First of all, DOMINANT showing by the "D" tonight. 147 yards of total offense for Vandy. Gotta be happy about that :thumb: Numerous sacks, 2 INT's, fumble returned for a TD and a safety. Awesome work by the defense. Offensively, tonight, no doubt about it, you can't put any blame on the coaching staff for the fumbles....THAT was disappointing to see. David Jones, IMO, had probably his worst game as a Tiger. The INT Russell threw, off a deflection is just a tough one. Sure the ball could have been thrown a little better, but...oh well...crap happens.... Now, turning to Florida.... As much as Urban is getting all sorts of praise for his offense, I really think Leak is having some trouble adjusting to it. Dispite their win vs MSU today, he threw 2 more INT's and the Gators really didn't pull away from the Bulldogs until late. I know we didn't pull away from vandy until late in the game as well, but if we don't fumble twice.... I mean, we were moving the ball at will almost. We were marching down on almost every drive. BUT, when you turn the ball over as much as we did tonight, against a team with Florida's capability, you're bound to get hurt by it. Fortunately for us tonight, Vandy just couldn't do much with the ball after their turnovers--so our defense wasn't too over worked (like they could have been). Penalties still just kill us! I know lots of people will say, "well, that's up to the coaches to fix...", and that's true. But I also believe that you'd be a fool if you thought that our coaching staff HADN'T addressed this issue to the players. Our players just aren't focusing, or they're making silly mistakes. Offsides, false starts, blocks in the back...THOSE are the penalties that could and SHOULD be avoided and now I look for our players to start paying better attention to cut down those penalties. The holdings, and pass interference calls and face mask penalties--those are the things that kinda just happen in the heat of battle, when bodies are flying around, etc. Obviously, you don't want ANY penalties, but those are the ones that you can be ok with as long as they're not happening all the time. I think if you can contain Leak in the pocket, and not allow him to scramble (he's not a scrambling QB by nature, but he does have that ability to hurt you with his feet), and "spy" him, we have a good chance at neutralizing the spread option. Our DB's are gaining confidence and even though Florida has better receivers than Miss State and Vandy, our DB's are finally starting to play with confidence--which might help them reach their potential. I think our D-line is in GREAT shape, and I look for them to have pressure on Leak. Florida will only have success running the ball if we allow Leak to get out of the pocket. We need to make him think twice about wanting to run out when pressure is there--you want him to throw it away. If I were a defensive coordinator facing Meyer's offense, I put a speedy LB spying on Leak the entire game. I'd put Highsmith and in some cases, Jesse Daniels spying him--keeping at least one player capable of getting to him quick enough on option plays to either disrupt it making him pitch earlier, or having someone account for him and put a "hat on a hat" so-to-speak. I've got a BAD case of revenge that needs curing.... I still have that bad taste in my mouth after watching Florida beat us in Tiger Stadium in '03 and I want bloodshed! I'd like to hand the Gators another 34-3 a$$ beating like 'Bama did, but realistically, I'm thinking something like LSU! 28 Gators 20. And if we cut down on our mental mistakes (the fumbles and penalties) and keep Leak throwing off his back foot (like we did Cutler tonight) and force some TO's, then it could be a nice, conviencing win for us.
I think tonight, JV played like his talent was intended for him to play. BY that I mean is that he's NOT a "punishing runner"--he can't run over LB's like Alley or punish DB's like Addai and he's not a "scatback" like Shyrone--JV can't "dance" in the backfield waiting for a hole to open if it's not originally there. JV needs to do exactly what he did tonight: Take the ball, hit the hole, or make ONE move (juke, sidestep, etc.) and then go with it. He's got better than average speed and slightly above average power (Addai and Alley are still better power runners), but he just needs to make a move and then BOOM! Go with it. He did that tonight. Great job running the football by both JV and Addai.
Justin Vincent does well against lesser competition mostly because of his speed. Are our receivers fast or what? I was damn impressed by that. Not too impressed with Vincent's success tonight though. Our offensive line was opening holes and their defense isn't that strong.
Was 2003 lesser competition? Last year he didn't look impressive against anyone. Vincent didn't look good last week against MSU. I don't know how you can say that he just looked good because it was lesser competition. Maybe it was just one game, but it was because of what he did - not because of what Vandy didn't do.
In 2003 our offensive line was opening gapeing holes and I think he took advantage of blown calls by our opponents. We also had a mobile QB. MSU probably has a better run defense than Vandy, our OLine has had another week to improve, and Vincent had more carries this week. I'm not a Vincent hater, he is quick and can blow through a hole, but I don't feel that because he had some success tonight that he has finally returned to MVP form. He is a weapon we can and should use and he ran with more authority tonight than I ever remember seeing, but he is most effective against weaker, slower competition. I don't expect to see him run for big yards against the Tennessees of the world.
i agree mostly. he only seems to do well in space. lsu ol opens bigger holes against lesser opponents (doesnt really explain 03 against UGA and OU, but our ol was doing well). i, too, was glad to see jv get a lot of yards. he seems, however, to have a knack for not hitting the hole. happened several times tonight and at least on one big 3rd down against UT. i probably being too picky.
IMHO, and with as much objectivity as I can muster, here's my assessment .... The LSU D has not lived up to its billing still ....... and yet it's still one of the best defenses in the conference. The D front is beginning to show signs that it has shaken the stamina problems it experienced earlier in the season and can now threaten most anybody for four, full quarters. However, if the corners continue to play loose cushion (as opposed to the days under Saban), then it's reasonable to expect teams like Bama, Auburn, and Florida to exploit them using veteran receivers. And Ainge/Claussen are far from the best QB's LSU will face this season. Cutler played valiantly, but he doesn't have the talent around him that Leak, Croyle, and Cox have around them. If Vandy's TE's had caught the opportunties they had last night, the outcome of this game could've been in doubt. Bama and Auburn will also attempt to run between the tackles using counters and draws in an effort to dictate schemes ..... should be an interesting matchup given Jimbo's past tendencies. :yelwink2: Offensively, I just can't believe LSU is not running the ball with more dominance. Every team in the league would kill to have Addai as their starter, but there are times when CJF seems reluctant to utilize him. (scratches head) Vincent is a nice change-of-pace back, but nowhere near as effective at punishing an opponent, and UGA proved yesterday that big backs could punish the Tennessee defense (in Knoxville , no less!) I still find it difficult to believe LSU wasn't able to pound the ball against UT, so it makes me wonder how committed to the rush they will be against the better defenses of Bama and Auburn. My best swag has LSU beating the Gators by 10, and splitting between Bama and AU. A lot will depend on how healthy the respective teams are when you face them, of course. I'll be pulling for LSU to beat the Gators and Tide - good luck. :thumb:
