The only problem I see with someone taking over for Saban will be the same problems Smoke Laval is facing right now, and Ron Zook faces in Florida. They are in a lose-lose situation, because if they keep winning, it will be chalked up to the talent they were left with. If they start losing, it will be all on them.
hey miked, that was mostly one tiger fan spewing the hatred venom after the Ole Miss game, and we all what his name is........ but, I can say you are probably right. it is the same way with any sports team. the dallas cowboys had an awesome season this year, far exceeded everyone's expectations, made the playoffs, lost, and now people want heads to roll. knee jerking, as it is known by some, is a terrible disease we are all guilty of to an extent.
I was one of the one's bitching and it wasn't the 30 point score thing. I just saw a weakness in our offense, it showed all year against quality opponents. WE COULDN'T MOVE THE BALL CONSISTANTLY ALL YEAR IN THE 2nd HALF OR WHEN WE NEEDED TO PUT THE GAME AWAY. Think goodness our Defense was good enough to put the game away via the last play of the Ole Miss game and the Sugar Bowl. Just answer this question for me: How many 2nd and 3rd chances did we give Ole Miss and OU a chance to come back and beat us because we couldn't move the ball or run out the clock? Please don't take what I say the wrong way. I just thought that was a problem and it concerned me. Anyone agree with that? I will have a new philosophy next year however, I will take it 1 game at a time and will have to be more patient with a new qb. I PREDICT, however the offense will be better next season than this season, don't ask me why, I just think it will happen. I just thought for a junior qb and the offensive personnel we had, we should've been a little more consistant on offense. In retospect I now realize the Matt didn't have the normal amount of starts for a junior either
Sourdoughman, You said what many of us have thought. I have much respect for Mauck,he won us championships. I have to say though,if we are going to win the NC again the offense MUST improve, i.e. QB. who is not streaky,meaning every game IS the championship,not girlfriend is mad, dental school is my future, what do I do? LSU FOOTBALL MUST BE YOUR LIFE!!NOW AND FOR THE FORSEEABLE FUTURE, ANYTHING ELSE IS UNACCEPTABLE!!!
What I want to know is what makes you so sure the adversity is not behind us? You have the attitude of an Ole Miss fan. Think positive. your worrying over something that hasn't happened yet and may not even happen. Be happy.
I think what we all have to face not only next year, but any year is that we may actually have a better team, yet not as good of a record. For a team (any team) to win a national title, you have to be good AND have your share of breaks and we got ours this year...most notably Georgia and Ole Miss kicking woes, no major injuries, favorable home schedule. The mark of a champion is how you respond to those breaks and we came through every time. That's just the way it goes. Ohio St got many breaks last year. I can think of many more...Colorado getting the 5th down play, Nebraska getting the last second TD when the ball got kicked to a receiver in the end zone, Stoerner fumbling against UT when all they had to do was run the clock out. I'm not a fan of moral victories and hate when we lose, but I hope we can all develop the mentality that as long as we play hard and are prepared, we won't jump on the coach or the players. I think we all agree that ultimately some of those breaks will go against us. I fear though that as someone pointed out earlier in this thread, there will be no middle ground.
Yes, the offense needs to improve, but lets not start knocking Mauck. Had he chosen to stay for 2004 he quite possibly would have continued his developement to become even better than he was in 2003. Mauck did have a few bad games but he didn't ever make a bonehead mistake that cost LSU a game this year. Even in the games that he didn't play well in, other than the Florida game he did come through with a big time play that either scored (the first Georgia game) or kept a scoring drive alive. No, Mauck is not Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana or Brett Favre but he played well enough to lead LSU to the National Championship. Don't you think LSU football was Mauck's life for 2003? He will be 25 in February. He will soon have a family to support. He won't be a high round draft pick but if he can stay on an NFL roster even as the 3rd QB for even 2 years he can make at least $1 million. Not a bad nestegg to start life as a dentist or whatever he chooses to do. I was hoping that Mauck would return here are the choices he faced: A. He vastly improves and elevates his draft position. B. He risks an injury and blows any NFL chances. C. He gets replaced as starting QB after the first few games because either Flynn or Russell shows that they are as good as they are hyped to be and Mauck's draft status drops. Mauck's decision is not the one that me or lots of other Tiger fans wanted him to make but considering that he has the input of Saban's NFL connections and he is closer to the situation regarding how good the redshirt freshman QBs are I'm sure he considered all his options and made the best choice for himself.
Right bengal b. A QB must be a leader and Mauck was a great leader. Without leadership capabilities a QB will be a failure, regardless of the amount of athletic ability he may have. After the NC game Mauck wasn't on the stage, he was thanking and congratulating his team mates and fans. That's a QB. I hope our young guys will step up and understand that.
