LSUGTFAN

I think its a combination of Harris's Cannon Arm + high throws + Poor Receiver concentration/trying to do too much + Mainly NOT ENOUGH LIVE GAME REPS

1) Not enough LIVE reps-- I think this is KEY. All subsequent things can be fixed as QB and WR's get on the same page and settle down a little.

2) Harris's Cannon Arm -- For Example..Busted play in the 4th quarter when he zinged one into Diarse's hands while rolling to the left...Harris's Pass was right on the money but reminded me a bit of Vick's laser passes. Even if the Receivers are used to it during practice, catching them in a game is a totally different story regardless of what you say as i) Receivers are bit more stressed and ii)Harris's ball speed also goes up given his own nervousness and intent to complete the pass;

3) Harris's Flat Throwing Arc--> He is getting better, but, he is still sailing a lot of throws pretty high. Makes it difficult for receivers because A) They have to break their stride and jump to get the ball - which is another dimension of thinking and coordinating that increases risk of incompletion B) DANGEROUS FOR RECEIVERS even if they Catch it --> they are now sitting ducks for DB tackles mid-air risking injury or worse. We saw one today on a high throw where reciever (cant remember who) got CLOBBERED and was shaken up getting off the ground. This needs to be and I am sure will be addressed soon enough. Even if they do catch those, their momentum is killed and they have to separate from receivers again = not as many yards gained after the catch VS if the ball is thrown in stride

4) POOR RECEIVER CONCENTRATION - It is not as much as core lack of talent or a Single Receiver issue. Receivers may be trying to do too much, or ii) not focusing on actively catching the ball and instead thinking of what they are going to do after the catch OR who is coming to tackle them --> breaks their concentration just enough that they don't catch it.

Solution: More LIVE GAME Reps --> 1) Allow the game to slow down for Harris (much like Fournette said it did for him last year ). Harris should automatically put some air under his throws = Not Throw too high = Less risk on receivers & Higher Yards Per Catch 2) Receivers will settle down & not try to do too much + FOCUS better on the ball and not on whats next.

I 100% agree that this is being blown way out of proportion. It was a simple mistake from a young and enthusiastic kid. With the hype the media and fans have put on him, I am surprised it hasnt gone more to his head than it has so far.

With that said...I generally am a big Coach Miles fan but I can't deny he is partly to blame for this. I think Coach Miles' emotions got the better of him this time. The post-game conference comment about Fournette "being full of himself" was the kindling to the media fire. It was not malicious and it was not intended the way the media is using it. Nonetheless, Coach MIles should have known better than to use those words. Media will latch onto any quote given to them, and anything said about him is a story that sells. Someone says...FOurnette loves apples, and the next day ESPN will have a story on it and a week long gag on Fournette and apples.

Camera's caught Coach Miles giving him a stern talk after the fact and whether him being benched in 2nd Qtr was planned or punitive, no one can really say. But, Of all the things Coach Miles handles internally, I figured this would be as well and would have rather the public show of the lesson would have stopped at the sideline talk.

Even so...none of this is as big a deal as people are making out to be. I doubt even Fournette and Coach Miles see this as such a big deal. I am sure they are back to their own selves and ready for practice to run all over ULM this weekend. :geauxtigers:

YOU'RE an odd pic selection....




..... Yes...I went there...



PS: Picked it coz people were bitching about height and splitting hairs between a hair below and hair above 6 feet. As far as Im concerned...Doesn't matter. And even if Quinn was indeed 5'10" or any "less tall" than Diarse..he would still be great in his own right. Pic just hyperbolized the point I was trying to make.

who cares...QUINN could be as tall as Kirksey like in the pic and would still come down with the ball!!

Yea. But the same can be said about Quinn. His route running is awesome and seems to have really sticky hands a-la-Landry. Diarse showed amazing tenacity after the run last game and is a beast in his own right. And the list doesn't stop with these 4. We have an amazing WR core. If you're a program other than LSU, you wish you have a problem like this. But i can see this being a quite difficult decision for the LSU coaches to make nonetheless. Don't envy them at all.. :geauxtigers: :geauxtigers:

your response is pointless here. You are misunderstanding what I am saying. If neighbors is there, defenses will know that he is the main FB..and most, if not close to all the time, will be there to plow a hole for Hilliard (OBVIOUSLY IF he gets the ball). HOWEVER, That is THE only possibility. We don't give the ball to Neighbors really, and the threat of Neighbors rolling out and catching a pass is even LESS of a reality.

Therefore... defensively, apart from receivers, the LB's will follow Hilliard and have more secondary tackle support whether he runs up the middle or rolls out for the possibility of a catch.

In THIS 2 back scenario...even if it looks like a run up the middle...The probability is split in half of Hilliard having the ball. So defenses are kept honest and they are forced to cover both with equal intensity and presuming that EITHER hilliard OR Fournette...has the Ball. Reason is that here, not both will hit the same hold, Hilliard may come through Hole #1, but may not have the ball, whereas Fournette, who gets teh ball, may go to hole #2 = LB's are split up a bit giving us a slight edge in terms of time of LB tackle help and thus giving a marginal gain in yardage gained for each such carry. But, i agree that if they both look to go up the middle....yes, you are correct that they for the most part will defend same as if neighbors was there = try and stuff the run as much as possible.

HOWEVER...the BIGGEST benefit on this package lies in the scenario where either one of them goes up the middle, while the other rolls out. In the Hilliard/Neighbors scenario, ur LBers are focused and will come up to stop the run = more # of bodies over a small area + focusing on the small seams made between OLine. Here, the LB's or DB's assigned to either HIlliard or Fournette have to follow the player to the periphery while the play is being developed = more space down the middle.
a) IF we run, that's 1 body less in the middle , or at least delayed in getting back to the middle to stop the run = immediate increased efficiency as there is a higher probability of the run getting a yard or so more at least.
b) Same with if we throw, the LB's are still going to be kept honest and keep someone in the middle in case Fournette or Hilliard runs up the middle. Since both are gifted backs and able to catch, whoever rolls out, even if they are covered have to deal with mainly the man covering them initially. LB help to stop them once its thrown will be slightly late as compared to if it was only if only Hilliard was on the field with neighbors as more LB's would be aware if not follow him to the edge.

So yes...they will not...or at least SHOULD not just aim to stuff the run as if its Hilliard/Neighbors. Your deduction is looking at only 1 perspective...that both run up the middle and run through the same hole. If we go with scenario #2,#3 or #4, and they treat it like scenario #1 like you are treating it.....then the marginal gain I am talking about immediately becomes a possible big-yardage/touchdown threat with the caliber of backs we are talking about.

This kind of scheme is highly beneficial against ALL teams. Results in modest increased effeciency against even well coached and disciplined teams like Wisc or Bama..but play HUGE returns if the defenses are not consistent and methodical in keeping their assignments.

which is again borne from his trust in Dural because he has thrown it to him in the past and Dural has hauled it in. Jennings is till young and so the 'zeroing' in thing is not uncommon. But to break the habit and help him spread his vision, the staff may need to dial in more purely TE plays to help him develop that confidence in his TE's, which will automatically translate in his Vision as a QB

I don't thing that's necessarily it. I don't believe the staff is so vindictive as to stop an entire section of the playbook. I think the problem is multi-fold here:

1) QB's:
Problema) Jennings's even in this game, grossly over threw or threw way to wide of target during RB rollouts or short yardage passes. He is VERY inaccurate in this regard. Even the Fournette short yardage rollout catch along the left numbers was quite overthrown and inaccurate. It was caught because of 1) Fournette's incredible athleticism, and 2) Lower caliber DB's we were facing. If this was Miss St, Florida or Bama, that might have been picked off or at the LEAST an incomplete. It seems like Cam is trying to emphasize developing that part of the package to include RB rollouts, and TE curls. But I am concerned that if Jennings doesn't throw accurately here, Coach Cam may or may not want to take the chance of throwing to TE's and have that turn into an INT. At which point your worries MAY become a reality. It may not with such low level teams, but certainly will against future teams we face that have Top quality CB's with a good step where I can see a quick TE throw turning into a PICK-6 a la JLee v. Auburn.

not a problem
b) We have been playing teams where our WR's are able to get open, so in the QB reads of open players, you dont get down the list enough to get to the TE's.
c) The opposing teams have been respecting our RUN and keeping the LB's close, so it takes a while for our TE's to get open, if at all. When they do...going back to point 'b', the WR's are open b4 that and the QB has thrown to them.
d) QB's still don't have the pocket presence and have freshmen jitters. This means, especially Jennings since he has received most of the reps thus far, runs out of the pocket very quickly instead of staying there, taking the extra second or two to make those reads like a seasoned Mettenberger did last year or another pure pocket passing QB would. Given his Dual Threat ability translates to him running out and making many throws while he is rolling out of the pocket. This isnt exactly a BAD thing as he still has the presence of mind to keep his eyes downfield and look for open receivers. This is actually HUGE as other DT's would simply run for it. What many here on the board were saying when we recruited Jennings that he is a passing QB that can also run and not just a run-first QB is VERY apparant. Ultimately currently it just translates to fewer opportunities where we throw to the tight ends.


2) Passing Attempts / Efficiency: Wisc. was a good, disciplined team and were playing very well in short and medium yardage situations while our WR's were doing well in getting seperation. I could buy your argument there at the dropped passes and mental mistakes were such that maybe it was not worth keeping on 'testing' that part of the package and not necessarily 'abandoning' that part of the playbook, rather 'focusing' on the part that DID work.
Yesterday's game: our WR's were lightyears better and each attempt resulted in significant gains. When we were passing a good big in the 1st quarter, we ended up running up the scoreboard 27-0 very quickly with just a few mins left into the 2nd QTR.

3) LES Miles' Winning Mentality: Kind of a continuation of point 2, after we had put up 27 points so quickly, we ran the Ball a LOT and gave every running back in our backfield a good amount of carries. Reason being that MIles doesn't like Running up the score on teams. If we tried to get all the receiving playmaker's in the WR and TE core a chance, we could have gotten to see the TE reps we were all hoping to see, but would have meant racking up 70-80 points = NOT A MILES way of wining.

3) Its only been 2 games : Miles & LSU never opens up the full playbook this early in the season. We always seem to initially function on a limited playbook that will eventually become the foundation of the future; Basics that we want our Players and Playmakers to get the appropriate reps in LIVE situations so that it becomes second nature such that we can count on in them in the future against during the SEC games. I would anticipate the TE & RB rollouts to become increasingly a staple in our playbook with each game: initially as a change of pace playcall starting next game and increasingly developed and incorporated into the playbook by Mid-Season.


Ultimately, I don't disagree with you. It would have been nice to see at least 1 or 2 dedicated TE plays. However, with the aforementioned reasons and the fact that we didn't exactly throw the ball too much and split those 19 attempts with Harris as well, I / We cant really complain too much.

on a complete side not...I actually think Jacory Washington may be one of the ONLY TE's gifted enough to consistently and safely catch the ball amongst all our other Pass Catching TE's. We may be seeing him in this role possibly because he is new and is still learning the position or because there are too many TE's ahead of him. However, considering how many freshmen we have played so far, I would certainly like to see him and Desean Smith get a few more reps to try them out and see how they do in that role.

It sounds confusing just because he is playing devil's advocate with himself and addressing all possible angles of thought. In the end his opinion is quite obvoius as the poster ahead stated. Since its inevitable to get injured in College football, the hurry up increases the probability of a player getting hurt (more playes, less time, more mistakes etc etc..w/e you wanna make of it). Otherwise, shite happens. Deal with it. LSU has found a way and we do well against them. Other teams, like Bama etc dont fare as well, ex. against Texas A&M So they have a more fervent opinion against it.

Haha I am aware, and your opinion of him is spot on. And it seems to fit the generic Bama recruit's personality pretty well.