My take on LSU FB 2009

The team should start the season ranked around 11 or so. There have been many analysts who have said that LSU is the 5th best team going into the season, but coming off of such a poor 2008 season, it would only seem logical to preseason rank LSU around 10-12 despite the talent.
Some of the biggest concerns for the Tigers coming into the season are at Offensive Line, Wide Receiver, Quarterback, and how the defense will rebound with new coordinator, John Chavis. While the offensive line will take a big hit with the loss of Herman Johnson, it should be able to rebound with Senior Lyle Hitt bringing leadership to the line. While the line will undoubtedly have its problems (especially with the defensive talent of the SEC) it should help tremendously to have a quarterback with mobility in Jordan Jefferson. This is, after all, a college powerhouse's offensive line, so Jefferson won't necessarily be "running for his life" every play... But it does help for him to be able to tuck it and go when necessary. The rebuilding line may take a bit of a toll on the effectiveness of the Tigers' running game which is why we may see additional spread packages utilizing Keiland Williams a bit more from Gary Crowton this year, allowing some of the pressure to be taken off the inexperienced line and relyin more on the elusiveness of our specialty players.
Now let's talk quarterback. Although Jordan Jefferson does not have much experience starting games, the Tigers certainly enter 09 with much more experience at the position than last year. Jefferson showed many great skills and signs of brightness in his two starts last season and just played to get the job done. Jefferson avoided turnovers for the most part and seemed to always put his offense in position to score. His play in the Chick-fil-A Bowl was outstanding, and if the past is worth anything, the Tigers may have found another quarterback at the Georgia Dome. Jefferson has put on some weight in the offseason and looked to be very effective in his passing game at the Spring Game.
While one of Jefferson's targets was just a victim of the injury bug, the Tigers should not be worried about the Wide Receiver position. LSU returns arguably the best received in the nation in Brandon LaFell and one of the most promising players from a year ago in Terrance Tolliver. Tolliver has yet to prove himself to the rest of the country, but his progression at the end of last season should have the rest of the SEC very worried. Tolliver quickly established himself as the number 2 receiver for LSU as the struggling Demetrius Byrd and the sporadic Chris Mitchell fizzled out a bit. Tolliver is not only a combination of size and speed, but has shown that he is a smart receiver who has tremendous posession and is able to break tackles (much like Alabama's Julio Jones). Mitchell should provide a sure- handed third man while the fourth on LSUs roster has never stepped on the field... Rueben Randle. Randle will be great, no doubt. While it may seem like a lack of depth at WR, let's not forget that for much of last season, it seemed as though LSU only drew up passes to LaFell. Byrd struggled as did the rest of the receivers. So, in my opinion the WR position is better going into 09.

Defense: 2008 was the worst year LSU has had defensively in a long time. This can be mostly credited to Doug Mallory and Bradley Dale Peveto for sucking as defensive coordinators. But, their lack of blitz package variety and unaggressive playcalling was not the only problem with the defense. With the loss of Glenn Dorsey, Craig Steltz, and Ali Highsmith, the defense lost some tremendous leadership and "swagger". Teams can have the most talented players in the world, but without swagger and playing as a collective unit, they will not be successful. This was definitely missing last year and it showed. Although many fans did not like it, there was no "you cant see me" after great plays. This was a sign of identity among the players in 07 and 08 returned with no team identity and got burned. This year, proven coordinator John Chavis takes over with an aggressive mind and a hungry team. This defense will be anchored by Tiger safety, Chad Jones. Jones will provide the leadership and the swagger, the defensive identity for LSU in 09. The Tigers are ultra deep in the secondary and for the first time in years, the question marks will be at defensive line where the Tigers lose Tyson Jackson, RJF, and Marlon Favorite. While those sound like big names, they really didn't do much and wear nearly inaffective all year. The best of the lineman from a year ago, Rahim Alem returns along with the promising Drake Nevis and the big man, Al Woods. The line cannot be any worse than last year, and with a new and more aggressive style in place, as the "Invincible" video claims, your offense's worst nightmare is back!

To wrap it all up, I look for 2009 to be a tremendous improvement from last year. The toughest games will be at Georgia and vs Florida ( although the loss of Harvin hurts. Look at the SECCG last year). I honestly think LSU can beat Florida, and definitely think the Tigers will win the West easily......... The national championship is a very realistic goal for this year....Worst case scenario, SEC West Champs: 10-2 regular season.

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