yea not that big of a difference at all. JV was the #3 rated back in the '02 class and AB was the #4 rated in the '03 class.
Seems like everyone has their own definition of what a flop is. Before we can answer the question, we have to get the definition straight.
My opinion of a "flop" is a blue chip player (or let us say a 3-star or higher) that never cracks the starting lineup during his college career...or someone that has "mad skills", yet gets kicked off of the team due to substance abuse/attitude (i.e. Cecil Collins). RIght now, how many current and/or FORMER LSU running backs wouldn't KILL to have accomplished what JV has done: Be named MVP of the SEC title game AND a BCS Title game MVP. JV is NOT a flop....
What was Bennie rated coming out of high school? I didn't think he was rated very high, maybe a 3 star. A 3 star is generally expected to be a solid backup for a program like LSU, so even without Bennie's senior year - I don't think he would have been considered a flop (assuming I'm right about his ranking).
well the ranking don't go back that far so not sure. But bennie was considered a flop by many because he wasn't even a backup before this year. He also was highly touted among lsu fans because of his 40 time and track times. Not sure what he was ranked though. maybe somebody else can find out.
I dont think JV has been a flop and i think some of his success in 2003 was because we had a hell of an offensive line and he was a step quicker. I was not impressed with our run blocking as a whole this year. There were not consistent open holes to run through .
yea me either calco. I haven't been impressed with our run blocking since 2003. last 2 years we have been terrible.
Did you see the way Pittsburgh used Alan Faneca pulling to the point of attack . It sets the lineman up to succeed when you give them the angle on the guy they are supposed to block. Alot of lineman blocking is as much the scheme as it is the blocker . Put good lineman in good situations and they make backs look better. Most backs that make a name for themselves are good because they make people downfield miss or break their tackles. In order to do that they must first have some blocking to put them in that situation. I dont think teams pick up blitzes as well now because they dont use good blocking backs and spread offenses are more vulnerable to blitzing. Also i would say running is an attitude. It requires a plan of aggressive attack at a defense weak points. All you had to do with our running attack this year is see where our fullback was and that is where we were running. Very predictable most of the time.
Vincent accomplished more in his freshman year than most backs do in a career. But the breaks haven't gone his way lately. He has fought injuries and lack of playing time due to talented colleagues. Nobody is more disappointed than Vincent for having less effective sophomore and junior seasons. He has worked hard and been an asset to the team even though he moved down on the depth chart. He never quit or even got negative about it. And he's not finished yet, even though he will be coming off another injury. Calling Justin Vincent a flop is just friggin' stupid.
