re: Realistic=Optimistic

I can respect your opinion, even though I don't share agreement on the Perriloux thing. Yes it was a fiasco, but I just don't see giving him that much credit. Was he the whole LSU team? No. Was his departure in mid-season? No. Was there time to develop readiness on the part of JL or JJ? Yes. I just see the bulk of the problem in a coaching failure to develop young QBs, admittedly earlier than originally planned. But this stuff happens to teams and they adjust. LSU didn't. That's coaching, IMO. And so I am not really optimistic that CLM & CO. have what it takes to develop any of the talent on any of the hi-ranked recruiting classes to the extent that said talent could be developed. Case in point: RS this past season.
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I would still contend that going into an SEC season with a totally green QB is a recipe for disaster, unless that QB is a once-in-a-generation talent. The defenses are just too good. No amount of preparation can make up for that lack of experience. We tried Hatch, Lee, and finally, Jefferson in '08 and none of them really set the world on fire. Still, we would have been better had the D played up to snuff. Last year, the D was much better, but the O struggled much more than in '08, which I attribute mostly to problems with the line. I still don't know what the root cause of those problems was. I'm sure Miles does, however, and will take steps to address it in his own quiet way. Again, I think it will take another year or two before we know whether the last two years were an abberation or the beginning of a downward trend. No matter what we THINK the correct answer might be, I'm sure we all HOPE it is the former.