SB Nation - Keiland Williams

Guest Blogger: Juco All-American Answers Five Questions

Poseur — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:22:35 -0000

Let's all welcome JUCO All-American from the Ole Miss blog, Red Cup Rebellion. We've had some making fun of RCR this season, but we put the knives away before the game to ask each other five questions on the game. Go visit RCR and see my answers to their questions as well. Come back and call me a moron.

OK, we all know Dexter McCluster is awesome. So why has Brandon Bolden gotten more rushing attempts (barely, but still, what's up with that)?

Um... in some ways your guess is as good as mine. Let me say this. In practice during the Spring and Fall, Bolden was awesome. In the spring game, he only played in the first drive, but that drive was the Brandon Bolden show. He is a threat catching the ball out of the backfield but is a power runner capable of bulldozing defenders.

The problem this season has been that because of Snead's struggles, Bolden has been removed from the game. Opposing defenses stack the box when he's in, and he doesn't get a good head of steam running the ball before getting hit. He has still been serviceable, helping us beat the teams that are significantly interior to us in terms of talent, but he hasn't been what people expected, and a lot of that falls on the offensive line.

Dexter McCluster spent the first half of the season being a receiver first and a running back second. I think that the coaches were dissatisfied with the play of other receivers not named Shay Hodge, so they wanted to put their best playmaker out there to give matchup difficulties. The problem is that they didn't really use him there. He was a diversion at best, displaying an inability to get open on routes that seemed to be there last year. But more than Dexter's problem, it was still an issue with the offensive line. Jevan didn't have time to get him the ball.

Now, the coaches have realized what they should have at the beginning of the season. Dexter McCluster is essentially un-defendable. Give him the ball as much as possible, and let him win the game. Against Tennessee, McCluster got the ball as the halfback in the I, the fullback in shotgun two-back sets, slot receiver, and even split end. So in some ways, he was used the way they intended from the beginning. The only difference is that now he's primarily a running back who plays wide receiver in some situations.

I know that's not directly to the point of your question, but I think it answers it adequately.

Ole Miss has been incredibly efficient inside the red zone this season, scoring 94% of the time, and scoring a touchdown on 77% of red zone opportunities. Why do you think that is?

It's a really astonishing statistic considering the problems we've had offensively. I think that it comes down to a few things. First of all, the teams that have beaten us have rarely allowed us into the red zone. That means that the stat gets great help against UAB, Southeast Louisiana, Northern Arizona, and Northwest Southeast Direcitonal Michigan (ok... I made that last one up), but it doesn't get hurt by our abysmal performances against Alabama and South Carolina.

The Rebels have a relatively strong gameplan in the red zone. We have four options for scoring play types between the twenties.

1. Throw a corner route or timing route to Shay Hodge.

Seriously, we do this every single time we get in the red-zone. It makes sense because Shay is excellent in one-on-one situations, but it just isn't working. The throws haven't been there.

2. Give the ball to Dexter McCluster. Let him do something.

Yeah. As I mentioned before, he's pretty good.

3. Run conventionally

This doesn't work all that well, but we've gotten lucky a few times running up the middle in the red zone, and Brandon Bolden, as mentioned earlier, can run really hard.

4. Play action pass to fullback or tight end

We do this often as well, but it hasn't gotten the results that most of our fans expected. From TE drops to QB miscues, the pass to the tight end isn't working for us. The passes to our fullback in the flats work fine, but Hartman (our starter) isn't really capable of getting more than 6 or 7 yards, and you need more than that to make a play this risky profitable.

Anyway, all four options are pretty reliable, and considering that we haven't been in the red zone much against quality opponents, the statistic looks excellent.

Most people focus on the Rebels offense, however the defense is in the top half of the conference in scoring defense, total defense, and rushing defense. Give us your thoughts on the OM defense this season. What should cause LSU fans to worry?

First off, our highly aggressive defense does a very good job of disguising blitzes. We'll motion to linebackers up to the line of scrimmage only to have them break back into coverage on the snap while the linebacker who stayed back blitzes against an unsuspecting offensive line. Defensive Coordinator has a few faults, but he's tremendous at drawing up blitz schemes.

Also, our defensive line is pretty ridiculous. At any given time, two defensive linemen are in the game who specialize in rushing the passer. The other two are good at stuffing the run. Our pass rushing specialists are DE Kentrell Lockett, DE Emmanuel Stephens, DT Jerrell Powe, and DT Lamarck Armour. All four are capable at getting into the backfield and disrupting the play. Our run stuffers are DE Marcus Tillman, DT Ted Laurent, and DT Lawon Scott. They're big bodies who excel at filling up holes and letting the linebackers make plays.

Our linebackers were a weakness at the beginning of the season, but they're starting to play very well. MLB Jonathan Cornell and WLB Allen Walker are both very complete players who can follow the ball well. SLB Patrick Trahan is a blitzing specialist, but he's not bad in coverage. There's no one in this group that's terrifying, but they're all adequate.

The secondary is certainly the weakness of the unit, but it's not awful either. We've seen a dip in production in terms of intercepting passes, but receivers are covered better than any year I've been following Ole Miss football.

The Rebels rank 5th in the conference in passing offense and only 8th in passing efficiency, even behind LSU, whose passing offense has at times made me want to strangle the life out of Gary Crowton. Which begs the question, what on earth is wrong with Jevan Snead?

Jevan's issues are a combination of three things.

He has accuracy issues.

Jevan himself struggles a little with ball placement. He doesn't have a total inability to place the football, but he does struggle with underthrowing or overthrowing targets. This leads to balls hitting the ground in front of receivers as well as balls flying over the heads of open pass catchers. It's frustrating.

The offensive line has been consistently bad

We have struggled in pass protection all season. Jevan was even flushed out of the pocket by Memphis. It has been tough and has obviously gotten into his head. He has happy feet now, a new development for Snead. Last season, he was poised and calm in the pocket. This year, he's frightened. Couple this with Jevan's gunslinger (Brett Favre buzzword) mentality and accuracy issues, and it's a recipe for disaster.

Receivers that aren't wearing #3 drop passes

None of us really know what we're going to do next year without Shay Hodge. Jevan often stares him down on plays, but who can blame him considering the fact that Hodge is the only receiver on our team who is reliable to catch the football. True freshman Pat Patterson has good hands too, but he can't get open very often. The other receivers on our team are just disappointing. Because of this issue, when teams have taken away Hodge, we haven't had an answer.

We try to avoid predictions at ATVS, but since you asked me, I might as well return the favor: what's the likely outcome of this game and why?

Yeah. We try to force people to make predictions in order to later look silly. I'm actually the one who writes our prediction on Friday, and I've looked ridiculous three SEC weeks in a row. I said the Rebels would:

Lose to Arkansas
Beat Auburn
Lose to Tennessee

I guess I'll predict LSU wins this one?

Let me explain.

LSU's offense has struggled a good bit, and if Jordan Jefferson isn't 100% ready to go, our defense will stifle you. We can stop the run when there's not a legitimate threat to pass. The times we have trouble against the rushing game are when quarterbacks can scramble or opposing teams call a lot of misdirection draws in odd situations. I imagine that Keiland Williams will be used in a generally normal way as a halfback and not in some sort of innovative spread gimmick. We can probably stop him at that. Even with a healthy Jefferson, I'm not concerned about your passing game. Sure, you have two excellent receivers, but we haven't seen many games where even Jefferson could get them the ball in space on a regular basis.

Now, I'm very afraid of your defense. I think that in the wrong situation, you could stuff us and make us look like Alabama and South Carolina did. The only thing I think we have going for us in that matchup is Dexter McCluster. You may be able to hold him in check, but he's going to have a few big plays, and that may be the difference in a low scoring affair.

So yeah. Ole Miss has the edge, but in a surprise twist (to please the sports gods), I'm predicting LSU to inexplicably win the game by three.

~~In reality, I think the Rebels will win 17-14.~~

Behind the Numbers: LSU v La Tech

Poseur — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:48:16 -0000

More photos » by Bill Haber - AP

What a beaten man looks like. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

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Sorry for almost complete absence from the blog this past week and half. Real life has intervened, and it was just La. Tech. You understand. I was at yet another wedding on Saturday and didn't watch the game until last night, which was just as ugly as I had heard. So, without further excuse, here is this week's Behind the Numbers.

3/12 for 30 yards. With about 5:30 left in the first half, Jarrett Lee came this close to throwing a pick six. He had looked mediocre up until this point, but not exactly bad. From that pass on, he went from mediocre to spectacularly awful. He would only pass for 30 yards from that point on, and it was just as bad as the numbers make it sound. The kid is still psychically and emotionally beaten from last year. The fans have turned on him and they are unlikely to come back. I like Lee and wish him well, but I have to say, I do not believe he will ever be an effective quarterback for LSU. He absolutely needs to transfer. The damage is too severe.

27 for 164. Our running backs destroyed La. Tech. With only one longish run, a 25 yarder by Keiland Williams, the running backs dominated, averaging just over 6 yards a carry. OK, it's just La. Tech, I completely agree, but this was another encouraging sign of improvement for the offensive line.

0. The number of return yards by La. Tech. LSU's punt game has been terrific all year, and last night was no exception, averaging 41 yards per punt and pinning the Bulldogs inside the 20 twice. The one touchback was a 51 yard punt. The special teams have really been a bright spot all season.

3/4. La. Tech was three of four on fourth down. That's just a fluke, right? They were 5 of 18 on third downs, which is a good rate, but a horrible number of third downs to allow. The Bulldogs converted two fourth downs on their TD drive in the first half, one aided by a generous spot and the other on a gadget play. Hey, it counts, but it's not a long term concern.

0/3. By contrast, LSU went oh for three on third down in the first half (and 0/2 in the fourth quarter). LSU's offense has been terrible at sustaining drives, and really, if the Tigers convert a third down or two in the first half, this game is likely a blowout. Why? Glad you asked.

51.2%. The percentage of LSU's total yards in the whole game earned on the first two possessions. LSU only managed 246 yards of offense, 126 of them on the first two possessions. This had all the earmarks of a blowout win until LSU failed to earn a first down on two consecutive drives, one pinned deep in their own territory and the next the infamous Jarrett Lee almost-pick-six drive. LSU let La. Tech in the game, and they played their hearts out. As soon as the Bulldogs showed fire, LSU progressively went into the tank. If LSU converts some of those third downs, they probably score and go up 17-6, and the rout is on. Instead, they let the inferior team hang around and gain confidence. Bad idea.

19-170. The combined penalty yards. Seriously, guys. That was out of control.

BlogPoll later today. I promise.

Saturday Lessons: November 14

Year2 — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:00:32 -0000

More photos » by Brett Flashnick - AP

Not pretty, but effective: your 2009 Florida Gators.

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Florida and Alabama just keep doing their thing.

This was probably the last realistic chance for Florida to lose prior to the showdown with Alabama, given that its game was on the road and South Carolina isn't a bad team. It would have been the irony to end all ironies for Steve Spurrier to spoil the Gators' attempt at an undefeated season, but UF just won the way its been winning all year: adequate offense and (mostly) stifling defense. Florida completed its third perfect SEC record ever, after 1995 and 1996, and they have just FIU and FSU (who plays less defense than Georgia does most days) to go before heading up to Atlanta.

Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide made sure there would be no cowbell magic for Mississippi State. Mark Ingram was his usual great self (149 yards on just 19 carries), and Greg McElroy found his early season form once again as he was efficient and didn't turn it over. The defense was brilliant as usual, holding the Bulldogs to just a field goal and snaring three interceptions in the process. A pit stop with Chattanooga and the Iron Bowl remain for the Tide before they pack for Peachtree City.

No one dominates without help, and USC's help is about gone.

I've said this before: no team dominates a conference without the teams around it being subpar. FSU dominated in the 1990s in part because the ACC was terrible during that time. Miami had a great run in the early part of this decade thanks to the Big East not being very good. Florida and Alabama now are dominating the SEC (a combined 30-1 the last two years) thanks in part to regimes getting stale and/or falling apart in at Auburn, Tennessee, and Georgia. There is no exception to this rule. You can't dominate without weakness around you.

USC dominated the Pac-10 for much of this decade thanks to a lot of lousy coaching elsewhere. The conference didn't have a lot of coaches that could stare down the titan on a consistent basis. Jeff Tedford and Mike Bellotti did occasionally, but without any consistent threat, USC ran roughshod over the league. UCLA went nowhere with Karl Dorrell, as did Arizona State with Dirk Koetter. Oregon State took some time to get going under Mike Riley. The Washington schools fell apart after Rick Neuheisel and Mike Price left. Stanford went through several bad coaches. Arizona has only recently done anything under Mike Stoops.

Teams are upgrading now though. Oregon with Chip Kelly is 2-1 against USC. Stanford under Jim Harbaugh is 2-1 with two wins in L.A. Oregon State is hitting its stride under Mike Riley and is 2-2 since the Pac-10 went to the round robin format. Washington at least hired someone who knew all the secrets in Steve Sarkisian, and UW is 1-0 under him. Sure this was going to be a down year for USC, but this big of a crash was not inevitable. The rest of the conference is catching up, and it's because it's getting smarter about coaching hires.

LSU is not the same without Jordan Jefferson.

An eight point win over Louisiana Tech is not impressive in any way this season, and Jarrett Lee completed just 7 of 22 passes for 105 yards and a 4.8 yards per completion average. Keiland Williams had a good day in relief of the injured Charles Scott, but really, without a functional passing game, LSU's offense is seriously hampered. The Tigers didn't put up as many points on LA Tech as Auburn (36), Navy (32), Nevada (37), Idaho (35), and Boise State (45) did. For a home game where they didn't turn it over, that's not good.

Regrouping is not part of Lane Kiffin's master plan, apparently.

I will grant pretty much any team a distraction-fueled mulligan the week that three players get arrested for armed robbery. However the Vols practically didn't make the trip to Oxford, mailing in a pathetic 42-17 loss to Ole Miss. Some slippage would be expected without starting safety Janzen Jackson, but they allowed Dexter McCluster to serially kill them for 282 yards on the ground. Tennessee normally doesn't give up that much yardage to entire teams, much less single players. UT is still without a sixth bowl-clinching win, but fortunately for the Vols' postseason hopes, they still have Vandy left to play.

Good luck figuring out the Rebels. Again.

Ole Miss, meanwhile, played like we would have thought they would in the preseason. I'm not about to get all that excited over it since I said the same thing after the Rebels' win over Arkansas, and they lost to Auburn the very next week. A win over LSU would give them the tiebreaker for second in the SEC West, something that seemed out of the question not that long ago. That does assume though that they don't find a way to lose the Egg Bowl, which given the inconsistency from the team this year is not 100% out of the question.

TCU may have a point.

A lot of folks assume that if a major player from a major conference played in a non-BCS conference, they'd win pretty much all the games by blowouts. Well, that's exactly what TCU has been doing, with its only close wins being at Clemson (who's not so bad) and at Air Force (who's going bowling). The Horned Frogs are basically doing what we might expect any other titan might do with the same schedule, and two close wins over decent or better teams can be excused. It's hard to give too many more reasons for keeping TCU out of the national title game with their three wins over ranked teams, even with Texas (one win over a ranked team) undefeated.

Georgia won't finish under .500 in the SEC.

I'm not sure how much more we can gather about UGA after its win over Auburn since few elements of it have been repeatable for the Bulldogs throughout the season. If you're wondering if this game saved Willie Martinez's job, your answer is a hearty laugh and a "no." The 17 offensive points that Auburn scored was more than Kentucky gave up to the Tigers, and you still have to look at the bigger picture. Georgia has allowed as a total team 30+ points nine times since the start of the 2008 season. That's more times than than Florida, Alabama, Penn State, Ohio State, and TCU have allowed 30+ in the same span (seven times). Not all of that is on the defense, what with special teams and defensive scores, but it's still a bad relfection on that unit.

Auburn's position as the high variance team of the conference remains unchallenged.

I am not really sure what to make of Auburn. The Tigers can beat Tennessee and Ole Miss, but they find a way to lose to Kentucky and Arkansas too. Now, they can't beat Georgia either, though UGA is the fourth best team in the conference by record. There's no consistency there from week to week, which I supposed could be expected since they are in the first year of a system that requires extreme levels of conditioning.

Kentucky is going bowling.

It's hard to think about football among the bluegrass this time of year, but the Wildcats defeated Vanderbilt to score their sixth win of the season. Like last year, UK is sitting on six wins and just two of them in-conference, but the Wildcats can put a nicer record up with an upsets over Georgia and/or Tennessee in their final two games. Given that Kentucky has already defeated Auburn, Georgia's been wildly inconsistent, and that Tennessee might be going into a late season tailspin, it could happen.

Few teams can torch cupcakes like Arkansas can.

Missouri State: 48-10 win

Eastern Michigan: 63-27 win

Troy: 56-20 win

It's too bad the Hogs couldn't play in the Sun Belt or MAC. Throw out their SEC record, add a few more scores like that, and keep their 47-19 win over Texas A&M, and they might be looking like Boise State is right now. Okay, not quite as good since Oregon's much better than TAMU, but you get the picture.

Minnesota should stop playing teams from the Dakotas.

The Golden Gophers needed a field goal late in the fourth quarter to hold off South Dakota State 16-13 on Senior Day (!). They only outgained the Jackrabbits 231-229. In 2006 Minnesota escaped North Dakota State 10-9, but the very next year the Bison beat the Gophers 27-21. It may be time to find a new area to scout for I-AA opponents, don't you think?

LSU 24 - Louisiana Tech 16: Snap Judgments

Richard Pittman — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 04:02:47 -0000

More photos » by Bill Haber - AP

about 1 month ago: Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley calls to his team in action against LSU in the first half of an NCAA college football game in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

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Escape. Sweet, sweet, escape. What an absolute dud of a football game. here are teh snap judgments:

The team as a whole was flat. The defense would play well for a couple of plays at a time, but could never sustain it. They'd lose focus for a play and give up 10 or 15 yards on a screen or a misdirection. Other plays, we would dominate their line and make a tackle for a loss or no gain. It was quite frustrating how we would beat them badly two plays in a row only to see them get a first down to keep a drive going on the third. Hat tip to uberschuck in the comment thread for pointing that out.
Derek Dooley brought a good game plan to Baton Rouge. He didn't have much in the way of players, as much of his lineup was out due to injury, but he made the most of what he had, getting his little backs out into space and taking advantage of our aggressiveness with draws, misdirection, screens, etc.
Defensively, Louisiana Tech just let us beat ourselves. Jarrett Lee got the start and did not play well. He was 7 of 22 for 104 yards and a touchdown. There were no interceptions, but Louisiana Tech was close on about 3. This Lee was not the same as the Jarrett Lee of last year. The 2008 version of Jarrett Lee struggled with interceptions, but also made plays. He tried hard to get the ball to the receivers and ran into trouble when he'd try too hard or would lock in too much. This version of Jarrett Lee seemed scared to put the ball anywhere near a defender and shied away from taking hits. It wasn't the same quarterback, and it wasn't a quarterback showing growth. It was a quarterback who, much like our entire offense earlier in the season, seemed so scared of making a catastrophic error that he wouldn't try to make a play. He wouldn't try to squeeze a ball through a hole to a receiver. He wouldn't try to wait for a play. While we've complained about Jefferson not throwing the ball away, Lee would give up on a play too quickly. It was frustrating and painful to watch.
While Gary Crowton was busy trying to get an ineffective Jarrett Lee into the game, he was overlooking Keiland Williams, who finished the game with 116 yards on 15 carries, and he scored both of our touchdowns on short runs. He had a great game, and needed to get probaby 6 or 7 more touches than he got.
At one point, with LSU holding onto a lead, Crowton called 6 consecutive passing plays, resulting in two consecutive 3-and-out possessions.
This was probably as good of a game as our defensive line has played this season. They made play after play, both in the passing game and in the running game. A large percentage of La Tech plays went for 0 or negative yards. And a large percentage went for big yardage. C'est la vie.
Brandon Lafell continues to be a great player.
This is a team that really needs Jordan Jefferson back. I am surprised to find myself saying that, as I was seriously wondering earlier this year if we wouldn't be better off with Lee under center.
Russell Shepard continues to look like a star in the making.
We did not get an interception (there were no turnovers in the game for either team as a matter of fact), ending our streak of games with an interception, going back to last season.
La Tech's running backs were similar to what we're going to see with Dexter McCluster next week. We will have to figure out how to catch and tackle a small, shifty back.
Let's not forget, the game was a win. Our 8th of the season, in fact, beating our regular season total for last year, with two more winnable games remaining. Now we just have to win them.

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.

Alabama Preview

Richard Pittman — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:38:12 -0000

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Is it my imagination, or has the look of ATVS changed?

Anyway, a preview of the Alabama Crimson Tide would look awfully funny if it didn't start with Mark Ingram. I was surprised to find out that he is only 2nd in the conference in total rushing yards, behind Ben Tate of Auburn, but Tate has carried the ball 40 more times and has had an extra game to accumulate those yards. Ingram is running hard, getting 6.6 yards per attempt. Only Michael Smith of Arkansas (6.4 yards per carry) is getting close that average per carry among backs with lots of carries. Not only does he run the ball, but he has also caught 19 passes for 186 yards. That puts him in a tie for 2nd on the team in receptions and 4th in yards.

Ingram is a legitimate Heisman contender right now. He has scored 11 of Alabama's 26 offensive touchdowns, with 8 rushing touchdowns and 3 receiving. He is also the "quarterback" of Alabama's Wildcat and Bobcat offenses (Wildcat means that Greg McElroy is lined up as a receiver; Bobcat means McElroy is not in the game). He may yet throw the ball, though they have not tried to sell that yet. He's Bama's most dangerous player.

After him, things get a little more dicey for the Crimson Tide.

Quarterback Greg McElroy started out the season strong, but he hasn't thrown a touchdown pass in 3 games, throwing 2 interceptions in that time. His ATVSQBPI in those three games has been 3.6, 1.5, and 4.4. That 4.4 sitting by itself is not awful, but when that's your best game in 3, there are problems. Despite this, Bama has won those three games, though they were somewhat fortunate to escape the Tennessee game with a win, as Ingram was contained. They hit a couple of long field goals and blocked a couple of long field goals to preserve a 12-10 win in that one, as we all remember.

McElroy is a typical college quarterback. He has decent arm strength and decent mobility, willing to take a few hits to help his team if need be, but more effective throwing the ball. He has struggled with accuracy and decision-making lately despite not being victimized by a lot of sacks.

If we want to discuss things like chickens and eggs and their relative temporal proximity, we can also talk about the struggles of Julio Jones, who through 8 games has only 20 receptions for only 229 yards and a touchdown. Julio Jones was supposed to be an All-American candidate, but you won't find him on any of the leaderboards in receptions or yardage in the conference. The leading receiver in the SEC is A.J. Green, who has over twice as many catches and over 3 times as many receiving yards. In Bama's last game against Tennessee, they made a conscious effort to get him more involved, giving him a lot of short and safe throws. He ended up with 7 catches for 54 yards.

In the Bama passing game, the receiver who scares me the most is Colin Peek, who has been deadly as a tight end over the middle of the field. He has been hurt though, or he would very likely be Bama's leading receiver both in catches and in yards. As it is, Julio Jones leads in catches, thanks to his 7 against Tennessee, and Marquis Maze, who is a deep ball specialist, leads in yards. Mark Ingram leads in touchdown receptions.

Other offensive weapons for Alabama include the true freshman Trent Richardson, who we really recruited hard and hoped to come to us. He has had a fine freshman campaign, with 377 yards on 74 carries. He has broken off a couple of very long runs, but he is not as consistently productive as Ingram.

Alabama's biggest advantage over us when they have the ball is the middle of their offensive line against the middle of our defense. They have been deadly running the ball between the tackles and Florida ran the ball up the middle on us constantly and we couldn't stop it. I would fully expect, given that LSU's secondary is more than a match for the Bama receivers, that Bama will run the ball and run the ball and run the ball until we show we can stop it. We may not be able to, and why should Bama get all fancy on us if they can run it effectively whenever they want? Our linebacker corps has been very good, but is not really built to take on a straight-ahead rushing attack, as our middle linebacker Kelvin Sheppard (who has been outstanding this year) is a little undersized to be taking on straight-ahead blockers and rushers. He's more of an angler.

On defense, it's the same story. LSU has an advantage when our receivers go against their secondary, but the middle of the defense has a big advantage over the middle of our offense. The combination of nose tackle Terrance Cody and linebacker Rolando McClain is outstanding, better than any we've faced this year. I truly do not expect us to get very far running Charles Scott up the middle. The middle of our offensive line just has not been that good this year and this is the biggest mismatch they will face.

If we're going to have success, it will be to the outside of the hashes, using Russell Shepard, or Keiland Williams, or Trindon Holliday. This is not to say that the outside of Bama's defense is weak. It's just not as strong as the inside of Bama's defense, which is extraordinary.

Our real advantage is with our receiver corps, where Terrance Toliver and Brandon Lafell make up the best 1-2 receiver combination in the conference. Toliver's 38 catches puts him tied for 2nd in the league with Shay Hodge of Ole Miss behind A.J. Green. Lafell's 37 puts him 4th. No combination of receivers in the conference has those kinds of numbers. Aaron Hernandez and Riley Cooper of Florida combine for 68 receptions, and they are the closest. Bama's secondary is beatable, and these are just the two receivers to beat it.

The problem is that our offensive line will have to give the receivers time to beat that secondary. Bama is tied for the conference lead in sacks with 23. They get a lot of pressure, and protecting against pressure has not been a strong suit of our offensive line, nor has handling pressure been a strength of Jordan Jefferson's game. This is probably the one area where LSU will have to overperform its history in order for us to have a fighting chance. We will have to protect Jefferson better than we have before, and Jefferson will have to work quicker than he has in the past.

And lastly, special teams are huge for Alabama. They've won their last two games on field goals, as they haven't scored a touchdown since the first half of the South Carolina game. Leigh Tiffin has been the best kicker in the conference. Then there is that Javier Arenas guy, who is arguably the most dangerous punt returner in the conference. He will have to be held in check if we are going to win.

It is a tall order beating this Bama team, but we're getting them at our peak and we're as ready as we're ever going to be. I think we'll give them a tough game.

Behind the Numbers: LSU v Tulane

Poseur — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:20:41 -0000

We beat Tulane. Big whoop. I'm doing the Behind the Numbers early just to get it over with. Honestly, trying to glean meaning from a win over Tulane is a fool's errand. Do not read too much into anything that happened.

267. LSU's rushing yards. The running game has been, at times, downright brutal this season. Getting 267 yards against anyone is a feat for this team. Charles Scott rushed for 112 yards, his first 100 yard game of the season. I'm happy for Scott, but let's not call it a breakout game until he does it against a defense with a pulse.

2. Keiland Williams' total touches. He didn't catch a ball and he had all of two carriers. Meanwhile, Stevan Ridley looked great in his 8 garbage time carries and Russell Shepard looked explosive in his five carriers. Shep seems to have taken over the "shifty back" role in the offense, relegating Williams to a few change of pace carries and waving his towel on the sideline. I feel really bad for the kid, who came in as a five star recruit with all of the hype in the world. His LSU career is not what he, or anyone, imagined for him. He's been a good player and, to his credit, he's never publicly complained about his role, but it is probably time to admit he is a bust. Russell Shepard's expanded role will probably come at Keiland Williams' expense.

50. Trindon Holliday had not one, but two 50 yard punt returns. Man, he is an explosive player. He never quite has been a star, but he always has these flashes of brilliance.

2-51. In case you didn't notice, Drew Alleman got the start as the punter. He punted twice in the first half, and shanked them both. Josh Jasper, our do everything special teams guy, came out in the third and punted it 41 yards. I'd rather Alleman shank it against Tulane because it's likely he won't get the chance to do it against Bama. With Derek Helton out, Jasper is now going to have to take every kick. No pressure.

1. LSU's three and outs. In every game, the offense has gone into the tank for an extended period. That didn't happen against Tulane, which was another positive sign. The only three and out was actually the first possession. LSU probably won't go 7/10 on third downs against the Tide, but it was nice to see the offense stay on the field.

38. Tackles by LSU's top linebackers: Kelvin Sheppard (13), Perry Riley (8), Jacob Cutrera (6), Ryan Baker (6), and Harry Coleman (5). The five linebackers also combined for 5 TFL's. It's been a long time since our linebackers were the most productive unit on defense. That is a positive sign going into Alabama. Our linebackers must make tackles.

Behind the Numbers: LSU v Auburn

Poseur — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:20:05 -0000

Before we move forward to Tulane, one last look at the Auburn game with this week's Behind the Numbers.

21/4.5/2.0. Kelvin Sheppard and Harry Coleman's combined tackles/tackles for a loss/sack defensive lines. Over the past few years, the one consistent criticism of LSU's defense has been that of the linebacker play. Even the best LSU defenses seemed to lack a dominant linebacker. Harry Coleman had a spectacular game, forcing a fumble on both of his sacks and forcing an incompletion that was very close to a third fumble. But Kelvin Sheppard was everywhere. Coleman made the highlight reel plays, but Sheppard made what seemed like every other play. Both of these linebackers had simply outstanding games. If I would have told you that linebacker would be a team strength in the preseason, would you have believed me?

1/9. Auburn's third down conversions in the first three quarters. Auburn turned it around a bit in the fourth and finally got their fourth down act together against the second stringers, but LSU's defense dominated on third down. LSU's defense, unlike against Florida, stopped drives.

9-86-1. Terrance Toliver's receiving numbers. He has become Jordan Jefferson's go to receiver. Brandon LaFell had a few key drops in the game (and still had a nice game), but Toliver caught 9 of Jefferson's 22 completions. His longest catch was only 14 yards, so a lot of those catches were those security blanket type of catches. Short catches for positive gains.

11-26. Charles Scott and Keiland Williams combined rushing numbers. That is not good, especially when you consider Scott gained 8 yards on his first carry. From that point on, LSU's running backs gained 18 yards on 10 carries, 9 of them by Scott. Guh.

4 for 5. Red zone efficiency has been a problem all year, so getting four scores on five trips to the red zone is major progress. Three of the four scores were touchdowns, which is even more progress. Looking ahead, LSU will need this kind of efficiency to beat Bama.

Auburn Takes a Beating in Baton Rouge.

Acid Reign — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:49:08 -0000

(LSU cruises past Auburn, 31-10.)

War Eagle, everybody. It's time now for the much belated Acid Reign report, on Auburn's 31-10 loss to LSU, in Death Valley. The game was a chance to take advantage of a struggling LSU offense, and get back into the SEC Western Division race. Instead, Auburn regressed for the third week in a row. All was not gloom and doom, in this one, though. Auburn fared decently on both lines of scrimmage. Where Auburn and LSU diverged was in the play of skill folks, on both sides of the ball. There is no quick fix for this Auburn football team, either. Auburn will lose a number of key players over the next two graduating classes, and will have to look for replacements among incoming freshmen to fill many of those spots. Such is the fate of an SEC school with only 74 scholarship players. We'll continue to cheer on our beleaguered Tigers, regardless.

When you take a 31-10 beating in the SEC, there is usually plenty of team-wide blame to go around. This week, the most glaring culprit would be the lack of offensive production. When Auburn rolled up 469 yards against the Monte Kiffin/Tennessee defense, I opined that one could get a lot done on offense, if the two outside receivers could occupy four defenders downfield. Auburn's wideouts have not occupied even two defenders downfield, in the past three weeks. Arkansas, Kentucky, and LSU have felt free to blitz corners and cover with safeties, or to cover man to man, and blitz safeties. As a result, Auburn is now attempting to run the ball against more defenders than blockers on most plays. Production has plunged. The question becomes: whom to blame? Have the receivers stopped getting open? Has the quarterback lost the ability to throw to them? Or are the wrong plays being called? Gene Chizik and Co. aren't saying.

Through three quarters against the LSU defense, the tape showed the LSU defense often giving the Auburn outside receivers a LARGE cushion, sometimes as much as ten yards. We did not attempt a simple hitch, or wide receiver screen, THE WHOLE GAME. Maybe it was called, but we never saw it run. We ran lots of screens to backs, and suffered a HORRIBLE day blocking on the perimeter, but that's a different issue. Auburn didn't ATTEMPT a pass towards a wide receiver till a one-yard check-down dump off to Zachary, with 3:30 left in the first quarter. Auburn MIGHT have called a downfield pass play on the next drive, on 3^rd and 7. Against a 7 man rush, with 6 blockers, Chris Todd held the ball, fumbled, and LSU had it at the Auburn 16. What was called, we have no clue. The short pass was there, as both corners bailed backwards. You have to fast forward to the early second quarter for the next involvement of the wide receivers. On first down, Todd had ALL DAY to throw on a play fake, then tried to force one into to double coverage to Jay Wisner, on the short side, AFTER Wisner had run out of real estate. Interception. Todd's next two wide receiver attempts came on 3^rd and 17 (out of bounds towards Emory Blake), and 3^rd and 20 (again to Blake, basically thrown away.) Todd had another sack-fumble during this stretch.

In the third quarter, we didn't pass towards a wide receiver till third and goal at the 7. It was to Darvin Adams, of course, on an out run short of the goal line, into double coverage. Incomplete. Next drive, trailing 24-3, we faced a crucial 3^rd and 4. Corners bailed at the snap. Todd tried the out and up to Zachary, couldn't get by the defender. Out and UP?!? We haven't completed a hitch pass in three weeks, and we expected LSU to bite on an out and up? Before we get it back again, it's 31-3. Next possession, 2^nd and 17 we tried to pass. Seven man rush, Todd got sacked again. PLENTY of cushion on Zachary to the wide side, but we don't even ATTEMPT to zip it out there and get some of the yardage back. Next drive, Todd's last, we don't attempt to go downfield again till 3^rd and 8. A sack off the corner blitz, leaving Zachary and a TON of room over on the wide side with a safety 15 yards back. I have to wonder, at this point. Is it the play calls? Is it Todd not pulling the trigger? We've GOT to get the wideouts involved again, or we'll get blown out on Halloween, against Ole Miss. Cornerback is the weakest point of the Ole Miss defense, and we MUST exploit that! Whether it's Todd, or Caudle, we MUST gun that ball in there, and make plays on the perimeter! Of all of the things to be angry about in the 2009 Auburn/LSU game, the lack of passing to the wide receivers stands out the most, to me.

Auburn's defense was hardly stellar, in this game, either. Except for one play against LSU running backs, Auburn played well. Containing the Quarterback on the scramble was a different story. It's been a sore point all year, and Auburn's woes in that department are not even new to this year. What is alarming from this game is the 7.5 yards per pass given up. Neiko Thorpe and Walter McFadden got worked over, in this one. McFadden managed one great pass breakup in the 3^rd quarter, but he was beaten by Brandon LaFell, spun around, for a second quarter score. LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson was able to loft the ball up to covered receivers, confident that his man would come down with the ball. Auburn is running with receivers, but is not making the play when the ball gets there. That's something to work on. Tackling and pass rush continue to be problematic, but the defense enjoyed a healthy infusion of Eltoro Freeman and Antoine Carter. Those guys have missed most of the year, and appeared to be much fresher and aggressive than the rest of the defense. Next week, it's incumbent upon Ted Roof to utilize these guys to get into the Ole Miss backfield, and work on Jevan Snead. Secondary tackling remains poor. There was one LSU touchdown where Antonio Coleman and Zach Etheridge had Jefferson bracketed. Coleman left his feet, leaping at the pump fake, and Etheridge took a short angle. Jefferson sprinted into the end zone, on what should have been a sack. The icing 69 yard run in the third quarter was on Neiko Thorpe and Darren Bates. Neither guy was blocked. They got split up the back side on that run, and were left standing slack-jawed. The defensive mistakes in this game are correctable. The real enemy is fatigue. Most of these guys have played nearly every defensive snap of the season. Relief isn't in sight till mid-November, unfortunately.

Special teams continue to earn the "special" label, and not in a good way. We had another fumbled punt. We can't manage 40 yards per punt, anymore. Return blocking remains non-existent. Net kickoffs continue to get worse. We averaged only 26.0 net yards, in this game. LSU averaged starting at their own 44 yard line. We'd have done better kicking every kick out of bounds.

Unit Grades, after the jump.

Defensive Line: B. We had decent gap control, and a good spark on the pass rush from Antoine Carter. Auburn didn't get enough heat on first-down play action, but that's understandable facing a deadly backfield like LSU has. Where Auburn loses points is on the scheme: We continue to drop defensive ends into pass coverage, and it's pretty much been useless against SEC opponents. Asking an end, even a guy like Antonio Coleman, to cover Trindan Holiday or Keiland Williams, is ridiculous. We'd be better served rushing the passer.

Linebackers: B-. We continue to miss tackles, but with the addition of Eltoro Freeman to the mix, we were pretty solid against the run, for the first time all year. The linebackers forced LSU to throw it to move the ball consistently. Unfortunately, LSU did quite well through the air. Points off on repeated loss of contain on quarterback Jordan Jefferson.

Secondary: F. Take away one rip-out on a long pass by Walter McFadden, and this unit was pretty helpless in coverage. We couldn't chase down Jordan Jefferson on scrambles, couldn't contain Sheppard beyond the tackle box, and couldn't knock the ball away from LSU receivers. The secondary did make 23 tackles, but well over half were assists. Considering that LSU completed 22 passes, that stat isn't very good.

Punting: C. Clinton Durst killed 3 of his seven punts inside the LSU 20, and did manage one spectacular 58 yard rain-maker. ON the other hand, we were treated to a shank and a slice, at critical times during the ball game. LSU did not manage a single return. We'll grudgingly take a 39.7 yard net, against LSU.

Punt Returns: F. Poor decisions all around in this one, and again, no blocking. We let one easily returnable punt hit and roll, fair caught another with room, then fumbled one in traffic. The fumble was particularly ugly, because Phillip Pierre-Louis did not use proper form. He tried to short-arm the ball with a defender right there. Had he stepped up and caught it into his body, he'd likely have drawn an interference flag.

Kick Returns: C. We actually blocked a wee bit better, this week. Mario Fannin had one of his trademark "run into the first guy down, and fall" returns, but Ben Tate, Phillip Pierre-Louis, and Demond Washington all had decent distance returns, getting yards after contact.

Kickoffs: F. Again, I suppose I should be thankful that we didn't give one up for a score. Still, a 26.0 yard net HAS to be one of the worst figures of the year, in the NCAA! I am NOT a fan of our current sky-kick and prayer style!

Placekicking A+. Wes Byrum was perfect on two kicks. We're not giving him NEARLY enough opportunities. He's performing at an All-SEC level, but won't get noticed with only a couple of kicks a game.

Offensive Line: B+. Points off on an Andrew McCain false start. He's officially taken the false-start poster-boy status away from Lee Ziemba, in 2009. The play was a bad call, due to a defender being in the neutral zone, but still. You can't move before the snap! Period! Auburn's line actually held their own quite well against a good LSU front, in this game. LSU had to outnumber our blockers, to stop the running game, and didn't get much pressure on Todd unless they blitzed.

Receivers: D. This is an awfully harsh grade for a unit without even a single drop. A lot of it likely had to do with the scheme, but these guys never got involved. Tommy Trott made one good 15 yard catch, but otherwise seemed to whiff on every screen block he attempted. We ran one end around to Zachary, into the boundary, for a big loss. Nice plays at the end of the game by Blake and Lutzencirchen to get us a TD, but that's trash-time stuff. We've GOT to get more out of these guys, whether it's blocking on screens, or simply executing a 5-yard hitch route. We've got NOTHING going on the outside right now, and defenses know it.

Running Backs: B. There is only so much a back can do, outnumbered in traffic. Eric Smith continues to function well as a lead blocker, and as a screen receiver. Kudos to Tate, Fannin, and Smith for hanging onto the ball and not fumbling. Points off on a couple of pass protection gaffes. Hideous job on 3^rd and 1 on the first drive, on Tate and Smith. It was a wingback, under center formation, with a quick snap. Both guys were leaning to the right, telegraphing the play. And Smith fell down on his block. Tate was stacked up with no chance, on that one. We didn't pick up the corner blitz terribly well, in protection, either. Note to Gus: sit Onterrio McCalebb down, till his ankle heals. A slow, 160-pound back won't do, in the SEC.

Quarterback: D-. Again, I have to wonder if it's the scheme. Chris Todd doesn't seem willing to try anything towards a wide receiver, till it's third and long. Holding the ball on all-out blitzes is a big no-no. A senior should at LEAST toss it up, down the sideline, and give his receiver a chance. Heck, the way we're punting, we might be better off with an interception! Kodi Burns had the chance to make opponents respect his arm in the Wildcat, and missed a wide-open Fannin. Neil Caudle looked good, late. He's got an arm. Made some tough throws in traffic. Maybe not the wisest throws, but he was at least trying to get something done downfield. Caudle did make a wrong read on the read-option, when he was in there. Ended up being a blocker. Should Gus and Gene yank Todd? Debate will rage, all week. I'm not sold. It sure seemed to me that the play caller was afraid to test LSU's corners, this week. If we're going to keep Todd back there, we need to let him chuck it. He's not a runner. If we want to just take sacks, heck, let Ben Tate run the wildcat. If we want to take Chris Todd's starting job, we need to at least give him a chance to fail. As much as I hate to say it, we're calling plays scared, right now.

Auburn's divisional championship chances are officially gone, as of this week. I think the most important thing, from this point forward, is to develop our schemes, and our young players. I'm not in favor of burning redshirts at this point, but I think snaps for guys that are going to lose a year anyway, such as Neil Caudle, should be a priority. We've already burned a year on DeAngelo Benton, Emory Blake, and Travante Stallworth. Put 'em out there, and throw the ball to them. Run Jonathan Evans in at linebacker every other series. Let Eltoro Freeman run wild. Get T'Sharvan Bell, D'Antoine Hood, and Mike Slade some snaps. We may well lose to Ole Miss, Georgia, and Alabama. We're going to have to get some young guys ready, for the future. Most importantly, it's up to us supporters to NOT jump off the bandwagon, in these difficult times. None of our coaches deserve to be fired, at this time. They are doing the best they can, with a limited stock of players.

Honestly, I'm looking forward to Halloween hosting Ole Miss. I've watched a decade of Houston Nutt. I KNOW what he'll do. He's going to load the box, and GET AFTER the QB. We have a GREAT chance to open it up, and make some plays. We can use our newfound players Eltoro Freeman and Antoine Carter, and heat Jevan Snead up. I think Auburn has a great chance at pulling the upset, next week in Jordan Hare! War Eagle, everybody! Don't get down on your Tigers! Beat Ole Miss!

LSU 31 - Auburn 10: Snap Judgments

Richard Pittman — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 03:10:02 -0000

More photos » by Bill Haber - AP

about 1 month ago: Auburn linebacker Josh Bynes (17) dives for LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson (9) in the first half of an NCAA college football game in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

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Well, that was easy. A 31-10 victory that probably wasn't as close as the score would indicate. Jordan Jefferson was the story of the night as he had a very positive game. Here are my thoughts:

What a night by the defense. Just an absolutely dominating performance by a defensive unit that has carried this team so far this season. They did it again, holding Auburn to 194 total yards, most of which came after the game was long decided.
Not to repeat myself, but Jordan Jefferson had an excellent game. His ATVSQBPI of 7.2 actually does not tell the story. There were a couple drops in there, and his rushes hurt his average, but he had a great game and my confidence in him has grown. We saw him run well. He put touch on his passes. He took 4 sacks, but I can't really say they were his fault this time. He got 236 yards passing with 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, along with positive rushing statistics, with a touchdown.
Then again, we saw him fumble trying to get into the end zone because he was not protecting the ball. He went into a funk after that and the rest of the 2nd quarter was a dud for him.
But then he came out of it! He struggled for a while, and then got over it. That's a big step for a quarterback.
We finally saw Russell Shepard with an explosive play. He had a tough night until he broke off a spectacular 70 yard touchdown run from the tailback position.
It was a good night for true freshmen all around. Reuben Randle had a terrific catch for 31 yards. Fullback Dominique Allen got his redshirt pulled and became our blocking back. Morris Claiborne got into the game a lot in the second half.
It seems like ages ago, but back when this game was still competitive, Chris Hawkins made a spectacular interception. Then we hardly saw him again. We saw 4 cornerbacks and 5 safeties in this game, and all of them played well.
Redshirt freshman defensive end Chase Clement had the best looking kickoff return I've seen us get this year.
Other than Chase Clement, the return game was ho-hum, but the punt/kick coverage was outstanding, even if you don't consider the forced fumble and recovery.
We mostly avoided bad penalties, accumulating only 48 yards against in penalties. The penalties we got were sometimes intentional delay of game penalties. We got one illegal substitution penalty, a couple encroachments, and one personal foul that was never identified on replay. i can't really complain about that too much.
Danny McCray had a nice night, recovering two fumbles.
It's hard to complain at all about this game. So let's complain about it. We still don't have a power running game. Charles Scott and Keiland Williams combined for 24 yards rushing on 11 carries. 1/3 of those yards came on the first play from scrimmage.
But yeah, other than that, everything was great.