special teams (snap over punter's head, missed chip-shot field goal, and botched extra point), simple as that. That is unacceptable. Make those plays and this game is over in the 3rd quarter, if not earlier. That said, I'm pleased with our punter. He is much improved on punts from the Washington game.
The preseason is over. We'll find out a lot more about this football team over the course of the next month. There's nothing more to be said, this team must continue to get better. This LSU squad has great potential, and I'm hopeful that we've yet to see the fire from the players, coaches, and fans that needs to be there to have the successful season that we all desire.
I like the following quotes from Miles. We will see next Saturday if they are just coach-speak or if our players and coaches don't accept this level of play and some of mistakes that are being made.
"If we don't play sloppy, if we don't have miscues in the kicking game, if we don't do things that leave our opponent right in position to play with us, then this game can be different. But until we do that, we're going to be a team that's very vulnerable."
"Those guys that show up on Monday, they better be ready to work. Because we're a very talented team with some things to fix, and if we get them fixed, we can be a very, very good football team."
"I am glad to see our player rally late, but we cannot make mistakes like we did today. The team better show up at home on Monday ready to work."
Also, you can watch Dan Mullen's post-game press conference here ... LINK
Hopefully ... HOPEFULLY, our guys will be more fired up and start playing more inspired football when we finally play a "name" team this week when the real season begins. We are simply put: a very inconsistent football team right now. There are certainly flashes of brilliance and at times play like the team we all expect to see, but we just have to be more consistent with that. We also need to develop that killer instinct and put lesser teams away when we've got them on the ropes, instead of letting our foot off the gas and making mistakes to keep teams in ballgames they have no business being in.
The biggest issue I see on this team right now is our inability to run the football with consistency. Our offensive line HAS to get better. I'm very pleased with Jordan Jefferson's progression. He continues to play without mistakes, which is key. He had three 40+ yard completions in this game, so his deep ball is obviously getting better, and the vertical passing game will continue to improve as he matures (fwiw, I called those long passes to Toliver and Lafell on Friday, lol). If our offensive line gets better, this offense has the potential to be very good, but until our offensive line gets better, we will continue to play with inconsistencies on O. I will admit: Jordan Jefferson has surprised me this season. I was really worried about him coming into the season, but I really like what I am seeing from Jefferson. He is going to be a solid QB for LSU when all is said and done.
Although I think the defense is not playing great just yet, I'm not as concerned with the defense as I am with the offense. I think in the end this will be a solid defense that will obviously go down as being a much better defense than last season's D. It was nice to see Chad Jones beginning to be the playmaker on defense that we expect of him. The strength of our defense, IMO, is our secondary, which should help against an anemic Georgia rushing attach (much like our own). Georgia's strength up to this point has been their ability to score points through the air.
Special teams must improve. We cannot give a team 11 points on special teams (snap over punter's head, missed chip-shot field goal, and botched extra point), simple as that. That is unacceptable. Make those plays and this game is over in the 3rd quarter, if not earlier. That said, I'm pleased with our punter. He is much improved on punts from the Washington game.
The preseason is over. We'll find out a lot more about this football team over the course of the next month. There's nothing more to be said, this team must continue to get better. This LSU squad has great potential, and I'm hopeful that we've yet to see the fire from the players, coaches, and fans that needs to be there to have the successful season that we all desire.
I like the following quotes from Miles. We will see next Saturday if they are just coach-speak or if our players and coaches don't accept this level of play and some of mistakes that are being made.
"If we don't play sloppy, if we don't have miscues in the kicking game, if we don't do things that leave our opponent right in position to play with us, then this game can be different. But until we do that, we're going to be a team that's very vulnerable."
"Those guys that show up on Monday, they better be ready to work. Because we're a very talented team with some things to fix, and if we get them fixed, we can be a very, very good football team."
"I am glad to see our player rally late, but we cannot make mistakes like we did today. The team better show up at home on Monday ready to work."
Also, you can watch Dan Mullen's post-game press conference here ... LINK
This post was edited on 9/28/09 at 1:31 am
Posted on 9/27/09 at 10:47 am to JPLSU1981
Forgot to add ... I hate Starkville. I don't know why anyone in their right mind would choose to go to school there.
That said, hats of to Mullen and Mississippi State. It's obvious they are not stuck in the stone age anymore. They were creative on offense, have a solid defense, and although I doubt they will ever compete for SEC titles there, it's obvious they've made an upgrade with Mullen over Croom.
That said, hats of to Mullen and Mississippi State. It's obvious they are not stuck in the stone age anymore. They were creative on offense, have a solid defense, and although I doubt they will ever compete for SEC titles there, it's obvious they've made an upgrade with Mullen over Croom.
Posted on 9/27/09 at 3:53 pm to JPLSU1981
JP this is exactly what was needed to be said. I think this sums up the program up to this point in time. There is the potential for greatness...But the areas that are lacking HAVE to step up and improve!! Well said...FWIW IMO!!
Posted on 9/27/09 at 3:57 pm to ItalianTiger83
Yeah, msu played really well. With that said i am ready to see Georgia, Florida, Ole Miss, Auburn, Arky and Bama to see where lsu really stacks up. It is gonna be fun
Posted on 9/27/09 at 4:04 pm to ready4something
It will definitely be fun. If we can get out of October with only one loss, I'll be very happy.
From this point on, I don't care about winning "pretty." I'll take a 3-2 win against Georgia, Florida, Auburn, Bama, Ole Miss and Arky. I'm sure it's partly the LSU homer in me, but I think LSU's best football is yet to come.
From this point on, I don't care about winning "pretty." I'll take a 3-2 win against Georgia, Florida, Auburn, Bama, Ole Miss and Arky. I'm sure it's partly the LSU homer in me, but I think LSU's best football is yet to come.
This post was edited on 9/27/09 at 4:06 pm
Posted on 9/27/09 at 4:41 pm to ItalianTiger83
quote:
JP this is exactly what was needed to be said. I think this sums up the program up to this point in time. There is the potential for greatness...But the areas that are lacking HAVE to step up and improve!! Well said...FWIW IMO!!
Posted on 9/27/09 at 11:33 pm to ready4something
quote:
Yeah, msu played really well.
Yeah, their offense is certainly more diverse than in year's past. They've got a ways to go, and like I said, I doubt MSU will ever compete for SEC titles, but Mullen is certainly better than Croom.
Being at the game and tailgating, I wasn't aware of LSU's delayed flight and inability to ever do a walk-through. I was aware of the shortened warm-ups for both teams, but not our delay and no walk-through.
This post was edited on 9/27/09 at 11:35 pm
Posted on 9/27/09 at 11:35 pm to JPLSU1981
quote:
"Those guys that show up on Monday, they better be ready to work. Because we're a very talented team with some things to fix, and if we get them fixed, we can be a very, very good football team."
I like that quote a lot. Hopefully the team will hear all the talking heads shitting on us and saying how overrated we are and come out just on FIRE next week
Posted on 9/27/09 at 11:35 pm to JPLSU1981
I think he missed the fact that Miss. State had 4 turnovers. We won b/c in crunch time Miss St. stopped giving the ball to Dixon.
Posted on 9/27/09 at 11:37 pm to ahuddl3
quote:
I think he missed the fact that Miss. State had 4 turnovers.
Defense creates turnovers. We didn't create turnovers last season or for that matter in 2007. It's nice to see us winning the turnover margin consistently again. It is far and away the most important statistic in football IMO.
This year, as opposed to 2008, not only are we creating turnovers, but we are not turning the ball over on offense. The turnover battle is two-fold and if we continue at this pace as far as the turnover margin is concerned, this season will turn out very well for us.
This post was edited on 9/27/09 at 11:38 pm
Posted on 9/28/09 at 12:51 am to The Easter Bunny
quote:
I like that quote a lot. Hopefully the team will hear all the talking heads shitting on us and saying how overrated we are and come out just on FIRE next week
We can hope ... it'll be an interesting game. Two unhappy fanbases, two inconsistent teams looking for a signature win.
Posted on 9/28/09 at 1:22 am to JPLSU1981
That's well put.
Also, the play calling should improve a whole lot. If our running game isn't working, I expect us to throw the ball a lot more and run Shephard/Jefferson a lot more. That should lead to our inside running improving a whole lot.
Point is we can put up points on the board through passing and using Shephard a lot more. The play calling basically assumes we'll pull out a victory in the 4th quarter against lesser teams.
Les has been trying to improve the inside running at the expense of putting up points and that should change with the big games coming up.
So, no mistakes on special teams and improved play calling should see us past Georgia.
Florida? Fuhgettaboutit
Also, the play calling should improve a whole lot. If our running game isn't working, I expect us to throw the ball a lot more and run Shephard/Jefferson a lot more. That should lead to our inside running improving a whole lot.
Point is we can put up points on the board through passing and using Shephard a lot more. The play calling basically assumes we'll pull out a victory in the 4th quarter against lesser teams.
Les has been trying to improve the inside running at the expense of putting up points and that should change with the big games coming up.
So, no mistakes on special teams and improved play calling should see us past Georgia.
Florida? Fuhgettaboutit
Posted on 9/28/09 at 7:37 am to TigerDen
It sure would be nice to play a game where at some point it didn't rain this weekend.
Posted on 9/28/09 at 7:56 am to JPLSU1981
Plus, this team needs to be more "football smart".
It was a great return from Jones. But then he fields one inside the 10 and puts the O in terrible field position. And before anyone says "well he fielded the other one inside the 10". They were completely different punts. The one he returned was bouncing and CJ had time to catch the ball to save it from being inside the 5. Then he just made something happen. The other one was a high hanging punt with 3 MSU players coming at him. You have to understand what's going on at that point. Field position was critical.
Helton has to be smart enough to know that you simply take the safety when the ball was snapped over his head. The worst thing you can do is fall on it at the 1. Again, football smarts.
Taylor int's a ball on 4th and whatever. He cost the team 20+ yds by holding on to the ball. This was a nice Int, but again you have to know what's going on.
It was a great return from Jones. But then he fields one inside the 10 and puts the O in terrible field position. And before anyone says "well he fielded the other one inside the 10". They were completely different punts. The one he returned was bouncing and CJ had time to catch the ball to save it from being inside the 5. Then he just made something happen. The other one was a high hanging punt with 3 MSU players coming at him. You have to understand what's going on at that point. Field position was critical.
Helton has to be smart enough to know that you simply take the safety when the ball was snapped over his head. The worst thing you can do is fall on it at the 1. Again, football smarts.
Taylor int's a ball on 4th and whatever. He cost the team 20+ yds by holding on to the ball. This was a nice Int, but again you have to know what's going on.
Posted on 9/28/09 at 8:34 am to ROUSTER
quote:
Helton has to be smart enough to know that you simply take the safety when the ball was snapped over his head. The worst thing you can do is fall on it at the 1. Again, football smarts
+1
Posted on 9/28/09 at 8:47 am to JPLSU1981
Anyone who says miss states offense is good needs to check the Vanderbilt game. 15 points didnt score a touchdown until 3 minutes left. PLEASE.
Posted on 9/28/09 at 9:29 am to lazcreek
quote:
Anyone who says miss states offense is good needs to check the Vanderbilt game. 15 points didnt score a touchdown until 3 minutes left. PLEASE
Who said Miss State's offense was good?
Our defense played ok. The thing that kept Miss State in the ballgame was our offense's inability to sustain drives and our special teams handing over 11 points.
The two State pass plays that got big yards were defended well, we've just got to stick with our man in coverage through the entirety of the play as the QB scrambles and leaves the pocket.
Posted on 9/28/09 at 9:32 am to lazcreek
quote:
Anyone who says miss states offense is good needs to check the Vanderbilt game. 15 points didnt score a touchdown until 3 minutes left. PLEASE.
I was wondering where this came from also....
Posted on 9/28/09 at 9:51 am to ItalianTiger83
Who knows.
And FWIW, MSU's offense really only scored 17 points against us, and 7 of those came on a busted play.
And FWIW, MSU's offense really only scored 17 points against us, and 7 of those came on a busted play.
Posted on 9/28/09 at 11:15 am to ItalianTiger83
Italian Tiger... told ya Florida-LSU would be on CBS at night. Why do you continue to doubt me?
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News