re: Don't fret, LSU fans...this run by Alabama will end soon...

Chicken I'm less concerned about what Bama does or doesn't do than I am about what LSU does. Forget Alabama and Saban; we need to get our own house in order before we worry about them. There's plenty of competition in the SEC to go around, particularly in the west. If Bama starts to decline, there are other teams like Auburn or A&M that can step into that void. LSU can too but not the way things have been going. You asked what we need to improve so here are my answers.

1. Consistency first and foremost. The frustrating thing about the Bama game was that in the first half you could see that LSU has the talent to hang with Alabama but mistakes prevented us from doing so. Our best is as good as their best but our worst is a lot worse than their worst. Somehow we've got to play more consistently and minimize mistakes.

2. Our players need to put the team first. Sometimes our players appear to be a little selfish. They've got to realize that it's not all about them, it's all about their teammates. I could be wrong about this observation but that's the way it looks to me.

3. Embrace the big game. In 2011 one of the things I was most proud of is the way that no game was too big for them. They played loose and relaxed with a lot of confidence. (Some would call that swagger.) Now they seem more timid. Afraid to lose more than seizing the moment to win.

4. The most obvious of all barely deserves mention because everybody already knows this: we have to refill the coffers with talent. The drain in talent (and perhaps more importantly, experience) we suffered sticks out like a dead nun in a snowbank. We're looking at a couple of outstanding recruiting classes coming up and our class last year was no slouch either. Our defensive problems this year have been the result of one so-so recruiting class coupled with the perfect storm of early exits to the NFL. The pipeline had too much removed from one end and not enough replenished at the other. This problem will take care of itself in time.