After the Storm, A Sunday Morning Perspective

Going into this season I understood that there would be a regression. I considered my expectations to be reasonable but let's face it, I still wear purple and gold tinted glasses. After all that this team has gone through since the departure of Saban, the success of 2019 had me believing (at least in some measure) that we had arrived. I had this idea that we would drop a couple of games but we would at least be in the top 3 in the SEC West.

Not so fast my friend.

After 24 hours of decompression and a lot of drinking to ease the pain, reality is becoming clearer. I don't think I fully appreciated what we had last year. Now you can dismantle, discount and throw shade all over the idea. You can point out all the faults and talk about how highly paid coaches at a place like LSU shouldn't put this type of product on the field. And you're right. But I think it's also important to fully understand what this team is facing.

Look, it's not just the number of players that left or opted out. But let's start right there. We have 5 starters back. That's it. Just 5. But it's not the number that matters. It's the talent that we lost. Of the 17 starters that are not with the team, 14 of them were drafted to the NFL. Several of them are starting today and playing well. That suggests that we had pretty close to an NFL caliber team last year. About as close as you can come in college. But let's take the perspective a step further. We also lost:

Heisman Winner, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm, AP Player of the Year, Walter Camp Award, Maxwell Award, Biletnikoff Award, Jim Thorpe Award and the Joe Moore Award winners just to name a few of the accolades received by the players of 2019.

That is an incredible amount of talent that left this team. That type of loss sets you back at least a year. I've seen teams lose far less than this and struggle the following year. It should be no surprise that this big a hole is creating all kinds of challenges for the team this year. Now add in all the assistants that left and the changes that were necessary. Changing coaches AND starting 17 new players is not just re-building. It's called re-starting. This is a NEW team. It's not a continuation. It's a reset.

As angry and frustrated as I have been after watching two of the worst losses (by performance, not score) in my history of LSU fandom, it is important to keep the perspective. 2019 was such an incredible year. It wasn't just the best performance by an LSU team. It is arguably the best performance we have witnessed in college football. Emotionally that type of performance wields some serious gravitational pull. Subconsciously it is hard to not compare today to just 10 months ago. So I believe that in spite of best efforts I'm being pulled into a measure of unrealistic expectations for 2020. Not that I expected back to back NC's. But still ... better than this right?

That's still a lot to expect and I was in on the bandwagon of throw out Pelini yesterday big time. Today, as the fog begins to dissipate I recognize that there is still a road ahead that needs to be traveled. It's not like Pelini forgot how to be a DC. He ran some pretty damn good defenses. My confidence has been shaken given the season so far, but I am more willing today to see what happens from here.

After all, it's not what happens to you but how you respond to what happens to you that makes all the difference.

So I'm not down with the idea that the team has given up. Not close. I saw a lot of confusion on the defense. Confusion that I'm willing to concede to a new system, inexperienced players, players that don't have extensive playing time together and some ineffective coaching decisions. On offense I saw an O Line that is still a work in progress and is trying to fill some talent losses. I saw questionable play calling and an inability to establish a running game despite having some pretty talented players. O' said that Missouri was giving them "passing reads" by crowding the line. I can see that, but after yesterday I hope they are also reminded of the value of a running game. The offense is also dealing with some major changes.

If this team fights through the current adversity the growth could be significant. We are not building for 2020. So what I think will be important is how this team develops from here. LSU stock has sold off significantly but I believe there is upside from here. While I'm not expecting them to rattle off 7 consecutive wins, I will be watching to see how they fight through the rest of the season. If they don't finish the season playing better than they began, then pull out the pitchforks. Until then, watch for how they respond to adversity. Because everyone and every organization faces it. It's tough. It sucks and it feels like forever when you're down in the muck. But it can be overcome and if you make it through you can emerge stronger than ever.

Failure is an event. It is not the end.
It's only the end if you quit.

Geaux Tigers!