re: LSU Depth Issues - Research

It's not an excuse though? It's a fact. Miles was given time in 2008 and 2009 to get things corrected and he took over a well rounded roster in 2005. The 2005 class hurt us in the future but he was given time. Orgeron did NOT take over what Les Miles had. That's absurd. It's obvious to anyone with some sense. The turnover here has been unprecedented especially on our OL/DL. That's going to impact a team no matter how good the coach is perceived to be. I'll be money any other coach that came here would have said this same thing and people would likely be perfectly fine with it.

Vadal Alexander played tackle was a G

Ethan Pocic was actually a Tackle who played G and C

KJ Malone projected C played T

Maea Teuhema was a G played T

Saahdiq Charles another G who is switched to T

This has been a common thing at LSU. If you go back further there will be more guys. Most of our tackles either transfer, or for what ever reason don't pan out. Call it bad luck or what ever but it's what it is.

quote:

---

This has never been an excuse under Les Miles.

---

2008, 2009, and 2014 say hi

quote:

---

Fact: Ole Miss was a long arse time ago.

---

Opinion. 10 years is not all that long ago. If he was so great he would have at least once been offered a D.C. Job. He didn't even get that with him on the team already. Unqualified.

quote:

---

Fact: Sometimes you learn from your mistakes.

---

Opinion: Sometimes SOME spoke learn from their mistakes. Nothing he has done has proven that he has. Lost to MSU where he was last fired by the worse margin ever in the history of thie Rivalry.

quote:

---

Fact: O did a great job as IHC at USC when other didn'

---

Opinion: can you prove who "other is"? He did such a great job that he wasn't offered the job. Instead they gave it to another alcoholic.

quote:

---

Fact: O took over last year and did pretty well.

---

Opinion: I've presented facts that state the teams LSU beat had some of the worse rush defenses in the nation. Worse than Texas Tech in the case of Missouri. The only decent teams that had good rush defenses and total defenses he lost to. MO., Ole Miss, Arky, TAMU were all horrible against the run.

quote:

---

Fact: Our team has lost a ton of talent from last year

---

Sort of a fact. They lost experience, but have lost much more in years past such as after the 2011 season.

quote:

---

Fact: Ole Miss was a long arse time ago.
Fact: Sometimes you learn from your mistakes.
Fact: O did a great job as IHC at USC when other didn't
Fact: O took over last year and did pretty well.
Fact: Our team has lost a ton of talent from last year

---

Fact: Ole Miss fired CEO for performance
Fact: We hired a D-Line coach
Fact: He is Cajun so you will defend him
Fact: LSU would not have hired any other coach that had CEO record.

DP

I'll give you a take/observation. To the point and a TLDR version if you are interested.

We are young. We don't have to be this young but we are. It's what happens when you wiff on evaluations (on and off the field). it's happened before in cycles after mass NFL exoduses of the core of a team with a gap between the next one. Sometimes you reload sometimes you rebuild. We are rebuilding and you will see a difference next season.



TLDR:

Last year was supposed to be the year. The core group of young playmakers that rebuilt in 2014 were upperclassmen and all NFL ready by 2016.

There are always going to be dips if you wiff on a class. Look at 08 after the group 05-07 teams moved on ('05 class didn't reload). Look at 2014 after the core of those 2010-2013 teams got raided by the draft ('12 had a lot of misses). The core of those following teams (08/14) were young and were blown out in games just as bad as this years.

2015/2016 we had grown up and the teams had NFL ready starters up and down the lineups but couldn't translate to the W/L column due to les' inability to develop a Passing threat.

Current Week 3 ROY watch list (list 10 plyrs)
#2 Beckwith
#3 White
#7 Adams

-Then you had Leonard 7th in the League in rushing yards and 4th in TDs.
-Duke Riley Starting in Atl
-Godchaux playing > 50% of snaps in Miami
-And Tashan Bower and Ethan Pothic getting paid on the 53 mans

2014 class had some studs (left early) but had a lot of misses. A similar crop of NFL ready talent is not on roster ready to make noise all over the league next year.

Sometimes it's hard to gauge how much experience should really affect expectations when watching LSU play on Saturdays because we always have "talent." It's not fully developed in quantity right now. This is the year they are taking their lumps and will be ready next year.

When I see how truly elite our rookies are doing day 1 in the league among professionals and I realize just how well prepared they were.
Imagine Vincent trying to suit up and play a game for the buffalo bills this weekend, chaisson-Taylor-Phillips quarterbacking the meat of an NFL defense, Delpit flying around the jets secondary playing chess and baiting NFL QBs... Farrell and Thomas playing alongside Suh...

These 18 year old kids just cannot compare to those guys last year and fill that void, Especially at LB and S, and they are playing in numbers we haven't seen since those NFL rookies did in 2014 (when they were getting blown out by MSU and AU). We lost so much NFL ready star power, 3+ year starts on every level.

It matters how many guys have you have that are NFL ready. We are rebuilding this year not reloaded from the class after our departures. We will lose a few quality ones but there is a gap in quantity.

We have our QB of the future this time to develop alongside these underclassmen classes which we didn't have in Jennings/Harris. Brennan is the real deal and les and cam are no where to be found. 14 to 15 was night and day physically until they quit after Bama, watch the same happen next year except this sophomore QB will be slinging it. These '16 and 17' classes are going to stock a lot of NFL teams with day 1 starters the few years after this one when they are grown men

2014 lost to the draft
-Hunter (pass rush)
-Kwon (undersided LB)
-Collins (green CB that tested well)
-Hilliard (SR running back)

2015-2016 pumped out 13 picks

2017 draft will look similar to 2014.
-Key (pass rush)
-Thompson (undersized LB)
-Donte (green CB that will test well)
-Williams (SR running back)
+ Guice
Maybe a Gilmore/Loc?

2018-2019 will pump out 12-16 picks. Our teams will have NFL ready players in numbers again but hopefully with a difference maker at QB.

I feel like '14 and '15 were the misses. Had elite guys but too many eligibility or off the field issues. As well as some that didn't develop into serious contributors.

O didn't get here until December or January before signing day of '15. He was able to grab key though

16 was a great haul and 17 was too. They are freshman and sophomores and all over the field. In the 18 and 19 seasons they will be the core of this team and give us next level ready starters across the board.

If one of them were to not pan out we'd have a gap and be back in the same spot we are in now. Trying to win games while relying on too many young guys at the same time.

quote:

---

LSU needs to get to where we only have maybe (1) sophomore starting on defense

---

I think you would find that that is very very rare for top tier schools that recruit big time players.

You wouldn't want adams, pp7, or Mathieu playing as freshman? Fact is, many times freshman and sophomore are just much better players than upper classmen.

quote:

---

. The 2005 class hurt us in the future but he was given time.

---

He had just won a national title. Of course he was given time. What, we fire him after 08? The team/record improved every year until he played for another one.

O still inherited a team that averaged a top 5 recruiting class.

05 was ranked like 22. The lowest class of the last decade or more.

That's fine when you have those type of players and not a defense full of them without some experience within that defense to make up for mistakes the youngsters make.

We have Chassion, Phillips, Taylor, Delpit, Logan, Greedy, all playing huge roles on this defense. That's way too much at one time. But who can we put in to replace these guys? Obviously the older guys aren't much better even though they were just as highly recruited. Some guys mature as a football players and as a person faster than the next. Is that up to the coaches to have them mature and ready? I think you should recruit those guys with a mature additude and have talent like Adams, White, and Peterson. If he's a 4* has talent and is mature/smart/driven I'm getting that guy over the 5* who is a clown, I assure you that. I'm not sure we were doing that before.

Key, Lawrence, Herron, Tolliver, E Alexander, D Alexander, and I'll add Divinity to that list are all not providing depth to this defense and we all thought that we would have these guys and that they were making progress. Turns out that Herron, Tolliver, and D Alexander made poor choices and has hurt this defense. Key not being healthy hurt a lot. You add to the fact that Thorton and Anthony aren't playing either and that is killing the defense. This is on top of the players who left early for the draft. That's a helleva lot of turnover and I'm not sure how you put that on any coach. It's not excuses, it is what it is. Sucks