disappointments were: Beckwith - completely over rated. I really hope that this was because of his injuries, because he is a tiger and i wish all tigers well. I hope he can fully recover and be a late round draft pick and end up somewhere in the NFL. Tyson Jackson - to me Tyson was the biggest disappointment of all. For a guy who was supposed to be all world he really didnt accomplish anything or solidify himself as a first round draft pick. Kirston Pittman - i had high expectations for this guy, being a 25th year senior i just thought he would dominate like he did the last part of the season last year. I guess having Glen Dorsey in the middle made everyone on that defensive line look alot better than they actually were. Chris Hawkins - started out the season good, but then towards the middle and end of the season just stunk the place up. I really hope Jai Eugene gets his head out of his arse and becomes the player everyone thought he would be, because it scares me that Chris Hawkins is out there at corner. Les Miles, Gary Crowton - Not getting JJ more playing time in the beginning, the playcalling, lack of discipline, i could go on and on. Its time to start earning that paycheck, and getting us back where we should be and that is SEC West champs, and then SEC champs. i cant put byrd or murphy in that category because murphy didnt get much p.t. and bryd didnt have anyone to throw him the ball, even though he did have a few drops that were uncharacteristic of him. the guys who impressed me were: charles scott - i have always been a keiland williams guy, and still am for that matter, but charles scott was a beast this season, with an offensive line that underachieved. rahim alem - aside from his lack of run stopping ability and brain damage against arkansas he was by far our best pass rusher. patrick peterson - had some bad moments against ole miss but his coverage was there, this guy is going to be a stud. terrance tolliver - i cannot wait to see this kid play next season. he blossomed towards the end of the season and became a weapon. If Lafell goes pro, Tolliver will be the guy, and i think he will continue to get better and impress everyone.
offense: 1) murphy did little with the time he was given 2) tacklers after interceptions defense: 1) RJF 2) coleman (i wouldn't mind his trash talking if he was laron landry) 3) woods 4) taylor 5) heck at times just about everyone minus tyson jackson, alem, and nevis when healthy.
I am disappointed in the entire team. Hard to single out individuals becuase they are suppose to operate as a unit - offensive and defensive. I will admit that I should've known better to think that LSU's defense would be okay. You don't lose the caliber of players that the defense lost from 2007 and not have a drop off. You don't lose the most decorated defensive player in school history, an All-American safety, two multi-year starting corners and not suffer a drop off. Did I think it would be as dramatic a drop off - no. But if you remember last year Pelini's defense struggled with spread offenses with mobile QBs. I was one who thought Miles should've punished Perrilloux but not dismissed him from the team. I knew that QB situation behind him was terrible. It was the one area that the talent drop off was huge. Most other positions the talent level is similar but not QB. With Perrilloux I don't think Byrd or some of the other above listed disappointments would be there. Special Teams have been just okay - sometimes look great, sometimes look awful. I'd sure like to see more consitency in the special teams. One positive, at least Punt Ugly wasn't an issue this year.
I thought the O-line underperformed at times. With the talent we had up front, 1-3 yards should have been a gimme. We were pushed back by much smaller guys which hurt our backs on short yardage plays. The D-line against top contenders seem to disappear. My suprises were like most, the unknown guys (backups & freshman)who came in and stepped up when we needed it.
On the RBs, Scott struggled against good competition as did our OL, and I don't think defenses keyed in on Keiland as much as they did Scott, thus his performance in those games. And I just don't think Murphy skill set allowed him to operate well in an offense without a passing attack & mediocre OL play. On the WRs, Byrd had a decent season but many fans had huge expectations of him (not myself, but still). Even without good QB play, he could've performed better. I have to agree with Toliver coming on late - better than never! While Alem is the only DL that impressed (and Tremaine Johnson really stepped up), I still think Tyson, RJF, and eventually Woods will all go high in the draft. Chad Jones did not perform as well as I hoped for at the "rover" position, but I still think he was okay. On the QBs, Hatch performed about as well as expected until his injury. Lee definitely dissapointed, but I think JJ has done about as well as could be expected as a true freshman. Coaches: Have to say the Co-DCs were a major dissapointment, and I would've liked to have seen a more killer attitude out of our offense but I understand the situation we were in with our QBs. I give Miles credit for kicking RP off the team knowing what we had to work with behind him. While our OL underperformed as a whole, the only player in particular I can say that about is our RG (can't seem to think of his name at the moment). I don't think Hawkins performed as badly as many people think. Holiday & Richard Dickson were both dealing with injuries throughout the season that hindered them.
I agree with most of the above opinions for both surprises and dissapointments. It just seems that the disapointments outnumber the surprises. Someone not getting his due in the surprise column: Ryan Baker. Chavis will find a way to keep him on the field more next year.
My biggest disappointment was RJF. Guy really hit it in the SECCG and MNC games in 07, sorta disappeared in 08. I guess the DC situation could be part of it. I don't see how he can go pro based on this season; he needs to come back and play his sr. season (good for LSU I hope). Good surprise was Alem. He's thin at end, and he puts so much effort into his pass rush, I don't see how he could go that speed all game every down. But as a situational player, he came in and made things happen.
Special teams are part of the game; a real important part of the game. I'm guessing you mean good special teams players don't necessarily make good starting players. That may be true. It's also true that most starters (with the exception of kick returners) don't play special teams. The coaches don't want them to get hurt, but I wouldn't conversely say that starters don't play special teams well. Anyway, I reiterate that Ryan Baker was a good surprise because he stood out on special teams, and looked like he might be a starter at LB soon. The guy sure likes to pound people on special teams and that's something I personally appreciate to see.
Disappointments: Lee toward the end of the season - just didn't shake off the cobwebs. Chad Jones - I don't know if he wasn't used correctly, or he just hasn't caught up to the game yet, but I thought he'd have a breakout year and he was average in my book. Tyson Jackson: MVP? Meh. Popularity contest. Rahim Alem seemed more of a factor this year. MOST DISAPPOINTING: Beckwith, but I think his injuries did him in. Surprises: Charles Scott - not that he couldn't break out, but I didn't think he'd run as hard as he did this year. Drake Nevis - he would've been starting on a LOT of BCS teams this past year. Peterson - I know he's Mr. Everything, but I honestly didn't think a freshman could routinely play cornerback in the SEC - Peterson was impressive. MOST SURPRISING: Dalfrey at punter. I was horrified after the Spring Game and thought punting would be a HUGE factor in this season. Dalfrey did well enough to take punting off the table as a cause of losing games.
