Balance on the Rant on Sunday Morning

You know, the Politards on this site take a lot of grief for being either one side of the other, but that's politics and principles, this is college football on the rant, but it seems quite similar. On the rant it seems you're either a cheerleader or a negatiger. Either you're a real fan or a hater. I'd really love to see some balance here this morning. I'd just like some perspective, balancing the negatives we all saw last night with a realization that teams make their most progress between the first and second game of the season.

Last night I think we all witnessed some serious concerns on Defense on the D line, in a super soft zone coverage giving way too much cushion most times, and the arm tackles and missed tackles were ridiculous. I know I did, but I think we realize that this was game one, clear on the other side of the country two time zones away, and in a pretty hostile environment against a team that was very motivated and much better than last year. That said, I believe Chavis is going to have to address these areas this week or LSU will be getting handled again.

On offense, I think they did pretty well considering, and really thought Jefferson did a good job in his outing. His running the ball sometimes concerned me for his health, but he sure does add a dimension to the O that a drop back passer doesn't. He's got some real talent, that's for sure, especially considering his age. Our running game had some bright spots as well as our receivers, especially TT.

In short I think LSU's offense did a good enough job to get it done pretty effeciently and I have nice confidence in them this year, but the Defense is, like last year, a real area of concern. No, they didn't look quite as confused as to what they should be doing as they did last year, but they looked real soft, and I simply am not and never have been a real big fan of the zone, although I know you can't go with Man to Man all the time. I would just like to see some mixing it up a little more, and we cannot allow quarterbacks to roll out like they did last night and cook us.