1. This latest scrimmage has reminded me of my biggest worry. Last year, I thought me were a good BCS team carrying a C- QB. Then, Mauck went down and Damien James left and we were a pretty good team carrying a D- QB. I have heard all of the talk about Mauck having a great offseason and Randall having a good scrimmage, but I worry that we will be an excellent team carrying a B- to C grade QB. Neither guy had much accuracy last year. I don't think that you can learn accuracy that much to go from C- to A-. Neither guy was a highly rated quarterback coming out of high school. Bottomline: If our QB can't get the ball to our excellent WRs other than on one step button hook routes, defenses will load up to stop our running game and all of our WR talent is wasted. Am I wrong? Were they not that bad or are they that much more accurate? 50% and less completion rates against #2 defenses is not that encouraging. I just hope that the rest of the team is talented enough to overcome it, or a freshman QB steps up to earn the starting job. Or, Mauck improves his accuracy, stays healthy, and uses some of that magic that he has to will us over GA, FL, and Auburn. No opponent scares me this year like a Spurrier or Fulmer team used to except perhaps Auburn, maybe. No. 1 The quarterbacking will be much better B 2. Who will be the starting LBs and two deep? I hear about Alexander, Mayes, LeDoux, Peterson, Vaughn, West, Turner, and West as potential starters. Of the eight, do any three really standout. I hope whoever he picks outside have speed this year. No.2 LSU will play six or seven linebackers with Mayes Ledoux and West doing the best job. 3. Will Hill and Spears be better pass rushers this year or will he substitute guys like Pittman in during obvious passing situations? No.3 Hills and Spears will not do a better job, but Pittman and Byrce Wyatt will do a good job of rushing the quarterbacks. 4. Is Nick Child the #5 CB? N0. 4 Nick Childs will receive a red shirt year in my opinion. 5. Will Prude start ahead or Gay, and will Landry start ahead of Hunt or Daniels? No.5 No and No 6. Will Saban finally give into the overtures and agree to coach the Bears next year? I hope we get another Saban quality guy if he does to keep this positive momentum rolling. No.6 Yes , if offered. He has never been offered a head coaching pro job. 7. Who will declare early? Wilkerson, Clayton, Spears, or Hill? Any projections? I think all of them would be making a mistake except perhaps for Clayton. No.7 No one 8. Will Edwards live up to expectations? No.8 yes 9. We are sort of the opposite of Ole Miss. We have a great team without a quarterback. They are a quarterback without a team. No. 9. I agree
While I appreciate what Dandy Don does with his site, I always take his statements with a grain of salt. Everything is always good news with him. It's always "I was impressed with ____" (and he goes on to list 12 guys) or "_______ looked good (again listing almost everyone at a position). Every now and then he has a good nugget or two, but I find it's mostly lists of guys who impressed or looked good at a practice, scrimmage or game.
Those are valid concerns about the QB position but I have confidence in Jimbo. The offensive line and skill players should help out Mauck (or whoever) a good bit too. I think Hill & Spears will set the tone for the defense. Hopefully they'll be more active and stay healthy. Lavalais/K. Williams seem solid and the competition at LB is probably helping the intensity of practice. I'm not worried about the secondary and wouldn't be suprised with Prude starting sometime this season opposite Webster.
Read this article, a team can win with an average QB. http://espn.go.com/ncf/preview03/columns/maisel_ivan/1591867.html
IF Spears is fully recovered from last years nagging injuries I look for him to have a monster year. He has all the tools to give opposing QBs nightmares. I don't really see Saban taking the Bears job next year. At this point in his college coaching accomplishments he won't command a Spurrier type deal (unless LSU wins it all this year) If Nick took the Bears job it would be a career gamble. He wouldn't have a lot to work with on offence even though the Bears D could be solid with Brian Urlacher at the MLB slot. There has even been some speculation that the Bears GM's job is on shaky ground so if Saban took the Bears job and had a poor first year he would probably keep his job but his friend the GM could be fired and the new GM might be a lot less easier to work with since new General Managers have a tendency to want to hire a coach of their own choosing. Nick has LSU on the verge of entering the elite of college football. IF things go the way I think they will in two years Saban can name his own tune in the NFL. I believe its 50-50 for Clayton taking his game to the next level after this year. It depends on what his projected draft position will be after this season. It time for Edwards to step up to the plate. He has looked good in a limited role but this year he should be da man at tight end. LSU is not a team without a quarterback. They are a team without a great quarterback but then so was Ohio State last year. If Mauck can stay healthy look for him to be the man who somewho does what it takes at the right time when the game is on the line. He might not have Rohan Davey's arm but he has a lot of the same kind of respect from his teamates that Rohan did. The Buckeyes' Krenzel and former Alabama quarterback Jay Barker were guys without a lot of the tools that the NFL looks for but they both let their teams to National Championships. Mauck has shown that he has the same kind of intangibles and is a better athlete than either one of them. If LSU has a better year than most people are predicting budding superstars JaMarcus Russell and Matt Flynn might have to be satisfied to be the backup QB in 2004.
I like Dandy Don as much as the next guy, and like a lot of other people, I read his site too, but let's remember, before we put too much stock in an e-mail response, that according to his own site, he's answering a few hundred e-mails a day. Those answers were pretty brief and could have benefitted from some elaboration, so I don't think anybody should start reading too much into them, or treating it like its the gospel according to Dandy.
.... I like to read DD site also. I read it daily, but I really don,t think he is any better picking which players are going to do a better job than any one else. He does a great job with getting out some news on LSU though.
scrimmage stats . . . . . . are not the same as game stats. too many fans get "stat-happy" with scrimmages and don't realize that there are real differences between practice and games. Yes, its a game situation and the offense is trying to score, but: - the defense has learned the offense's plays after playing against the same guys for weeks, and can defend far better than opposing teams - some incompletions were to second and third team receivers - pass play calling is probably some balance between trying to evaluate offensive players (receivers) and trying to evaluate d-backs, not trying to exploit holes in zones, mis-matches, etc. - its still early in the season Put more stock in opinions of true football-people (coaches) for pre-season, and in what happens on the field after the games begin.
Dandy Don is a fan I like Dandy Don's site but he is really just a big fan with a lot of high school connections. A lot of his updates are just repeating the info in the BR Advocate and passing along LSU press releases that are posted on LSUSports.net. As we know from the past, some of his info comes from the other boards and magazines. They got him on April Fools a few years back. He really does seem to excel with the high school info b/c he used to be a ref. Since he is not in BR and not a true Tiger Insider (past player, coach or big $ guy) I always take his news with a grain of salt. He is a great LSU fan but he is weak on objectivity and always seems afraid to say anything that my offend the players that he likes. He always seems to be writing his page as though the players are reading it. He does seem to be a really nice guy and a big LSU supporter.
BigSabanFan: I agree with you. I enjoy DD’s site too. I confirm his information here or at the rag. I visit a number of sites, but to look at fact VS rumor or speculation I geaux to the bible of LSU sports or here to the Den. I know there are very good sites that are free, I choose to subscribe to the premium site @ TR. Greg and those folks do a great job of weeding out the hearsay! Most of the time the information is available before anyone else has it. My favorite sites are the TR and the Den.
