SB Nation - Chad Jones

LSU 33 - Arkansas 30: Snap Judgments

Richard Pittman — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:19:36 -0000

17 days ago: LSU running back Trindon Holliday (8) runs past Arkansas cornerback Ramon Broadway (26) in the first half of an NCAA college football game in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

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A win's a win. I guess we've said that a few times this year. For a team that was predicted before the season to be 9-3 at the end, this has been a very tumultuous 9-3 team. It's a team that could well have been 6-6 (near losses to Washington, MSU, and Arkansas). It could have beaten Ole Miss, and wasn't THAT far away from beating Alabama. This is a team that, based on its play on the field, could have gone anywhere from 6-6 to 11-1. 9-3 is, I suppose, not that bad under those circumstances. There will be some thoughts on that later; probably a lot of thoughts from a lot of different writers. Anyway, a few snap judgments:

First, the final drive of regular time. After taking a terrible sack, Jefferson came back and made some nice plays, but the final drive belonged to Stevan Ridley, Josh Jasper, and Derek Helton. Derek Helton? The snap on the field goal was terrible, but Helton snagged the high-and-outside pitch and got it down for Jasper to get a clean hit on it. Tie game.
Jefferson was maddeningly inconsistent throughout the game, vacillating from stretches of brilliance (our touchdown drives) and strange decision-making/inaccuracy (most of the rest of the game). This is a kid with the potential to be an excellent quarterback. He just needs to accentuate the positive while eliminating the negative. There's a lot of positive to work with there.
The overtime was a snoozer. We went 3-and-out kind of pitifully, but got a medium-range field goal. Arkansas nearly had to try a 45-yarder until they got a nice 8 yard gain on 3rd and 12 to set up a medium-range field goal, but missed it. Drake Nevis and Lavar Edwards made great plays to set up the 3rd and long that ultimately decided the game.
Trindon Holliday was the MVP of the first half until he muffed that punt, scoring a special teams touchdown, putting us in good field position multiple times, and running effectively from scrimmage. Then, after the muff, he completely disappeared.
Russell Shepard also disappeared after a little early activity. This is one of the lesser-discussed but most maddening aspects of our suspect offense. In the second half, we tend to tighten up and not put in the homerun hitters.
I did not like the helmet-to-helmet call on Chad Jones. I'm not saying it was technically wrong, but it's been called so infrequently this year that it is surprising to me that it was called on a play where it appeared that Jones at least attempted to lead with his shoulder, and appeared to hit head-to-head only with a glancing blow. We've seen much worse head-to-head hits go uncalled this year.
The defensive line got after it in the first half, then disappeared for long stretches in the second. I don't think it's a coincidence that we did not get a single stop in the second half. When we stopped getting pressure, Ryan Mallett started hitting receivers. The decision to constantly go with a 3-man rush in the second half contributed to the problems, even though the 3-man rush had success in the first half.
The coverage teams were great tonight. I can't wait to see more of Ryan Baker next year.
It was good to see Brandon Lafell walk off. It would have been awful to see such a great Tiger blow a knee in overtime of Game 12 of his senior season.
The offensive line played pretty well this week. Losing Ciron Black will hurt, but I think this could be a good unit next year.
Except for the helmet-to-helmet, I thought the officiating was pretty good tonight.
The corner opposite Peterson continues to get picked on in every game. I sure hope that Jai Eugene makes a big leap in his play next year, or that Morris Claiborne is ready to take over.
With Ole Miss losing, I think we are going to the Cap One, but nothing is official. Who else would they take at this point? Ole Miss? South Carolina? Tennessee? Georgia? We're not exactly a thrilling choice, but those others aren't either. Actually, it will be really interesting to see how the bowls shake out. As of press time, Georgia was still playing Georgia Tech. If they win that one, there will be six, SIX!, teams with 7 wins in the SEC. Ole Miss, at 8 wins, is the clear choice for Cotton, but the Outback and every bowl on down could go in literally any direction after that.

The Film Room: Looking At LSU

outsidethesidelines — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:03:15 -0000

This week in the film room I want to do a bit of a blurb piece, looking specifically at several of the bigger plays in the Alabama v. LSU game. Unlike in past weeks in which we have focused specifically on individual players with a specific point of evaluation in mind, this week we're going to bounce around a bit and just take a bit more casual look at some of the biggest plays in the game this past Saturday, looking for anything we can find.

First off, let's look at the first snap that we took out of the Wildcat. You will recall that in the Initial Impressions piece I said that, with Earl Alexander (a former high school quarterback) going in motion, we were almost certainly looking to throw the football. Let's look at the play again:

Notice the LSU cover package here. They have clearly manned up the three receivers, with safety Chad Jones over the top. I still think that this play was intended to be a pass, but given LSU's defensive response, it's hard to see how we would have successfully thrown the football. The only way it could have been done is if Alexander had thrown the football to the left and hit either Ingram or tight end Michael Williams slipping out of the backfield in the opposite direction.To be sure, the fumble was certainly disappointing because even with the recovery we were still faced with a third and long, but it's hard to see this one being a success through the air. We may have called a pass option on this one, but I imagine that it would have likely ended up being a run had the fumble not occurred.

Next, let's actually go back a play to the snap immediately before that. It's a first and ten near midfield and we decide to take a shot downfield to Maze early in the game. You'll probably remember this play well, but nevertheless you can get the jist of what happens with the following .gif (note, you need to click the .gif to make it work):

Disappointing, eh? I don't know exactly what route Jai Eugene was looking for, but he was clearly expecting that route to be broken off at the intermediate level somehow. He certainly wasn't expecting Maze to try to beat him deep, and as a result he ended up getting turned around and Maze blew right by him. This one just makes you want to throw the remote through the TV, plain and simple. Even with a semi-decent throw this is a touchdown, and not only does McElroy overthrow him he throws it out of bounds to boot. Double negative. This one hurts.

I guess we'll go ahead and knock out all of the negative McElroy stuff now, so let's take a look at the second Wildcat snap that we ran, this one coming late in the third quarter with 'Bama trailing 15-10.

I loved this play design from the outset. When Julio Jones comes down on the jet sweet and McElroy steps back, you know that every single LSU defender is looking for something on the frontside to Julio Jones. So what we do? We slip Brad Smelley out on the backside and we get them with it. The LSU defense isn't expecting it at all, and Smelley gets behind the secondary. A good throw and this is a touchdown, and even with a decent throw we probably have a first and goal. Unfortunately, this one sails long too, incomplete pass. We eventually settle for the field goal to cut the lead to 15-13.

Do, however, pay close attention up front on this one, particularly with regard to LSU defensive tackle Drake Nevis. The junior from Marrero whips William Vlachos at the point of attack, and he hurries the throw. It's still clearly a throw that McElroy should make, mind you, but nevertheless Nevis does a great job of getting into the backfield and making it a more difficult throw. The more you watch of the film, you see that Nevis played a whale of a game. I bet he graded out really high when Miles and company reviewed the film.

At any rate, let's close up the negative McElroy stuff here by taking a closer look at the safety:

First off, notice how we come out here guns a blazing, to paraphrase Saban. Not only are we throwing the football out of our own end zone on a third and long with a narrow lead in a low scoring game, notice that we are doing so with only five men in to protect the quarterback. Both Mark Ingram and Colin Peek go out on pass routes, and we are left with only the five linemen to get the job done. This one is as gutsy as it gets.

Unfortunately, Mike Johnson whiffs on the block of... guess who? Drake Nevis. Once again Nevis gets into the backfield and forces the safety, a fine play on his part. Again, though, McElroy shoulders a lot of the blame here. Even with the whiff by Johnson, McElroy still has approximately three seconds to get rid of the football, but for some reason -- even though everyone is covered -- he keeps holding onto the football for dear life. Predictably, the pressure eventually gets to him and the safety is the end result. He should have just thrown this one away. Thankfully, we lucked out that it was only a safety.

Now in all fairness to McElroy, while he did make a lot of bad plays, he also made his fair share of good plays too, and that is what we'll look at next. The following is McElroy's touchdown pass to Darius Hanks:

For all of the criticism of the passing game the past few weeks (and rightly so), here is a textbook example of where everything is executed perfectly and the play is performed exactly like you draw it up on paper. And this is also a textbook example of the type of things that you must do when an opposing defense loads the box to stop the run. Notice that after Ingram's previous success on the ground that LSU practically commits eight defenders to stopping the run this time around. That forces man to man coverage on the outside against all three receivers.

For McElroy, this is a simple read. We roll the pocket to the right to avoid the pressure, and it's obvious that he has a man-to-man match-up of Hanks on a safety. For McElroy, he either throws it downfield to Hanks if he is open, or checks it down to Earl Alexander. Fortunately, Hanks runs a fine route and gets good separation on the defender, and McElroy delivers an absolute strike. Just how you draw it up... touchdown 'Bama.

Next, let's look at a couple of defensive plays, specifically focusing on the two big runs that LSU had after the safety in the end zone. First, let's take a look at Charles Scott final run where he rips off a big gain to put his Bayou Bengals deep in 'Bama territory:

Notice that we come out and defend this effectively in our base 3-4 set. Eryk Anders has his hand on the ground, but even so this is pretty typical base 3-4 stuff, and also notice that we've got Mark Barron creeping up into the box. We've effectively got the back-up defensive line in the game for this snap -- Marcel Dareus, Luther Davis, and Josh Chapman -- but even so we have eight men ready to stop the run.

And in all fairness both Scott and the LSU offensive line does a solid job, but what really kills us here is poor tackling. Mark Barron is really playing the outside here and isn't in position to stop an interior run, but the real disaster is in the middle with Cory Reamer and Justin Woodall. Those two may be seniors, but they looked like freshmen with this effort. Instead of crashing down hard and making the tackle, the best Reamer can muster is a weak arm tackle attempt, which of course the powerful Scott blows right through, and then after that Woodall completely whiffs in the open field on a tackle. With a good play by Reamer this is a two-yard gain, and with a good play by Woodall it's an eight-yard gain, but unfortunately those two whiff and Scott is off to the races.

With LSU driving, Stevan Ridley comes off the bench and gives the Tigers a lead with his touchdown run. Let's take a closer look, particularly keeping a very close eye on the match-up of LSU center T-Bob Hebert on Terrence Cody:

Well, now that is certainly one for those conspiracy nuts, now isn't it? This is a run right into the heart of the line on second and short, and we have it snuffed out pretty well. Cody is in position to make the tackle, and looks to do so with Ridley trying to cut it to the outside. He ultimately misses the tackle, of course, simply because Hebert flat out tackles Cody in the open field. This should have been a holding penalty setting up a 2nd and 13, but alas no such flag came about.

Of course I'm not going to complain too much about the officiating because you do also need to focus on your own effort, and that certainly falls short here. Keep your eye on Eryk Anders, he has outside contain to the offensive right, and he basically just blows it. He gets sucked too far inside, and Ridley beats him to the outside. Touchdown LSU.

Finally, let's wrap this piece up by taking a closer look at the gamechanging touchdown on the screen pass to Julio Jones:

Notice how odd it is that LSU is actually in really good position, before the snap, to stop this play. They've got a base 4-3 look, and the linebackers are playing a bit soft. A safety is manned up against Julio Jones, to be sure, but this is the short side of the field and there is also another safety over there for help, plus a linebacker. I don't care who you are covering, someone between Brandon Taylor, Danny McCray, and Kelvin Sheppard should stop this play.

At any rate, we feign something of a pass to the right, and then McElroy wheels back around to throw to Julio. The entire left side of the Alabama offensive line, plus the center, all move out to the second level to block. Now, Brandon Taylor, knowing that he is a safety in man coverage against Julio Jones, plays it very safe, and leaves a massive cushion between him and the 'Bama wideout. And that, in many ways, costs him here. He sees the screen and runs in very hard, right by James Carpenter, who was supposed to block him -- and for what it's worth, the Auburn fans complained of a block in the back on this play by Carpenter on Taylor because there is a photo showing him blocking the LSU defensive back from behind, but if you watch the film, naturally the Auburn fans are wrong as Carpenter whiffs so badly that he barely touches the back of Taylor so lightly that Taylor himself probably never even noticed.

Unfortunately for Taylor, with him racing in, he loses body control, and Julio makes a quick, nifty cut to the outside to sidestep the LSU safety. Kelvin Sheppard effectively takes himself out of the play by biting on the fake to the right, and when Danny McCray tries to come in to make the tackle, he takes a poor angle and there William Vlachos gets just enough of him to knock him out of the play. And with the LSU defense firmly in the review mirror, Julio is off to the races. Touchdown 'Bama.

Initial Impressions from the LSU Game

outsidethesidelines — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:03:58 -0000

Almost 24 hours removed, a few initial impressions from the LSU game:

First and foremost, it was obviously a huge win for the Tide yesterday. We came in absolutely needing to get the job done, and with LSU giving us their best shot we answered the bell. We played the best we've played since late September, and truth be told there was absolutely what was required. Credit goes to LSU for playing well in their own right, and they made us take our game to the next level to get the win.
Mark Ingram logged another unreal performance yesterday. LSU was highly physical on the defensive side of the ball, and Ingram racked up 177 total yards. He averaged 6.5 yards per run and the way he powered the opening drive of the second half really changed the game. As I mentioned in a fanshot earlier, the Heisman is an "award" for tools... it's based more on glamor than anything else, and it's given by a collection of idiots. Ingram will probably never win it, but I wouldn't trade him for any other player in the country, and we just need to enjoy him while we have him. He's a three-year player, and someone will be paying him big bucks to do this come 2011.
Julio Jones had his best performance of the year, and it was very interesting how things were discussed in the post-game. Based on what everyone is saying, it's clear that only in the past week or so has Julio gotten back to near 100%, and he looked very different yesterday than he had the rest of the year. His explosiveness was back, and he was a difference-maker in this game. Even aside from the long touchdown run off the screen, he had a huge first down on the final drive, had a couple of other nice grabs, and the pass interference on Peterson was yet another big play. And, of course, that's not counting the throw in the first half that should have been a touchdown. Nice to have you back, Julio.
Greg McElroy played the best game in at least a month, and was clearly improved over the course of the past few weeks. We needed every bit of what he did, and we could not have won had he played anything like he had the past three weeks. Unfortunately, McElroy still has a long ways to go, and he left a lot of points on the board today. He did some good things, but he did a lot of bad things too. He missed Julio on an easy touchdown throw, costing us four points, and the dumb interception before halftime cost us at least a field goal. He held onto the football too long on the safety, and he missed an open Smelley on the trick pass out of the Wildcat that could have been a touchdown, and of course that is to say nothing of the terrible decision to try to force the ball to Julio late on the controversial incompletion. Bottom line, McElroy played pretty well and he clearly showed some progress, but he still did some things to cost us a lot of points and he clearly still needs to play better.
Speaking of passes out of the Wildcat, remember the first Wildcat snap we had that resulted in a fumble? Did you happen to notice who was coming in motion at the time of the snap? It was none other than Earl Alexander, and that was one of the few snaps he saw in the game. And if you will recall correctly, Alexander was a quarterback in high school, and Ingram was very upset after the fumble. I'd about bet the farm that we had a trick play called in that situation with Alexander getting the ball looking to throw a pass.
The offensive line played an incredible game today. Both James Carpenter and Drew Davis were nothing short of outstanding protecting the edge in pass protection, and we beat up LSU in the trenches in the running game. It was a complete effort by the big uglies, and I don't have any doubt that we played better along the offensive line yesterday than we have at any point in the year. Joe Pendry deserves a lot of credit for what he has done with this group. We don't have any real dominant players out there, but we consistently play good, solid technique and just get the job done.

Bamagrad had it right in the fanpost... we're throwing the football to set up the run. That was clearly the plan offensively, and it worked very well.

All in all, it was certainly nice to see us moving the football again. McElroy's mistakes and the illegal substitution penalty kept some points off the board, so it wasn't exactly a perfect day, but again it was clearly an improvement over the past month. LSU has a good defense, and any time you average almost 6.5 yards per play against a defense of that caliber, you're certainly doing something right. Hopefully we can just continue to build off of this effort.

Marcel Dareus, for all intents and purposes, is unstoppable when we move him inside in pass rushing situations. He consistently takes the manhood of every guard they line up over him, and he did the same thing on Saturday with senior right guard Lyle Hitt. I can guarantee you this much... come April of 2011, that young man will be getting a lot of money from an NFL team. Enjoy him while we have him.

Defensively, we really had some struggles at time stopping the option. We had things set up defensively pretty well most of the time, but the execution looked ugly a good bit of the time. In particular, Jefferson made Justin Woodall look pretty bad on one option play. That's something we're going to have to fix before we leave for Atlanta.

Jordan Jefferson played a fine game yesterday, and that young man has a great upside. He has all the physical tools you would ever want, and he is a legitimate dual threat to boot. He clearly still needs to progress, but if he ever puts it all together then he is going to be a legitimate superstar.

And speaking of Jefferson, what in the world was the deal with him not going back in the game? The CBS broadcast reported that word had came from the LSU sideline that he could have gone back in, and he looked okay on the sideline. I have no clue what the deal was there, but Lee was clearly a drop-off. And here's the thing on Lee... he has great physical tools, and he can throw the football down the field with the best of them. But in terms of having to hit receivers over the middle on crossing routes, he cannot hit the broad side of a barn. If he could ever gain some accuracy on crossing patterns, he'd be one hell of a quarterback.

LSU really does have some unreal talent at the skill positions. For whatever criticism you can make of Miles, this is certainly not one of them. Even with Florida, there is probably not another team in the country that has the kind of athleticism at the skill positions like LSU does.

Colin Peek misses the game for 'Bama, and Richard Dickson didn't play either. Pretty much a balancing effect, really.

The more I watch of the LSU offense, the more I think that it is really just too complicated for its own good. It can certainly create some issues for defenses, mind you, but it certainly does create a lot issues for the offense, too, and that was the big catalyst behind all of the false starts, the illegal formations, and the wasted timeouts. With all of the talent that those guys have, I really just cannot help but think that they would be better served just by simplifying the offense and letting all of the raw talent just go to work for them.

Chad Jones didn't have much of an impact yesterday, and his mobility wasn't particularly impressive. On both the long pass to Maze out of the end zone, and the drop by Julio out of the end zone in the third quarter, Jones was tracking the ball the entire way and at first sight I was almost convinced that he was going to snag an easy pick. In both cases, though, he never really got close enough to make the play. I don't know if he was hurt or perhaps just a tad bit overrated, but either way he didn't exactly blow me away yesterday.

The LSU linebacker corps is a very underrated group. Those guys played a fine game, and Kelvin Sheppard in particular really looked good. I tell you, he's probably not quite in the same league yet as Rolando McClain and Brandon Spikes, but he's not far behind. Outside of those two and Hightower, he might be the best linebacker I've seen in the SEC this year.

Patrick Peterson is an incredible player, and he played a great game yesterday. Unfortunately, he really shot himself in the foot by never being properly hydrated in the first place, always a tell-tale sign when you're cramping up by halftime in a game where the temperature never rises above 70 degrees. I know he had some flu-like symptoms earlier in the week, but that had cleared up by mid-week and at that point you just have to make sure you get plenty of fluids. Once the game started, of course, it was entirely too late and you simply lose entirely too much fluids to get them back to where they need to be. Peterson played great when he was in the game, but really he was his own worst enemy.

Charles Scott deserves a lot of credit for playing a fine game. His drop on the busted pass play was a big one, but he ran the ball really well and played a physical game. It was a shame to see his collegiate career likely ended on such a fine run, but such is life sometimes. Best wishes on the recovery, Mr. Scott, and we'll see you on Sunday next year.

DeAngelo Peterson was huge on LSU's first touchdown drive, and their coaching staff really got us there defensively. He's a wide receiver, regardless of what you call him, but when they lined him up at tight end we covered him with a safety (Barron) and then a linebacker (Reamer), and he ate our lunch both times.

Are any of you guys familar with ROBO-PUNTER, the theoretical punter whose punts are downed at the opposing team's one-yard line every time? Well, that was pretty much LSU yesterday. I swear, those guys did an unbelievable job punting the football. If they weren't pinning it against our goal line, they were kicking it a mile and eliminating any chance of return for Arenas. Ill be perfectly honest, it was the most impressive display of punting that I've seen in many years.

Look at it this way... LSU punted the football eight times yesterday, and Javier Arenas ended up with 11 return yards. And that is not counting the penalty on Smelley, and when you take that into consideration we ended up getting a grand total of one return yard on eight punts. And if that's not getting the job done, I don't know what is.

And speaking of punt returns, why in the hell is Brad Smelley in the game? He has to lead the conference in penalties committed in the return game, and his penalty yesterday was one of the dumbest I've seen in a while.

The punt that LSU rolled inside the one-yard line was touched at around the four. Refs missed that one, I believe. And it had a big impact on playcalling, too, no doubt about that.

All of this hoopla over the interception is ridiculous, and it's mainly just a bunch of homer fans looking for an excuse for a guy that they otherwise got their asses beat. It was a close play that could have legitimately gone either way, to be sure, but the ruling on the field was an incomplete pass and there was no indisputable evidence on the replay that would command the play be overturned. And I'll be frank, even if you give him the interception, it doesn't matter. LSU would have been 61 yards away from the end zone, and those guys ended up with 17 total yards on three possessions in the fourth quarter. The end result would have been the same regardless. The only difference would have been that 'Bama might not have covered the spread had it been called an interception.

Two huge plays in the fourth quarter have been overlooked in the wake of all of the talk of the incomplete pass, and they were the stop by our defense on 3rd and short early in the fourth quarter, and the running into the punter penalty. We scored on the screen to Julio immediately after the defensive stop, and the running into the penalty not only gave us three points but also took another three minutes or so off the clock. The incompletion is getting all of the attention, but those two plays are really the ones that broke LSU's back.

And speaking of the running into the punter penalty, that was one gutsy call on the fourth down after that. We're literally three inches from a first down and we decide to motion McElroy out wide and snap it five yards behind the line of scrimmage to Ingram in the shotgun, when we fumbled a snap in the Wildcat earlier in the game? Hell, that might be more than gutsy, it might even be stupid, but fortunately it worked out for us in the end.

Leigh Tiffin is a fine young man, a wonderful kicker, and we should all feel fortunate to have such a valuable asset on our team. And, again, I'm just going to shut up about him.

The way we dominated this game physically was nothing short of amazing. We were much more physical than LSU, and their players were dropping like flies. Moreover, we absolutely dominated this game in the fourth quarter, and that was ultimately the difference. In many ways, we didn't so much win this game yesterday afternoon as much as we won it last summer in the S&C program. We were clearly the more physical team and better conditioned to boot. If there is an unsung hero of this team, it's strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran. That man clearly deserves a raise.

The LSU Preview

outsidethesidelines — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:16:56 -0000

No smoke and mirrors needed this week. No clever turn of phrase needed to build drama and intrigue with this game. Nope. To paraphrase what they say in the sales business, this is simply a game that sells itself. It's 'Bama v. LSU. Saban Bowl III. National championship implications clearly on the line. The entire country turning its eyes towards Tuscaloosa to play close attention at this contest. Again, this one sells itself. Let's look closer at the match-ups:

Alabama Offense v. LSU Defense

After putting up points and yards by the bushel in the first month of the season, the once prolific Alabama offense has slowly ground to a virtual halt over the course of the past five weeks. The vertical element of the passing game went into the Witness Protection Program in early October, and we still haven't seen any signs of it returning as of this writing. Mark Ingram has been nothing short of phenomenal -- sans the fumble against Tennessee -- but the lack of a vertical element to the passing game, combined with untimely penalties, questionable playcalling, and struggles in the red zone have kept the Tide offensive attack at bay and off the scoreboard.

Admittedly, the level of competition has been high the past several weeks. Kentucky has a good defense, and Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Tennessee rank in the top 25 nationally of more statistical categories than not. But such is life in the SEC... it's a brutal gauntlet of quality opponent after quality opponent, and there will be no rest for the weary this weekend when the Bayou Bengals come to town. Alas, when LSU arrives in Tuscaloosa, they will bring with them a defense that is as good as those we saw in October, if not better.

And unfortunately, injuries continue to take a toll on the Tide. Colin Peek looks to either miss this game or play nowhere near 100%, and that's a very big loss for the Tide. Michael Williams will likely play better than he did two weeks ago against Tennessee because he will be more prepared, but Peek is a critical element of our offense, and unfortunately Williams is an imperfect substitute.

Defensively, the weakness for LSU starts up front at the line of scrimmage. Shocking as though that may be -- I imagine I need remind no one that LSU's defensive line ate us for dinner from 2003-2007 -- it is nevertheless true. To be sure, it's certainly not a bad group, but it isn't a dominating one and it is not up to the level that we have come to expect the past several years out of LSU. Inside, seniors Al Woods and Charles Alexander are good players that any team would love to have, but they probably aren't to the level that we saw the past several years out of LSU with Kyle Williams and Glenn Dorsey. Likewise, the rotation isn't what it has been in previous years in terms of quality depth.

The real weakness for LSU on the defensive line largely comes outside at end. Senior Rahim Alem has been a bit of a disappointment this year. He was always a liability against the run -- which is why, despite leading the SEC in sacks in 2008, he wasn't a starter -- but he hasn't rushed the passer as well this year, generating only three sacks in the first eight games (only one of which came in conference play, and that was against Vandy). Opposite Alem, Lazarius Levingston hasn't exactly played poorly, but he hasn't really made an impact either. He has yet to generate a sack, and only has ten tackles on the year. Making matters worse, they are somewhat undersized, and mixed with their lack of a consistent pass rush, that generally explains why LSU's run defense has been somewhat middling, and also explains why they are at the bottom of the SEC in sacks.

Unfortunately, the rest of the LSU defense is significantly better. The linebacker corps struggled greatly in 2008, but they have made tremendous strides in 2009 under new defensive coordinator John Chavis. There is not one standout at linebacker like Alabama has with someone like Rolando McClain -- or had with Dont'a Hightower -- but it's a good group that gets the job done. Perry Riley, Kelvin Sheppard, Harry Coleman, and Jacob Cutrera are all good football players, and they are in many ways unique players that give Chavis a lot of options. Riley is a big, physical player who excels against against the run, and Coleman's past as a former safety makes him a very versatile player, particularly in passing situations. Kelvin Sheppard is probably the best all-around player of the bunch, and while Cutrera isn't a standout, he's a senior who can really play whatever position they need off the bench. Again, it's not a group that has the one rockstar standout like you find with a guy like Rolando McClain or Brandon Spikes, but it's a good group of players that have produced at a high level for John Chavis.

The real strength of the LSU defense, however, comes in the defensive backfield, where the Bayou Bengals have an absolutely ridiculous collection of talent. Just look at the names and their recruiting hype... Chad Jones, #1 safety prospect in the country in 2007. Jai Eugene, #1 cornerback prospect in the country in 2006. Patrick Peterson, #1 cornerback prospect in the country in 2007. And guys like Chris Hawkins, Brandon Taylor, Karnell Hatcher, Ron Brooks, and Danny McCray? Yeah, they were generally "only" four-star recruits who could have had pretty much their pick of any school in the country.

Not surprising given that collection of talent, LSU's defensive backfield has led the way. Patrick Peterson is the best cornerback in the conference now that Kentucky's Trevard Lindley is slowed by an ankle injury, and Chad Jones is every bit as good of a safety as Eric Berry. And, obviously, the rest aren't too shabby. These guys have been the key for the LSU defense this year. The defensive line has struggled and frankly been very bad in terms of rushing the passer, but the back end has covered so well that LSU still fields one of the best pass defenses in the country.

Coach Saban and company have talked about stretching the field vertically this weekend, and that is almost certainly something that we will have to do in order to breathe life back into our deceased offense. LSU does not have the great run defense that they have sported in years past, but it's far from a bad unit, and you can rest assured that they will be able to limit Alabama's running game well enough to force the Tide to do something in the passing game in order to score a lot of points. Keep in mind that, as I mentioned in the Radio Hour, if you are unable to throw the football, then defensively you don't need to stop the run, you only need to somewhat limit the run. In other words, you just have to make sure that the opposing offense doesn't run it down your throats to the tune of 250+ rushing yards. Rest assured, LSU is likely more than good enough to do that up front.

Offensively, Alabama faces the same dilemma that it largely faced against Tennessee. Greg McElroy and the passing attack have struggled to move the football, and the opposing defense will look to limit Ingram and company and force McElroy and the wide receiver corps to beat them. Unless we can be more consistent and explosive in the passing game, the end result looks to be very similar to what it was against Tennessee.

Alabama Defense v. LSU Offense

For all of the strength of the LSU defense, the LSU offense hasn't been anywhere near as good, and if you look closely this is a group that ranks near the bottom of the country in most statistical categories.

At the skill positions, at least, this is an extremely dangerous offense. Without doubt the LSU wide receiver corps is easily the most talented that the Tide will face all season, and literally every single LSU wide receiver that will touch the football this Saturday will be a truly elite athlete in every sense of the phrase. Brandon LaFell will be a first-day draft pick next April, and both Terrance Toliver and Reuben Randle are physically impressive players who were the #1 wide receiver prospects in the country when they came out of high school. Richard Dickson is a good tight end in his own right, and he too will probably play on Sunday. Furthermore, Charles Scott is also a future NFL player, and while Keiland Williams never really lived up to his five-star status when he signed with the Tigers in 2006, he's still a fine player in his own right. And finally, while Russell Shepard and Trindon Holliday are somewhat of one-trick ponies, both have such ungodly speed and athleticism that they can present major challenges to a defense once they get the ball in their hands. Bottom line, struggles or not, if you look at the quality at talent at the skill positions for LSU, you would swear this is an elite offense.

The real problem with LSU offensively has been in the trenches and, perhaps not surprisingly, at the quarterback position. Struggles in those two areas have largely grounded the LSU offensive attack, and have turned an offense that should be high-powered based solely on its skill position talent into a unit that has greatly struggled to move the football and score points.

Ciron Black at left tackle for the Bayou Bengals is a four-year starter who will likely be a first round NFL draft choice next April, and at right tackle Joseph Barksdale -- a five-star recruit in 2007 -- is one of the best right tackles in the SEC. Unfortunately for the Tigers, however, the performance of the centers and guards has dipped significantly. The loss of starting left guard Herman Johnson and starting center Brett Helms have been felt all season, and the replacements just aren't in the same league right now. Josh Dworaczyk took over for Johnson, and the replacement starter for the gargantuan comes in at barely 280 pounds. Likewise, sophomore T-Bob Hebert hasn't necessarily been bad, but again he's just not in the same league as Helms right now. Right guard Lyle Hitt looked solid enough when sandwiched between Helms and Barksdale, but he too has seen his performance dip by having to take on greater responsibilities with Hebert alongside him. As a whole, the performance of the center and the guards just hasn't been anywhere what it was a year ago.

The struggles on the interior offensive line have effectively proven fatal to the LSU rushing attack. I've long said that the biggest impact on your rushing attack comes from the play of your center and your guards, and 2009 Tigers would prove to be a fine case study in that regard. The tackles are there, as are the backs, but LSU has struggled on the interior in the running game, and that has largely killed their rushing attack. The once potent Scott and Williams are averaging only about 4.8 yards per carry now, and prior to facing Tulane and their god awful run defense they were barely averaging 4.0 yards per carry.

The other problem for LSU offensively is quarterback Jordan Jefferson. While clearly an intriguing prospect with a great upside -- Jefferson has a good frame, a big arm, and is a legitimate dual-threat -- Jefferson is really playing out of necessity right now, and it shows. Truth be told, if the LSU coaching staff really had their druthers, Jefferson would probably be riding the pine this year while watching fifth-year senior Ryan Perrilloux run the Tiger offense, but alas the Football Gods would not cooperate. As a result, Jefferson has been forced to make the best of a bad situation, and he has clearly had his growing pains. He holds onto the ball entirely too long which creates a lot of sacks -- which explains why LSU is near the bottom of the conference in sacks allowed despite having the best tackle combo in the league -- often struggles to work through his progression, and does struggle at times to get the ball to his talented wide receivers. Combined, this has largely grounded what should otherwise be an explosive passing attack.

In all fairness, though, what Jefferson has done is manage the game and not get his Tigers beat. For all of the criticisms that you can make regarding his performance to date, he has protected the football, which is clearly priority number one for the LSU coaching staff. Jefferson has thrown a mere four interceptions this year on roughly 200 passing attempts, and has allowed the LSU defense to lead them to victory in close games. If nothing else, that is far more than could ever be said for the man that Jefferson replaced.

Defensively, Alabama brings the attack that you all know so well, and there will probably be little changes this week. Charles Scott and Keiland Williams had great success running the football against us a year ago, but with a healthy Terrence Cody this time around, plus Herman Johnson and Brett Helms playing on Sunday, the Tide ought to shut down the LSU rushing attack. If Charles Scott and company have a good deal of success come Saturday, it will legitimately come as a bit of a surprise.

The real key for the Alabama defense will be containing big plays in the passing game. For lack of a better way of putting it, the skill position players for LSU are unreal good, and they will stretch us to the absolute maximum this weekend. Our defensive backfield, collectively, will have to play the game of their lives this weekend, and to make matters even more worrisome we will also have to make sure that Russell Shepard or Trindon Holliday also don't beat us with a long run out of the backfield. Given the way we have struggled offensively the past several weeks, even giving up only one or two really long plays can easily be the difference between victory and defeat, and unless the offense improve, our defense has effectively zero margin of error.

Going a long way towards preventing those big plays to the skill position players will be effectively rushing the passer. Jefferson isn't a world-beater at quarterback, but his receivers sure as hell are, and he has the arm to make all of the throws. If Jefferson consistently has time to throw the football, we're in big trouble defensively. The LSU skill position players are simply too good to expect any defensive backfield to keep covered for any real length of time.

Putting It All Together

All in all, these two teams match up closely. If the Alabama offense were producing like it did earlier in the year, the Tide could be reasonably expected to win this game with relative ease, but with our offensive struggles of the past month and no definite sign of improvement, this game figures to be a close one that goes right down to the wire. Unless we can significantly improve offensively, the LSU defense is good enough to keep our offensive attack at bay, and while the LSU offense probably won't score a lot of points against our defense, they clearly have another skill position talent on the outside to make a few big plays to squeak out a close victory in a low-scoring game

And do look for this game to be a close, low-scoring game, no two ways about that. Neither team looks to score that many points, and expect the coaching staffs of the respective teams to play accordingly. LSU almost lost to the Tide in 2007 when they chose to kick to Javier Arenas late, and their loss last year was fueled by a slew of costly turnovers. Expect Les Miles and company to avoid both this weekend with a struggling Alabama offense. LSU will kick the football away from Arenas, and play safe on offense so that -- even if they don't score a lot of points in their own right -- they won't take the risks that could result in several costly turnovers. We're struggling greatly on the offensive side of the ball, and when facing a team of that nature you make sure that you do not allow cheap points. Expect LSU to force the Tide's offense to consistently move the ball 60+ yards to get points.

For Alabama, the path to victory is clearly in the trenches. We hold a fairly significant advantage in both match-ups at the line of scrimmage, and there is where we must win this football game. We must stop the run defensively and rush Jefferson, and offensively establish the running game and make like easy for McElroy and the Alabama passing attack. If we can do that, we win this football game. On the other hand, if LSU can fight us to an effective draw in the trenches, then this game will be decided by the skill position players, and that's a losing proposition for us. That's not to say we absolutely cannot win a game of that nature, but LSU does have more raw talent at the skill positions than we do, and that is a game that will clearly favor the Bayou Bengals. Again, our path to victory lies in the trenches. We have to dominate this game at the line of scrimmage. Period.

One way or the other, look for this to be an absolutely brutal game. The stakes are extremely high for both LSU and Alabama, and their respective players will perform accordingly. Les Miles, regardless of whether or not it is fair, will forever be judged relative to Nick Saban, something that is clearly not lost on Miles or his team. This is their biggest game of the year, and clearly the biggest game of the year for their fan base as well. Truth be told, they have been preparing for this game for two weeks now. Making matters more interesting, this game determines the SEC West, LSU is still technically alive in the national championship race, and they are clearly looking to make a definitive showing that they are still at their 2003-2007 form. On the other sideline, Alabama has been staring this one down for two weeks. We control our own destiny in the national championship race, and we know full well that this is now effectively a one-game season. If we want to get to where we want to go, we all realize that we must directly go through LSU. And, also, don't think for one second that it is lost on our team that they need to win this game in the trenches. Expect these two teams to line up and wage absolute war. There will be blood.

Hope for the best.

Translating Billy Cannon

Poseur — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:41:09 -0000

Today on translating CoachSpeak we have a special guest star, Billy Cannon. This weekend is the 50^th anniversary of one of the greatest plays in college football history, Billy Cannon's Halloween punt return against Ole Miss. You may remember Chad Jones' touching tribute to the run during the Mississippi State game.

In order to squeeze as much goodwill as possible, LSU started Les' weekly press conference with some remarks by Cannon, which we are helpfully translating.

WHAT HE SAID: "When Herb Vincent and our sports information director asked me to come up here and speak for a short length of time, I told him I'd be that to because there are a lot of questions I'd like to ask you guys. They informed me, no, Billy, you don't ask the questions. They ask you the questions. The only question I really have is, ‘What question could y'all possibly ask about that run that hasn't already been asked? Is there anything that I ever left out or didn't mention over the years?'"

WHAT HE MEANT: For the love of God, please ask me about the punt return. It's the best thing that ever happened to me. I never get sick of talking about how awesome I am.

WHAT HE SAID: "We had a get together the other night over in Hammond and we did a fundraiser for Johnny Robinson's Boys Home over in Monroe. Johnny was able to come down and be there with us, and the bad part was that he still looks better than all of us and he's had some terrible health problems lately. We raised him about $10,000. It was great because we let all the old timers that played with us get up and talk. We gave them all a microphone. Someone who just happened to be in town was a guy who played against us for Ole Miss that night and later was the head coach at the University of Mississippi, Billy Brewer. We let Billy talk, and I thought we were going to have to assassinate him to get the microphone from him. He shed some insight from his side of the field that were funny and good natured."

WHAT HE MEANT: Pay no attention to that counterfeiting thing. I'm a good guy who loves kids and sick people. And I still hate Ole Miss. Why? Because they suck. I'm ready to suit up when we play those bastards and I'll hit that Snead kid so hard that he'll wish I wish still doing the charity circuit.

WHAT HE SAID: "Dave McCarty is going to have another show, in Lake Charles, before next season. We've done it twice for Johnny in Hammond at Shorty Rogers' motel. The first time, we had to talk Shorty into doing it. We raised about $7500 for him. We did it again, and this time we raised almost $10,000. So if any of y'all are around Lake Charles next year, I hope you can come and join us. How much did we charge? $100, and you can get everything you can carry. You'll probably hear some of the stories that you've always wanted to hear but that were unprintable at the time. I'd love to have you with us."

WHAT HE MEANT: Like have I ever mentioned the time me and Jimmy Taylor went out and murdered a vagrant? Jimmy said it was wrong and we'd get caught, but I told him to shut his mouth or I'd rip his tongue out. We ain't gonna get caught. We were gods then. And no one ever found the body. Why do you think I thought I could get away with keeping money in a cooler?*

*ED NOTE: I am totally kidding, guys. Please, do not send me hate mail. And don't send your daddy to my house to whoop my ass for making fun of Billy Cannon. Yes, he is awesome, but this joke is low hanging fruit. I can't resist, and I mean no disrespect to Dr. Cannon, who I'm sure really could rip my tongue out if he wanted to. And I'd rather he didn't. For the record, I think 'Billy Cannon was a great player and is a great ambassador for the school.

WHAT HE SAID: "The Ole Miss run 50 years ago... when we had all the guys there the other night, I asked them, '50 years ago, how many of y'all thought we'd do anything that would last 50 years?' Not one hand, not one word, not one peep out of any of them. We're as surprised as everyone else is. I think every player is proud of their part in that run and in that preparation to play that game. Really, I don't have anything new to add to it. The film is there. It speaks for itself, although the film may be turning a little yellow. I thought about sending it to Ted Turner, and I saw what he did to Jane Fonda, so I said, ‘No, we better keep our film.'"

WHAT HE MEANT: I am a total badass. Still. Don't forget it. That film is sacred and you shouldn't even look at it directly or you will be turned to stone.

On training methods during his high school years...
WHAT HE SAID: "Well, what you've forgotten is that we started the weightlifting program. We started it at Istrouma High School with Alvin Roy. He had been wanting to put it in at a high school on the team level for years and years. Baton Rouge High beat us handily, with Warren Rabb, Gus Kinchen, Don Norwood, and other future teammates. They were an excellent team. They beat us handily when I was a junior. We came back after Christmas and the big freight truck pulled up. Back then, they didn't have the hydraulic lift gates in the back. We broke the boxes down, and we carried the weights out to the gym one at a time. I thought one of the greater stories of it was that we started lifting the day after Christmas break. We lifted until kickoff time the next year. We did eight basic lifts. It was just for strength. Alvin was there every afternoon, and during the summer we went to his gym and worked out at the school. It was a terrific change. It's been enhanced and built and carried on, and we're very proud of that. There was dentist, Dr. Ted Edwards, who practiced in Donaldsonville, and he was the scorekeeper for a baseball team out of Alexandria. They came down to play us in baseball. They parked in front of the gym and walked through the gym. He went through there and he said we he opened the door, the sweat and the heat hit him. There was a guy doing a bench press, and Dr. Edwards said there was more weight on one side of the bar than they had in the whole school at Alexandria. He said they were hollering, cheering each other on, and no wonder we won all our games. I think that was part of it. Every year, we'd have two or three kids lost to knee or shoulder injuries, and my senior year we lost nobody the entire year. We won every game, and we won the state championship.

WHAT HE MEANT: I was tougher than you even when I was 16. I could've lifted the entire school structure. Today's kids are sissies and I could crush them with a mere thought.

On if athletes from the 1950s could compete in today's game...
WHAT HE SAID: "Oh yes. Of course, one of the lawyers in town told me last week that not having any confidence was never part of my personality. I think I could play day before yesterday. If Max Fugler couldn't play today, then there's nobody out there that could play. He was the finest linebacker I ever played with or against, and I've played against some great ones. You could fool everybody in the press box, everybody on the bench, all the coaches, the rest of the players, but you didn't fool Max. Max always came up with the football, and always made the tackles. He was just a phenomenal athlete in his time, and if it wasn't for a bad knee, he'd probably still be playing."

WHAT HE MEANT: You wanna go? Right now? I'll eat your soul. I could beat anyone, anywhere, anytime. Hell, re-animate Attila the Hun and I'll bear wrestle him to the ground right now.

On the quality of the 1959 LSU-Ole Miss game...
WHAT HE SAID: "It was a great ball game. If you ever get a couple of hours to watch the old film, it's really fun to watch. The runaways and where you get blown out, you forget. Where every play can determine the outcome of the game, those are the ones you remember. You remember them vividly because if you didn't give it everything you had against a Johnny Vaught team, you were going to get embarrassed, whether it was personally or as a group. We had made another goal line stand right before the half. If we hadn't have held them there, at the end of the game when they were at our one-yard line, they could have kicked a field goal and won 9-7. It was a great game."

WHAT HE MEANT: It had me. It was awesome. What's lost in the discussion of my punt return is the play I made on the goal line. That was pretty great, too.

On who made the goal line stop at the end of the game...
WHAT HE SAID: "Warren Rabb made the initial contact. I did a Bosworth. I jumped on the top and got my name called out. Warren was a good defensive back and a great quarterback until he broke his hand. He was a great competitor, a great leader and an excellent person."

WHAT HE MEANT: Me.

On the differences between the 1958 and 1959 teams...
WHAT HE SAID: "I thought it was our play selection. I thought we did things in 1958 because we were trying to be good and we were trying to score points. For instance, we were playing Duke and Duke was a good football team. I was sitting on the wing and they put in a post pattern to me. I ran the post and we scored on a long pass. We never saw that play again for the 18 months I was in school. I didn't see that pattern again until I got to Houston. We did a lot of things. We had a toss play where the remaining back would do a toss to the weak side, and it was only called one time. We were playing Tulane in 1958, and we were up 55-0 in the final minute. I had to go back in to prevent us from burning someone's redshirt. Coach Paul Dietzel said, "Go in there and run the ball up the middle, run out the clock and get this over with.' So like a good soldier, I went in there and said, ‘Call that toss to me. Coach Dietzel said it. Run it to the left right now.' Like a good quarterback, he called the play. I took the ball 35 or 40 yards for a touchdown. Tulane's coach was out at midfield cursing Dietzel, who kept saying ‘I didn't do it.' There's a guy in New Orleans who follows Dietzel around every time he's in New Orleans and says, ‘I had binoculars out there and I saw you tell Cannon to do that!' That's a couple of examples of what we didn't do in 1959. Our defense was so good. There were a lot of zeroes and not a lot of points scored that year. They knew if we played our game we'd get enough points to win the game. Most of the time, it worked."

WHAT HE MEANT: I could've called the plays, too. That's how awesome I am.

On if he actually scored a disputed touchdown in the 1959 loss to Tennessee...
WHAT HE SAID: "I swear to God, I'll go to my grave believing I was across the goal line, looking down, and then got pushed back. And then the referee doing that, it made me sick. But we didn't lose that game on the goal line."

WHAT HE MEANT: I swear to God, I'll go to my grave believing I was across the goal line, looking down, and then got pushed back. And then the referee doing that, it made me sick. He lost us the game.

LSU vs. Georgia: A Light-Heavyweight Bout Between Two Teams Hoping to Go Up in Weight Class

Richard Pittman — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:25:44 -0000

More photos » by Rogelio V. Solis - AP

Save the season in 3... 2... wait for it... wait for it... (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

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I didn't feel inspired to write anything yesterday, and today is not so easy either. Part of me says, "Let's just watch the game and forget about analyzing it to death before the fact." These are two teams who are not poised for glory, at least not yet, but they can see it from where they stand. They can see the obstacles in their way as well.

Georgia's obstacles are a suspect defense and a decided lack of ball control. Joe Cox, who has been productive as a quarterback with 9 touchdown passes, leads the SEC with 5 interceptions. They have also lost 7 fumbles, to give them 12 turnovers in 4 games, the most in the SEC. Meanwhile, they aren't generating turnovers, giving them a turnover margin of -9 on the season, again worst in the SEC. Their defense is giving up an average of 243 yards per game in the air, though that average is inflated by having given up 408 yards to Arkansas. They held Oklahoma State and Arizona State to reasonable passing yards against.

LSU's obstacles are an offense that isn't firing on all cylinders because the blocking is not there, and an inability to get sacks on the quarterback. We are last in the league in total offense, though we are mid-pack where it really counts in scoring offense. We are last in the league in sacks. Rahim Alem, who has been surprisingly good in my opinion on containing the run, has not been getting to the quarterback the way he should, and we aren't getting enough pressure from the middle. We aren't giving the quarterback all day to throw, but we aren't getting him to the ground enough either.

Yes, both of these teams have weaknesses that, if not corrected, will prevent them from being there at the end of the season. If we don't figure out how to improve our offensive line play, and if Georgia does not figure out how to play more consistently on defense and cut down the turnovers on offense, neither one of these teams will be there when the SEC Championship Game combatants are announced.

But let me be clear. Neither of these teams are bad. Both sit at 2-0 in the conference, and while Georgia needed last-second heroics from Rennie Curran to escape against South Carolina, they got the heroics they needed. While LSU needed last-second heroics from Chad Jones and Ryan Baker to escape against Mississippi State, they got the heroics. They both escaped what would have been very damaging losses and lived to fight another day. Tomorrow is that "other day".

For now, these two flawed teams, neither of whom are in the weight class of the best in the conference (yet), will be playing each other. It is an interesting proving ground for both teams. Two flawed teams, one of whom will stay undefeated in the conference and the other of whom will finally be "exposed" as a pretender.

I choose "exposed" deliberately, and put it in quotes deliberately as well. This is what media members will say after the game, but it is not a completely appropriate description. Both of these teams have been exposed already. Washington and Mississippi State revealed major weaknesses in LSU. South Carolina and Arkansas exposed Georgia. Mediocre play by one team or the other, or both, would not be a big surprise at this point.

Because this is an interdivisional game, it is not a must-win game for either team standings-wise. Both teams will control their own destinies in the divisions they represent regardless of whether they win or lose. However, I think this is an important game for both of these teams beyond its impact in the standings. Both of these teams are beleaguered by fans and media pressing on them, trying to explain or understand why they are not as good as they should be. I believe that whoever loses this game will be damaged by it psychologically and it could lead to a spiraling season.

In parallel, both of these coaches have come under fire. Mark Richt for always coming close to national championship level but not ever quite bringing his team there, and for starting the season slowly this year. Les Miles for a poor 2008 and an anxiety-producing start to the 2009 season. Les Miles, I think, can silence the critics for a while with a win here. I am not so sure Mark Richt can. This is a cross-roads game not only for the teams involved, but for the coaches. They are on somewhat parallel trajectories right now, but one of them is going to break off.

The more I think about this game, the less like a big college football game it feels. It feels more like a fight for survival. Like a loser's bracket game in a double-elimination tournament between two teams that both believe they should be in the winner's bracket. One of these teams gets to continue on and the other is going home. Not literally of course, because the season continues for both teams, with plenty goals still to reach, but I can't shake the feeling that this game marks the end of something. If LSU wins, it marks the end of Georgia as a serious contender in the East, perhaps for more than just this year. If Georgia wins, it may do the same to LSU.

So yeah, those are your happy thoughts for Friday morning.

Miles On Miss State

Poseur — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:50:36 -0000

Once again, to serve you, the ATVS reader, I try and cut through the BS and translate Les Miles' weekly lunch from Coachspeak to English.

WHAT HE SAID: "Certainly our football team met this morning and reviewed the fact that we've played four games, and we have four victories. That's certainly where we want to be. Certainly we want to improve and play better along the way. I thought that there were some really good things there at the game. First of all, we had a four-hour delay in leaving town, and the weather certainly didn't cooperate to start the game. I felt like our guys did what they had to do to get a victory."

WHAT HE MEANT: "We needed a frickin' goal line stand to beat Moo State. The only good thing about the trip was the four hour delay because that was four hours I didn't have to spend in Starkville. The offensive line has been running gassers since we got back home."

WHAT HE SAID: "I think defensively we played a very good game. I still think that there were three plays or so in that game where we can play smarter. We missed a tackle on one that led to a big gain, a broken play and one that should well have been tackled in the backfield that nets out again in another big play and a mistimed interception that personally could've been a big turnaround and gone the other way. Yet, our defense is playing with great effort, and in my opinion, if it continues to play with that style of effort and corrects those mistakes, it can be a very strong defense as we go forward."

WHAT HE MEANT: "The defense played well if you don't count the first three and half quarters."

WHAT HE SAID: "Chad Jones was recognized not only for his play on defense but that great 93-yard punt return as the National Defensive Player of the Week. Certainly he was recognized by his teammates this morning as he was the MVP (of the game)"

WHAT HE MEANT: Chad saved my job. Is there a booster here who can buy him a car or something? CHAD JONES! WOOOOO!!!"

WHAT HE SAID: "We still want to run the football. It's too fundamental to me not to be important, and I want that. I want it for Charles Scott and that offensive line and Keiland Williams, and I want to be able to come off the football. But again, the defense can choose to play everybody inside, and that makes it a much more difficult position to run the football, and I wanted them to throw it. I wanted our guys to throw the football against that gaming front of Mississippi State's."

WHAT HE MEANT: "Wow, does our run game suck or what? Screw it. I'm out of ideas. Let's just throw it to LaFell on every play."

WHATE HE SAID: "If you look at special teams, the return that Chad Jones puts on is a great decision on a bouncing ball that he picks up and cleaning fields and then returns with great personal effort. We looked at that again several times this morning, and you look at Charles Alexander at about the midfield stripe at about 50 yards, driving a defender away from Chad Jones who's returning the punt. You see Patrick Peterson directing traffic, and it was truly a great effort. There were guys who had great blocks like Brandon Taylor, who really had the first block that sprung the return, and Perry Riley got one on about the midfield stripe. Again, it was a great personal effort by Chad Jones, and certainly it was timely."

WHAT HE MEANT: "See? See? Team effort! I can get these individuals to play as a team. Stick that in your piehole. Well, uh... yeah, it still was a pretty great individual effort. CHAD JONES! WOOOO!!!!"

WHAT HE SAID: "We had 11 points given to our opponent on special teams miscues, and virtually all three were snaps. What has to happen is we have to execute the snap extremely well, and we cannot go into a big game with the opportunity to make big plays and have something so fundamental to us break down. We feel like we can address that, and it's a very correctable mistake, so if you go forward from there, improve that offensive running game, enjoy the fact that someone puts a lot of guys in the box so we can throw it, take away the special teams miscues and play smarter on defense, that's where we need to be.

WHAT HE MEANT: "We left Alex Russian on the side of the highway in Mississippi."

WHAT HE SAID: "At this point, the focus has to turn to the very next game. We're fortunate to be 4-0; we'd like to be 5-0, and only the next opponent stands between us and that goal. Everybody talks about rankings. Rankings have never made any difference to me and not to our football team. We understand we earn where we finish. The No. 4 ranking is certainly a spot, and that's it. It's close enough to be where you want to be in the end, but there's no position except for the final ballot. When we get to the end of the season, that's where we want to be ranked highly."

WHAT HE MEANT: "Rankings mean everything to me. Are you kidding? People in this town flip out even when we're in the top five. I have "For Sale" signs in my front lawn. And we're 4-0! What does it take? You people are insane. Seriously. If I beat Georgia, will you then believe I can coach? They're the only SEC school I haven't beaten. Is that what y'all are waiting for?"

WHAT HE SAID: "I think we're developing that position (fullback). It's not come along fast enough necessarily, but I don't know that we can make it come along any faster. I don't know that we've given it enough snaps in games to develop it, and it's not something that we can enforce. It has to come naturally, and I think those guys are doing a good job. Frankly, we're opting for other personnel groups at times over our normal two-back set."

WHAT HE MEANT: "We have no fullback. Deal."

WHAT HE SAID: "They are the best players, and I can tell you that I'm critical. There are certainly ways that we can improve on the offensive line, but I think their play has probably been with the exception of pass protection in several instances pretty good. When we throw it, we have to throw it efficiently. We have to catch it and move the chains. We have to make big plays, so those teams that choose to load the box and allow us to throw it will have to pay a terrible price. I think Brandon LaFell is in that position. I think Terrance Toliver is in that position just for those days, and we have to continue there. I think that our line is performing. Are they performing at the level they want? No. Are they performing at the level I want? No, but I think that they are giving us an opportunity to win and should continue to develop along those lines."

WHAT HE MEANT: "The offensive line? What do you want to know about the line? HEY! What's that thing over there?! ... How about those receivers?"

WHAT HE SAID: "Jacob Cutrera was nicked, and Baker came in. On his first two plays, you could tell that he just did not exactly feel comfortable with where he was at. On the fourth-down play, he makes an instinctive hit down low, and Chad Jones follows it up. I can only tell you that it was a big play. It was one that he'll remember for a long time."

WHAT HE MEANT: "CHAD JONES! WOOOO!!!!!"

WHAT HE SAID: "Depending on the down and distance, third and long is where your defense has to get off the field, and you have to have an advantage when you're in third and long. If you're third and five or greater, you'd like 35 to 45 percent to be their offense's success. On third down and short, you'd like it to be 50/50."

WHAT HE MEANT: "Third and Chavis. I get it. Shut up. The Washington game was a month ago. Get a new cliché."

WHAT HE SAID (on running to the short side): "One of the things that their defense did was that they overloaded, in my opinion, and played some of their best personnel to the field, so the opportunity to go and take advantage of some guys that we felt we had some mismatches against were to the boundary. Some of our calls were put just that way."

WHAT HE MEANT: "Whoops. My bad."

WHAT HE SAID: "Baker would work in. We don't anticipate Cutrera will have an issue with going. We think that he'll be fine. There are a number of guys there like Ace Foyil that will work in there."

WHAT HE MEANT: "Cutrera will be healthy, right? Right?"

WHAT HE SAID: "They are a very talented team. Their quarterback has stepped in. He has a strong arm. He makes great decisions with the ball. Of course, A.J. Green is making big plays for them on the perimeters, and the tailbacks can all run the football, so I don't know if I'm surprised. They are certainly a very capable offense."

WHAT HE MEANT: "You're asking me if I'm surprised Georgia is good? Are you an idiot?"

The SEC West One Month In

Year2 — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:30:22 -0000

Divisional Preseason Storyline

The balance of power has shifted from the SEC East to the West. The top three teams are so close as to be interchangeable. Watch out for Arkansas, who could make a second year leap under Bobby Petrino as so many other teams have made second year leaps under good coaches.

One Month In Reality

This division is stronger than the East, but the gap isn't nearly as wide as thought. Alabama is clearly the best team of the bunch.

Preseason Storyline

How is Alabama going to deal with replacing Andre Smith and the rest of the graduating offensive linemen? It was the strength of last year's offense. Can Mark Ingram fill Glen Coffee's shoes? How about that new quarterback guy, Greg McElroy? We've heard some good practice reports, but no one knows how good he'll be until we see him on the field. At least the defense is mostly in tact.

One Month In Reality

Alabama's line has done just fine, and its four-deep at running back is terrifyingly effective. As for Greg McElroy, he's already looking better than John Parker Wilson ever did. For all the talk of Alabama just needing a game manager behind center, McElroy appears capable of being much more. The defense has resumed its role of a marauding band of pillagers, but now it will have to deal with losing Dont'a Hightower.

Preseason Storyline

We will probably get to see the real Bobby Petrino offense now that the rocket-armed pocket statue Ryan Mallett is taking over for the Dick brothers. The Razorbacks were near the top of the conference in passing last year despite the situation under center, so it should be even better now. If the defense can shore itself up some, this team could be a spoiler.

One Month In Reality

The defense may be even worse than last year, as it made Joe Cox look like Joe Montana and turned the Crimson Tide attack into a big play offense. The unit has no hope of keeping things close when the offense isn't clicking. Mallett has been good, as predicted, and his arm is dangerous from anywhere on the field. However, it's not good enough to overcome an elite defense, and it's looking like it will be a while before the Hogs become a real complete team.

Preseason Storyline

Leave it to Auburn to fire a winner for Mr. 5-19. What were they thinking? The defense will probably still be good with Gene Chizik on the staff, but the defense wasn't really the problem last year anyway. Gus Malzahn was an intriguing hire, but what can he do with the hole at quarterback? Will his spread scheme transplant be rejected like Tony Franklin's was?

One Month In Reality

It's hard to argue with much when you're 4-0 and doing it with style. The offense has surpassed 500 total yards in three of the four wins, and is right at the top of the total and scoring offense ranks with Florida. The Tigers returned to their roots as a rushing team as well, as they are currently fifth in the nation in rushing yards per game. Perhaps the most impressive stat of all is that Chris Todd is sixth in the country in passing efficiency. Granted Auburn has played only ~~one~~ two teams from a Big Six conference, so the optimism is tempered a bit. However, they couldn't have put up these kinds of numbers against air last year.

Preseason Storyline

It's time for Les Miles to show something now that all of Nick Saban's players have left. Hiring John Chavis should help shore up the defense, and the offense is probably in good hands with Jordan Jefferson. Everyone who has seen a practice has raved about the skill position players, so it's looking like a bounce back year for the Tigers.

One Month In Reality

LSU is 4-0, but only just. The team is being buoyed by its 23rd ranking in scoring defense, but it is also 49th in total defense, 53rd in scoring offense, and a dismal 105th in total offense. The thing is still a work in progress, with wins over Washington, Vanderbilt, and Mississippi State coming a bit too close for comfort. You can make an excuse for all of them (UW was the longest road trip in school history; Vandy does that to all conference front runners every now and then; MSU was an 11 AM game on the road and a look ahead game), but this team is out of them now. A poor performance against Georgia will likely get them beat badly.

Preseason Storyline

This is it. This is the Rebels' year. They finished last year 6-0 and beat the national champs. Most everyone important comes back. Sure it will be tough to replace Michael Oher and Peria Jerry, but with a strong rest of the D-line and the conference's second best quarterback, Ole Miss should still compete for a division championship.

One Month In Reality

Ole Miss does indeed look like the team from last year. Unfortunately, it is the one that began the season 3-4 and not the one that finished strongly. The loss of Oher is looming very large as the offense has sputtered early against Memphis and for the first three quarters against South Carolina. The defense has held up its end of the bargain so far, allowing no more than 14 points in a game, but until Jevan Snead and the offense get back on track, it will be tough to consider the Rebels a true contender to Alabama's throne.

Preseason Storyline

Hiring the offensive coordinator of the national champion, regardless of who that is, has to be considered a bit of a coup for Mississippi State. Now that Dan Mullen is in the fold though, we can't really expect much of him yet. Sylvester Croom, for all of his admirable qualities, never assembled much talent in Starkville, and conversions to spread option attacks seldom go well in the first year. A win or two in the conference would be a good year.

One Month In Reality

A 2-2 start for Mississippi State is encouraging, but it's even moreso when you consider that the Bulldogs could easily be 3-1 if not for the late game heroics of LSU's Chad Jones. MSU collected a conference win against Vanderbilt and looked good in giving LSU the scare of a lifetime. Mullen has taken Croom's offensive cesspool and turned it into the country's 25th best rushing attack. The game against Auburn didn't go so well, but otherwise things are looking up so far.

Watching the Offensive Line

Richard Pittman — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 12:22:20 -0000

More photos » by Rogelio V. Solis - AP

Enjoy it for now, but then we have to get a lot better. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

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Starting at 5:15am, I started watching the game again. I didn't watch the defense. I didn't watch the horrid special teams play. OK, that's not entirely true. I watched the goal line stand again, and I watched Chad Jones' punt return. But I really paid attention to our offensive plays, often rewinding them several times to see what was happening on the offensive line, and in particular why Mississippi State defenders kept making plays around or behind the line of scrimmage.

The problem is surprisingly difficult to diagnose. You can't really point to one player or one type of play that gave us problems. I think the problems can, however, be broken down to a couple categories:

1. There's just a pileup at the line of scrimmage. This happened surprisingly often. You can't point to any particular block that wasn't held or any particular player who made (or failed to make) a play. Everyone puts a helmet on someone, but the play blows up simply because the running back runs into a mass of bodies where the line of scrimmage was. I read an suggestion on a message board that LSU's linemen play with too narrow splits, and this contributes to problems finding holes in the middle of the field. After all, to make a hole, there needs to be neither a defensive nor an offensive player there. Unfortunately, I am not knowledgeable enough about offensive line play to evaluate that suggestion, but it works as a hypothesis in that it seems to explain the results we see and is falsifiable (widen the splits and see what happens).

2. Lineman breaks downfield and then the tackle is made in the spot he vacated. This is the one I have a really hard time understanding. I saw Josh Dworaczyk and Lyle Hitt both break downfield to get a block on a safety only to see the runner head right to the spot one or the other of them had left. I know a little bit about zone blocking, and I know that sometimes it is a lineman's duty to not worry so much about the lineman and instead get out to the second level, but it is very difficult for me to believe that this is the case when the runner is supposed to run towards his spot on the line.

In a zone blocking scheme, a lineman does not block a "man". He blocks a "lane", and if there's no one in that lane when you break off the snap, you go to the next level and see if there's a man there. You may chip or help your neighboring lineman for a split second, but your primary job when there is not a man at the line in your zone is to press forward and find a man in your path to block. But to release downfield only to find that someone has filled your gap and made the tackle unblocked right in the spot you started the play? That can't be right. Here, it is hard to say if this is an execution problem or a coaching problem. Was the lineman supposed to stay home and block the guy who ended up in his hole? Or was someone else supposed to get him? Or did we do something that tipped off the play and signaled someone to jump into the lane after the lineman ran past? Whatever it is, this happens way too much, as I've seen it in previous games too.

3. Linebacker or safety comes off the edge unblocked. Here I am talking about a play in which everyone makes a block, but there is a man unaccounted for on the outside who diagnoses the play, and gets into the backfield untouched to make a tackle. This happened on a couple big 3rd down plays, once towards the end of the first half when Jefferson pitched left to Keiland Williams on 3rd and 1, and he had nowhere to go because a linebacker came off of Ciron Black's edge and made the tackle 4 yards in the backfield. It happened on a 3rd down play in the 3rd quarter when Jefferson ran a little bootleg pass to Richard Dickson on 3rd and 2 (after 2nd and 1 lost a yard, btw), and the end or linebacker on the roll side didn't bite and didn't hesitate for even 1/2 second. Instead he went right at the spot where Jefferson was going to end up and got in his face, forcing a bad throw and another punt. Two plays in which the outside defender seemed to know exactly where the play was going and went right to the spot without being touched and made a play. Again, it's hard to diagnose where the problem was. In both cases, there was no attempt to block the man, which means either that he was not supposed to be blocked, or that the lineman in question (Black on the first, Barksdale on the second) mistakenly failed to block him. Or it could mean that Jefferson was supposed to check out of the play because there would be an unblocked man right where the play was going.

4. Lineman simply fails to hold a block. This is the easiest to spot and diagnose. Sometimes, the offensive lineman makes a block, or attempts to make a block, and just can't do it. I saw this happen to T-Bob Hebert, Josh Dworaczyk, and Joseph Barksdale more than one time each. I was also surprised at how often Richard Dickson got beat by a defender. Dickson started out his career at LSU as a blocking tight end, but if yesterday's game was any indication, he may have regressed as a blocker since his freshman season. We saw a good bit of Deangelo Peterson at tight end this game, and he has a ways to go as a blocker too. On one of Russell Shepard's runs, Peterson's spot was attacked by two Bulldog defenders and forced Peterson to make a choice of which to block and which to allow to go free. He hesitated and ended up letting both of them go. No one was immune to it, but Barksdale really seemed to get beat a good bit, and was on one occasion pushed back into Jordan Jefferson, forcing him to rush a throw.

Lyle Hitt gets a lot of criticism on the message boards, but I really did not see him get flat-out beat very much, though on a 3rd and goal option play in the second quarter, it seemed the entire right side of the offense got beat, including Hitt, Dickson, and fullback Charles Scott. Everyone seems to be singling out Hitt as a potential area to make a change, but he may have actually been our best lineman yesterday. I will confess that when I was ruminating on this game last night and early this morning, I was thinking of ways to either replace Hitt or move him to somewhere else, but after watching the game again I have cooled to that plan.

Barksdale was beaten a lot, and both of the new starters were beaten a lot. Josh Dworaczyk gets pushed into the backfield way too often. T-Bob Hebert loses him man at times. Even Ciron Black was not really All-SEC material yesterday.

The problem here is that if you're looking to make a personnel change, it is hard to figure out who to change. No one player seems to be the problem. Maybe Barksdale would benefit from a move to the inside, letting Chris Faulk or Greg Shaw have a chance at right tackle. But do you move Barksdale to right guard or left guard? Right now, I would say move him to left guard and see if that fixes the problems we're having on that side. Maybe Alex Hurst needs a chance to play at a guard spot, as he receives rave reviews from observers (then again, so did Dworaczyk). Could P.J. Lonergan be an improvement at center over T-Bob?

I think right now that a change, any change at all, may be beneficial, in that it could spark greater effort. It could make this a nastier offensive line to face.

Thoughts Now That I've Had a Margarita

Poseur — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 02:42:55 -0000

More photos » by Rogelio V. Solis - AP

Chad Jones saves the season (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

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My girlfriend went to U of H, so we're sitting on the couch right now watching the Cougs play Texas Tech. And I know everyone is going on and on about LSU's ranking, but let's put it in perspective: Houston is #17. The Cougars are a fun team, but nowhere near as good as LSU. My point is not that UH sucks, it's that unless you're a Bama, Florida, or Texas fan, you're probably not entirely happy with your team right now.

I do want to get into the Miles/Crowton issue later this week, but I want to focus on the State game for the weekend before moving on to place this in context. I know there are a lot of grumblings over this team and how we're going to lose every game or whatever, but it's time for perspective.

LSU is 4-0. LSU is 2-0 in the SEC. LSU has won two road games. It's not figure skating, how you look doesn't matter. Wins matter. You think Ole Miss or Cal wouldn't trade places with us? The point is not that LSU is 4-0 so therefore there are no problems. Because there are problems with this team. The point is that this team has won four games and if you're too worried about the other games, perhaps you forgot to take a moment to enjoy these wins. If you're immediate reaction to this game is "Georgia is gonna kill us", you have robbed yourself of a day's worth of enjoyment. We won. Worry about to UGa tomorrow. You only get one day to celebrate a win, but that works both ways: remember to celebrate the win. Relentless negativity can wait a day.

Ten years ago, this program was coming off a 4-7 season. LSU was 2-1 and had just lost to Auburn 41-7. At home. Little did we know, LSU would only win one game for the rest of the season. Wins are precious. Celebrate them. Don't take them for granted, or the football gods might punish us with Curly Hallman again.

OK, thoughts on the game...

-- After my rant on negativity, let's go negative. The offensive line flat out sucks right now. There's no nice way to say it. They suck. They know they suck. We'll do the Behind the Numbers in a day or two, but here's the quick preview: 30 yards on 31 rushes while Scott and Williams combined to go 15 for 35. Ouch.

-- The special teams gave away 11 points. OK, Jones scored on a punt return, but we're still -4 with the return. Everyone was going on about the missed PAT, but how about missing a 19 yard FG? How do you miss a 19 yard FG?

-- Alex Russian is on the team for one reason, and that is to be the deep snapper. Honestly, that's probably a waste of a scholarship even if he is a decent long snapper, but Russian has been perhaps the worst player in an LSU uniform this season. When Miles said "we've alleviated that problem", I got the feeling someone should look into transferring.

-- After the TD to open the half, LSU's offense went into the tank. LSU only had three 1st downs from that point on. The defense wore down as the half went on, but that was due to an offense that simply didn't show up for the second half.

-- There's a lot of negatives to take from this game, but that goalline stand was simply epic. Give the defense credit. With their backs against the wall, the defense, in particular Chad Jones, responded. Bemoaning that we needed a goalline stand misses the point: we GOT the stand when we needed it. A great job by the defense when it mattered most.

-- Patrick Peterson is an absolute stud.