It's true. When we were down 7-6, that 1 point felt like a hundred. After OBJ fumbled that beautiful pass away, well...it was all downhill from there.
Did anyone else notice the subtle "blame" undertones of the article. Mett talks about receivers running routes a step too long. Landry mentions that WRs need to catch the ball even if it's not thrown that well. Just last week before the Florida game, I recall someone on the O-Line defending their unit by saying that the RB has responsibility for picking up a CB blitz and that it's Mett and the RB that need to communicate better rather than the LT getting blamed for pressure coming at Mett's blind side. I do think the offense can get things corrected and become efficient but they need to have "trust" with each other as the article indicates and stop blaming others.
Maybe this belongs in the "united we stand, divided we fall" category. Confidence in each other doesn't develop from pointing fingers and deflecting responsibility. It comes from taking ownership and picking each other up. I'm still waiting for this team to get that chip on their shoulder, pull together and take on the world. It starts one play at a time. They need to develop a rhythm and cannot do so if they are going 3 and out. Miles recently talked about throwing down field to stretch the SC defense. Personally I'd like to see them start working some short yardage, high percentage passing plays. Incorporating the tight ends into the passing game would help. Taking shots deep are something that have to be worked into the rhythm of the game and executed when the situation favors that type of play. When you throw deep and miss, the steam really gets taken out of the offense and forces us into a very predictable situation that becomes much easier to defend. Be smart, get the engine running smoothly and then take your shots. It's about matchups and timing. You have to get your DB's biting up on the run and the short yardage passes before you can break one deep. It's rare that you are going to have a lot of success by taking chances deep on lower percentage plays when the defense doesn't perceive a threat down field. We know our personnel, we know theirs. Create the favorable matchups and work the game plan. Deep throwing is exciting and it can be a dagger in the heart when you have the defense off-balance. Used inappropriately it's more like shooting yourself in the foot. It still goes back to being united as a team and believing in each other. I'm still looking for leadership on the field to emerge. It's happening on defense but is lacking on offense. I can only imagine the amount of pressure stepping into the starting QB role on a team like LSU where expectations of the team and the position are sky high. I believe this team is working hard and they all want to turn the corner. They need to stop pressing so hard. Execute one play at a time. Work the process. It will come. Just a matter of when.
When your OL is practically a revolving door every week it becomes very hard to establish that rhythm with a pocket passer, because we haven't figured out yet how to win the line of scrimmage battle. Until that gets fixed I don't know how anything else does. Look at how Jay Cutler is playing this year for the Bears compared to his tackling dummy status in prior years.
Ok look at how Tom Brady does against the Ravens or teams that put pressure on him. Same thing for any drop back passer. It is sort of chicken & egg. Mett & THE COACHES need to figure a schemen and plays to help the OLine. Receivers need to catch the damn ball and Mett needs to suck it up and just play ball. As a few have said it may only take a little to turn it all around. I wonder what would have happened if OBj had held on to that long gain last week. Watch it the line held up Mett stood strong and threw a beauty with a man on his feet. Success breeds success. If we see some this week we still could turn things around.
