Just a quick reminder of the last time LSU had effectively this schedule: 2004 LSU Football Schedule Now I don't specifically recall the threads being posted after that awful Georgia loss, but I'm sure they sounded a whole hell of a lot like the threads being posted today, ie meltdown mode, program's falling apart, welcome back 90's, etc etc blah blah. Take a look at that schedule and the results after the Georgia game, which was effectively like the FL game this year. 1-2 in the SEC. At that point, it seemed obvious to everyone that we would lose to Florida and Alabama, and Arkansas was no gimme. All we did was run the table from there and go to a Jan 1 bowl. I'm as disappointed and unhappy as the next guy about yesterday's game, especially since for the most part LSU simply beat themselves with all the mistakes. But let's have a little perspective people. One game does not necessarily mean that the whole program has just gone down the proverbial sh*tter.
I would agree with you IF our offense showed any ability to score against AU or Florida. That is the issue, we have no ability to run the football against the better teams or move the football. I also give that season a pass because we had a proven coach and just won a championship, defeated Georgia 2 games the prior year. WE had it coming! I understand where your coming from but the circumstances aren't the same. I haven't blamed the coaches or given up and we can save the season. Time will tell. BTW I never saw the SEC Champ game last year but I also gave our coaches a pass for that game just like I gave Saban in 2004.
I'm not saying we're gonna go 4-7 this season, but how we perform as a team affects recruiting (and how good the coaching staff is affects recruiting). We've got a team that was attracted to a damn good coach (Saban) for national title chances. We are as talented if not more so than the best in the land, such as USC, Ohio St., Texas, & Michigan. But I don't see us finishing better than those guys. And as performance declines, so does recruiting. I see this as the beginning of a slide to a tier 2 SEC school instead of a national title competitor. Getting rid of Jamarcus Russell might improve our chances if it happens at the end of this year, but I don't know that I'm sold on RP. As a much-hyped black LSU quarterback, I hope he's more Rohan Davey and less Jamarcus Russell (i.e. one who is more consistent and accurate). So I don't think our performance on the field is helping recruiting. And Les Miles & Co. have done a poor job considering the hand they were dealt (and many of their problems are on disciplinary such as special teams, which is solely the coaching staff's fault). Considering his track record so far, I don't have faith that Les will beat my expectations as a recruiter. So with an under-performing team and a coaching staff that isn't as good at recruiting players, I don't see how we'll continue to field the types of teams we've been accustomed to these last few years. I hope I'm wrong...
The difference between that game and this game is the fact that UGA just flat out outplayed us. The talent of Georgia outplayed us, we did not give them the game. With that being said, we should actually be happier then we were after that game. Due to some extremely bonehead plays, we handed Florida an easy victory. After UGA it was a question as to whether we had the talent to win the SEC. I think the frustration comes from the fact that if we play with more focus and intensity, LSU could have easily won the game. Some of the playcalling was also questionable, down by three scores and we are still running the same formations and trying to pound the ball on first downs. We should have been in 4-5 wides trying to open it up and run some draw plays to keep them honest. This game was given to Florida on a platter. Jackson's and Doucet's plays are complete lack of concentration. After reading some of the quotes in the advocate this morning I do not feel any better. Jackson said "“I should have caught it. I just took my eyes off it, looking to make a play. There was no reason why I shouldn’t have had it." - What play is he looking to make, he had already signaled for a fair catch. The only play he needed to make was catching the ball. JaMarcus' comment was no better "It wasn't meant to be" - that is a terrible quote for the leader of the team to say. I don't like bashing him but that is learned from the coaching staff. You can guarantee he heard that from the coaches. It wasn't meant to be - your preparation, mental toughness, and performance has everything to do with the outcome not some magical force that dictates the outcome of the game. That is a defeatist quote.
You don't because we won't. We still have a lot to play for and 9-2 or 8-3 not great but not terrible either; however, right now we should not be mentioned in the same breath as Michigan and Ohio State- Even USC who will end up with a couple of losses (very possible 3) the way they are playing and letting unranked teams take the game down to the last drive but they are still 5-0 right now so they deserve credit for the time being. If USC losses 2 games and we could play them in a bowl and beat 'em 9-2 the season would be salvaged in my opinion.:yelwink2:
LSUEngineer, Amen brother. I don't think good coaches, in a behavioural sense, would foster such attitudes from the players, and it doesn't seem like Les Miles is a good coach in that category. Did you see his pre-halftime interview? Jeez, how wasn't he PISSED OFF?? I mean, at the team, the refs, etc. I was expecting him to pull a Kurt Russell in Miracle and dump the water table on half the team or something. Or punch a hole in the white board. SOMETHING... His passive, "we accept what is instead of strive to get what we want" attitude seems reflected in those quotes. Hell, he seemed SMUG in that halftime interview; Les, YOUR TEAM'S GETTING ROBBED BY THEIR OWN JACK*SS ERRORS!!! GET PISSED OFF, BUDDY!!!!! lsutiga, yeah, playing USC in a bowl would be nice as a silver lining to the season. That's hoping we can finish with only 2 losses (I doubt we'd get a marquee matchup if we had 3 losses to every ranked team we played).
It's kinda hard to score when you have 2 special teams fumbles on returns that directly lead to 16 points for your opponent. Take away those points, and we win...even if our offense doesn't score any more points. Special teams cost us this game. Florida got 16 points off special teams turnovers--and the Gators bare had to work for any of them. The rest of the game? Our defense was turning them away. There's only so much you can do with having to defend a short field almost the whole game.
I have no problem with what you are saying. I was referring to scoring 13 points in 8 quarters of football. You won't win many games that way either. Special teams didn't cost us the AU game. There are other ways to look at the game respectfully. If our offense could do something consistantly it would take more pressure off our defense especially if we could score a little more. Its amazing to me that some people think scoring 13 points in 8 quarters is ok especially when you can't run the football. If you can play good defense and run the football you can win but if you can only pass you lose.
