If LSU beats Bama, Arkansas & Ole Miss then we go into post season with one loss - the best LSU ever did under Saban. That is not "closer to good than fair". Most teams in the country would kill to be in that position with that GREAT of a team. JaMarcus has gotten better & will continue to get better - on top of that, he already has it together. 60% completion percentage & has lead this team to victory over some very good teams. You can't blame playcalling when receivers can't catch. If the offensive players struggle, then it's up to Jimbo to call plays that work & put points on the board - he is doing his job correctly. Look at the stats. We run a balanced offense & are putting enough points on the board to win games, that's what is supposed to be done. I will stay away from name calling, but just say - you are a pessimist.
lsu-i-like, you're post is like many I've seen this season that make me fell like we all just look at thingfs so differently. I kind of see Saban's tenure as pretty good, real good, a good, great and good. Just getting the players to turn around in 2000 was a very good accomplishment IMO, getting that 2001 team to where they were when the season was completeld represented a real good job to me, the fall back in 2002 was disappointing and showed we were not yet ready to assume a spot in the top 10 every season yet, but it also showed me we have progressed to were a program to be reckoned with. Without the injury to Mauck I think we would have had a real good year. To say 2003 was only good baffles me. 2004 IMo was a good year that was prevented from being a very good year by one play. I think if we do as you say and dominate Arkie and the Rebs and beat Bama it would show we are very good and gives us a very good year no matter what happens after that. Going through the regular season with one loss would be great. As for the statmeent about JR, well I guess we've all argued so much on this topic I'll just have to say that I'll take JR and the job he has done so far over just about any season, by any QB we've had at LSU after 7 games. I'll also take Jimbo's success over what any other OC has had at LSU as well.
yeah, last season we were HORRIBLE... you know, one stupid hail mary at the end of the game away from a top 10 ranking... with no real quarterback.
lsu i like post really just shows how much our expectations have changed at LSU over the past 5 years. There were times i was happy we made it to a bowl and had a winning season. That just isnt good enough any more. Winning does that!!! The more you win the more you have to win. Not bad but we all look at things different now.
saban's tenure at LSU follows the general trend of college football teams-you are much better with a good qb, usually a senior. with an established program like LSU now has, the only senior thats a reasonable cause for a dropoff is the qb-unless you get in a screwy situation where you have 4 starting seniors on the OL. bottom line. there is little reason to think this team wouldve been any better or worse under saban. lsu can be great for several years to come if the qb situation is managed well. in the best case scenario, lsu will have JR for another 2 yrs then RP for 2, but i guess its possible for all three of lsu's qbs to be gone after 2 more years.
Some of you obviously judge a season based solely on wins and losses. I judge a season by the quality of those wins and losses. I don’t like to lose, but if we lose despite playing hard because the other team played a great game that loss isn’t so tough for me to take. If we win going through the motions because the other team isn’t good enough, that win isn’t as meaningful to me as a dominant or well executed victory. You can judge a season by wins and losses, but you judge a program by their excellence. Take Tennessee, for example. Tennessee has had a strong program for quite a while, but I have never been impressed with them because what is so tough about them is their talent, not their outstanding performance. I’ll take Spurrier’s Florida over Fulmer’s Tennessee. Until this year Texas has been a solid team, but they were never in that very upper niche. I don’t think its enough to just win. Hell, LSU SHOULD win most of their games every season. LSU reminds me a lot of Ohio St and Georgia right now. Good enough to win the NC, but not able to blow the doors off most teams because of limited offense. I like Auburn a lot and think Tuberville brings something special to that program. He’s been conducting himself more respectfully lately. Auburn has some terrible luck with undefeated seasons. We need a playoff. I may have understated my feelings about Saban’s tenure. The first year was very good considering where we had come from. The second year started slow but ended awesome. The third year was a mess, very unsatisfying but decent. The fourth year had its share of adversity but there was an undeniable feeling of destiny with that team. The fifth year was much like the third, decent but unsatisfying. Let’s say if LSU makes it out of the regular season with only one loss they will be closer to great than good. JaMarcus and the offense have progressed slowly. It’s disappointing. 60% completion percentage, mostly calling high percentage passes is nothing to brag about. Coming from behind against Arizona St was solid, but our offense hasn’t been the difference in most big games this season. Our offense is too conservative and unimaginative. Is it Jimbo’s fault or the players for not being good enough to A) execute or B) grasp the offense? I don’t know. I do know that I don’t want LSU to be the next Tennessee. I’d like to throw in that the SEC is down. No strong teams. Arkansas lost itself. Ole Miss is no better than usual (maybe Eli was something else). Georgia still hasn’t found an offense. Florida is undergoing severe growing pains. Tennessee has a boring offense as usual. Alabama is regenerating itself upon the national spotlight but isn’t quite a juggernaut yet. Kentucky lost its good coach to Baylor. Vanderbilt is smart but undermanned. Mississippi St is a poor team right now. Auburn is strong. S Carolina looks promising, but is a few years away from any substantial success. LSU is loaded but lacks punch. What has Jimbo done? The first season I’ll give him a B+. The second season I’ll give him an A. The third season I’ll give him a C-. The fourth season I’ll give him an A+. The fifth season I’ll give him a C-. So far this year I give him a C-. Our offense has done nothing but the bare minimum this year, even against Arizona St. We’ve outclassed overmatched opponents, nothing to sing praises over. Thank the defense and special teams for bailing out the offense; its been the rule this year, not the exception. I remember the dark years when LSU was in turmoil. Those years were terrible and we are undoubtedly in a better place now. I guess I have to put things in perspective. We are one of the top teams, things are relatively good for us. But a sentiment I share with Saban is the demand and desire for excellence. It’s good to be grounded as many of you are, but I also think its good to have the fire to want to do more than you have to. Would Saban have done any better this season? It’s tough to know and I don’t believe the difference would have been noticeable. We may have pulled off the Tennessee win, but we may have lost to Arizona St, Auburn, or Florida. I’m not saying that Miles shouldn’t be our coach, just voicing my opinions. Its good to have other fans who are capable of discussing things without flaming out.
Much better post lsu i like. but I don't see how you give this year's offense a C- and the 2003 offense an A+ when this year's unit is right alongside that one in acheivements so far.
excellent post and i agree with everything I think from the current teams assessements to the coaches and grades. phat phils running into a dinardo problem. all kinds of talent he cant control nor coach. only he could screw it up that badly having so much talent. I dont foresee LSU heading down that path but we are in the BOS's hands either way. so its still very possible :thumb: :thumb:
So you're saying you feel as good about this offense as you did in 2003? This offense has more potential and talent, maybe, but I don't feel as confident in getting consistently good performance this year as I did in 2003.
